Free Republic

In a perfect world, Democrats would love to the 2014 midterm elections to be all about the economy. But in 2014, the world has been far from perfect. And Democrats say it's hard to grab the public's attention and focus it on a slowly improving economy with crises popping up at home and abroad. "August was Ebola. It was ISIS. It was Ukraine," Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told a small group of reporters Monday morning. "Global issues dominated. And in September, those issues continued to dominate. And so, part of the headwind...

AMAZING We asked our supporters to step up in September to help us catch up to the Democrats and tens of thousands of them did. It truly is amazing. We noticed though, that you did not take advantage of our September triple-match offer: EMAIL: SUGGESTED DONATION: $5.00 QUICK LINK: Click Here Will you stand with us today by making a $5 contribution to help us over the final 5 weeks of the election? We are on the verge of winning a Republican Senate majority and firing Harry Reid. This would put a final end to the Obama agenda, but we...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted a Democratic sweep in 2016. If Republicans keep the House in November, Pelosi said they wouldn’t hold their majority for long. “Their days are numbered. I know that in two years, I know we’ll have a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president,” she told reporters at her weekly press conference. “I’d like it to be in two months,” she added. Asked if she was conceding that Republicans would hold the House in November’s midterms, Pelosi insisted, “No, I’m not." “I think we’ll do okay,” said Pelosi, who was headed to the Democratic Congressional...

Midterm elections are, above all, mid—a mile marker plunked between the two main-event presidential contests. Sometimes, the pundit class declaims, they act as a referendum on the present occupant of the Oval Office. But beyond that, they’re viewed as exercises in major-party housekeeping—opportunities to pick off a vulnerable seat or three, and perhaps to nudge local political talent closer to the national stage. Still, the 2014 midterm cycle looks especially mid—and distinctly sub-mid for Democrats, who not long ago commanded sizable majorities in the House and Senate. Things look so grim that the Democratic Party leadership is challenged in simply...

Before you delete this email, we want to explain something. You’ve probably seen this a lot: Email: Chipped in to Defeat Harry Reid's Democrats? NO DONATION Deadline: 11:59 PM Suggested Support: $5.00 Let us explain… We rely on lots of grassroots conservatives to chip in $5 or more, while the other side is able to pressure Hollywood celebrities and limousine liberals to donate millions. In other words, we need your support or we just can’t keep up. If people donate, it adds up fast, but it only works if everyone does their part. And according to our records, you haven’t...

The danger to a political party when pundits almost unanimously predict a nation-shaking victory for that party is that, quietly and thoughtfully, voters concerned about the future of their families and country ask themselves: Will we be better off if this party wins complete control of Congress? For many days, the bastions of Republican power in Washington have gloated with triumphalism about a coming GOP wave. Pundit race-callers and statistical prognosticators have told voters the election is over. The Drudge Report has regaled its readers with echo-chamber links to tales of demonic Democrats; GOP columnists have written about what Republicans...

In a time of national anxiety, women voters are again turning to Republicans to protect the country. Suddenly, it feels like 2002. Democrats got creamed in midterm elections that year because the women voters they had relied on throughout the Clinton years deserted them. In 2000, women favored Democratic congressional candidates by nine points. In 2002, that advantage disappeared entirely. The biggest reason: 9/11. In polls that year, according to Gallup, women consistently expressed more fear of terrorism that men. And that fear pushed them toward the GOP, which they trusted far more to keep the nation safe. As then-Senator...

Orwellian fun via RCP. You trust a guy who openly admits his only loyalty is to the immigrant community to do what’s best for the country at large, don’t you? The fireworks come in the last minute although I’ll be candid and confess I don’t really understand what the point of disagreement is. Hannity says we should secure the border; Gutierrez replies that securing the border won’t stop ISIS operatives, who are more likely to enter the U.S. through airports than by sneaking across from Mexico. (Jihadis with British or, of course, American passports wouldn’t even need visas.) Could be,...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had a pretty simple response to to Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) claim that a proposed constitutional amendment intended to reverse the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision could put "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels in jail. Here's Pelosi on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" reacting to a clip of Cruz making the claim on the Senate floor: Cruz said the amendment applies to SNL because NBC is a corporation, and the late-night show has had influence over elections. He called the proposal -- which would give Congress and states more power to...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)During a Q&A with CSPAN, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) discussed comments he has made many time in in the past claiming the Tea Party is motivated by racism because they are the old Dixiecrats from mainly Southern states Rangel said he was told not to talk about race anymore saying, "So people said please don't bring up that race thing anymore."(continued)

In the wake of ISIS’s beheading of Americans, acts which the White House rightly said it considered terrorist attacks upon the nation, it could be considered crass to discuss the domestic political implications associated with the threat the Islamic State poses and the president’s planned response to that threat. It is, however, an election year, and there are political connotations associated with Barack Obama’s breakfast cereal, let alone an issue nine in 10 Americans are nervous about. It is just remarkable uniformity of opinion which is beginning to fray and will present a challenge to America’s elected leaders. The Islamic...

Ron Paul ✔ @RonPaul VOL Contributor @michaelcmarion shares his thoughts on the anniversary of 9/11 and why it's important to oppose war http://bit.ly/1ty0Hxl 3:00 PM - 10 Sep 2014 27 Retweets 16 favorites Here is an excerpt from the three-paragraph article, published on Ron Paul’s Voices of Liberty website: It will be an immense dishonor to those dead Americans that the U.S. government will continue to commit the moral equivalent of 9/11 against others equally as innocent, equally as precious. It will be a disgusting display as they continue to try to convince us to excuse the deaths of innocents...

Worth posting not because Cruz actually intends to try to shut down the government before the midterms but because Democratic leaders and lefty media will gorge on the mere possibility. Now that amnesty’s dead until November, they need something to goose their base. Another shutdown scare will do nicely. The tea party hero, who aggressively pushed the anti-Obamacare strategy that spurred last year’s 16-day government shutdown, has seized on immigration executive moves from the Obama administration as the root cause of the border crisis this summer. Although Obama said this weekend that he would delay any executive actions on immigration...

The Congressional Black Caucus took to the House floor Monday night to condemn the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. last month. Monday was the first legislative sessions since Brown, an African American teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer on August 9. Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who represents Ferguson, said that deaths like Brown’s had become too common. "This much cannot be disputed: Across America today, we have too many Michael Browns. We have too many unarmed black men who interact with police and wind up dead," Clay said. "The resolution...

America’s two great political parties are constantly transforming themselves, sometimes in small increments, sometimes in sudden lurches. They respond to cues sent to them by voters — which can range from attaboy! to fuhggedaboutit — and to the initiatives of party leaders, especially presidents. But when the other party has held the White House for an extended period, the transformation process can be stormy and chaotic. Which is a pretty apt description of the Republican Party over the past few years. Its two living ex-presidents, the George Bushes, withdrew from active politics immediately after leaving the White House, and its...

Heading into the GOP primary for U.S. Congress, New Hampshire state representative Marilinda Garcia has been racking up endorsements by influential Republicans and conservatives. But the most significant, and symbolic, show of support will be on display on Sunday, when U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will be in New Hampshire to stomp for her. The primary, to be held on Tuesday, will determine who runs against the Democratic incumbent, U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, in November. “I’m proud to support Marilinda Garcia,” Cruz said in a statement that was released by Garcia’s campaign, “because she is the candidate who will fight...

For House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the “war on women” and victimhood are always in style when election season rolls around. According to CNS News.com, on Thursday, Pelosi said on a conference call that American women have been victims throughout the history of the nation. “It was a struggle all the way,” Pelosi said. “Women marched. Women starved. Women were starved. Women were force-fed. Women could barely speak up in their own homes.” She continued: Women left their homes to take the message. And it was successful, and the right to vote, again, so precious, so hard fought. ......

The overload of coverage over Barack Obama‘s tan suit has led to some unexpected consequences: Rep. Peter King (R-NY), called into The Steve Malzberg Show to rage about how “trivial” the summer suit was. Summer suits, according to Rep. King, are not appropriate garb for talking about terrorism or ISIS, and especially when the President says he doesn’t have a strategy to deal with the resurgence of terrorism. “For him to walk out — I’m not trying to be trivial here — in a light suit, light tan suit, saying that first he wants to talk about what most Americans...

Wilcox for Congress In a close primary duel, Arizona congressional candidate Mary Rose Wilcox targets her opponent's support for Stand Your Ground.Could the 2012 killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin prove a deciding factor in an Arizona Democratic congressional primary? Former Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox certainly hopes so. Seeking to gain an edge over her rival, ex-state Rep. Ruben Gallego, in the weeks leading up to Tuesday's primary, Wilcox's campaign has invoked Martin's shooting and her opponent's past support for a controversial Stand Your Ground law. "America doesn't need more Trayvon Martin tragedies," read a mailer distributed by...

Having secured the Republican Nomination in Maryland's 7th Congressional District, Corrogan Vaughn now needs the help of true Conservatives across the nation to defeat President Obama's #1 cheerleader in the House, Rep. Cummings. Cummings has used his position on the House Oversight Committee over the last 6 years to try to protect President Obama from any type of accountability, while promoting the general lie that any oversight of this President is racist in nature. With the election of Mr. Vaughn, Conservatives can remove this stumbling block to any accountability of this administration, while increasing the number of true Conservatives in...