Free Republic

Pope Francis arrives in Washington D.C. on Tuesday to kick off a six-day American tour in which he'll meet the president, address Congress, speak to the United Nations, headline star-studded celebrations, lead thousands in prayer and visit with immigrants, prisoners and the homeless.

The bologna surrounding the Nuclear Iran Deal was sliced even more thinly on Monday, Sept. 21. Remember the alarms raised when a version of one of the confidential secret side deals obtained and reported on by the Associated Press revealed that Iran would be permitted to inspect its own Parchin military site? At least some of Iran’s nuclear weapons activity is suspected to have taken place at Parchin. On Monday, most of the headlines about the Parchin inspections revealed that what had been suspected was, in fact, the case. Tehran said that Iranians “independently collected samples” at Parchin with no...

The pope has become a political football. Republicans want to use Pope Francis’s visit to Congress this week — the first-ever by a pontiff — to highlight their opposition to abortion rights. Democrats, meanwhile, hope the pope will lend new momentum to their efforts to address climate change, reform immigration law and win public approval for a nuclear deal with Iran.

Why on earth would Republicans do that?” That is a question I’ve been asked at least a dozen times since illustrating that the GOP has played a cynical game in connection with President Obama’s Iran deal. “Follow the money” is a common answer to questions about political motivation. It may not explain everything in this case, but it is certainly relevant. This spring, Republican leadership colluded with the White House and congressional Democrats to enact a law — the Corker-Cardin Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act — that guaranteed Obama would be authorized to lift sanctions against Iran (the main objective...

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would grant legal protection for babies born alive in an attempted abortion. In a vote of 248 yeas to 177 nays taken on Friday H.R.3504, titled the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" was passed in a largely party line tally. Introduced by Arizona Congressman Trent Franks earlier this month, H.R. 3504 seeks to amend the federal criminal code to mandate that abortion providers must give proper medical care to any baby born alive in their facility. "If an abortion results in the live birth of an infant, the infant is a...

Dozens of House Republican lawmakers are making a late stab at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to abandon the filibuster on legislation to block the nuclear deal with Iran. A total of 57 House lawmakers signed on to a letter led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) telling McConnell that blocking the deal was “simply so consequential” that it demanded a change to the Senate’s rules, known as invoking the "nuclear option." “Our request to eliminate the filibuster for some votes simply underscores that in a democracy the majority should decide,” they wrote. “The super-majority now required to advance legislation...

It is difficult to convey the excitement I first felt when it was revealed that His Holiness Pope Francis was invited to Washington D.C. to address the world from the floor of the House of Representatives. Many believed, like I did, that this was an opportunity for the Pope to be one of the world’s great religious advocates and address the current intolerance of religious freedom. An opportunity to urgently challenge governments to properly address the persecution and execution of Christians and religious minorities; to address the heinous and senseless murders committed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations. An opportunity...

[Cuccinelli] believes GOP leaders could be much tougher... "Make the Democrats stand up there for hour after hour and defend Iran. Defending Iran! Can you believe we're saying this? Make them do it. Where's the guts on this and, frankly, where are the brains?" .... Republican leaders dismiss Cuccinelli's approach, saying the party will badly lose the public relations battle if there is a government shutdown and President Obama will never back down on issues... Cuccinelli said the strategy should be much more aggressive. "If it were me and I sent him a budget that defunded Planned Parenthood and he...

On September 30, the government runs out of money, and a sizable portion of House Republicans have already made their intentions known about one thing on any future spending bills: they will not vote to fund Planned Parenthood (via Politico): Government funding runs out Sept. 30, and dozens of conservative House Republicans want to use the upcoming legislative debate to cut off federal funding for the women’s health group. But in two separate meetings — first, in a Senate GOP lunch Wednesday afternoon, and later during a closed House Republican meeting Wednesday evening — lawmakers discussed using the fast-track budget reconciliation...

WASHINGTON—Chances of a government shutdown at the end of the month are growing as Republican leaders face mounting pressure from conservatives determined to use a must-pass spending bill as leverage in the fight over Planned Parenthood. Senior Republicans, intent on avoiding a partial government shutdown, plan to bring a raft of antiabortion measures up for votes in the House and Senate this month in hopes of channeling conservatives’ anger over videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing fees for procuring fetal tissue for medical researchers. But a sizable contingent of House Republicans, while supportive of the antiabortion legislation, said such bills...

Where can I find a list of the net worth of those in Congress starting with the year they were elected? Then an ongoing net worth of each time they are reelected? I'd like to compare how the net worth increases or decreases (yeah right!) the longer one serves in Congress.

The Senate stands adjourned until 10:00am on Thursday, September 17, 2015. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of H.J.Res.61, the legislative vehicle for the Congressional disapproval of the proposed Iran nuclear agreement, with the time until 11:00am equally divided between the two Leaders or their designees. At 11:00am, there will be up to 3 roll call votes: Motion to invoke cloture on McConnell amendment #2656 (hostages and Israel’s right to exist); if cloture is not invoked, then Motion to invoke cloture on McConnell amendment #2640 (Iran nuclear agreement resolution of disapproval); if cloture is not invoked, then...

A new effort to remove Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) as Speaker of the House is reportedly making the rounds of Congress again. The House Freedom Caucus, which is about 40 members strong, is demanding more fortitude from their House speaker to fight the battles they believe voters entrusted them with when they rewarded them a sweeping GOP victory last November. One of those battles is defunding Planned Parenthood. After the Center for Medical Progress exposed the pro-abortion organization in a shocking investigation into its inhumane practices, defunding became a top priority for hill conservatives. So much so that the group...

American opinions continue to erode when it comes to the Iran nuclear deal. A bare 51 percent majority supports the agreement and 41 percent oppose it, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Opinions have moved from a 2-to-1 margin in support in March (59-31 support-oppose) before the final agreement was negotiated between Iran, the United States and five other world powers. Support was lower still, 45 percent, in a separate support question which included fewer details about the agreement. The decline in support has been driven by Republicans, who moved from 47 percent support in March to 30...

323 The organization that has released nine videos exposing the scandal of Planned Parenthood selling aborted babies and their body parts has released a new undercover video today with another shocking discovery. This latest video catches the nation’s biggest abortion business selling specific body parts — including the heart, eyes and “gonads” of unborn babies.The video also shows the shocking ways in which Planned Parenthood officials admit that they are breaking federal law by selling aborted baby body parts for profit. The 10th video by The Center for Medical Progress features several top-level Planned Parenthood executives discussing the organization’s secretive...

Dan Benishek announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2016, stating he will retire at the end of his term. “Serving the 1st district in Congress has been a privilege and an opportunity that I will be forever grateful for. I am proud to be able to represent the people of Northern Michigan," Benishek said in a released statement. “Today I’m announcing that I won’t seek re-election next year, which will allow me to focus my time and attention on helping our veterans and working to make things better for the families and workers throughout Northern Michigan, and...

Republican senators, the heart of the GOP establishment, will support Donald Trump if he wins the nomination for president, even though they’re not thrilled at the prospect. Trump has become a headache for Republican leaders in Washington, who question his electability but won’t criticize him publicly because he’s popular with the base and they fear he may wage a third-party bid. Still, even GOP senators who have been at the wrong end of the Republican frontrunner’s barbs say they’ll back him if he becomes their nominee. “It’s hard to predict because a lot of things happen between now and then...

According to a July Gallup poll, public approval of Congress has fallen to near-record lows. On average, 34% of the population approves of a given Congress. The current 114th Congress has a 17% approval rating. Americans have reason to be concerned. According to GovTrack.us, the last two Congresses have enacted fewer laws than any other Congress since 1947. And the 114th Congress may just surpass them all in terms of doing nothing.

A pastor who was highly visible during the unrest in Baltimore after Freddie Gray’s death says he’s running for Congress. Bryant, who leads the Empowerment Temple, delivered the eulogy at the funeral for Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died after he was injured in police custody. He says a new generation must “deal with the ill effects of racism and sexism.

Dismissing Republican objections that he has failed to comply with the Corker-Cardin law’s requirement that all portions of the deal with Iran must be disclosed to Congress, President Obama proclaimed that the agreement will be implemented next week. “At this point, whether Congress goes along is a moot issue,” Obama declared. “The UN has already approved it. A lower authority cannot overrule this higher authority. Besides, the GOP can’t even get a Senate vote on a resolution to disapprove the deal anyway. So, there’s no way they’re going to stop me.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell concurred, saying that “President...