Free Republic

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) will not seek reelection next year, his office announced Wednesday. The ten-term lawmaker plans to formally make the announcement on Thursday in Kingston, New York. His decision follows his recent treatment for colon cancer and doctors have designated him cancer-free, according to his office. One of the most liberal members of Congress and a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Hinchey, 73, was first elected to Congress in 1992. His district is comfortably Democratic but its lines may change when the state completes its redistricting process. During his first run for Congress in '92, Hinchey...

The United State Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, has denied an appeal by Rick Perry and the three other plaintiffs’ who filed suit to get on the Virginia GOP primary ballot. The circuit judges today said that, “For the reasons expressed herein, the court denies the motion for the requested injunctive relief.” They cited the impending deadline to send out absentee ballots, by Jan. 21. In the ruling papers, the judges also said, “Movant had every opportunity to challenge the various Virginia ballot requirements at a time when the challenge would not have created the disruption that this last-minute lawsuit...

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's slavery museum is disputing a claim by the city of Fredericksburg that the museum failed to account for $1.6 million in funds. As part of its efforts to seek federal bankruptcy protection, the United States National Slavery Museum is trying to stop the appointment of an examiner to review its finances. The museum also maintains that it be allowed to reorganize so it can eventually resume fundraising and seek tax-exempt status with Fredericksburg. Last month, an attorney for the city filed a motion as part of its efforts to collect more than $215,000 in delinquent...

If for nothing else, Jodi Kantor’s The Obamas will be remembered for an anecdote from 2010. After he spent hours disputing an allegation in the French media that Michelle Obama thought life in the White House was “hell,” press secretary Robert Gibbs encountered senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. She told him the first lady was unhappy with his work. Gibbs exploded in a rage, informing Jarrett that she didn’t “know what the f— you’re talking about” and that if Mrs. Obama was displeased, well, “f— her too.” Subsequent relations between the senior adviser and press secretary were strained. Gibbs told Kantor...

I’m all in favor of piling on Mitt Romney for any number of reasons: his come lately embrace of hard right conservatism, his periodic malapropisms (“I like being able to fire people”) and above all, the nonchalance with which he displays a dazzling shortage of principles by incessantly flip-flopping on issues, sometimes the same day. But these latest salvos being fired at his service as the founder and head of Bain Capital go too far. Having spent nearly three decades on Wall Street, when it comes to Bain Capital, I feel equipped — some might say too equipped — to...

Although Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has been in the news of late for attacking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his role at Bain Capital, it seems that Gingrich also had a paid role at a major private equity firm. From 1999 to 2001, Gingrich served on an advisory board for Forstmann Little, according to a New York Times report. Former Sen. Bob Dole and former Secretary of State Henry Kissenger also served Forstmann Little in similar capacities, a Gingrich campaign spokesperson told the Times. The Forstmann Little advisory board that Gingrich served on met twice a...

Gas prices are continuing to move upward with a gallon of regular at $3.38, up 8 cents from a week ago, the Energy Department’s U.S. Energy Information Administration said today. The weekly national average increased almost 30 cents from a year ago, and rose for the third consecutive week, adding to predictions that 2012 might be an uncomfortably expensive year for drivers across the country. Last year was a record year for gas prices but 2012 is forecasted to surpass its annual average. The real annual average for a gallon of regular gas last year hit $3.56, up from $2.90...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued the following news release: As former Nebraska Democrat Senator Bob Kerrey turned New York City resident returns to the Cornhusker State, Nebraskans may be surprised to learn where Mr. Kerrey stands on a wide variety of issues, including President Obama's $2.5 trillion healthcare bill. What Nebraskans will quickly learn is that not only does Mr. Kerrey support government-run healthcare, but that Kerrey is even more liberal than Ben Nelson on the issue because he supports the government-run public option. Even more remarkable is that Kerrrey once told a group of...

No matter what happens at the Iowa caucuses Tuesday, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said Monday she will not drop out of the race for president. During an appearance on MNSBC’s Morning Joe, Bachmann said her campaign has “already bought our plane tickets. We’re headed to South Carolina as soon as we’re done on Wednesday morning. We’ll be there. We’re going the distance.” Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Poll in August, but suffered a fall hard as the campaign season went on. The most recent Des Moines Register poll shows her in last place, with 7 percent. “This isn’t over,” she...

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is likely to finish in the top-tier of Republican presidential candidates in the Iowa Caucuses on Tuesday, January 3rd. In fact, Mr. Paul predicted a “first or second” place finish in the Iowa Caucuses on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt.” However, political commentators like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have predicted that Mr. Paul will do better if the weather is bad. “If the weather is bad and it’s real tough to get out, Ron Paul would win,” Mr. Huckabee said on Fox News’ “Fox Sunday with...

The former Michele Bachmann supporter who defected to the Ron Paul team this week said he was "never offered a nickel" by Paul's campaign, disputing the Minnesota congresswoman's claim that he was bought off. Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson, who was a Bachmann Iowa co-chairman before he resigned Wednesday and endorsed Paul, accused Bachmann of fabricating a story about a conversation they had before he bolted. Bachmann had said in a radio interview Thursday that Sorsenson told her he was offered "a lot of money" by Paul's people. "That's why he left," Bachmann claimed, repeating an allegation she made the...

Giant domain name registrar GoDaddy.com has pulled its support from the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act after owners of several websites announced they would take their business elsewhere. Negative feedback about SOPA from a number of customers forced GoDaddy to take a second look at the legislation, said Warren Adelman, Go Daddy's newly appointed CEO. Go Daddy has concerns about the free speech and Internet security implications of the legislation, but until now, has worked with lawmakers to address those issues, he said. "It's clear to us the bill's not ready in its current form," Adelman said Friday. "Looking at...

If you want to know what a Tea Party America might look like, there is no place like Kansas. In the past year, three state agencies have been abolished and 2,050 jobs have been cut. Funding for schools, social services and the arts have been slashed. The new Republican governor rejected a $31.5 million federal grant for a new health-insurance exchange because he opposes President Obama’s health-care law. And that’s just the small stuff. A new “Office of the Repealer” has been created to reduce the number of laws and regulations, and the Repealer is canvassing the state for more...

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler was arrested at an airport in New York City on Thursday after he attempted to check-in a locked gun box holding his Glock 27 pistol and ammunition to a Delta Air Lines ticket agent. According to authorities and his attorney, Meckler, 49, holds a concealed-carry permit for the Glock 27 pistol at home in California, but not in New York where he was attempting to board the plane. As a result, he was arrested and charged with a felony. “Before leaving home, passengers should acquaint themselves with the weapon laws of the jurisdiction that...

It’s becoming all too predictable.As soon as a GOP presidential candidate gains traction in Iowa, the bright lights hit him/her and they melt down like a cheap candle. The latest to follow the pattern is, of course, Newt Gingrich. Just 15 days ago, we measured Newt with a robust 30 percent. But everyone—including the merry elves at We Ask America—warned that Gingrich could soon travail down the Newt Chute due to the cyclical habits exhibited by GOP frontrunners and the former Speaker’s penchant for provocative barbs.Sure enough, Gingrich appears to be fading badly, but those who have dumped him seem...

Infamous accused killer Joran van der Sloot has yet to receive a visit from his own mother as he sits awaiting trial in a Peruvian prison, but an American stranger has made the 5,200-mile round trip to van der Sloot’s prison cell — three times. Not only that: 55-year-old Florida radiologist Mary Hamer has also helped foot van der Sloot’s legal bills; recorded a CD to raise money for his defense; sent him care packages, and written him missives that some might call love letters, but she insists are more spiritual in nature. “The more I know Joran, the more...

Without another Ann Selzer Iowa poll until the first of the year, the political class is now largely analyzing the caucuses through robo polls, internal campaign surveys and good old-fashioned anecdotal reporting.It's the first of these that gets the most attention - and sparks the most controversy.After the Democratic-aligned PPP - which has gotten some important races right -- posted their latest Iowa survey last night showing Ron Paul staking out a lead, the pushback quickly surfaced.At issue: whether PPP's sample is too heavy on Democrats and independents and is therefore skewing the results to make Paul seem stronger. (Any...

Officials from the policy-neutral National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Inc. have expressed concern to members of Congress that the two-month payroll tax holiday passed by the Senate and supported by President Obama cannot be implemented properly. Pete Isberg, president of the NPRC today wrote to the key leaders of the relevant committees of the House and Senate, telling them that “insufficient lead time” to implement the complicated change mandated by the legislation means the two-month payroll tax holiday “could create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees...” The NPRC ... represents organizations that provide...

Occupy Des Moines members said Monday that they have moved their protest from President Obama's campaign office to the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters. Protesters said they are "refusing to leave until Obama vetoes the National Defense Authorization Act and starts putting all the power of his office to bear on putting communities before corporations and people before profits." The Occupy movement had been camped outside the president's campaign office in Des Moines since Saturday. Occupiers said they want Obama to cut the U.S. military budget in half and "dismantle our U.S. military empire" to create jobs. Occupiers said they want...

Has Newt Gingrich lost momentum in polling for the Republican primary? Not in the latest CNN poll, although he may not have as much as Mitt Romney. According to their survey conducted from Friday to Sunday nationally, both GOP fronrunners have 28% of the respondents, leaving the rest of the field trailing badly. CNN reports this as Gingrich’s lead disappearing, which is true but a bit misleading: Newt Gingrich’s lead in the race for the GOP presidential nomination has evaporated, according to a new national survey. A CNN/ORC International Poll released Monday indicates that 28% of Republicans and independents who...