Free Republic

At one end of the majority leader's office, Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), the antiabortion senator whose support was crucial to health-care legislation, huddled with White House staff in a conference room. At the other end, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chamber's leading advocates of abortion rights, hunkered as far from Nelson as possible, in the office of Reid's chief of staff. Shuttling between the two parties Friday afternoon and evening were Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). Desperately trying to find a compromise, Schumer put his head in his hands early...

You can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats the people who bring him coffee and little bags of pretzels, and make sure his belongings are stowed securely in the overhead bin. So when an important man, a U.S. senator, actually -- busy, busy, busy -- flouts federal regs by refusing to turn off his cellphone so the plane can pull away from the gate (oh, and to heck with his fellow passengers, who in their humble way also had lives to get on with while they instead tapped their toes and he kept on yakking),...

New York Senator Chuck Schumer was reportedly waiting to take off on a flight from D.C. to New York Sunday when a flight attendant told him to turn his phone off. According to the Republican aide who was apparently sitting nearby and told the story to Politico, both Schumer and his seatmate – fellow New York Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand – kept talking on their phones regardless. Then the flight attendant came by again and told Schumer that everyone on the flight was waiting for him to turn off his phone. He asked to finish his conversation but was told...

I have been sitting on this for all day, trying to figure out a nice way to say this but I can't find one. Chuck Schumer is an embarrassment. I am embarrassed that he is my senator, I am embarrassed that he is a public American Figure, I am embarrassed that he is a public Jewish figure...every time I see him on TV and he starts to open his mouth I cringe. The man does not care about the United States he is 100% partisan. If Elijah the Prophet showed up to announce the coming of the Messiah today (Please...

How good is Sen. Max Baucus's health reform bill? So good that Democrats have made sure some of the most costly provisions don't apply to their own states. The Senate Finance Committee is gearing up for a final vote next week, and Chairman Baucus now appears to have the Democratic votes to pass his bill. Getting this far has of course meant cutting deals, and those deals, it turns out, are illuminating. The senators are all for imposing "reform" on the nation, so long as it doesn't disadvantage their constituents.

The latest count shows ACORN under investigation in 20 states, its employees were charged with more than 50 counts of “election-related fraud,” and that ACORN has spent more than $1 million on restitution to avoid criminal prosecutions (although the Louisiana AG says that number is closer to $5 million).The is more than enough evidence to show that ACORN is corrupt throughout its vast organization and in so many ways. For weeks these pages have been calling for a special prosecutor.We cannot rely on the the politically appointed Democratic Party-led justice department to run an investigation, especially when you consider the...

Wall Street has showered nearly $11 million on the Senate since the beginning of the year, and more than 15 percent of it has gone to a single senator: Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer’s $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator's — and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator.

A fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats who was charged last week with defrauding Citigroup also defrauded other banks, U.S. prosecutors said. The allegations against fund-raiser Hassan Nemazee—arrested last week on a bank fraud charge and released on $25 million bail—were not formal charges but were in a letter dated Tuesday from prosecutors to a Manhattan federal court magistrate judge handling the case. Nemazee, 59, head of a private equity firm, was accused on Aug. 25 of one count of bank fraud for seeking a fraudulent $74 million loan from Citigroup's banking unit. He said after his...

Earlier today, I noted that New Hampshire’s media had taken notice that their Congressional delegation had gone missing during the August recess, rather than hold town-hall meetings to face their constituents about the health-care reform package. I joked that they had put Paul Hodes, Carol Shea-Porter, and Jean Shaheen on milk cartons, a reference to the admirable effort of milk producers to help find missing children. Green Room contributor Patrick Ishmael at AIP’s blog noted that Missourians needed to put a picture of Ike Skelton on a few milk cartons, too: The approach of Missouri represenatives to dealing with the...

How do you outgun the NRA? Very, very carefully. Mark Pryor knows all about that. The Democratic senator from pro-gun Arkansas was nowhere to be seen on the Senate floor during Wednesday's showdown over a proposal, championed by the National Rifle Association, that would have gutted state gun-control laws across the nation. Toward the end of the vote, Pryor entered the chamber through the back door, took a few steps inside, flashed a thumbs-down to the clerk, and retreated as fast and furtively as somebody dodging gunfire. Several minutes later, the Democrats had racked up more than enough votes to...

On June 24, Sen. Charles Schumer gave a remarkable speech on immigration. Preparing the way for the Obama administration's expected push for comprehensive reform, Schumer seemed to adopt a newer, tougher-sounding tone as he promised that a bill would be passed during "this Congress."

Sen. Chuck Schumer called Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a "moderate" and added President Obama did not choose a "far-out liberal." Schumer said it would be hard for a member of either party to oppose her confirmation and warned Republicans to oppose her at their peril.

Chuck Schumer said that the number of people captured between Oct. 1, 2008 and May 15 this year was down 27 percent from the same period the previous year. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer cited reports from the Customs and Border Protection officials saying that most of the decrease has been in the number of people taken into custody as they tried to illegally enter the U.S. along the border with Mexico. The New York senator said the lower demand for labor in the U.S. and stepped-up border enforcement measures are behind the decrease."The border is far more secure than it's...

What? Traditional values, strong foreign policy, ALL THAT IS OVER?

Schumer also says this in the clip: "I think President Obama has a pretty smart strategy. He is going to talk bipartisanship to the American people. But realizes until the Republican grassroots pushes their people over, if that ever happens, we are not going get change in the House or Senate." So let me get this straight. Obama will "talk bipartisanship" but "change" won't happen until Republicans agree with Democrats. That's bipartisanship? Exit Question: Does Obama's "strategy" of talk apply to world leaders who disagree with him?

<p>A top bank regulator has been placed on leave pending a Treasury Department investigation into regulators' approval of backdated cash infusions for troubled thrifts.</p> <p>The Office of Thrift Supervision said Thursday its acting director, Scott Polakoff, was placed on leave. He is being replaced by OTS Chief Counsel John Bowman.</p>

Sen. Charles Schumer has come out in support of gay marriage a reversal of his earlier stance. "It's time," said Schumer in an e-mailed statement to The Post yesterday. "Equality is something that has always been a hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it." Schumer, a longtime supporter of civil unions but not gay marriage, revealed his change in positions at a dinner event over the weekend with gay activists. The Empire State Pride Agenda, one of the gay-rights groups present at the event,

And let me say this to aaaall of the chattering class that focuses on those little, tiny—yes, porky—amendments. The American peope really don’t care.That, my friends, is the sound of elitism. That is the sound of the drunkenness of government power. That is the sound of the detestable smarmy Chucky Schmucky Schumer of NY telling us what he thinks of the American people. In 10 seconds, Chuck Schumer illustrated what your government thinks of you. You are either the “chattering class,” merely a bunch of insignificant rabble-rousers. You are simply nuisances, like flies annoyingly buzzing around his nose. Or you’re...

"And let me say this to all of the chattering class that so much focuses on those little, tiny ... yes, porky amendments. The American people really don't care." - Chucky Schumer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEfICUoWKBw How long can we freedom-loving, God-fearing, rational-based people allow this arrogance to continue? Our country was founded on "We the People" with limitations on government. Now, the government is limiting "the people" out is completely out of control. When in the course of human events ...

New York Senator Charles Schumer proposed handing $15,000 of Joe the Plumber's money to every person who buys a home. It is possible that someone has come up with a more foolish idea, but no one had yet been able to find one that makes less sense. In addition to the fact that taxing non-home buyers to hand a really big check to home buyers (as opposed poor children, unemployed workers, or people needed health care) is a questionable redistribution of income (spreading the wealth around), this proposal is incredibly easy to game. I'm going to buy my brother's house...

“Republicans won’t have the luxury they did in the House of voting no and still letting it pass,” Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) said about the economic stimulus package set to hit the Senate floor this week on “Face the Nation.” “This will pass with Republican votes because it is a good package and we will make some changes around the edges,” Schumer said. On those “changes,” Schumer said there are “little things” that will come out of the final package because Republicans can make amendments on the floor. “This is serious, serious stuff,” he asserted and said he hopes Senate...

Next time you’re in a jam, you might want to consider a lawyer other than Chuck Schumer. His 1600 SAT score and Harvard Law degree notwithstanding, the best defense the senior senator from New York could come up with on behalf of Treasury Secretary nominee Tim Geithner was much of a left-handed, damning with faint praise, compliment. It amounted to saying: hey, compared to some of the crooks on Wall Street, Geithner’s not bad! As per Gail Collins’s NYT column this morning: In the Senate, Schumer argues that Geithner’s errors “pale before the myriad mistakes made by the operators of...

A private equity company led by former Goldman Sachs executives is the likely buyer of IndyMac Bank, according to a report published Friday. The winner of the bidding for the Pasadena-based thrift is New York-based Dune Capital Management, founded in 2004 by ex-Goldman partners Steven Mnuchin and Daniel Niedich, according to the report on the Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter Web site.

A long-awaited sale of IndyMac Bank may be announced as early as today. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been looking for a buyer, or buyers, for the Pasadena lender since the government declared it insolvent and seized it in July. Final bids were due by Dec. 12, and the FDIC said it expected to close a deal by the end of the year. The American Banker newspaper reported Tuesday that the announcement could come today.

Sen. Charles Schumer, arguably New York's most outspoken politician, has publicly pledged not to take sides as Caroline Kennedy and others seek appointment to the U.S. Senate. It's an unusual stance for the man who has picked or backed Senate candidates in every other state in the union. Schumer recently relinquished his role as head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where he spent the past two elections hand-picking some candidates, and strategizing with others on how to win. Even his critics concede he was masterful at guiding Senate campaigns, helping the Democrats go from a minority party to a...

Feds Cite Schumer In Collapse Of IndyMac An important angle in the IndyMac failure that may get lost in ominous headlines tonight and tomorrow: federal regulators pointedly cited U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in explaining the bank's failure. In simple language, federal regulators blamed Schumer for a run on the bank.

Russia Can Be Part of the Answer on Iran By CHARLES SCHUMER Last month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran was installing an additional 6,000 centrifuges at Iran's main nuclear enrichment complex. The Bush administration in turn needs to use every diplomatic tool in its arsenal to halt Tehran's development of nuclear weapons. While the military option can never be taken off the table, most experts admit it would be unlikely to succeed. Because Iran has dispersed its nuclear facilities and buried some deep underground, an air strike will at best slow down, without preventing, its eventual creation of...

Never let it be said that there's a crisis too big for Chuck Schumer to try to exploit. New York's senior senator released a letter Wednesday that he and two Democratic colleagues sent to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson regarding the $700 billion economic rescue plan. Their point: Direct capital injection into troubled financial institutions will be ineffective unless those banks are forced to put that money straight into the lending market - complete with "goals based on previous lending activity." Uh-oh - here we go again: Last time Schumer publicly released a "warning" letter, it triggered hysteria in California: an...

Dear Supporter, Well, I told you it was coming and now my prediction is a reality.New York liberal Chuck Schumer is dumping tons of special interest dollars into Kentucky to try to save his hand-picked candidate Bruce Lunsford.  We knew they were coming, but you may ask, why now?Perhaps this will give you a clue. This note was sent to tens of thousands of Democrat activists by Schumer's committee: "We're on the verge of breaking things open.  Our chances have never looked better to elect that filibuster-proof Senate majority to help Barack Obama put this country back on the right course."So there you...

The federal takeover of IndyMac Bank over the weekend could cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. between $4 billion and $8 billion. But Senator Chuck Schumer, who helped to precipitate the collapse by publicizing a letter to the bank's regulator last month, has no remorse. He was, he says, just doing his job in telling regulators that the bank "could face a collapse," a prophecy that quickly proved to be self-fulfilling. "It's what legislators are supposed to do," the New York Democrat told the Journal. Depositors who spent Monday trying to recover some of their money might beg to differ.

New York Senator Charles Schumer is suggesting the U.S. follow the British government's lead and start buying sizable pieces of banks in an effort to contain the global financial crisis. Schumer's suggestion came after the British Treasury say it would invest as much as $90 billion in exchange for preferred shares in 8 of the country's largest banks and building societies.

Of the current financial debacle, we can be sure there’s plenty of blame to go around both sides of the political aisle. To the chagrin of main street conservatives, however, a whole lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of renegade conservatives who sit in the highest seats of government — renegades, because they behaved like liberals. An undeserved insult to those conservatives? No, because their behavior with respect to the corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can’t be distinguished from that of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, et al.

Video at link

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney chose someone in his own likeness to be his new chief of staff. Like Cheney, David Addington shuns the limelight. And like Cheney, Addington already has made a large imprint on the Bush White House. At Cheney's side since the 1980s, Addington has been a behind-the-scenes player in one after another of the hot-button controversies the Bush administration has faced: _The CIA leak probe. _The fight to disclose which corporations advised the White House on energy policy. _The dispute over the treatment of suspected terrorists. _The White House disagreements with the Sept. 11 commission...

HYPERAGGRESSIVE Sen. Chuck Schumer really outdid himself last week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver... Schumer lied to Paterson about the circumstances under which he upstaged the governor by denying him his agreed-on role of introducing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton... "Chuck had agreed to turn the microphone over to Paterson when Hillary showed up at the New York delegation breakfast, but then he hogged it for himself ... "Chuck lied about what happened, and the governor knows he lied." Added another prominent delegate, "Chuck was out of control. "He was elbowing people on the floor of the convention, pushing...

For the Brady Campaign, Violence Policy Center, Dianne Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, U.N. gun-ban extremist Rebecca Peters and her globalist billionaire sugar-daddy George Soros, for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his horde of big-city politicians—in fact, for all those individuals and organizations who would harm or destroy our Second Amendment rights—Barack Obama’s mantra of “change” means their agenda will be harnessed to the total power of an aggressive, activist and radical federal government. “Change” means gun owners will be under siege like never before. Especially for NRA members who fought through the never-ending threats of the Clinton-Gore administration, the...

As financial storm signals appeared the past 18 months, some Bush officials urged drastic reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, according to internal government sources, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objected because it would look "too political." The Republican administration kept its hands off the government-backed mortgage companies that are closely connected to the Democratic establishment. Paulson is a Republican, but as head of the Goldman Sachs investment bank he had close ties with Democratic-dominated Fannie Mae.

H/t texascajun We can debate the propriety of mentioning the name of banks that might be in financial trouble. But one thing appears clear to Chris Cuomo [file photo]: it would be wrong to mention the name of a Democrat who could be in hot water. Wouldn't want to cause a run on the Dem's political capital, after all. Cuomo's discretion was on display during today's Good Morning America. Anchoring in the absence of Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts, Cuomo was discussing the run on Indymac and the advisability of publicizing the names of other banks that might be in...

RISING in the Senate on May 13, Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, explained: "I rise to discuss rising energy prices." The president was heading to Saudi Arabia to seek an increase in its oil production, and Schumer's gorge was rising. Saudi Arabia, he said, "holds the key to reducing gasoline prices at home in the short term." Therefore arms sales to that kingdom should be blocked unless it "increases its oil production by one million barrels per day," which would cause the price of gasoline to fall "50 cents a gallon almost immediately." Can a senator, with so many...

Sen. Chuck Schumer, who likes to say he doesn't choose sides in Democratic primaries, is poised to break that rule yet again in a contentious state Senate race. Veteran Brooklyn State Sen. Marty Connor said he was shocked when Schumer informed him during a rural Democrats' event in Saratoga Springs on Saturday that Schumer will back his former aide and political neophyte, Daniel Squadron, against Connor this fall. According to Connor, Schumer, speaking in "a cold voice," informed the former state Senate minority leader: "You weren't there when I needed you; I owe you nothing." At issue was Connor's 1998...

New York's Sen. Chuck Schumer was on Fox this morning to discuss the trouble American Airlines has been having doing remedial maintenance to complete safety inspections on its aircraft. Schumer made numerous comments indicating that he will never move from being a socialist hack who has no clue about the real world. He excoriated the FAA as being "incompetent" because once in a while a scheduled inspection is missed or done incorrectly In fact, the FAA has been in trouble since non-flying "managers" with no knowledge of actually flying an aircraft were appointed to be administrator. (Why not appoint to...

With Eliot Spitzer gone, Chuck Schumer moves to the head of the list of self-righteously bloviating New York pols. So it was particularly satisfying to see Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ] put Schumer is his place on today's This Week. A guest with Kyl for purposes of discussing the economy, Schumer clearly came in with a game plan: to analogize President Bush to the man who presided over the beginning of the Great Depression: Herbert Hoover. After he tried it twice, Kyl had had enough and unleashed a riposte that was as reasoned as it was devastating.

For a guy who's supposedly a savvy pol, Chuck Schumer has sure made a damning admission about the Dem presidential candidates. The senior senator from New York has flatly admitted that their word is worthless. View video.

Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's previously stalled bill toughening the national gun background check system in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings sailed through both chambers of Congress within hours yesterday after a flurry of legislative activity. "I don't know whether to laugh or to cry," said McCarthy (D-Mineola), who saw her legislation pass the House in June only to have it blocked in the Senate. "You don't know how many times it's come to this point." In a statement, Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "This simple but very important bill has been a long time coming. It will...

In 1973, a 29-year-old federal prosecutor named Rudy Giuliani indicted a Brooklyn congressman, unknowingly creating a political opening for an ambitious 23-year-old named Chuck Schumer. It is the first and least known link between two powerful New York politicians whose paths have crossed and careers intersected in often surprising ways over the past four decades. But it certainly wasn't the last. Just two weeks ago, Sen. Schumer (D-N.Y.) found himself defying his own party to confirm U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a retired Manhattan judge and close friend of the former mayor. Schumer and Giuliani may seem an odd pairing,...

On June 1, The New York Times published a front-page article titled, ONE PLACE WHERE OBAMA GOES ELBOW TO ELBOW. The feature detailed Barack Obama's love for pickup basketball, his jersey-tugging style, even the time he hit a long game-winning shot after getting fouled. The Obama camp clearly welcomed the humanizing glimpse at Obama's life; his rivals, probably not so much. In an ordinary campaign, that might have been it. But this is no ordinary campaign--not when Hillary Clinton is a candidate. And so, the Clinton team let Times reporter Patrick Healy, who covers the Hillary beat, know about their...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Wedgie-proof underwear earned 8-year-old twin boys a spot Friday on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Using rigged boxers and fabric fasteners to hold together some seams, Jared and Justin Serovich came up with the "Rip Away 1000." "When the person tries to grab you—like the bully or the person tries to give you a wedgie—they just rip away," Justin explained Thursday by phone from Los Angeles, where the TV segment was taped Wednesday. The third graders from Gables Elementary School began brainstorming one day after they were horsing around, giving each other the treatment. Their mother's partner...

The chairmen of the House and Senate Democratic campaign committees sounded differing notes of optimism on Wednesday, just more than a year away from what they say will be a second straight election on the offensive. Speaking to reporters at a briefing, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was effusive, saying the 2008 election could be “a seminal election” on par with only a few in the history of the country. The two-cycle chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said the results could “change the tectonic plates of politics.” Schumer said he expects to hold all 12 seats that Senate Democrats...

I must say that I sympathize with the bind that Democratic leaders are in somewhat. Defeatism is forced upon them by their base. That's why they have no choice but but to insist that Iraq is going disastrously badly, that it was all a mistake, and that we should get out now. Where they have no choice but to acknowledge that progress has been made, they must insist at all costs that President Bush's policies have had nothing to do with it. It is a matter of political reality. Their base will throw them back into the minority if they...

Chuck Schumer, senior Senator from New York and self-described member of the Democratic leadership team in the Senate, really knows how to make friends and influence people. This morning, in a speech on the Senate floor, he explicitly told the U. S. Marines in Anbar province that they've failed and are a part of the problem, not part of the solution. Let me be clear. The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al-Qaeda said to these tribes, "We have to fight al-Qaeda...