Free Republic

In what appears to be the ultimate modern demonstration of "drinking the Kool-Aid," Republicans across the spectrum seem to have entered a pact in sticking together to defend, and even celebrate, campaign tactics predicated on gross voter fraud and manipulation of minority voters. In fact, given recent campaign finance disclosures, it seems clear some Senate Republican leaders helped pay for the attacks on their own base in Mississippi. One senator, however, has broken the silence and is speaking out: Sen. Ted Cruz, who, ironically, holds an official position with the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Cruz has described the Mississippi...

I don't think Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against President Obama right now, but I also don't think that considering the idea is "crazy talk." The man has, in my view and that of many others, committed multitudinous impeachable offenses, and we need to strenuously object and bring it to the public's attention every chance we get. The idea of turning our heads and looking the other way is repugnant. Yes, the elections are too close for Republicans to risk impeachment proceedings at this point, unless it became clear that the majority of Americans have the political will for that...

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to be the next President of the United States, and he’s just brazenly hypocritical enough for the job. O’Malley recently won praise from the left with a bleeding heart speech before a group of reporters over the scale of the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. “We are not a country that should send children away and send them back to certain death,” O’Malley said to reporters attending a National Governors Association conference last week. “I believe that we should be guided by the greatest power we have as a people, and that is the...

They had a term for her, but I've forgotten it. It was a name applied to a person who could not say no to a door-to-door salesman. The one I remember from my brief career selling magazines was totally upfront about her intentions. "I'll buy whatever you're selling," she said. I sold her Esquire and two other subscriptions. Salesmen back then had a name for such people. Today, I would call them conservatives. They, too, will buy anything. The current evidence for this is Edward Klein's latest book, "Blood Feud: The Clintons vs. the Obamas." It has just jumped over...

The Republican Party has entered a new era of sectarian civil wars on multiple issues that bitterly divide and dangerously threaten the GOP through the 2016 elections and beyond. These intensely emotional and ideological issues create deep fissures in the tectonic plate of Republican politics, pitting warring GOP factions against each other and creating powerful strategic advantages for Democrats. A reverse realignment, which is possible for Democrats in 2016, would be achieved by subtraction if a smaller-tent GOP implodes from within while driving swing voters and demographic wave voters to Democrats.

Mrs Clinton confused names of political parties in interview with BBC. Said Tories and Conservatives were opponents in Houses of Parliament. Names actually refer to the same party, Labour being the other main party. Gaffe is particularly embarrassing given she was former Secretary of State . ... Clinton suggested that the Conservatives and Tories were opponents, when in fact the two names refer to the same party. The gaffe is particularly embarrassing for Clinton as she used to be Secretary of State, and so is expected to have extensive knowledge of foreign affairs. ... Sales of Mrs Clinton's book have...

If Washington Times editor Drew Johnson was alive and writing in 1781 he would undoubtedly have made as big a fool of himself while reporting on the progress of the original TEA party’s revolt against England as he did last week. Mr. Johnson is to be pitied because he clearly doesn’t understand the wisdom of the saying “It is better to be thought a fool and remain silent than to speak up and remove all doubt.” Last week poor addled Mr. Johnson removed all doubt about his competence with his obituary for the TEA party movement. He claimed it is...

Since it swept into Congress during the 2010 wave elections, the Tea Party has claimed small victories in blocking President Obama's legislative priorities and extracting spending cuts through debt-ceiling ceasefires. But if things go their way this fall, they would get their first true scalp: the Export-Import bank. Reinvigorated by the GOP primary loss of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the Tea Party is on the verge of claiming perhaps its biggest policy victory in Washington. Its victim would be an institution that has existed for 80 years and far beyond the Obama era — since the New Deal era...

The news: Business Insider compiled data by Clarity Campaign Labs and mapped the most conservative and most liberal cities in each state. Where do you fall on the list? The methodology: These results are pulled from an online tool that allows people to find the city in their state that aligns with their political beliefs. The results are pulled from Clarity's national models and SmartVAN Co-Op voter file, so they're pretty much as accurate as you're going to get and filtered right down to the zip code (having used similar tools before, I can tell you their system is capable...

Only 4 percent of consistently conservative Americans want to live in cities, but urban environments are where the tech action is. It's one of those stats that just smacks you across the face: In a recent Pew poll, only four percent—4%!—of consistent conservatives want to live in America's cities. Meanwhile, about a quarter of people with mixed political views want to live in cities more than they want to live in small towns, suburbs, or rural areas. And nearly 46 percent of consistently liberal people want to live in cities. For someone who writes about technology, this is particularly significant....

For We the People, Obama’s time in office has thus far been tantamount to a march through hell with the complete deconstruction of America strapped to our backs and with despair and immiseration clinched in our teeth. And for the privilege of being unwilling participants in this death march, Obama believes we should be grateful. Obama has usurped and overrun congressional authority in less time than it took for the Kudzu vine to overrun the South. Some years back I wrote: “Many in America wanted to be proud when the first person of color was elected president, but instead, they...

News of poor conditions at a holding center in Arizona for undocumented, unaccompanied minors whipped Sarah Palin into a fury Friday -- so much so that she said she was on the verge of renouncing her ties to the Republican Party. She then accused President Barack Obama of orchestrating the "crisis" in Arizona in order to advance his own immigration reform agenda. "In this case, Obama’s refusal to enforce immigration laws and his blatant suggestion that his chosen illegal activity will be rewarded are proof of his tyrannical tactics," Palin wrote.

The Administration of Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) will implement plans to eliminate state support for illegal aliens who apply for or receive General Assistance benefits. Although the plan is consistent with a federal ban on aid to illegal aliens, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (D) said the move may be unconstitutional. Since December, LePage has sought to prohibit state aid from flowing to illegal aliens to bring General Assistance standards in line with qualifications for federal aid such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and food stamps.

Both libertarians and conservatives want to keep America safe. We differ on how best to do that. Most libertarians believe our attempts to create or support democracy around the world have made us new enemies, and done harm as well as good. We want less military spending. Some conservatives respond to that by calling us isolationists, but we're not. I want to participate in the world; I just don't want to run it. I'm glad Americans trade with other countries -- trade both goods and people. It's great we sell foreigners our music, movies, ideas, etc. And through dealing...

IN THE end, there was no big upset. Despite a surge of support for their nemesis, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), the Conservatives won the Newark by-election on June 5th with ease. This was in a sense historic—the prosperous south Nottinghamshire constituency has now given the Tories their first by-election victory while in office since 1989. But it will have done little, for all that, to quell Tory nerves set jangling by UKIP’s rise. The Tory candidate in Newark, Robert Jenrick, won with a robust majority of 7,000 votes, despite the hostile circumstances in which the election was held. It...

Conservatives in the Ohio House this week blocked a move widely viewed as an attempt by Governor John Kasich to set aside money he could later spend on Medicaid expansion without legislative approval. The version of House Bill 483 (HB 483) passed by the Ohio Senate included a last-minute change to move as much as $300 million in surplus state revenue to the state Medicaid Reserve Fund. Legislators feared this was an effort by the Kasich Administration to circumvent the General Assembly for spending on the Obamacare Medicaid expansion when an existing appropriation expires in mid-2015. ... Kasich, a Republican,...

With President Obama's approval rating still deep underwater, a new survey from Fox News finds that Americans generally think George W. Bush ran a more "competent" administration. In the survey, a 48 percent plurality said Bush's White House was more competent, while 42 percent picked Obama's. At the same time, fully two-thirds of Americans said Bill Clinton's administration was more competent than Obama's, versus only 18 percent who liked Obama's better. - - Jon Terbush

As the 2014 midterm elections near, conservative Republicans have found themselves in a situation that demands more than a mere denunciation of President Obama’s policies. There has been no shortage of criticism from the GOP as to how the Obama administration has accelerated the growth of a sprawling federal bureaucracy, but have Republicans suggested any viable policy alternatives to the government based programs of the Obama presidency? todd rokita aei In the arena of federal education policy, one innovator is helping to craft a state and localized solution to the Washington controlled education system. Congressman Todd Rokita (R-IN) is adamant...

The current leadership sounds hopeful about continuing the organization under a different name with a different mission, but, as the Advocate explains, that's probably unrealistic. Bilerico reporter Andrew Markle initially reported that GOProud was shuttering on Sunday, and following initial denials on social media from members of the group, key organizers confirmed to Bilerico founder Bil Browning Monday that the group is indeed planning to close up shop.  GOProud executive director Matthew Bechstein told Browning that the mixed messages were an attempt to calm members and stave off any problems with fundraising efforts.  Nevertheless, "We're leaving GOProud behind and re-branding...

Academia is doubling down on diversity and on anyone who comes near it offering diverse thoughts. condoleezza rice A special supplement of The Chronicle of Higher Education features articles entitled: “First-Generation at Georgetown—A broad support system helps students succeed among wealthier—and worldlier—classmates;” “Undocumented at Berkeley—A special program at Berkeley gives young immigrants a pathway;” “Navigating the Fafsa Wilderness—A U. of Buffalo professor’s project to help students fill out the complicated aid forms has helped more go to college;” and “Helping Hispanic Students Beat the Odds.” Worthy goals to be sure, at least those that don’t skirt U.S. immigration law. Nevertheless,...