Free Republic

Last week Senator Robert Menendez (Democrat Santa Domingo) said the Gang of Ocho’s plan to erase our borders did not have the votes to pass in the Senate. While that technically could mean 59 votes, but if that was the case we would know about it. It’s more likely that there are at best 56 votes lined up, but that might be a generous interpretation of where it stands just a month from the Senate’s July 4th recess. Getting this bill passed is a top priority for the Democrats as it will lead to millions of new robotic voters who...

A hot microphone caught Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) coordinating which way members of the “Gang of Eight” who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee would vote on immigration bill amendments, Breitbart News has learned. “Do our Republicans have a pass on this one if they want?” the microphone caught Schumer saying.

A Texas company is set to release blueprints for making a plastic gun with a 3-D printer — a development Sen. Chuck Schumer called “stomach-churning” Sunday. Defense Distributed, a collective of gun access advocates headed by self-described “free-market anarchist” Cody Wilson, has announced it made such an untraceable gun with the new plastic-making technology. The nonprofit Texas group intends to post blueprints for “The Liberator” (pictured) online this week. The Liberator may look like a toy, but “this gun can fire regular bullets,” Schumer said, calling for legislation outlawing the technology’s weapons potential. “Security checkpoints, background checks and gun regulations...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has already admitted that the "affordable" in the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" is something of a misnomer, to say the least, and with all of the hidden costs and complexities the law's implementation is slowly but surely revealing, Democrats have every reason to be nervous. As Josh Kraushaar put it at NJ: While the debate over ObamaÂ’s health care law isnÂ’t a life-or-death battle, health care affects voter livelihood (and their voting decisions) like few other issues do. And there are clear signs that if premiums go up, businesses are forced...

Al-Assad Crosses the Red Line President Obama has made a memorable contribution to the annals of worthless diplomatic ultimatums with his infamous “red line” warning to Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons. It would be “totally unacceptable,” a “game-changer,” and bring “consequences.” He said all of this apparently believing he could scare Assad off using such weapons and giving nary a thought to what he would do if Assad defied his threats.

On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that including a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants in any comprehensive immigration bill would jeopardize the likelihood of the legislation passing. “I think if instead the bill includes elements that are deeply divisive--and I would note that I don’t think there is any issue in this entire debate that is more divisive than a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally--in my view, any bill that insists upon that jeopardizes the likelihood of passing any immigration reform bill,” Cruz said at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing, according to CNS News....

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he won’t let the terror attack in Boston—and concerns about the immigrants behind it—derail the immigration bill introduced last week by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and six other senators. “There are some—some on the hard right…who opposed our immigration bill from the get-go, and they’re using this as an excuse. We are not going to let them do that,” Schumer told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “If they have a reason, a suggestion as to how to change it based on what happened in Boston, we’ll certainly be open to...

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopts a resolution which stipulates that the U.S. will assist Israel in an attack against Iran. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted on Tuesday a resolution which stipulates that the U.S. will assist Israel if it is forced to take action against Iran. The resolution, Senate Resolution 65, was introduced last month by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and was co-sponsored by 15 Senators, including Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York)...

Politico reports that Marco Rubio is prepared “to go all in to support sweeping immigration legislation, offering himself up as the public face of the bill.” This isn’t much a surprise. In all likelihood, Rubio has been prepared to be the front-man in the push for amnesty and path for citizenship for illegal aliens from the get-go. His sponsorship of reprehensible efforts to demonize critics of amnesty have shown him to be every bit as much of a ruthless pro-amnesty ideologue as Chuck Schumer, for whom he is fronting.

A bipartisan group of senators has struck a deal to expand gun background checks to all commercial sales — whether at gun shows, via the Internet or in any circumstance involving paid advertising, according to Senate aides familiar with the talks. The proposed agreement would be more stringent than current law, which requires checks only when purchases are made through a licensed dealer, but less than originally sought by President Obama and congressional Democrats, who were seeking to expand background checks to nearly every kind of sale. The agreement should secure enough bipartisan support for the Senate to proceed to...

A little known pro-gun lobby that’s well to the right of the National Rifle Association has complicated efforts to reach a solution on gun control legislation, top Democrats have said in recent days. The Gun Owners of America has been around for decades, operating mostly in obscurity, dwarfed by the lobbying and fundraising prowess of the NRA. The group’s big gripe is that the NRA is too squishy and willing to compromise, and its recent efforts to scuttle gun control legislation appear to be scaring away Republicans amenable to background checks. The results have frustrated Democrats trying to strike a...

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel declined to sign a letter circulated by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2007 calling upon then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press Arab allies of the U.S. to recognize Israel’s right to exist “and not use such recognition as a bargaining chip for future Israeli concessions.” Seventy-nine Senators eventually signed the letter, which was sponsored by Schumer and by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Ted Cruz (R., Texas) has been a United States senator for only 34 days, but already he is making his mark on national politics. His conspicuous presence and aggressive tone have thrilled his conservative cheerleaders, while inducing fits of rage in liberal detractors and Joe Scarborough. In the past week alone, Cruz has tangled with veteran Democratic spin-master Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on Meet the Press, sent a tongue-in-cheek letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, introduced legislation to fully repeal Obamacare, and recorded “no” votes on major items, including Hurricane Sandy relief, raising the debt ceiling, filibuster reform, and...

In 1991, a man named George Hennard drove his truck through the front of a Luby's Cafateria in Killeen, Texas. It wasn't an accident. He hadn't lost control of his vehicle but instead was there to kill. After crashing into the restaurant, Hennard jumped out and started killing as many people as he could. Dr. Suzanna Gratia was there that day eating lunch with her parents. At the time, it was a felony in the state of Texas to carry a firearm inside a purse and Gratia left her gun in the car. Al Gratia, her father, attempted to rush...

The Center for American Progress is recommending 13 new gun policies to the White House — some of them executive actions that would not require the approval of Congress — in what amounts to the progressive community’s wish list. CAP’s recommendations, presented Friday to White House officials and detailed in an 11-page report obtained by The Washington Post, establish a benchmark for what many in Obama’s liberal base are urging him to do after last month’s massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. CAP’s proposals — which include requiring universal background checks, banning military-grade assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition...

New York’s Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tells NBC’s “Today” show he’s encouraged that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is getting “actively engaged” in talks to resolve the problem. … (Senator John Thune, R-SD) said the two sides are at a stalemate because “Democrats haven’t been willing to discuss the issue of spending.” …

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that extending long-term unemployment benefits would be the “best stimulus there is” for the economy, saying it would create the most jobs for the money. … Schumer and fellow Senate Democrats called for yet another extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed before the current benefit extension expires at the end of the year. …

WASHINGTON -- No other issue is paralyzing the U.S. economy more than the unsettled question of where taxes are headed in the years to come. That question, raised by a tidal wave of expiring tax cuts that will hit most of us on Jan. 1, is the chief cause of the uncertainty that has swept through our economy, stalling business expansion, capital investment and job creation. The issue is further complicated by Obamacare and a regulatory maze of mandates, tax increases, penalties and fees that will hit businesses and middle-class Americans alike. Why hire more workers when the feds could...

Democratic senators have offered an amendment to the cybersecurity bill that would limit the purchase of high capacity gun magazines for some consumers. Shortly after the Cybersecurity Act gained Senate approval to proceed to filing proposed amendments and a vote next week, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a sponsor of the gun control amendment, came to the floor to defend the idea of implementing some “reasonable” gun control measures. ... The amendment is identical to a separate bill sponsored by Lautenberg. Feinstein was the sponsor of the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.

During a debate on the Senate floor July 16, 2012, about the DISCLOSE Act, legislation that would circumvent and restrict the First Amendment,Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calls for 'limits on First Amendment rights'

Based on the most embarrassing moments and inexcusable scandals of the Obama Administration, these two "Top Ten Democrat Lists" should be pretty accurate. Take a look at them and express your opinions of accuracy. There is likely a few more that can be added to the lists,so please feel free to add if you feel some Democrats are missing. TOP TEN WORLDS DUMBEST DEMOCRATS: 1)Debbie Wasserman, 2)Maxine Waters, 3)Nancy Pelosi, 4)Elizabeth Warren, 5)Sheila Jackson, 6)Hank Johnson, 7)Chuck Schumer, 8)Barney Frank, 9)Frederica Wilson, 10)Dick Durbin Top Ten Most Hated Democrats: 1)Eric Holder, 2)Van Jones, 3)David Axelrod, 4)O'Bozo, 5)Harry Reid, 6)Baba Boxer,...

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts’ swing vote to uphold ‘Obamacare’ under Congress’s taxing powers has drawn praise from his usual critics. One top Democratic senator lauded Roberts’ “judicial independence” in saving President Obama’s signature law, but also argued that the Bush-appointed jurist broke his promise by narrowing the scope of the Commerce Clause. In his opinion, Roberts explained in detail why he believes his view is not inconsistent with precedent, siding with conservative architects of the legal challenge in the argument that Congress may not regulate inaction. “In my view it certainly merited upholding under the Commerce Clause,” said Sen....

On April 25th the Tennessee State Senate voted unanimously to allow federal and state law enforcement officials full access to the medical records of the citizens of Tennessee. According to SB 2407, “…state and federal law enforcement personnel authorized to have access under 53-10-306 shall be permitted to have real time electronic access to the database…” The statute continues by stating that access is permitted “without the necessity of obtaining a search warrant.” It is a law which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2012 as “the public welfare [requires] it.”(1) Outraged Tennessee residents who wrote and...

A top Democrat in the Senate took a rare direct shot at GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney on Tuesday, arguing that Romney's past support of health care reform means the issue is "off the table" during the fall elections. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the Democratic Conference vice chairman and former head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, blasted Romney during an outdoor press conference near the Supreme Court. The court is spending this week reviewing the constitutionality of the 2010 health care reform law that is President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement. Schumer said Romney's support of a...

Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on the Justice Department to investigate so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws following the fatal shooting of an unarmed Florida teen. The law, a version of which was enacted in Florida in 2005, allows for individuals to use deadly force -- even outside their home -- if they feel threatened. Since the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Republican leaders have called the killing a tragedy but argue that the law in question did not actually apply to this case. Still, Schumer wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday that the laws themselves...

Sen. Chuck Schumer says President Obama’s super PAC doesn’t need to give back the $1 million it got from comedian Bill Maher — even if he’s made crude comments about women. * * * “I mean, look, the bottom line is that Rush Limbaugh’s comments were just nasty and directed at a particular young woman who had a particular point of view and was expressing herself. Bill Maher is a comedian. It’s much different. Rush Limbaugh has tremendous weight in the Republican Party. No one will rebut him. Bill Maher’s a comedian who's on at 11 o’clock at night but...

Schumer Defends Maher Because He's 'On at 11:00 at Night' MAR 11, 2012 • BY DANIEL HALPERS ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked New York senator Chuck Schumer this morning whether Democrats should return Bill Maher's money. Schumer responded by saying "no," because "Bill Maher is a comedian who is on at 11:00 at night but has very little influence on what’s happening here." Maher, who recently pledged $1 million to President Obama's super PAC, is under fire for misogynistic comments directed toward Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann, after Democrats targeted Rush Limbaugh for his own unsavory remarks.

Schumer: Saudi Arabia's plan to increase oil supply will lower gas pricesBy Andrew Restuccia - 03/14/12 01:28 PM ET Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) applauded Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase oil output to make up for potential losses from Iran, arguing the move will lower gas prices. “I was pleased that Saudi Arabia declared that it would fill any oil gap as a result of an Iranian embargo,” Schumer said Wednesday during a speech on the Senate floor, adding that the move is the best short-term solution for lowering gas prices. Reuters reported Wednesday that Saudi Arabia, the only OPEC producer...

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday dismissed calls for a pro-President Barack Obama super PAC to return comedian Bill Maher’s $1 million donation following accusations of sexism over comments he’s made about 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and other women. The issue has received particular attention in the wake of a video from a pro-conservative women group calling out the “double standard” in the way Maher and Rush Limbaugh’s “slut” comment have been treated. Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether Maher’s money should be returned, Schumer said no. “The bottom line is that Rush Limbaugh’s comments were just nasty...

Sen. Schumer tells Clinton to pressure Saudi Arabia to pump more oilBy Ben Geman - 02/26/12 11:59 AM ET Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s dominant oil producer, to boost output as rising prices are hitting consumers at the gasoline pump. A letter to Clinton on Sunday from Schumer, a top political strategist for Senate Democrats, comes as Democrats are trying to blunt constant GOP attacks over soaring gasoline prices. “These skyrocketing fuel prices are directly linked to the global energy market, particularly Iran’s recent efforts to manipulate oil prices...

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s dominant oil producer, to boost output as rising prices are hitting consumers at the gasoline pump. A letter to Clinton on Sunday from Schumer, a top political strategist for Senate Democrats, comes as Democrats are trying to blunt constant GOP attacks over soaring gasoline prices. “These skyrocketing fuel prices are directly linked to the global energy market, particularly Iran’s recent efforts to manipulate oil prices and the worry of impacts on supply from an escalation of regional hostilities,” Schumer writes.

As the oil executives hearings on Capitol Hill received great media attention given soaring gasoline prices, supposedly impartial press members missed a classic gaffe by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as it pertains to the benefits of OPEC raising production quotas versus America drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On Wednesday, Schumer once again claimed "if [Saudi Arabia] did a million barrels of oil a day increase from today, it would go down about -- the translation to gasoline would be about $.50 a gallon, maybe $.62." Yet, on May 7, Schumer felt a likely similar increase from drilling in...

As our intrepid president prepares to lecture Congressional Republicans for rudely refusing to sign on to every last element of his astonishingly irresponsible tax-and-spend agenda, Senate Democrats can rest assured that Obama will spare them the humiliation of mentioning today's truly pathetic anniversary.  Yes, January 24, 2012, marks the one-thousandth day since the United States Senate -- controlled by Democrats since 2007 -- last introduced a budget.  Harry Reid's crew evidently couldn't care less that passing annual fiscal blueprints is a statutory requirement.  To explain away their intentional negligence, Democrats have attempted to (surprise!) blame Republicans for obstructing the process. ...

Have you got $500,000 (£312,000) to spare and hail from anywhere but America? If so, one Charles Schumer of New York wants you to get in touch. That half a million dollars, according to Schumer, one of New York's two Democratic Senators, could be part of the answer to the country's housing crash. Schumer and Mike Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah, are trying to drum up support for legislation that will entice foreigners to invest €359,000, C$508,000, 78m yen or 3.1m yuan in US residential real estate. And the sweetener: a visa to live here as long as you...

What Changed Since November 2010? October 13, 2011 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: My question to you, after all of this, somebody tell me: What has changed from November of 2010 regarding the Tea Party? What's changed?Chuck Schumer running around, (imitating Schumer) "We beat 'em back. Hell, we can't even find 'em, they don't show up anywhere anymore. Tea Party? They're not professionals, they're just average citizens. They don't even like government. They don't like politics."They were fed up for a while, but as far as the Democrats are convinced you Tea Party are out of energy, you've had your say,...

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is getting the last laugh over President Obama on tax policy. Schumer and Obama’s senior advisers argued over tax strategy at several meetings last year before the president went his own way, striking a deal with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to extend virtually all of the Bush-era tax rates through the end of 2012.

As Allahpundit wrote of last night's Senate vote to block the president's jobs bill, the outcome was just about as perfect as it could have been for the president, whose jobs package, loaded as it was with tax hikes Republicans were bound to reject out of hand, wasn't designed to pass in the first place. The vote last night provides the basis for Democrats to blame Republican obstructionism for the next 13 months of a slow-to-no recovery, and blame ‘em they will. But they won’t just blame “Generic Republicans.� As the Senate now lays its plans to vote piece by...

Senate Republicans vow they will retaliate for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision to unilaterally change the Senate’s rules Thursday without prior warning or negotiation. Republican aides say their bosses will now be even more reluctant to allow the Senate to conduct routine business by unanimous consent, forcing Reid to gather 60 votes for even the most mundane matters. “Reid fired a major salvo and it’s hard to imagine a return shot won’t be fired. Maybe over the weekend they’ll come up with something and try to make it less worse than it already is,” said a Senate...

Schumer Has A PlanSenator Chuck Schumer, Democrat, N.Y. thinks the president's plan to raise the taxes on households making more than $250,000 may require a special dispensation for New Yorkers. After President Obama unveiled his totally new plan for the new plan for deficit-reduction that Americans hear about every other month, the plan that raises taxes on households that have an income of over $250,000, he flew to New York for a fundraising event (tickets were priced at $36,000). A reporter, Marcia Kramer asked lawmakers from the New York region what they thought of President Obama's tax plans. Most of...

Earlier today, Ed Morrissey pointed out what could have been a record breaking attempt at spinning a loss in New York’s 9th congressional district by DNC chair Debby Wasserman Schultz. It was an heroic effort, I’ll admit, and one for the ages. But never to be outdone, former holder of the 9th district seat and current Empire State Senator Chuck Schumer may have managed to top her. Why did the Democrats lose this race in a part of town where they hold a 3-1 registration advantage? Well, at least in part, because the district has just become too darned Jewish.

The New York legislature has voted to impose same-sex "marriage" in New York State. But did you know that the U.S. Senate is now preparing to make that imposition permanent? True, there is no bill to accomplish this goal. Instead, the imposition will be by future court order. And the instrument chosen by Sen. Charles Schumer to do the deed is J. Paul Oetken, nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A vote to confirm this nominee is in effect a vote to subject New York by force of judicial fiat to the homosexual...

Last week it was a theory being kicked around on left-wing websites, today it’s evidently the nuclear option in the White House’s arsenal of debt-ceiling weapons. Go figure.Congress has raised the debt ceiling no fewer than 74 times in the past 50 years, but now, conveniently, it turns out the president’s inherent power under the Fourteenth Amendment may mean it was up to him all along. Again, go figure. On a conference call with reporters Friday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) acknowledged that President Obama may not need Congressional authorization to avoid a default on the national debt. But he noted,...

The 18 Senators Who Approve Breaking The Internet To Protect Hollywood from the not-cool dept Last fall, we noted that the Senate Judiciary Committee had unanimously voted to approve COICA, a bill for censoring the internet as a favor to the entertainment industry. Thankfully, Senator Ron Wyden stepped up and blocked COICA from progressing. This year, COICA has been replaced by the PROTECT IP Act, which fixes some of the problems of COICA, but introduces significant other problems as well. A wide cross section of people who actually understand technology and innovation have come out against PROTECT IP as written...

This, introduced by Chuck Schumer on 30 March 2011, looks like a very, very bad idea, from the perspective of anyone who wants government to be smaller and less intrusive – and wants the executive to be policed better by the legislative branch. President Obama and his czars are the obvious counterargument to this bill. They make a powerful one. More than 200 appointed positions would be excused from the advise-and-consent requirement by S. 679. ... The Senate may be naïve enough to think presidents “should” simply be trusted to appoint honest brokers to these positions. With the Obama administration’s...

Washington, D.C. -- The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to exempt dairy farmers from provisions of the Clean Water Act, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. The Clean Water Act since 1970 required dairy farmers to develop and implement plans on how to handle a milk spill -- the same sort of plan as oil companies had to develop for handling oil spills. Schumer said the EPA claimed that since milk contained animal fat -- which is an oil -- the milk spills had to be treated the same way. Schumer said he has fought this regulation because...

A quartet of Democratic senators expressed out -rage Tuesday at the thought that Americans might object to being stopped and interrogated while going about their daily business. The hard-left solons - Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, Harry Reid of Nevada, Charles E. Schumer of New York and Tom Udall of New Mexico - are pressuring technology companies to censor a popular software feature available for Android phones, Blackberries and iPhones that enables drivers to avoid a warrantless search by police during their drive home. @-Text.normal:It wasn’t so long ago that “Papers, please” checkpoints could only be found in Eastern...

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., is the lead player in a legislative effort, already endorsed by a handful of other senators, that would spend $60 million to develop a program that would charge consumers for the costs of installing drunk-driving interlock devices in vehicles. The proposal, S.510, was introduced this week in the U.S. Senate by Udall, who was joined by Sens. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Al Franken, D-Minn., Amy Klobuchar D-Minn., West John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. The legislation actually doesn't call for the technology to be installed in...

Countrywide’s VIP program is the first subpoena target for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), said a committee aide. The “Friends of Angelo” program, named for former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, has been under committee investigation since 2008 for allegedly granting generous mortgage deals to influential government officials, lawmakers and employees at Fannie Mae. “Countrywide orchestrated a deliberate and calculated effort to use relationships with people in high places in order to manipulate public policy and further their bottom line to the detriment of the American taxpayers even at the expense of its own lending standards,”...

To cleanse the palate, via WaPo and Vimeo poster “PAPSFIRST,” an historic near-encounter captured live as it happened this morning at Reagan National Airport. In one corner: An obnoxious camera whore who represents everything that’s wrong with America. In the other corner: Snooki. Which one of them is capable of naming all three branches of government? Trick question, my friends — probably neither is. Schumer shouldn’t take this personally, really. Turns out she’s into Republicans.