Free Republic

Yesterday, I was pretty excited about today’s scheduled House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, “EPA Priorities and Practices,” at which the former EPA regional administrator Al Armendariz was supposed to appear to explain his unique philosophy of enforcement. But then, all of my hopes were dashed — dashed! — when Energy & Commerce made this announcement late last night: WASHINGTON, DC – With less than 24 hours until he was scheduled to testify in front of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, former Regional Administrator for EPA Region 6 Al Armendariz has notified the committee that he will not appear at...

This is exactly what the Republicans should do in the House and Senate, leave DC and hold a news conference announcing how they refuse to allow an illegal use of the Senate rules to ram through this health care bill. Texas Democrats Flee to Neighboring State to Avoid Redistricting Vote - 2003-05-15 Washington 15 May 2003 Democratic state legislators in Texas adopted an unusual strategy this week in a political battle with Republicans; they fled the state to neighboring Oklahoma. On Monday, the Republican-led Texas state legislature was preparing to convene when it suddenly became apparent that virtually all the...

Senator Ben Nelson and his friends (of the leftist MSM) have discovered that the senator from Nebraska may have committed political suicide by voting for ObamaCare. Yahoo! News reports that, according to pollster Scott Rasmussen, Nelson would only receive 30% of the votes if elections were held today, while his (unnamed) Republican competitor could count on 61%. That’s a massive gap of 31%. It goes to show just how unpopular ObamaCare is. Nelson’s health care vote is clearly dragging his numbers down. Just 17% of Nebraska voters approve of the deal their senator made on Medicaid in exchange for his...

In the decades after Watergate, Washington figures in legal or political hot water heard some familiar words of wisdom: The coverup is almost always worse than the crime. Never hunker down. Above all, never lie. Lately, though, the evidence is mounting that this tried-and-true advice may no longer be true. Recent evidence suggests that hunkering down can sometimes work just fine, in a political and news media environment that has changed significantly in recent years. Examples include legal controversies involving prominent Democrats as well as the Bush White House. Even people who got caught in falsehoods have resolved their cases...

WASHINGTON -- MoveOn.org, the left-wing activist group leading the fight against Rep. Tom DeLay, has claimed there is a Republican clamor to replace him as House majority leader that does not actually exist. "Now," said an e-mail dispatched by MoveOn, "some Republicans in Congress are speaking out against DeLay." In fact, however, no Republican in Congress has criticized DeLay publicly, not even on an off-the-record basis. The e-mail also declares unequivocally that "DeLay illegally used corporate funds in support of his plan to redistrict Texas." Actually, DeLay has not been convicted, tried or even formally accused of breaking the law.

AUSTIN - Travis County prosecutors Thursday dropped a felony indictment accusing a California corporation of making illegal campaign contributions in 2002 in exchange for the company agreeing to testify against other defendants in the investigation of Texans for a Republican Majority. The agreement ends the prosecution of Diversified Collection Services Inc., a company that specializes in assisting federal and state government agencies in recovery of delinquent and defaulted debt. The company gave $50,000 in corporate cash to Texans for a Republican Majority, a political action committee, in 2002 to help the GOP take control of the Texas House. Corporate contributions...

Who Is The 'Racist' Texas Senator? Wentworth? Ratliff? Who? Who? Who? The Snitch Has The Answer! "If you're going to act like a Mexican, we're going to treat you like a Mexican." SA's Leticia Van de Putte has finally identified the racist rat in the Texas Senate who coined that phrase. She did so inadvertently. We will explain, and name the name, but first... * * * The quote above, attributed to a "republican" and cited by State Senator Van de Putte last year, sparked nation-wide outrage and fueled racial hatred and division in Texas. She said it was uttered...

Texas is not a state accustomed to being treated small. As everyone knows -- and Texans are happy to boast -- it is a sprawling mass, a culture unto itself, a place fond of recalling its days as a wholly independent republic. So it is with hard-to-swallow humility that Texas Democrats visiting Boston for the Democratic National Convention find themselves the only delegation assigned to the Hilton Boston Logan Airport, overlooking the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension. The Texans are struggling to land well-known breakfast speakers, settling so far for a lame-duck Texas congressman. Their convention seating, a level above the floor...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Texas Democrat who is losing his House seat because of redistricting engineered by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is filing ethics complaints against the Republican leader. Rep. Chris Bell is charging that DeLay, R-Texas, provided legislative favors to a company that made campaign contributions to DeLay and other Republicans, laundered other corporate donations to illegally help Texas GOP candidates and improperly used his office in asking the Federal Aviation Administration to track down a private plane used by Texas Democrats. "The charges are very serious and well documented," said Bell's spokesman, Eric Burns. DeLay's press secretary,...

DEMOCRATS TAKE FIRST STEPS TO SUPREME COURT As expected, district court rejects request for stay The wheels are in motion on the Democrats’ appeal to a federal three-judge panel’s decision that the Texas Congressional map is both lawful and Constitutional. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied all relief requested by the plaintiffs on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning, the Jackson plaintiffs and the Congressional intervenors had filed a request for emergency stay with the District Court, the first step on the way to the nation’s highest court. This morning, the District Court made the expected...

Texas GOP split on Hutchison, Perry Poll on hypothetical matchups has two officials neck and neck09:27 PM CST on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – If voters went to the polls today, Gov. Rick Perry would face a tough task winning re-election against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, according to the latest Texas Poll. Texas Republicans are evenly divided when asked whether they would give the governor another term or replace him with Ms. Hutchison, the survey said. According to the poll, 45 percent of registered Republicans favor Ms. Hutchison and 41...

AUSTIN -- Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick overstepped his authority by dispatching state troopers to search for Democratic state representatives who bolted in May to kill a redistricting bill, a state district judge ruled Thursday. State District Judge Charles Campbell ruled that a state government code defining the role and limits of Texas Department of Public Safety officers superseded a House rule employed by Craddick to hunt down the legislators. More than 50 Democratic representatives fled the Capitol May 12. Craddick, citing House rules, ordered the DPS to try to find the missing legislators. Most of them soon turned up...

<p>The Houston Area Texans Chapter of the Free Republic Network will hold what may be our FReep of the Year.</p> <p>The Harris County Democratic Party is throwing a welcome home rally for the Texas Democrats that trashed the Constitution and screwed Texans out of their deserved representation.</p> <p>We MUST let these Democrats know that Texans DO NOT support their perfidious activity.</p>