Free Republic

The only encouragement I can give is that Dennis Kucinich is on his way out. His district has been redrawn and he’s been forced into a primary with popular Toledo liberal Marcy Kaptur. If he manages to win the primary, he will face...Joe the Plumber in the general election. What could be more fun than that?

The only encouragement I can give is that Dennis Kucinich is on his way out. His district has been redrawn and he’s been forced into a primary with popular Toledo liberal Marcy Kaptur. If he manages to win the primary, he will face...Joe the Plumber in the general election. What could be more fun than that?

I shopped at the thrift store. True story.

It's fascinating to read the comments below this article. People seem to think that her congressional seat should forevermore be a shrine to Giffords and by virtue of her shooting, she has a perpetual right to that seat. That it would be cruel to remove her. Of course, anyone who calls for a recall election is going to be characterized as the latest reincarnation of Hitler, but Scracic makes some good points and he's right to call for her to do the honorable thing and resign.

In the case of Giffords and Arizona, the state of Arizona has a law where if a member of congress is incapacitated for more than three months, they will be removed and a new election held. Giffords has been in violation of this law for a while now, and unfortunately, anyone who brings it up would likely be condemned.

Where's that wingnut Tucson sheriff when you need him? Sounds like a perfect cause for him.

So Gabby is planning to run for re-election? And people would actually vote for her, knowing she’s physically unable to fulfill the duties of her office? What is wrong with these people?

Not to be mean, but why do we even let these people who are incapacitated take up space in Congress (Gabby, Ted Kennedy, Byrd, Strom Thurmond, et al)? While one part of me is glad the Dems are missing a vote in the House, another part of me is irritated that they’re on the payroll, racking up pension benefits and taking up space while not fulfilling the duties of the office.

First, I think the libertine liberals of today would not recognize the liberals of the Revolution.

While watching Paul/Johnson in the debate, I couldn’t help but think about the similarities to the “fake”Tea Party candidates that ran on GOP ballots last year. The point wasn’t get get their candidate elected, but to siphon votes away from from legitimate GOP candidates.

Paul and Johnson, and yes, even Trump will have the same effect with their already-doomed campaigns. Trump especially could do irreparable harm to a legitimate candidate if he seriously got into this race. He could spend millions on opposition research on the other GOP candidates and when he loses the nomination, we’ll be left with the only candidate who hasn’t cheated on his wife (in the last week). Let’s hope that guy isn’t Gary Johnson!

FWIW, the GOP does have a rather detailed platform that outlines what the party stands for and hopes to accomplish. Maybe someone should vet these guys before they are allowed to participate in the debates. They’ve got to agree with (and agree to defend and promote... say...90% of the policies or they’re out of the debate.

Leadership Institute’s Morton Blackwell did something similar in 2008 for GOP Chair election. He sent out lengthy questionnaires to all the candidates for the position including questions about whether or not they agreed with the GOP platform, how they would raise money, how they would win the Reagan Democrats back, and how big of a tent the GOP should be. 37 questions in all http://bit.ly/kjWBLp

How much better would this primary season be if we could just start with something like this? Get them to commit early instead of wasting everyone’s time and money with endless evasive sound bites and a dozens of “debates” that are not actually debates.

"I called BS on FOX and Shannon for saying Ron Paul was the father of the TEA party.. That would Be rick Santelli as far as I’m concerned."

AGREE! That was lame.

Oh, and Ron Paul....if it’s anything like CPAC, he packed the audience with his college-age libertarian groupies, lining them up with free tickets. Romney did the same thing. It’s how straw polls are won.

Herman Cain said he didn’t know what he would do about Iraq and Afghanistan. He’d decide once he became president and had more information. In one sense, it’s a safe answer, but it doesn’t make me feel confident him as a candidate. I’m not going to vote for someone who won’t give an answer on this question.

Santorum was the clear winner. He was consistent in his answers, didn’t come across as a flip-flopper (as Pawlenty did several times), and showed that he was not afraid to go after Obama head-on. He also showed some class, following Reagan’s 11th commandment in not taking the bait and going after Gingrich’s personal failures.

His closing statement was the strongest. His comment that he has taken on his own party (including Bush) will resonate with voters.

"After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, he organized jihadi tourism: helping young, idealistic Arab fighters who wanted to spend some time fighting the invaders. He was not a fighter himself, more of a courier and organizer, though after he survived one Soviet bombardment, he began to fashion a self-glorifying mythology."

So he was a community organizer? Did Brooks accidentally get two columns mixed up in his IBM Selectric typewriter? We can bet this psychobabble nonsense will end up in textbooks across the country within a few years.

I have a son at Hillsdale College. He was able to earn a half-tuition scholarship, but still, he’ll owe (the school) about 30K in student loans by the time he graduates. To us, that seems like a HUGE amount, but compared to the 100K+ stories others report, it’s not completely out of line. He’s getting an amazing education there, one that I’m convinced he could not receive anywhere else in the country.

To keep the costs down he is working over the summer and during the school year, contributing about $4K of his own money a year. While at school, he lives on $30.00 spending money a week, which includes gas(!), snacks, entertainment, toiletries, meds, etc. . It’s not always easy when he’s surrounded by kids who come from very well-off families but he’s enlightening them about the virtues of thrift stores
:)

If he didn’t have that scholarship, he would not be there, plain and simple. He would be at a local university and living at home at $9K/year.

We have a younger son who has learning issues and doesn’t test well (and doesn’t especially like to study, either). Unless something changes, he will not be going to a residential private school. We just will not allow him to get into that kind of debt. Just imagine being 100K in debt and then marrying someone with 100K in debt!! That is a recipe for endless financial ruin.

For those who have kids still in high school (or even younger), I urge you to encourage your kids to earn college credit by participating in AP, CLEP, or dual-credit classes at your local college. It can save a boatload of money. My son had 28 credits and was classified as a sophomore when he entered Hillsdale because spent his senior year at the university, earning both high school and college credit, all paid for by the state. His friend did this for three full years! What a great deal!

If your school doesn’t offer this or you homeschool, you can still earn college credit by taking CLEP tests. www.collegeplus.org is a service that offers to walk you through the process (though a family can certainly do this on their own).

OK, ya’ll - send those thrills right back down your legs! Did you even listen to the actual words he was saying or were you so dazzled by his bravado that you forgot to actually listen?

First, he said he’s not going to touch Medicare.

Then he said this:

“We go to Iraq. We spend $1.5 trillion. Our senior citizens are dying all over the place. They don’t have any money.”

Straight out of the DNC play book. I think this reveals a whole lot about his his political philosophy.

When asked what it meant to be a conservative, he basically said he’s very, very, very conservative and changed the subject. When asked about his political contributions to liberals, he said it was because he lives in Demo-land - What? Is he supposed to give money to some Republican who’s going to get 1% of the vote? He went on to say that Chuck Schumer is is good friend, demonstrating that he can work with and negotiate with anyone.

As Mark Levin said tonight, “I don’t have time for this crap shoot.”

An endorsement by Ms. McCain will do nothing to convince conservatives that Romney shares their values. But maybe he’ll be able to rouse some of the unwashed, 20-something celebrity stalkers, who are notorious non-voters.

An endorsement by Ms. McCain will do nothing to convince conservatives that Romney shares their values. But maybe he’ll be able to rouse some of the unwashed, 20-something celebrity stalkers, who are notorious non-voters.

“He said that without them, thousands of people wouldn’t exist. What a numbskull.”

Isn’t area 51 out there somewhere? Maybe that’s what Harry meant.He and Dennis Kucinich have some top secret alien exchange program with forced cowboy poetry recitations.

For those struggling with this issue, I highly recommend “Why We Love the Church” by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck:

“Why We Love the Church presents the case for loving the local church. It paints a picture of the local church in all its biblical and real life guts, gaffes, and glory in an effort to edify local congregations and entice the disaffected back to the fold. It also provides a solid biblical mandate to love and be part of the body of Christ and counteract the “leave church” books that trumpet rebellion and individual felt needs.

Why We Love the Church is written for four kinds of people - the Committed, the Disgruntled, the Waffling & the Disconnected.”
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Love-Church-Institutions-Organized/dp/0802458378

Answer: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Question: What happens when the Founding Fathers listen to this speech and simultaneously roll over in their graves.

Issue dilling permits immediately and lower or eliminate gas taxes, at least temporarily. It’s not rocket science. Note the word “strategic” in the phrase “strategic oil reserves.” It’s there for a reason - so we can use our oil reserves as a tactical negotiating tool in the event our oil providers decide to cut off our oil supply. If we deplete the supply, it will either stay depleted or we’ll have to replenish it at (most likely) astronomical prices. That could be disastrous.

West was nothing short of inspiring tonight. I’d never heard him speak before and wasn’t expecting much after the (mostly) mindlessly boring talking points speeches throughout the weekend. West sounded like Reagan and hit all the conservative notes - fiscal, social and defense. My son was there and said the room was electrified. He said it was like a SOTU - up down, up down, up down - the whole speech.

From the twitter feed after the speech...

“Every night, Chuck Norris checks under his bed to make sure Allen West isn’t there “

“Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer wear Allen West underoos”

You got that right! This guy means business!