Free Republic

As Saddam Hussein pressed the United Nations oil-for-food relief program for more money that he used to buy banned weapons, an unwitting ally may have been the American driver. Almost until the eve of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, American oil companies were among the largest purchasers of Iraqi crude oil. The role that the companies, including ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, played in the oil-for-food program is now coming under greater scrutiny in the wake of a report by the chief arms inspector for the Central Intelligence Agency that disclosed how extensively Mr. Hussein was abusing profits from the...

As a member of Congress, Dick Gephardt often spoke passionately about the need for the United States to recognize as genocide the mass deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians under the Turkish government that began one century ago. But as a lobbyist for Turkey since leaving Congress in 2005, Gephardt, a Democrat, has taken the opposite side. His behind-the-scenes work has been cited as a factor in the annual failure of Congress to recognize the Armenian genocide. Justice Department records show that Gephardt’s lobbying firm has been paid more than $8 million since 2008 to fight the declaration...

On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda operatives slaughtered nearly 3,000 Americans in an operation that marked the second major attack by violent jihadists against the World Trade Center. There wasn’t much mystery about who had carried out these atrocities — unless you were Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Marayati warned Americans not to conclude that the suicide hijacking attacks were the work of Muslim terrorists. “If we are going to look at suspects,” he told a Los Angeles radio station, “we should look at groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I...

I first laid eyes on Richard Holbrooke (he won't remember) on Monday evening, September 21, 1992. Some ridiculously wealthy Manhattan socialite had thrown a party for Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, then the new cause du jour, and some boutique human rights group — a bogus one, I realized in retrospect, now defunct, though its chieftain has since moved to greener pastures and is still active — had decided that I might be useful and had flown me up for the soirée. As it was, nobody was interested in me, I had a drink or two, ate some peanuts, and went...

He is #2 on favorability behind Colin Powell and the Republicans say “Gephardt is the one we’re most afraid of.”

Republican strategists trying to game Sen. Barack Obama's choice for a running mate are focusing more and more on the possibility that he might pick former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, a friend of labor and blue-collar workers. "Gephardt is the one we're most afraid of," said a key GOP strategist and Bush ally...

Hello, Hillary? Hate to wake you, but it's 3 o'clock in the morning, and we have a real crisis. It's your campaign, senator. It's Hail Mary time. You've lost the bid for a revote in Florida and, it seems, in Michigan, which means your prospects for prevailing over Barack Obama in the primary popular vote by June are vanishing fast. The Illinois senator, meanwhile, has just delivered a JFK-like speech on race in America--a savvy move that may well have stanched the hemorrhaging of his campaign over the controversial remarks made by his pastor, Jeremiah Wright. The mood could be...

Leslie Cauley, the USA Today reporter who last week “broke” the news that three major U.S. telecommunications companies were assisting the National Security Agency in building a database to more easily track any communications by potential terrorists, is listed as a donor to former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt... A search found a listing for "writer and journalist" Leslie Cauley, indicating she gave $2,000 to Gephardt on June 30, 2003, when Gephardt was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. And that seems not to be her only tie to Democratic politics ... Cauley's link to a Democratic campaign seems likely...

On Sunday's This Week, George Stephanopoulos not once but twice, referred to Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as “Speaker,” a title she would presumably get if Democrats win back the House this fall. So, a Freudian slip by Stephanopoulos, a one-time staff member for the Democratic House leadership himself when they were in the majority? Before signing aboard the Clinton campaign in 1991, Stephanopoulos was a floor assistant to then-House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt. Interviewing Congressman Tom DeLay, the former House Majority Leader who suggested that if Democrats win control of the House they will pursue impeachment, Stephanopoulos countered:...

Reid won't be returning lobbyist contributions Spokeswoman says senator sees no reason to return funds By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid will not return campaign contributions he received during the past five years from lobbyists and clients associated with Jack Abramoff, a Reid spokeswoman said Friday. Federal officials are investigating whether Abramoff, a lobbyist, bilked millions of dollars from Indian gaming tribes. Reid, D-Nev., and other Democrats have been sharply critical of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who has close ties to Abramoff. About two-thirds of Abramoff-related campaign funds were given to...

Apparently it wasn't just conservatives that thought Bush drop-kicked Kerry Friday night. Charlie Gibson didn't think much of ABC's candidate either. Enjoy! http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/debpeterson/story/2A03A9BD4839815886256F28001DA9CB?OpenDocument&Headline=Debate+moderator+tells+Gephardt%3A+%22It+should+have+been+you+up

Okay, here's another example of the left, irrisponsibly spreading rumors that need not be spread. Earlier, Dick Gephardt came out with a statement that suggested that Vice President Dick Cheney is the real life "Manchurian Candidate". (I have posted the link at the bottom of this post) Now as you may imagine, the liberal media have not published this as headline news because they probably don't want to portray Gephardt as a complete idiot for coming out with such an outrageous claim! Here we are in the middle of a war on terrorism, and e have these irrisponsible liberals spreading...

A prominent member of Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign is still telling audiences that President Bush is "a draft dodger" because he served in the National Guard instead of joining the Army during the early 1970's. "John Kerry was a warrior. George Bush was a draft dodger," Kerry booster Del Sandusky told a Florida audience on Thursday, in quotes picked up by the Bradenton Herald. Sandusky served aboard Kerry's swift boat in Vietnam and appears prominently in his campaign commercials. In February, Kerry himself was roundly criticized for equating National Guard service with dodging the draft, when he told Fox...

"Laughing is the best medicine" ...at least that's what Dr. Howard Dean says. And if that's so, these hilarious political voodoo dolls should go a long way towards curing whatever ails you. The list is almost endless... All of these caracters come as voodoo dolls: Presidential Candidate John Kerry, Senator Ted Kennedy,former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady and current Senator Hillary Clinton, Former Vice President Al Gore, Al Sharpton, Tom Daschle, Janet Reno, Dick Gephardt, Air America host Al Franken, Michael Moore, Jim Carville, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Robert Reich, Howard Dean, Sean Penn, Dixie Chicks

Alligators, kittens, and a world-class preppy were among the candidates running in the Iowa caucuses. The big winners were the preppy and the kitten. The big loser was related to a shark. To explain: In advance of Iowa, I confidently predicted that Howard Dean would prevail in that contest, and Dick Gephardt would get buried. Only the second part was correct. In a big surprise to most commentators, including me, Dean placed a distant third. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Dean effort is now dead. No phenomenon in American society that is backed by hundreds of thousands of people...

Governors and Generals Rule By Christopher DeMuth With early and sustained leads in the polls, in contributions, in the enthusiasm of crowds, and in the proficiency of his media appearances and campaign organization, former Vermont governor Howard Dean is the man to beat in the 2004 race for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination. This has surprised political analysts in Washington and the national media. An expanded and updated version of this article is available in Microsoft Word format by downloading the following file: .   A chronological list of the candidates, showing their background classifications and Electoral College votes and percentages,...

With the recent endorsement of Howard Dean by former Vice President Al Gore, you can officially close the book on Joe Lieberman's candidacy (as if it weren't closed already). Further, John "F-word" Kerry is similarly doomed in that he is being crushed by Dean in New Hampshire polls, and is trailing him even in his home state of Massachusetts. More importantly, Kerry can't raise the money he needs to dig himself out of a hole. Finally, Kerry is unlikely to get any last-minute rushes of support from any important players, because of Gore's Dean endorsement; and also because Kerry is...

Pinellas Park, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Another Democratic presidential candidate has spoken out in the Terri Schiavo case. This time, pro-abortion Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO) commented over the weekend at the Florida Democratic convention. He said he disagreed with Gov. Jeb Bush's (R-FL) decision to ask doctors to reinsert Terri's feeding tube. Gephardt thinks the issues in Terri's case "are best left to the courts." "I don't think that legislatures and governors ought to be inserting themselves in these questions," Gephardt told reporters at the convention. "I think the court has a made a ruling in this case and it's a...

ORLANDO - Florida Democratic activists remain angry over the 2000 election, but as they heard from the party's major presidential candidates this weekend, a brewing rift emerged over how to approach the 2004 campaign: Fume over the past or move on? The fuming was palpable Saturday, as thousands of delegates to the state party's annual convention erupted in laughter and hisses at the very sight of a photo of former Secretary of State Katherine Harris. They jumped to their feet when former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek of Miami said she wanted ''revenge'' and Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said,...