Free Republic

You have got to be kidding me. This trashing of Newt by Erika Johnsen, who apparently just started blogging at HotAir, is so over the top: "Newt Gingrich’s decision to wait a week to officially drop out of the presidential race was kind of a non sequitur (but then, it fits with Newt’s normally quizzical attitude of 'you need to get on my level' pomposity, so… wash)…." "Here’s what you can do to help the Republican party, Newt: don’t. You overstayed your welcome in the presidential race by a long shot, frequently looked absurd, and constantly undercut the GOP’s credibility....

With his strongest conservative challenger for the Republican nomination, Rick Santorum, now out of the race, does Mitt Romney still need to appeal to the conservative Christian voters who were energized by Santorum? Or is he now free to begin courting the broader spectrum of voters he will face in November?

Far be it for me to offer unsolicited advice to Sarah Palin. She's built a very successful career out of going rogue and certainly doesn't need any tips from me. And, as an occasional pundit, a political influencer and a private citizen, she's free to throw her weight behind anyone she wants. But I just have to say it: Newt Gingrich? Really? Now, I'm not in the camp of conservative elites who think she's seen her best days and should politely retire to obscurity. If anything, the premiere of "Game Change" on HBO on Saturday is proof that she's still...

If Americans listen to Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, and once thing is clear--he is a man who is extraordinarily ignorant of basic economics, how jobs are created, and he abhors the free market. Reid has just reminded Americans just how little he knows (and baneful Reid has become) when, on Monday, Reid announced on the floor of the Senate that “Millionaire job creators are like unicorns,”, “They’re impossible to find, and they don’t exist.” How silly! How delusional! How dunderheaded! How absolutely wrong! Thousands upon thousands of jobs have been created by business owners across the United States and,...

At a town hall meeting at the Institute of Politics at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm’s College Tuesday, Rick Perry asked that all of the college students in the crowd who will be 21 by Nov. 12 support his bid for the presidency. Say what? The voting age in the United States is, of course, 18. And the 2012 election will be held on Nov. 6, 2012. (The New Hampshire Republican primary, which brought Perry to the state, will take place on Jan. 10). “Those who are going to be over 21 on November 12th, I ask for your support,” Perry...

You have to wonder which hole in the sand Harry Reid has his head buried in.  Yesterday, in comments on the floor of the Senate, the Democrat Leader said the following: "While it's proper to guard against and remove onerous regulations, and we need to do that, my Republican friends have yet to produce a single shred of evidence that the regulations they hate so much do the broad economic harms they claim.  That's because there aren't any."Reid's denial is in large part his poor explanation for denying the Senate even one vote on any of the "Forgotten Fifteen" regulation...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Obama, meanwhile, doesn't know where he is. When he's in Hawaii he thinks he's in Asia. When he's in Australia he doesn't know what time zone he's in. And now he says he's going to send -- get this -- up to 2,500 troops, US troops are going to be sent to Australia to counterbalance the ChiComs' growing power there in the region. That's gonna show the ChiComs we mean business, folks, 2,500 US troops. I'm telling you, this is a show of force unlike the United States has ever demonstrated before. We're not gonna be pushed...

Washington is broken and must be completely overhauled to get America working again. The tinkering technocrats think Washington can be fixed with a pair of tweezers. I, on the other hand, think it will require a president with the courage to take a sledgehammer to the three pillars of big government: overspending, overtaxation and overregulation. Upon taking the oath of office, I will take immediate executive action to begin dismantling the Washington establishment so we can rebuild the American economy from the foundation up. First, I will issue an executive order prohibiting the Department of Health and Human Services from...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says America should extend work visas to allow illegal immigrants to move freely between the U.S. and their home countries _ but opposes a path to citizenship.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan to encourage President Hamid Karzai to continue efforts to reconcile with the Taliban. Mr Karzai has expressed frustration at the process after the assassinations of several key Afghan leaders. US officials say Mrs Clinton also wants to convince Afghans that Washington is committed to a long-term relationship with their country. The US is planning to withdraw troops and hand over security to the Afghans. "She wants to signal US support for a secure and stable Afghanistan," a US official told journalists travelling with Mrs Clinton. Her visit to Afghanistan was not...

When I get ready to write this column, I have a little ritual. The first thing I do is play UFC Champion Dan Severn's theme when he was a pro wrestler with the WWF. (I'll call it whatever I want, treehuggers.) Next, I spend about 20 seconds spinning my dreidel on one of Ron Paul's books. Then I'll pace the floor for about 20-30 seconds. Finally, after I convince my wife Jenny not to Baker Act me, I say these these magic words before I begin writing: DO NOT WRITE ABOUT THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. See folks, I don't...

Author of Durbin amendment doesnt like a bank reacting to the negative effect of his amendment. “Bank of America customers, vote with your feet, get the heck out of that bank,” Durbin said on the Senate floor.

Advocates for the unemployed have cheered a push by the Obama administration to ban discrimination against the jobless. But business groups and their allies are calling the effort unnecessary and counterproductive. The job creation bill that President Obama sent to Congress earlier this month includes a provision that would allow unsuccessful job applicants to sue if they think a company of 15 more employees denied them a job because they were unemployed. The provision would ban employment ads that explicitly declare the unemployed ineligible, with phrases like "Jobless need not apply." As The Lookout has reported, such ads appear to...

OK I had to turn off the tv. Listened to as much of Obama as I could stand at one time. He's stuck on stupid. He's proposing more "shovel ready" nonsense.

(VIDEO AT LINK) While addressing college students in Richmond, VA, President Obama was surprised to learn that schools use trailers, also called 'modular buildings' or 'modular classrooms.' During his visit Obama said he was approached by an educator who mentioned she teaches in a trailer. Obama did not mention that the teacher had a problem with her situation, but he made it clear this was unacceptable. "I just -- in the back, I was taking some photos with folks who had helped out to organize this event, and there was a young lady who is a teacher. And she said,...

Recent polling has shown huge gaps between the Political Class and Mainstream Americans on issues ranging from immigration to health care to the virtues of free markets. The gap is just as big when it comes to the traditional right direction/wrong track polling question. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 67% of Political Class voters believe the United States is generally heading in the right direction. However, things look a lot different to Mainstream Americans. Among these voters, 84% say the country has gotten off on the wrong track. Twenty-four percent (24%) of Mainstream voters consider fiscal policy...

FULL TITLE: George Stephanopoulos Scolds Companies Who Relocate Overseas Because of High Taxes: 'Unpatriotic' According to Good Morning America's George Stephanopoulos, companies that go overseas as a result of high taxes in America are "unpatriotic." The ABC host, who has repeatedly lobbied for higher taxes throughout his journalistic career, endorsed Warren Buffett's call for the rich to pay a higher percentage in taxes. Talking to Donald Trump, Stephanopoulos cajoled, "Warren Buffett made another splash, saying it's not right, he a billionaire, pays 17 percent in taxes when his secretaries and receptionists pay more. Isn't he right about that?"

This Democratic Web ad accuses GOP presidential candidates for "putting the ideology of the Tea Party first."

Rockwell City, IA -- Michele Bachmann just killed here deep in the corn country of Calhoun County (two-plus hours northwest of Des Moines). Standing ovation from 80 people after about a 35-minute chat Monday. Nary a word about social issues. No questions from the audience -- BUT a hand-over-the-camera snubbing of our own Shaky Hand Productions when we tried to question her...but more on that in a minute. No, this was a take-down of President Obama. As in "This man has no clue what the problem is." Plus more of what she'd do -- dismantle the EPA (except for "conservation"...

Late Friday afternoon, an employee of the Whole Foods Market in Toronto sent this epic resignation letter to the entire company. It's an alternatingly amusing, enlightening, and occasionally infuriating read — but a good read, nonetheless. ------------------------------------------------------- Dear Whole Foods Market, My experience at Whole Foods was like an increasingly sped up fall down a really long hill. That got rockier with every metre. And eventually, just really spiky ... With fire, acid and Nickleback music. I was hired about five or six years ago. I appreciated and respected what the company said it's philosophies were at that time. The...