Free Republic

"The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution" rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. The percentages below are cumulative scores based on key votes from 1999 through 2014. Click on a senator's or representative's name to get a detailed breakdown of his or her voting record.

During a heated discussion over gay marriage, CNN morning Anchor Chris Cuomo opined that the unalienable rights endowed to all Americans do not come from God. Cuomo was debating Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. Near the end of the back-and-forth and after Moore argued that rights cannot be handed down by men, Cuomo blurted out: “Our rights do not come from God, your honor, and you know that. They come from man... That’s your faith, that’s my faith, but that’s not our country. Our laws come from collective agreement and compromise.” Maybe Mr. Cuomo...

President George W. Bush was fond of saying that "9/11 changed everything." He used that one-liner often as a purported moral basis to justify the radical restructuring of federal law and the federal assault on personal liberties over which he presided. He cast aside his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution; he rejected his oath to enforce all federal laws faithfully; and he moved the government decidedly in the direction of secret laws, secret procedures and secret courts. During his presidency, Congress enacted the Patriot Act. This legislation permits federal agents to write their own search warrants when...

Alan Gura and the Second Amendment Foundation have achieved another significant victory toward restoring second amendment rights.  In the federal District Court in Dallas, United States Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the interstate ban on handgun sales by federally licensed dealers is unconstitutional.  From the ruling(PDF): IV.CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for lack of standing (ECF No. 15) is DENIED. It is FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 21) is GRANTED, and Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 15) is DENIED. Accordingly, the Court DECLARES that...

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is holding a hearing today to receive public feedback on whether it should create new rules regulating political speech, including political speech on the Internet that one commissioner warned could affect blogs, YouTube videos and even websites like the Drudge Report. The hearing is a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC last year, which struck down the FEC’s previous cap on aggregate campaign contributions from a single donor in an election cycle.

There is only one hope to stop the tyrannical rot of statism stealing over our country. We must challenge the Democrat-Republican monopoly of politics that foments the rot. Is this being redundant? Heard all this before? Perhaps, but our most defiant Founding Father, Samuel Adams, was very redundant in his pursuit of justice. He told his fellows repeatedly: “It does not take a majority to prevail…but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” Irate and tireless are what’s important here. We can save our country only if we patriots (who are...

The national drive to encourage states to hold a convention to pass constitutional amendments to shut down Washington’s overreach and President Obama’s executive actions picked up the support of another leading conservative Tuesday, retired Sen. Tom Coburn. The Oklahoma Republican said he will be a senior adviser to the Convention of States Project, based in Purcellville, Va. “Our national soul is being corrupted by Washington’s unhindered and unconstitutional overreach,” said Coburn, a champion of efforts to limit Washington. The effort already has the backing of Sarah Palin, radio talk show host Mark Levin, and two presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee and...

An Indiana state senator wants to change the way US senators are elected. Until the 17th Amendment was ratified a century ago, senators weren't elected directly, but by state legislatures. Charlestown State Senator Jim Smith says the idea was to make senators responsive to their states‘ concerns. He argues the switch to direct election has contributed to a shift in the balance of power from the states to the federal government. Smith says it‘s separated senators from state concerns and made it harder to remove them. "As the needs of the state of Indiana change," says Smith,"then we would essentially...

Rights and responsibilities EDITOR: I’m so tired of people who don’t have their children vaccinated because they claim they have the right not to have their children vaccinated. I suggest they read the preamble to the Constitution, from which our rights are derived. The preamble clearly states that one of the purposes of the Constitution is “to promote the general welfare.” It seems to me that means that the general welfare is more important than individuals. I believe it was the late Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other...

Using fraudulent budget math which landed Bernie Madoff in prison with a 150-year sentence, Obama deliberately lied to the American people about the cost of insurance [under Obamacare], their ability to keep the policies they liked, and the fact that middle income Americans were being bled dry in order to fund other people's medical care. When his politicized Internal Revenue Service was caught trying to destroy his political opposition, Obama stonewalled and used the "dog ate my homework" excuse. Thus, he argued, an Executive Branch which could suck up meta-data on every phone call in the world somehow couldn't locate...

A common solution at FreeRepublic for the ills of our nation is to just enforce the constitution we have. Elect enough Tea Party conservatives and freedom will be restored. From the moment of our independence, the first question, as posited by Mercy Warren was “what government consistent with the Declaration of Independence can be designed by men too proud for monarchy, too poor for nobility, and it is to be feared, too selfish and avaricious for a virtuous republic?” Republicanism was in our blood. Despite the efforts of the British Crown, all of the states had evolved from quasi-republican colonies....

According to the Washington Times, President Barack Obama made statements at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, 2015 that establish that Obama has a fundamental misunderstanding of the United States Constitution's First Amendment, which among other things protects freedom of speech. The Times reported:

4-Star Admiral Lyons Slams Obama (VIDEO): Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrated All Of Our National Security Agencies Today in America, Muslims spread to every state in our Union. Since 1991 with only 100,000 Muslims, they featured less than 300 mosques. Today, in 2015 with seven million followers, Muslims own 2,200 mosques and growing. In those buildings, they preach Sharia and the tenants of Islam. They brain wash their followers, their children and their women. They intend to extend their power and grasp with each mosque as they create caliphates (their own cities) within our country. What can we expect in America? In...

The wheels of justice in the District of Columbia are turning exceedingly slowly in enforcing the second amendment of the Constitution.  It was shortly after the Heller decision in 2008, that Alan Gura and SAF filed suit in what has become the Palmer case in the District of Columbia.    That suit was filed in August of 2009, only a little more than a year after Heller was decided in June of 2008.   It took almost exactly five years to get a ruling in the Palmer case.  Alan Gura, during that period, filed two petitions for a writ of mandamus....

Republican senator Jeff Sessions will be releasing this statement responding to the Senate blocking a vote on Homeland Security funding: “House and Senate Republicans are standing together in defense of our laws, our borders, and our constituents. But Senate Democrats, following their party leaders, blocked debate on this bill—a bill which fully funds every lawful activity of DHS. What the bill does not fund are actions that violate the law. Senate Democrats are voting to protect an imperial overreach and to deny citizens control over their own government. They are advancing an open-borders agenda against the will of the American...

In December of last year, the Supreme Court continued a decades-long tradition of chipping away at 4th Amendment rights by ruling that police may violate those rights “…if the violation results from a “reasonable” mistake about the law…” In the case of Heien v The State of North Carolina, police sergeant Matt Darisse stopped a vehicle he considered “suspicious” because one of three tail lights was faulty. While writing a warning ticket, he then “became suspicious” of vehicle occupants and “their answers to his questions.” When vehicle owner Nick Heien gave Sergeant Darisse permission to search the car, the officer...

One of the most unique and important discussions among constitutional conservatives is taking place right now in Virginia’s General Assembly. It is the debate about whether the states (including Virginia) should exercise their rights to call an Article V Convention of States. Principled limited government constitutional conservative former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has come out in favor of two bills currently before the Virginia legislature calling for a constitutional convention of the states. Speaking through his e-newsletter “The Cuccinelli Compass” Cuccinelli argued in favor of a position shared – and opposed – by many principled limited government constitutional conservatives....

The Supreme Court will soon decide one of the great issues of our time. Is same-sex marriage protected by the U.S. Constitution? Most federal courts have said that it is. But last November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said ‘no.’ They said the issue of same-sex marriage belongs to the states. Their decision created a conflict within the federal circuit courts which convinced the Supreme Court that they will have to decide the issue. When the Supreme Court announced their decision to hear the case, they asked the opposing parties to argue two important questions. First,...

During an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan defended House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, calling the decision “wholly appropriate.” Host Chuck Todd asked the Wisconsin Republican if it was appropriate for the legislative branch to circumvent the executive branch in matters of foreign policy. Ryan said critics of Netanyahu’s visit should look to the U.S. Constitution. “These are three separate but equal branches of government,” said Ryan. “We don’t subserve one to the other.”

Public opinion sets bounds to every government, and is the real sovereign in every free one. As there are cases where the public opinion must be obeyed by the government; so there are cases, where not being fixed, it may be influenced by the government. This distinction, if kept in view, would prevent or decide many debates on the respect due from the government to the sentiments of the people. In proportion as government is influenced by opinion, it must be so, by whatever influences opinion. This decides the question concerning a Constitutional Declaration of Rights, which requires an influence...