Free Republic

After Democrats were eviscerated in last year’s elections, the party took solace in the fact that 2016 seemed built for a comeback. The party runs better in presidential elections — and while the House of Representatives isn’t in play, seven GOP senators are up for reelection in states President Barack Obama won twice. But a sense of foreboding has crept into Democratic circles around the country. Interviews with dozens of strategists, party officials and Democratic luminaries reveal that in states Democrats are depending on to retake the Senate, top-level candidates are sparse, unwilling to run or more interested in seeking...

Yvonne Dean-BaileyA 19-year-old freshman at a Massachusetts college is hoping to become one of the youngest female state representatives in New Hampshire’s history as she enters a special election that will be decided this spring. Yvonne Dean-Bailey of Northwood, a Republican who graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy last year, said she is hoping to bring the voice of young, conservative women to the State House. Dean-Bailey is a veteran of two prominent lawmakers’ offices, having worked as an intern doing legislative research for U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and as a field organizer in Cheshire County on Marilinda Garcia’s campaign for...

Republicans in Congress would shoulder the blame for a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security if they are unable to enact a new spending bill to keep the agency running, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. The survey finds that 53% of Americans would blame the Republicans in Congress if the department must shut down, while 30% would blame President Barack Obama. Another 13% say both deserve the blame. If a spending bill is not passed by Feb. 28, the agency's funding will run out. ...

Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates flee the chamber TWICE rather than cast a vote on a resolution expressing support for the State of Israel. There are 100 members of the House, with 32 Democrats.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is leading a delegation to Cuba on Tuesday while Congress is out on recess. It is the first official House delegation trip to Cuba since President Obama announced lifting certain restrictions on Cuba in December. The delegation, which is comprised of eight other Democratic lawmakers specializing in foreign affairs, trade and agriculture, will meet with Cuban government officials, local community leaders, American officials stationed in Cuba, and Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, the archbishop of Havana. Pelosi said the lawmakers will discuss potential changes in U.S. policies toward Cuba regarding agriculture and trade issues....

Carly Fiorina, who rose to power in corporate America to become Hewlett-Packard’s first female chairman and CEO, is aiming to smash two more glass ceilings, but this time in politics. One is the 159-year history of total male dominance of Republican presidential nominations. The other is the 225-year period when a “For Men Only” sign has hung over the door to the Oval Office. Mrs. Fiorina has no problem breaking glass to do it, candidly discussing what she sees as the foreign policy failures of George W. Bush, her opposition to amnesty and her disdain for crony capitalism that marries...

David Axelrod helped Barack Obama get elected to the Senate, and to the White House, so depending on your view point you can either thank him… or blame him. He joined our show this morning to talk about his new book Believer which explains why he still believes in the power of politics.

Media and potential opponents are scandalized that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is considering a run for president even though he didn’t graduate from college. But if Walker (who dropped out of Marquette University in his senior year) won in 2016, he would be joining an exalted group that includes the two presidents most frequently named as the favorites of the American people. Eleven presidents — exactly 25 percent — were not college graduates. Most prominent on that list are George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who make up half of Mt. Rushmore’s foursome and are in the top three or top...

There have been more than 47 significant changes made to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act according to the Galen Institute. At least 28 that President Obama has made unilaterally. Congress has passed and the president has signed 17 more. And, the Supreme Court is responsible for two changes. Now top Democrats want the Obama administration to grant an extension for uninsured taxpayers who are facing Obamacare fines. The AP reported: The official sign-up season for President Barack Obama’s health care law may be over, but leading congressional Democrats say millions of Americans facing new tax penalties deserve a...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The official sign-up season for President Barack Obama's health care law may be over, but leading congressional Democrats say millions of Americans facing new tax penalties deserve a second chance. Three senior House members told The Associated Press that they plan to strongly urge the administration to grant a special sign-up opportunity for uninsured taxpayers who will be facing fines under the law for the first time this year.

She hasn’t even announced, but the question has already resurfaced: Will Bill Clinton’s baggage derail Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes? Just a few weeks ago, reports broke that Bill Clinton had flown at least 11 times on “The Lolita Express” — a private plane owned by the mysterious financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. According to Virginia Roberts, who claims to have been one of Epstein’s many teenaged sex slaves, Clinton also visited Epstein’s private Caribbean retreat, known as “Orgy Island.” “I remember asking Jeffrey, ‘What’s Bill Clinton doing here?’ ” Roberts said in 2011. The former president, she added, was...

Unsuccessful presidential candidate and former Governor Howard Dean (D-Vt) assailed Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker’s lack of a college degree as “disqualifying. Given the complex world we live in, America needs to be led by only the most highly educated men and women. The fate of the nation can’t be entrusted to a guy who couldn’t hack it and dropped out.” “Look, college in the 1980s, when Walker was a student, wasn’t that hard,” Dean argued. “Even the minimally competent could get a degree. A person would’ve had to be incredibly dumb or unmotivated not to have been able to...

The Group Accusing ‘an American Extremist and Hateful Racist’ of ‘Terrorism’ in Chapel Hill Might Strike You as Ironic…and It Wants to Be Part of Investigation. Feb. 15, 2015 7:35am Sharona Schwartz The Palestinian Authority – which grants monthly salaries to terrorists – has called last week’s deadly shooting of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, N.C. “terrorism” and would like the U.S. government to include Palestinian investigators in the official probe. The Palestinian foreign ministry Saturday described Tuesday’s shooting as a “heinous crime” and “terrorism which targets civilians based on their religion.” “We consider it a serious indication of...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Marine Corps briefed Rep. John Murtha on the Haditha case after the vocal war critic publicly said Marines had killed innocent civilians in that Iraqi city, the Corps said on Thursday. A group of Marines, while suspected in the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians, has not been charged, and official results from the military's investigation remain outstanding. A U.S. defense official said on Wednesday, however that evidence indicates Marines deliberately shot to death unarmed civilians. Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is being sued by one of the accused Marines for libel....

It wasn't supposed to be like this for Republicans. A month into their control of both chambers of Congress, they are confronting the very real possibility of a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department later this month. Instead of advancing a conservative agenda and showing voters they can govern, the GOP has been unable to overcome Senate Democrats' stalling tactics in a dispute over immigration. "I suppose elections have consequences except in the United States Senate," complained GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, summing up the frustration for many House Republicans. "Tell me how it would be different if...

President Obama is putting Republicans on notice that he plans to run through their cynical politics and opposition during his final two years in office. While speaking at a DNC fundraiser in San Francisco, the president said: "And one of the things I am absolutely determined to do over the next two years is not just consolidate the gains that we’ve made, not just move forward on new initiatives like free community colleges for young people around the country who need to be trained for the 21st-century economy, but part of my goal is also to restore a sense of...

Ask around: Washington is pretty certain Hillary Clinton is the favorite to win the White House. Democrats have a natural turnout advantage in presidential years, seasoned political operatives reason. Five of the past six popular-vote tallies have gone to the Democratic candidate. And early polls that show Clinton sporting a big lead, especially among women, have strategists wondering how the Republican nominee could ever catch up. But outside of the capital, from Georgia to New York to California, there's another set of political professionals watching this race: academics and model-makers. And based on the data they track, Democrats have little...

For months, concerns over what Gov. John Kitzhaber has called the "gray area" between his 47-year-old fiancee's private and professional lives haunted the longtime politician — through his 2010 election, his third term in office, his historic bid for a fourth term and the weeks since his January inauguration. Kitzhaber's problems came to a head Friday, when the former emergency room physician resigned from office, effective Feb. 18. His decision came after a week of political drama, which Secretary of State Kate Brown called "bizarre and unprecedented" and which has absorbed this normally quiet capital. Under the state constitution, Brown...

Illinois poverty on rise since 2010; four counties at greatest risk, says report Caitlin Wilson The number of Illinoisans living in poverty has risen steadily since 2010, with nearly 15 percent of residents living at or below the poverty line, a new report says, the highest mark since 1960. The Social Impact Research Center (SIRC) released a report detailing the statistics surrounding poverty in Illinois, finding that Illinois “has plenty of room for improvement” in comparison to other states when it comes to residents living in poverty, and that 14 of the state’s counties have more than 20,000 residents in...

As Oregon’s Democrat governor, John Kitzhaber, resigns in disgrace amidst a slew of scandals involving ethics and financial improprieties, the likely successor will be Oregon’s Secretary of State, Kate Brown. Kitzhaber has resigned and his resignation takes effect on the 18th of February. Brown, a Democrat, is the likely successor as Oregon holds no Lieutenant Governor position and the responsibility falls upon Brown. Brown is married to Dan Little, but has been open about her bisexuality and she will be the first openly-bisexual governor in U.S. history. Oregon remains a state divided; while the Beaver State is known for hipsters...