Free Republic

Republican lawmakers are already denouncing President Barack Obama's planned executive action on immigration and the idea of another government shutdown has been floated. But Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro says the gridlock is a product of her chamber in Washington. "The House has been recalcitrant. [It] refuses to do it because I believe [that] they believe that it is better to deal with gridlock, and not to move in any direction that the Senate has," said DeLauro. She complimented the Senate's ability to compromise on an immigration bill they eventually passed. When asked if Obama's executive action could result in more...

When it came time for the US Senate to vote on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) “clout” did not have much of an impact on fellow Democrat senators. In fact, 35 of the senators who voted against the project were given campaign cash by Landrieu since the 2008 election cycle. Take a look here at the list of senators who don’t seem to acknowledge Landrieu’s “clout.” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) $10,000 Sen. Richard Blumenthal (R-CT) $5,000 Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) $10,000 Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) $7,000 Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) $10,000 Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) $3,500 Sen....

GROTON, Conn. — Authorities say two Navy civilian police officers have been wounded while confronting a knife-wielding man at a Connecticut base. Navy officials say an officer guarding the submarine base in Groton Thursday night fired shots at the man who allegedly had tried to enter through a pedestrian gate. Authorities say one officer was injured by the ricochet of bullets. The second officer suffered a minor stab wound to the leg. Both have been treated and released from a local hospital.

A teacher in Southington, Connecticut was pulled out of class after arriving drunk, wetting himself, then attacking a student. The police, however, were never called and no incident report has been filed. The teacher has not been fired, and at the moment, the school only confirms that he will be “investigated.” The school, Southington High School, sent out a letter to parents sugarcoating what happened. The document explained that the teacher, who has not been named, “Behaved in an unprofessional manner… and was removed immediately from the classroom.” Someone with knowledge of the incident in the school, however, says that...

This happened last Thursday in Connecticut. There is very little information released. Last week, a Spanish Teacher arrived in class (tardy), and was very obviously intoxicated. After entering the classroom of high school students, this teacher proceeded to (inadventantly) urinate in his clothing, and subsequently, onto the chair and classroom floor. The students were, of course filming this as it occurred, some laughing, some scowling in disgust. One student went up to the teacher to voice his opinion of what had just transpired. The 'teacher' showed neither contrition or discretion. The teacher got angry and confrontational, grabbing the student by...

The battleground was different in 2010, when Dannel P. Malloy and Tom Foley first fought to become governor. Linda McMahon and Richard Blumenthal were slugging it out in a high-finance senate race that drew a lot of attention. The economy was sputtering badly. Tom Foley's running mate was popular Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. Sandy Hook -- and the gun control legislation that came out of it -- was more than two years away.

Poll monitors in Haddam, CT attempt to turn away Andrew Krzeminski and his brother on 11/4/2014 while attempting to vote with a CCDL shirt on. State police officer is called. Camera protects the voter's rights.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says she want to remain the top Democrat in the House, announcing she will run again for her leadership position.Her take on the massive pro-life election victory on Tuesday night is that Republicans won a victory because of “voter suppression.” The Washington Times has more: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked her fellow Democrats to keep her on as their leader in the new Congress next year, saying she still has unfinished goals she wants to accomplish. She said the chief message she took from Tuesday’s election, which saw Democrats eviscerated at all levels, is...

Another underreported fact from Tuesday's election is the extraordinary night Republicans had in winning state legislative seats. The GOP now controls two thirds of state legislative houses – 66 of 99 (Nebraska's legislature is unicameral).  They upped the number of states where they control both house and senate to 24 – one more than they had before the election.  And according to this article in Vox, they cut the number of Democratic-held legislatures from 14 to 7. Republicans made historic gains in state legislatures in 2010. They held on in many states in 2012, or made up for losses...

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE NOV. 4, 2014 MIDTERM ELECTIONS.... ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you do not currently live in a red state, you probably will soon. Either you will (1) flee your blue state to a red one, or (2) you and your fellow blue-state citizens will get so fed up with the high taxes and fiscal irresponsibility that you will vote out the blue-state politicians and replace them with red-staters. U.S. Census data confirms that voters are leaving blue states for red ones. The top 10 destinations are North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma,...

The office of Georgia's Secretary of State confirmed Tuesday that its website has been experiencing intermittent problems on Election Day. A website that provides poll location information was showing an error message earlier Tuesday. "We are experiencing difficulties with [our website]. Our IT folks are working on it. We're throwing resources at it to solve the problem," Jared Thomas, chief of staff and press secretary for the office, told CNN.

Connecticut conservative gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti is dropping out of the race. Visconti, who was on the ballot as an Independent, is endorsing Republican challenger Tom Foley for governor. Visconti said he was exiting the race because he didn’t want to see Malloy re-elected. “If I can’t be governor, I want to help Tom be governor,” he said. Visconti, a big advocate of gun rights, had been urged by grassroots Tea Party activists who had been his supporters, as well as state Republican leaders, to get out of the race. He said he made his decision when he observed the...

By Rebecca Kaplan/CBS News/November 2, 2014, 5:01 PM Obama heckled at Connecticut rally A rally in Connecticut on Sunday proved that dragging down Democrats with his unpopularity isn't the only danger the campaign trail holds for President Obama: there are plenty of hecklers awaiting him too. The president repeatedly lost control of the rally as "Dreamers" -- young Hispanic activists -- interrupted his speech protesting lack of immigration reform legislation and the administration's high rate of deportations. His response: You're at the wrong rally.

First Hillary Clinton, then Michelle Obama. Both of the Democratic Party’s leading ladies were heckled while giving speeches at separate campaign events this week — not a good sign in the lead-up to an Election Day that’s already expected to go Republican. The former secretary of state was repeatedly interrupted while campaigning for Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in Maryland on Thursday, MSNBC reported.

Two days before the polls open, unaffiliated candidate for governor Joe Visconti has suspended his campaign and endorsed Republican candidate Tom Foley in a ceremonious display of party unity. NBC Connecticut cameras were the only ones rolling when Visconti appeared alongside Foley in Brookfield on Sunday, surprising a crowded room of Foley campaign volunteers. "I called Tom yesterday. I took a look at the polls," Visconti explained. "I was very concerned that Tom is in the fight for his life. Connecticut is in the fight of its life." Visconti, a conservative who failed to secure the Republican nomination, previously said...

On the 39th anniversary of the 1975 slaying of Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley, the Kennedy scion accused of her murder is set to settle a slander lawsuit against television host Nancy Grace. In a stipulation of settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford on Wednesday, legal counsel for Michael Skakel agreed to drop his case against the HLN pundit and fellow legal commentator Beth Karas for comments they made in a 2012 broadcast about DNA evidence near the scene of the crime. HLN parent companies Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting System were also named in the defamation suit and...

... group from Ohio contributed $1.17 million to Grow Connecticut, the super PAC behind a $6.7 million advertising campaign to defeat Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The money came from A Public Voice, Inc., which is based at the West Chester, Ohio office of David R. Langdon, a lawyer who has represented a network of conservative non-profit groups in a legal fight with the IRS over their tax-exempt status and is active opposing gay marriage, among other causes. Grow Connecticut, which is allied with the Republican Governors Association, immediately used the contribution to purchase nearly $1 million of television advertising attacking...

Newington, Conn. (WTNH) — Bah Humbug! It’s the wrong holiday, but some say the grinch came early and took Halloween from the kids at two Newington Elementary Schools. The principals at Ruth Chaffee Elementary and Anna Reynolds Elementary say leave the costumes at home. That means 8-year-old Alyssa Montano can’t bring her pointed hat and broom to the classroom. “What did you think when you found out you can’t celebrate Halloween at school?” we asked. “It was stupid and weird because they shouldn’t take it away from other people,” said Alyssa. Her mom, Lori, says she was the one to...

The New Haven SWAT team must have been pretty amped up: It was midnight, and they were getting ready to bust down the door of a man wanted on charges involving weapons violations, robbery — and murder. They were not sure how many people were in the house, or how they’d react. After a volley of flash grenades that set fire to the carpet and a sofa, they moved in, guns drawn. A minute later, they had their man zip-tied on the floor. If only they’d double-checked the address first. Bobby Griffin Jr. was wanted on murder charges. His next-door...

Ebola plush toys fly off the shelf for Connecticut company It may be the only time you will find these words in the same sentence: "Ebola" and "Add to Wishlist." Giantmicrobes Inc., which makes a line of plush toys based on viruses and other microscopic organisms, has sold out its entire Ebola stock, including the small Ebola doll for $9.95, a Gigantic Ebola doll for $29.95 and an Ebola Petri Dish toy for $14.95, according to the company's website. "Since its discovery in 1976, Ebola has become the T. Rex of microbes," says the Stamford, Connecticut-based maker of the "uniquely...