Free Republic

Republicans know they can't win the popular vote. You won't believe sick schemes they've launched to get around it. Republicans have only won the popular vote for president once in the last 25 years, a steep decline in their fortunes from the period from 1972 to 1988, when they won the popular vote every time but one–1976, the aftermath of Watergate. Add to that massive policy failures and demographic trends against them, and the motivations to cheat are overwhelming. Voter suppression seemed promising at first—and it’s helpful in many downticket races—but it’s not going to be enough to secure the...

Gov. Bobby Jindal continued his attack on the Common Core academic standards Sunday in an appearance on Fox News. Jindal has sued the federal government, saying the mathematics and English benchmarks are tantamount to a national curriculum and illegally infringe on state sovereignty. "This is a violation to the 10th Amendment of the Constitution. Existing federal law says that the federal government shouldn't make curriculum decisions," he told host Chris Wallace Sunday. snip

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: Apparently back then when Romney was thinking of putting [Chris Christie] on the ticket when he was running, when he was running, he discovered there were some problems, alright? Do you think he might use those problems against him next time? DAVID CORN, MOTHER JONES: Well, that opposition book is rather thick. If Romney doesn't use it, somebody else will. MATTHEWS: And therefore -- but I keep thinking Romney is going to be the nominee after all this is over. CORN: No. MATTHEWS: Look, I'm pretty good at this. CORN: No. No... He's not going to run....

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is asking lawmakers not to seat ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber next to Medicare's top official when the two testify on Capitol Hill next week. HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation Jim Esquea wrote to the House Oversight Committee with the request, stating that government witnesses are "almost always afforded an opportunity" to sit alone or with other federal officials. “The accommodation of separate panels for government witnesses reflects important comity in congressional-executive relations,” Esquea wrote. “The relatively few exceptions to this practice reinforce the seriousness of this accommodation.” The Oversight panel, led by...

It’s all about true love – not only for the Obamas, but also for the media. “The White House legend that is Barack and Michelle Obama’s romance is heading to the screen,” reported Deadline’s Jen Yamato on Dec. 5. The drama, “Southside With You,” will detail the Obama couple’s “epic first date” the summer of 1989 – consisting of the Art Institute, a long walk, and Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing.” In July 2015, the filming will begin where their romance blossomed: Chicago. “Get On Up” actress Tika Sumpter will star as Michelle Obama – but the real question...

In her just-released memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham describes her alma mater, Oberlin College, as "a liberal arts haven in the cornfields of Ohio." After a month-long investigation that included more than a dozen interviews, a trip to the Oberlin campus, and hours spent poring through the Oberlin College archives, her description of the campus remains the only detail Breitbart News was able to verify in Dunham's story of being raped by a campus Republican named Barry.

Five months ago, conservative were so livid over President Barack Obama's upcoming "executive amnesty" that incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) couldn't bring himself to rule out impeaching the president as punishment. Now, even firebrand Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Obama's chief immigration foes, have ruled that out. GOP leaders were never seriously considering the idea, but they've successfully tamped down any talk of it. What's more, Republicans may be on the brink of avoiding a government shutdown fight, at least until March, and effectively permitting the executive actions by "Emperor Obama," as Speaker John...

"Do you just want your kids to be test machines and cheap workers for corporations?"Lily Tang Williams, a mother of three, testified before the Colorado State Board of Education that Common Core was similar to the education she received growing up in Mao’s Communist China. “Common Core, in my eyes, is the same as the Communist core I once saw in China,” Williams said. “I grew up under Mao’s regime and we had the Communist-dominated education — nationalized testing, nationalized curriculum, and nationalized indoctrination.” In a post at FreedomWorks, Williams wrote about her experience with the Chinese education system: Our...

Southern Democrats are joining others in the party who say that a return to advocating to lift people out of economic hardship and emphasizing spending on education and public works will re-energize black voters and attract whites as well. "It's time to draw a line in the sand and not surrender our brand," Rickey Cole, the party chairman in Mississippi, said. He believes candidates have distanced themselves from the past half-century of Democratic principles. "We don't need a New Coke formula," Cole said. "The problem is we've been out there trying to peddle Tab and RC Cola." Cole and other...

...Ruth Bader Ginsburg left the hospital yesterday after having a heart stent implanted and expects to be back at work Monday. Despite various health issues over the years, Ginsburg insists that she is still of sound body at age 81 (her mind isn’t in question) and has no plans to retire before the end of President Obama’s term to ensure a Democratic replacement. If she keeps to that pledge, and presuming there are no other retirements in the next two years, the makeup of the Supreme Court could be a bigger campaign issue in 2016 than ever before.

A few bipartisan bills to show everyone a GOP Senate means business? Pledges to keep the government open for business? Not if these three new conservative senators can help it. Congratulations, Mitch McConnell! You now have the hardest job in Washington. That dubious distinction used to belong to belong to House Speaker John Boehner, who has struggled since 2011 to manage a GOP majority so unwieldy he called it everything from “frogs in a wheelbarrow” to the “knucklehead” caucus.     But as the incoming Senate majority leader, it will now fall to McConnell to receive legislation from the House,...

The unemployment rate no longer seems to reflect America’s mood. Friday’s strong jobs report showed that the jobless rate—the most closely watched gauge of the economy’s health—is down to 5.8 percent. A year ago, the rate was 7.2 percent. Five years ago, it was 10 percent. It’s the kind of sustained decline that would normally suggest a satisfied public. Not so much anymore. […] Many Americans don’t feel they've benefited from falling unemployment any more than they have from a sustained rise in the stock market or from solid U.S. economic growth. Some hints of their discontent can be found...

jimmy fallon @jimmyfallon Utah made history by electing Mia Love to Congress. She is a black female Republican Mormon. Even Unicorns said "Not buying it." #FallonMono

The birthplace of the Islamic State (ISIS) has been traced to Camp Bucca, a detention center that was operated by the United States military during the Iraq war. According to The Washington Post, many ISIS leaders, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, “were incarcerated and probably met” at Camp Bucca, “which had detained some of the war’s most radical extremists along the Kuwait border.” “According to former prison commanders, analysts and soldiers, Camp Bucca provided a unique setting for both prisoner radicalization and inmate collaboration — and was formative in the development of today’s most potent jihadist force,” reports the Post.

Former ice cream man Doug Ducey scooped up a sweet win today in the Arizona gubernatorial race. The Republican and former CEO of ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery most recently served as Arizona's state treasurer, however it was his cool past that Ducey frequently invoked on the campaign trail. In the heat of the Arizona summer, he handed out mini containers of Cold Stone ice cream outside his campaign office, according to the Arizona Republic. On Ducey's website, he listed "ice cream" as the No. 3 reason to vote for him, writing: "The experience Doug gained as Cold Stone...

As this campaign season draws to an end, doubtless many will comment on what was right and what went wrong for each party. Let me beat the crowd by stating whatever the outcomes of the Congressional and state races the notion of Republicans continuing to allow Democratic operatives posing as newsmen and women to act as moderators in candidate debates is one of the most inexplicably stupid blunders of all. And yet each election it is repeated. Let this be the last time. Here are some names and incidents that should be engraved forever on the RNC steps and in...

Facebook is mining its data of users' posts to find out how users feel about certain candidates or issues and sharing that data with ABC News and BuzzFeed for use in their 2016 reporting, the social-networking site will announce on Friday. The data will be gathered from the posts of Facebook users in the United States 18 and older, classifying sentiments about a politician or issue as positive, negative or neutral. The data can also be broken down into sentiments by gender and location, making it possible to see how Facebook users in the key primary states of Iowa or...

As the co-founder of the Daily Show, Lizz Winstead might be a funny lady. But what she came up with today was surely an unintentional laugh line. Appearing on Joy Reid's MSNBC show this afternoon, Winstead blamed Wendy Davis' impending thrashing in her race for Governor of Texas on . . . "redistricting." Lizz, last time we looked, there is no districting—"re" or otherwise—when it comes to statewide races. The entire state is one big district that gets to vote for Governor. Oh, and for good measure, Lizz laid the rest of the blame on "the media." Right. In a...

On social media websites, how do you handle "friends" with completely different political viewpoints? Suppose you want to keep in contact with family members. So you sign up for Facebook. Almost all of your "friends" are relatives. Some are Republicans, others Democrats. You love them all. But your news feed shows their "likes" and their comments on many different issues. And some "friends" go to extremes, even using profanity and insulting conservatives. Do you "like" the comments you agree with and ignore the ones you oppose? (This is what I've been doing so far.) Or do you jump into every...

Living with a cat for the first time, you quickly pick up on its behavioral quirks, many of which are common among other cats. What you soon find out is that cats aren't Republican. Here are 12 reasons why not: 1. Cats are curious about what you do in your bedroom, but they don't try to legislate away your freedom to do it. 2. Cats may take away your cushion, but they'll give it back to you with a gentle push. 3. Cats give you attention and sympathy when you're sick. 4. Females are treated with importance in the...