Free Republic

Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal urged his party Tuesday to shift to offering health care solutions instead of just rejecting what [Alleged] President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress are proposing. “I think now is the perfect time to pivot and to say, not only here’s what we’re against, and not only here’s how we’re going to contrast ourselves, but here’s what we’re for,” Jindal said in an interview with POLITICO. Jindal acknowledged that the Republican Party for years had been too slow to stake out positions on the health care debate “to our peril and the nation’s...

I can’t underscore enough what a rotten idea John McCain’s ACORN-like government mortgage buy-up is. I said it during my liveblog. And I’ll say it again: “HE WANTS TO EXPAND THE BAILOUT. He wants to do what ACORN wants to do. We’re Screwed ‘08.” This was his supposed “game-changer.” This was the very first thing out of his mouth during the debate tonight — his big pitch right off the bat. The McCain campaign immediately sent out this fact sheet on the proposal, which will cost at least $300 billion. The proposal involves directing the Treasury Secretary to “purchase mortgages...

An examination of published reports reveals that Scott McClellan's kiss-and-smell betrayal of George W. Bush is a far cry from the book McClellan started out to write and was shaped into an offensive tome by a publisher with close ties to George Soros. To understand how McClellan's literary knife-in-the-back evolved, one has to know something about the book industry. Unlike fiction, a non-fiction book usually hasn't been written before it's sold to a publisher. The author normally puts together an outline and/or synopsis detailing what the book will be about and how it will be structured, and writes 1-3 sample...

Republican insiders see the bitter criticism in Scott McClellan's memoir, "What Happened," as a payback for his abrupt firing as White House press secretary in the spring of 2006. Continues... =============================================================== Scott McClellan stars in Ghost Writer With Scott McClellan's new book, left-wingers are now absolutely sure Obama will trounce Bush this November! No third term! The little darlings haven't figured out yet that Bush isn't on the ballot this time, so they're frantically putting out movies like "Recount," "Redacted," "Rendition," "Stop-loss," and publishing fiction like McClellan's book, which all liberals with advance copies are excitedly having someone literate read...

McCain Almost Left the GOP -- Twice March 24, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT Senator McCain has not wrapped up the Chuck Hagel endorsement yet, and I wanted to mention this to you. Hagel was on This Week with Stephanopoulos on Sunday, and Stephanopoulos said to him, "Senator McCain is a good friend of yours. Why haven't you endorsed him?" HAGEL: When I work for someone or commit to someone, I want to be behind that person in every way I can. I've obviously got some differences with John on the Iraq war. That's no secret. I want to understand a...

As Senator John McCain slips further and further into the grips of age-realted dementia, his arguments in favor of legalizing 38 million illegal aliens become more and more specious. In 2007, for instance, McCain issued a very bizarre challenge to American patriots who oppose the amnesty travesty that McCain favors. Speaking at a fund-raiser in Houston, the senator said: "I think it’s (immigration reform) a matter of national security,” McCain said, “and to do nothing - to leave the status quo - would be an abrogation of our responsibilities to the American people.” The addled senator added, “If they’ve got...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Here's what leading presidential candidates have said about climate change and energy policies, and what they want to do. REPUBLICAN ARIZONA SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: "I know that climate change is real ... we've got to address it, we can do it with technology, with cap and trade, with capitalist and free enterprise motivation." Co-authored bill to cut emissions by 65 percent by 2050, favors unspecified fuel efficiency increase and overall energy efficiency. DEMOCRATIC NEW YORK SEN. HILLARY CLINTON: "We need to start on a path to slow, stop and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions." Supports...

After being forced to respond to three separate incidents in recent weeks of conservatives alluding to Barack Obama's middle name, John McCain's campaign manager today sent a memo to top supporters urging them to stick to the campaign's preferred message -- and to avoid taking gratuitous shots at their Democratic rivals. "We expect that all supporters, surrogates and staff will hold themselves to similarly high standards when they are representing the campaign. To help guide you, please find talking points below."

Over the weekend, Paul did a post that talked about demands that some conservatives are making on John McCain as the soon-to-be Republican nominee. I added some comments of my own; it's fair to say that both Paul and I are skeptical of the reasonableness of such demands. That prompted an email from talk radio host Mark Levin, the subject heading of which was "John, Did You Actually Mean to Write This?" This initiated an exchange between Mark and me, which, with Mark's permission, I'm reproducing below: John, did you actually mean to write this? If there are conservatives who...

"I am a proud conservative liberal Republican." http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4363279

WARNING TO CONSERVATIVES!!! When the AP quotes Open Borders moll Tamar Jacoby, Arlen Specter, RINO/Bushie/McCainite Charlie Black as saying McCain is "looking strong" or good on immigration" and no conservatives or anti-Invasion advocates or experts are quoted in the [following] story, you know the fix is in! McCain is on a major media effort to try to make conservatives like him enough to vote for him and he knows he's in deep trouble. So he's going to try to pull the wool over our eyes by saying he's going to get tough on the Border--if elected. What he WON'T discuss...

Florida Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse John McCain on Friday, The Associated Press has learned, a move likely to give the Republican presidential candidate a crucial boost with the state's Cuban-Americans just days before the primary. The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor in a close fight with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community _ and to keep his candidacy alive. Two Republican officials disclosed the upcoming endorsement on the condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the announcement. As recently as Thursday night, Martinez indicated he would remain neutral in the...

McCain Slams Swiftboat Vets Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 1:19:32 pm PST Has anyone ever really shown that the allegations made by the Swift Boat Veterans against John F. Kerry were false? If someone has refuted the charges conclusively, I’ve never seen it—which makes John McCain’s continuing antipathy toward the Swiftboaters inexplicable: McCain Scrambles to Control Backers. Speaking to reporters aboard his campaign tour bus late Tuesday, McCain acknowledged that conservative independent groups pursuing a similar line to Cunningham’s could be impossible to control. “I think you have to worry about that, particularly the 527s,� McCain said, referring to the...

Senator John McCain’s ascendancy in the Republican presidential race has been truly remarkable. Yet, it’s no groundswell. To this point, about two out of every three primary and caucus participants have voted against him. If the Democrats and independents some states permit to crash the Grand Old Party were factored out, his standing in the Republican base would be even less impressive. Still, you have to hand it to his admirers: They have parlayed his thin support into an aura of inevitability. The glow could intensify this week, when McCain is likely, finally, to rack up some more impressive numbers...

Arizona senator says GOP rhetoric 'not helpful' WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday he did not believe Democratic candidate John Kerry, a friend and Senate colleague, was weak on defense or would compromise national security if elected president. “This kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice,” McCain said on “The Early Show” on CBS. “You know, it’s the most bitter and partisan campaign that I’ve ever observed. I think it’s because both parties are going to their bases rather than going to the middle. I regret it.”...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush pledged Sunday to assist Sen. John McCain's campaign for the presidency assuming he wins the Republican Party nomination -- but acknowledged that the Arizona senator has "got some convincing to do" among the party's conservatives. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday" at his retreat at Camp David, Md., Bush was careful to note that two Republicans are still competing for the nomination, and he did not express a preference. But Bush made clear that he was willing to set aside the tensions he has had with McCain in the past, and he praised the front-runner...

Ted Nugent: McCain has two battles he must win Sunday, February 17, 2008 Now that Mitt Romney has thrown in the towel and endorsed him, the Republican nominee for president will almost certainly be Sen. John McCain. Attempting residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is surely tough enough without turning your friends into enemies. There are plenty of enemies on the other side who wear different political stripes altogether. McCain faces a distrustful, dissatisfied, frustrated, and in some cases, downright angry conservative base. Conservatives are not happy with McCain. He has not always carried the conservative torch on immigration, taxes, First...

McCain a 'True Conservative,' Bush Says Feb 10 09:36 AM US/Eastern WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain is a "true conservative," President Bush says, although the presumptive Republican presidential nominee may have to work harder to convince other conservatives that he is one of their own. McCain "is very strong on national defense," Bush said in an interview taped for airing on "Fox News Sunday." "He is tough fiscally. He believes the tax cuts ought to be permanent. He is pro-life. His principles are sound and solid as far as I'm concerned." But when asked about criticism of McCain by conservative...

Bush Signals Support for McCain By Peter Baker President Bush plans to give an implicit endorsement of onetime rival John McCain's conservative bona fides tomorrow as the Arizona senator seeks to consolidate the party behind his candidacy. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in the morning, Bush plans to say that the nominee of the party will be a strong conservative, according to excerpts released by the White House tonight.

When searching for answers as to how we got here in America - here being a steadily accelerating march into Democratic Socialism - there is plenty of blame to go around. Personally, I don’t see an innocent individual in the lot. Those who consider themselves to be the most politically astute people in America, conservatives, have once again been out-foxed by those they call ignorant. Forest Gump’s momma was right; stupid is as stupid does! Steeped in worthy principles, yes. Politically astute? You must be kidding… America has exactly the mess of a government it deserves because it always has...

Two years ago, Republicans fought over immigration and hemorrhaged Hispanic voters. Now they are poised to nominate the one man who can rebuild the Hispanic voter coalition that pushed President Bush twice to victory, the architects of that coalition say. "I think the only candidate that Republicans have running for president who could retain those votes is in fact Senator McCain," said the Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., president of Esperanza USA, founder of the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and a key player in helping Mr. Bush connect with Hispanic voters during his two runs for office. Democrats have traditionally enjoyed...

WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain faces a dilemma on immigration as he works to persuade conservatives he's tough enough on the issue without erasing his historic appeal to Hispanic voters. Once a crusader for offering the nation's roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants a way to get legal status, McCain now says his first priority is fortifying U.S. borders. The metamorphosis reflects McCain's intensifying effort to consolidate his support among conservatives, who deride the Arizona senator's past proposals on immigration as offering amnesty to lawbreakers, and bitterly resent his work with Democrats, including Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, on the issue....

<p>For the second time in as many days, Sen. John McCain was forced to rebuke members of his own party for over-the-top attacks on Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama.</p>

John McCain couldn't handle the outstanding rebel-rousing introduction by Cincinnati conservative talk show host, Bill Cunningham the other day--a man the McCain Campaign had hired to introduce the Senator. Instead, Wussie McCain immediately "apologized" profusely to Obama for Cunningham's using Obama's full name over and over during the intro. This shows how "p.c." and how "wussie" John McCain is when it comes to worrying about how the left is going to perceive him. Instead of concentrating on gaining base support which he sorely needs and can't win without, he's playing to the left and saying to conservatives, "S**w you! I...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces a lot of heat for proposing drastic budget cuts that slash services for children, the poor and the elderly while allowing thousands of criminals back on the streets to prey upon children, the poor and the elderly. Some even question how the governor can so glibly suggest closing state parks while maintaining an increasingly costly and aggressive public relations operation to promote himself. The governor surely has a lot to answer for in how he's handled the state budget, which has been filled to overflowing by years of booming property values. But with his outlandish proposal...

A spokeman for the Bush administration sent an e-mail to Jim Robinson and myself confirming the authenticity of a post on Free Republic this afternoon regarding the immigration bill currently before the Senate as having been posted on behalf of the White House.The spokesman, Nicholas Thompson, works for the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. The Politico reported yesterday that Thompson and Kerrie Rushton, associate directors in the Office of Strategic Initiatives who work under Karl Rove, would be engaging the blogosphere on the immigration bill.Thompson's post is on the thread titled Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill, a...

Senate leaders on Thursday night announced a deal that breathes life into the bipartisan immigration bill that appeared to be stalled just days ago. The deal, which would bring the legislation back to the floor as early as next week, came as a bipartisan group of negotiators worked through Thursday to overcome a procedural hurdle that led Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada to pull the bill from the floor last week. Reid, along with Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, agreed Thursday to bring the bill to the floor after the Senate finishes its work on energy legislation. “We...

Peace activist 'was betrayed by spy' By Colin Freeman in Baghdad (Filed: 11/12/2005) The kidnapped British peace activist who faced a deadline for his "execution" in Iraq last night may have been betrayed by a spy at a mosque that he visited just before his abduction. Norman Kember, 74, a Christian pacifist, was snatched along with three colleagues shortly after leaving Um al-Qura mosque in west Baghdad, the headquarters of a Sunni Islamic organisation with links to the insurgency. Sources within the Association of Islamic Scholars, which had met the four activists to discuss prisoner abuses in Iraq, believe an...

The Crusades were a serious betrayal of Christian beliefs, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said yesterday. Speaking 900 years after Christian warriors sacked Jerusalem, the Archbishop said that any attempt to revive the crusading ideal today would not garner much support among Christians. His comments, made in Pakistan, appeared to be an attempt to reassure Muslims that the Churches are anxious to avert confrontation between the West and Islamic states. In the past he has warned western leaders, particularly President Bush, against using sensitive religious language such as the term "crusade" to justify the war against Iraq. But...

Conservative icon Richard Viguerie has come out with all guns blazing against Washington Republicans, saying they've abandoned their conservative principles and risk defeat in the 2006 elections. In an open letter addressed to "Conservative Leaders," Viguerie writes: "It has become increasingly clear that Republicans in Washington care little or nothing about grassroots conservatives and the values they hold dear. "After we spent decades defeating the Rockefeller wing of the Party, it seems we have a new enemy - the Washington wing of the GOP. They're not just wasting money; they're actually massively growing government in direct contravention of everything Republicans...

It will be some time before the full impact of this week’s sellout by seven so-called “moderate” Republicans in the U.S. Senate becomes completely apparent. The plan to break Democrat filibusters of judicial nominees was, in reality, no less than a Republican fight to restore the integrity of the Constitution. But in the face of the Republican defections, Democrats will now credibly claim to have protected it, and the nation as a whole, from the ravages of Republican “extremism.” Despite media spin, this arrangement was no agreement among “centrists” from both parties. The seven Democrats who participated in the deal...

I watched the Conservative Party of Canada convention and their adoption of resolution. First I saw them adopt the resolution on support for the traditional definition of marriage, I was happy. But then, they adopted a resolution that the Conservative Party will not support any abortion legislation, killing the chances of the party adopting a pro-life stance and my happiness turned into anger. You see everybody, my family used to be a supporter of the liberal party and it was these type of policies that caused my family and I to leave the party. What attracted me to the Conservative...

For a guy who started his presidential campaign focused on his military service, John Kerry sure doesn't mind leaving that service record shrouded in mystery. There is controversy about every single aspect of Kerry's service – from the time he signed up for duty, to his brief command of a Navy swiftboat in Vietnam, to his commendations, to his medical records, to his departure from Vietnam and, now, even the question of whether he was honorably discharged.

Just thought some people might find this wav funny... GORE RANTING Kind of goes with the photo:

OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM Officer facing charges would do it again West: To protect my men 'I'd go through hell with a gasoline can' Posted: November 19, 2003 2:49 p.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Lt. Col. Allen West admitted during an emotional preliminary hearing today he used wrong methods to extract information from an Iraqi detainee but insisted American lives were at stake. Accused of threatening to kill the Iraqi if he didn't disclose details of an imminent plot against U.S. soldiers, West was asked by his defense attorney if he would do it again. "If it's about the lives of...

Hambali, the Islamic militant whose arrest has been hailed as a breakthrough in the war on terrorism, was betrayed after members of his Jemaah Islamiah network fell out over money, according to a senior official in Thailand's defence ministry. In a rare dispute within the tightly knit terrorist network, members of a JI cell in Singapore were angry that comrades in Thailand had frittered away a sizeable sum of money they had sent them to fund a suicide bombing team for operations in the kingdom. When the Singaporeans were later arrested, they opened up to investigators, according to the defence...

BAGHDAD (AFP) Talal, who once dreamt of being a hero of the Arab resistance, had a rude awakening when he opened his eyes to the sight of the same US marines he had been fighting for weeks watching over him. After a night under the stars on the front lawn of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, cordoned off by marine tanks, the young Syrian lifted himself to rest on the palms of his hands Thursday morning, just returning their gaze. And that is all he could do after having regretfully handed back his gun on Wednesday at the sight of...

Using words like "liar" and "criminal" and "dictator," family members of murder victims and prosecutors across the suburbs were nearly unanimous in their condemnation of Gov. George Ryan for his commutation of death sentences. Complaints ranged from the venue in which Ryan chose to make his announcement to accusations that he had promised families not to grant blanket commutations. "This should be a criminal act," said Dawn Pueschel, sister of murder victim Dean Pueschel. "This is a crime to do what the governor has done." "He spit in our faces," said Katy Salhani, sister of murder victim Debra Evans. claims;...