Free Republic

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday strongly defended his decision to have the state’s flags flown at half-staff for singer Whitney Houston. Christie had been criticized for ordering flags at state government buildings to be lowered on Saturday, the day that Houston’s funeral services would be held in Newark. His order was criticized both by those who thought that the honor should be reserved for recently deceased soldiers, first-responders and elected officials, and by those who thought it was wrong to honor an alleged drug addict. Christie said he didn’t believe that Houston’s history of substance abuse “forfeited the...

During the day long infomercial for Mitt Romney that is Fox News, I caught several appearances by Chris Wallace conducting damage control after the can of Whoop-ass Newt Gingrich opened upon him in last night’s GOP debate. His political pundit colleagues were helping to prop him up by agreeing that his now infamous question was perfectly legitimate. They are all contending that asking Gingrich what he “has to say to people who say” that his “campaign is a disaster” – was not a “gotcha question”. Wallace has a track record of insulting candidates he apparently dislikes by superficially framing his...

Perhaps Chris Matthews hasn’t had a showdown quite this good since his contentious 2004 Republican Convention interview with then Sen. Zell Miller. During that exchange, the Georgia Democrat challenged the MSNBC “Hardball” host to a duel. But on his Tuesday program, Illinois Republican Freshman Rep. Joe Walsh went head-to-head with Matthews about the debt-ceiling debate. That prompted several interesting exchanges between Walsh and Matthews, including one referencing his 2008 comment that President Barack Obama gave him a “thrill” up his leg: WALSH: Hey, Chris, what’s the president’s plan? Hey Chris, explain… MATTHEWS: That’s not the point. I pointed out that...

"The rule of law has basically been thrown out the window. Money printing is the order of the day. And when politicians take control of central banks, which they have done in the United States and they are also doing in Europe, that basically destroys the currency. It puts the currency on the road to what I call the Fiat Currency Graveyard, so I expect there are going to be massive currency problems as we go forward. The financial crisis that we have been dealing with for the last several years has not been solved." So cautions James Turk, widely-respected...

Chris Wallace is back again commenting on one of his interviews, but this time he is also apologizing. Earlier today he interviewed Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and rather bluntly asked her “are you a flake?” It’s a question that Wallace now admits he regrets. Wallace acknowledged that Bachmann seemed perturbed by the question and then addressed his viewers:

Chris Matthews was somewhat surprised with Al Gore’s harsh critique of President Obama in Rolling Stone regarding his inaction on climate policy. Instead Matthews argued that even if Obama has not been perfect, Gore should really be angry at the “corrupt media on the right” who refuse to believe in climate change, not because they are stupid, but because in Matthews’ opinion they are “evil.” Joan Walsh told Matthews she found Gore’s essay both inspiring and depressing. And even if Gore was critical of the media, Walsh comforted Matthews that Gore wasn’t talking

Chris Matthews credited the Dumbest Website on the Internet, smear-site Media Matters, with taking down Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck remains the third most-watched cable news/talk show with an audience more than double that of his direct competitors… including Chris Matthews.

New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie took another shot at his state's teachers today by describing their union leaders as "political thugs." In an interview with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, Christie offered no apology for his often tough talk that has left some teachers feeling bruised. He also talked about the presidential possibilities of both himself and his "friend" Donald Trump, and criticism by Jersey rock icon Bruce Springsteen. While sitting in the school library at Lincoln School in Kearney, N.J., Christie told Sawyer that it's essential for his state's education system to change and he blames the teachers union...

Chris Matthews asked his Sunday morning panel why Republicans derisively use the term “mainstream media” and whether 2012 presidential candidates could be successful if they avoided engaging with the media? Matthews heard varied responses, but ultimately thought that candidates might come out looking better after a “testy interview” rather than avoiding confrontation. The discussion revealed that criticism of the media is a result of some on the right believing the mainstream media are “lapdogs to the establishment.” Although Helene Cooper of The New York Times argued even if candidates try to avoid the major media publications,

Every weekday afternoon, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews imparts his over 30 years of Washington, D.C. wisdom on his viewers. And on Thursday afternoon, he offered them a doozy. In a segment about the possibility that Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann could win the 2012 nomination, Matthews wasn’t convinced the way the so-called boys’ club operates would allow that to happen. “Well, I think if the president’s down to 44 percent the way he is right now, they have to have that meeting — the white boys’ club or whatever they call those governors that meets somewhere in Birmingham. And don’t they,...

Here's an example of a former newspaper man correcting a politician's claim -- and his correction requiring a correction. Appearing on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Monday, MSNBC's Chris Matthews offered kneejerk condemnation of Mike Huckabee saying President Obama grew up in Kenya as "racist," an assertion Huckabee had acknowledged as inaccurate. Matthews piled on, making his own demonstrably false claim in the process (video after page break) -- LENO: OK, how about Huckabee? MATTHEWS: He gives a bad name to empty suits. LENO: What happened to Huckabee? He's talking, what's all this ...? MATTHEWS: Huckabee, he's one...

With civil unrest breaking out all over the Middle East and Africa sending oil and gas prices through the roof, one could make the case that Barack Obama more and more is looking like Jimmy Carter. On this weekend's "Chris Matthews Show," the liberal host made it seem that this is even on his mind as he made a rather telling slip of the tongue (video follows with transcript and commentary):

(If you need an embed code, message me.) In this video I uploaded to my Facebook and embedded on my blog, you see Sen. Dick Durbin confronted with the faux math that Democrats seem to be in love with.

President Obama will be re-elected in 2012 unless New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie runs for president, said conservative pundit Ann Coulter at the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday. “If we don’t run Chris Christie, Romney will be the nominee and we’ll lose,” Coulter said when asked about her predictions for the next presidential election (Snip) Coulter’s comments this year reveal a departure from the last election cycle, when she endorsed Romney in 2008, calling him “our strongest candidate.”

Her liberal guest even calls Matthews a bully

I had this video posted on my YouTube account, but it was yanked. So here is the Live-Leak version as well as the embed code via my FaceBook account (http://www.facebook.com/v/1572387866696) -- if it does not show up below (because of html), email me (my email can be found here: http://religiopoliticaltalk.com/bio-from-felon-to-seminary-grad/)

MIDDLETOWN — New Jersey cannot succeed unless it follows fiscal discipline and enacts education, health-care and pension reform, said Gov. Chris Christie to over 200 people who weathered Wednesday’s snowstorm to attend a “town hall-style” meeting in the township. Rather than nibble at smaller problems that will not solve New Jersey’s fiscal woes, Christie told the crowd at VFW Post 2179 that he believes it is important to find a solution to the high cost of benefits for public employees. “Other politicians made you promises they couldn’t keep,” Christie said. “I’m the guy who has to be here when the...

In 1995, Christie Whitman, a New Jersey governor who was a rising Republican Party star, delivered the GOP’s response to President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in front of a cheering crowd in the Assembly chamber. Once again, New Jersey has a rising Republican star in the Statehouse, and a Democratic president about to give a State of the Union address. But history won’t repeat itself this year — even though Republicans were interested in making that happen. William Palatucci, Gov. Chris Christie’s close personal and political confidante, told The Auditor that Republican leadership had inquired with the...

As NewsBusters previously reported, Chris Matthews on Tuesday blamed conservative talk radio hosts Mark Levin and Michael Savage for creating the climate of hate that led to Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona. On Wednesday, FBN's Don Imus and his sidekick Bernard McGuirk went after the "angry," "vile," "psycho," "spittle-spewing" MSNBCer (video follows with transcript and commentary): As NewsBusters previously reported, Chris Matthews on Tuesday blamed conservative talk radio hosts Mark Levin and Michael Savage

Do you get Rush Limbaugh? If not, why? Over 20 million listeners tune into to hear Rush Limbaugh espouse conservative views on topics from abortion to the war on terrorism. Limbaugh doesn’t have a giant ego, nor does he have a Svengali hold over more than 20 million people; rather, he is an educator of conservatism. Limbaugh’s impact of conservatism can be felt as far back as 1988, but it can be specifically felt when he was made an honorary member of the freshman class of the House of Representatives in 1994 at Camden Yards. In giving Rush Limbaugh an...