Free Republic

Democrats have wasted little time blasting Republican vice presidential pick Rep. Paul Ryan over his federal budget plan, but a more obscure part of his record could also draw attention: his relationship with a convicted Wisconsin businessman. Ryan accepted nearly $60,000 in contributions from businessman Dennis Troha and his family, records show. Troha was later indicted on campaign finance charges over an Indian casino he sought to open. During the casino application process, Troha said, Ryan (R-Wis.) called federal regulators at his request. Ryan was not found to have violated any laws, nor was he a target or key figure...

Romney 'is one of their own, and Obama  has been attacking the way they make money' Maybe it comes as a shock to Dear Leader -who expects everyone to march behind him in lockstep right over the precipice- but most of the rest of us could see it coming in the wake of the Team Obama's ill-advised war on capitalism: Wall Street employees are switching-over to Romney in droves... and the revolution is being lead by non other than Jamie Dimon's (who's among Obama's most fervent supporters) Goldman Sachs: Bloomberg- Four years ago, employees of New York-based Goldman gave three-fourths...

It's unlikely that President Barack Obama will be naming any tax proposals after George B. Kaiser. An investment by the Tulsa billionaire's family foundation in Solyndra, whose bankruptcy may leave taxpayers on the hook for $535 million in federal loans, has raised speculation that the administration acted in part to aid a financial supporter. But the impact on taxpayers of Kaiser's career goes far beyond the $535 million loss. Kaiser has built his fortune in part through shrewdly playing the Internal Revenue Code. In one six year period, during which he increased his net worth enough to land him on...

Romney and his super PAC have taken millions from funders with strong green streaks — despite the fact that the former Massachusetts governor has run to the right in the primary, proclaiming doubts about global-warming science and trashing President Barack Obama’s greenhouse gas emissions policies. Julian Robertson, founder of the Tiger Management hedge fund, helped put cap-and-trade legislation on the map with $60 million in contributions over the past decade to the Environmental Defense Fund. Now, Robertson has given $1.25 million to Romney’s Restore our Future super PAC, plus the maximum $2,500 to the Romney campaign. Other green-minded financial backers...

No officials offer to return bank's blood moneyThe fallout from the HSBC money laundering scandal continues to reverberate around the globe, but U.S. Congress members apparently are in no hurry to return millions of dollars they have received from the scandal-plagued bank. WND, which originally broke the story on the HSBC debacle, conducted an analysis of Federal Election Commission records specific to the company political action committee’s generosity toward Congress. The investigation centered upon two congressional panels with primary oversight of the industry: The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, and the House Committee on Financial Services. Since...

Number 25 on a very long list of Obama's misdeeds: The Obama administration gave $535 million to Solyndra, claiming that it would create 4,000 new jobs. However, instead of creating those 4,000 new jobs, the company went bankrupt. It was later revealed that the company’s shareholders and executives had made substantial donations to Obama’s campaign, and that the company had also spent a large sum of money on lobbying. In April 2012, CBS News reported that Solyndra had left a substantial amount of toxic waste at its abandoned facility in Milpitas, California. After Obama gave Raser Technologies $33 million to...

Ben Tribbett, one of the state's top bloggers, got me thinking yesterday. He is known as the guy behind the highly rated political blog Not Larry Sabato. But Ben deserves to be even better known as one of the state's best gurus on election statistics down to the precinct level. Ben has done a lot of mentally "running the numbers" on the potential impact of former Congressman Virgil Goode's run for President as the nominee for the Constitution Party here in Virginia. Ben is likely - and hopefully soon - to do a blog post an Obama-Romney-Goode race here in...

President Barack Obama publicly thanked a man the New York Post called a “gay-porn kingpin” at an Oregon fundraiser on Tuesday, according to the Weekly Standard. While speaking at a Portland campaign fundraiser, Obama thanked Terry Bean for organizing the event. … The (New York) Post said (in 2008), "Bean, the first gay on Sen. Obama's National Finance Committee, is the sole trustee of the Charles M. Holmes Foundation, which owned Falcon Studios, Jock Studios, and Mustang Studios, the producers of about $10 million worth of all-male pornography a year." …

While President Obama is usually the candidate rubbing elbows with Hollywood's celebrities — just this week it was announced the president's campaign would host fundraisers with the cast of "The Wire" and Vogue editor Anna Wintour — Mitt Romney is looking to cash in with some star power of his own. Actor Robert Duvall, star of "Apocalypse Now" and "The Godfather," will host a fundraiser for the Republican presidential hopeful in September at his Virginia home. According to the invitation — obtained Wednesday by the National Journal — tickets to the event are $2,500 per person, while a $10,000 donation...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Jay Paterno, then the Penn State quarterbacks coach, worked for Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign before the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania in 2008. Paterno helped organize a campus rally and introduced Obama to a big crowd on the sloping lawn in front of Old Main, the university administration building. Obama lost the primary to Sen. Hilary Clinton but won Centre County. Nearly a year ago, on Feb. 2, 2011, President Obama came to Penn State and met Jay’s parents, Nittany Lion head coach Joe Paterno and his wife Sue. On Monday, the day after Joe Paterno succumbed...

Another green company backed by an Obama bundler just bit the dust. After announcing earlier this year that the company would lay off 200 of its 300 employees, solar manufacturer Amonix Inc. closed its operation in North Las Vegas leaving taxpayers in the red by $20 million. Editor's note: We've updated this piece with research from the RNC below, entitiled:  "The Big Payback: Where It All Began," which details the massive payoffs directed to Obama supporters using taxpayer dollars in the guise of "stimulus." “Just seven months after California-based solar power company Amonix Inc. opened its largest manufacturing plant, in North Las Vegas,” reports...

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) says he supports Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s re-election because he believes Manchin is not beholden to short-sighted political interests. Coburn recently gave $250 to Manchin’s re-election campaign. “I think he votes thinking about the long-term interests of the country. We don’t agree on everything but he’s a good guy,” Coburn told The Hill.

It’s going to be a very busy month for the Obama Campaign. Fundraisers are scheduled in Switzerland: Sweden: Paris: And Communist China: I’m 41 has more on the Obama fundraiser in Shanghai.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has waded into the same-sex marriage debate in Washington State with a $100,000 contribution to help defeat a referendum that would ban same-sex marriage. Gates, along with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, both made the same six-figure contribution said Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, the group leading the charge for gay activists. "It's going to make a tremendous difference," Silk told The Associated Press. "It's very important for us to have the broad support from business leaders and companies themselves." In addition to Microsoft, other noted Washington State based companies such as Starbucks...

Although California is consistently ranked among the absolute worst states in which to do business --- their nanny-state regulations, budget deficits, and tax structure have earned the state the honorary title of the "ninth circle of business hell" --- it's well-established attraction for venture capital is sometimes cited as a a big factor in keeping the state afloat. Silicon Valley is definitely a well-monied hot spot, but it seems that the typically more liberal execs, entrepreneurs, and engineers are feeling slightly less enthusiastic about an Obama-second term than they were about Hopenchange in 2008, as some of them are starting...

Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up? Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.

I thought if you don't vote for Obama you're a racist? [VIDEO AT SITE] or HEREI'm sure we will get Jeb Bush any moment now calling him an extremist. Well, we all know Obama Girl is an extremist right?If Obama Girl isn't gaga over Obama anymore you have to know the party is over. I kid of course. She matters not one whit in this election or the last but you know what does? Donors: Percentage decrease in donors who gave $200 to Barack Obamain 2008 but have not yet in 2012, by state. The darknessof the state corresponds to...

Interesting stuff!!! Interview done by Stephen K. Bannon.

A billionaire Chicago family that has donated and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for President Obama got a deal from the federal government to avoid paying all of a $460 million settlement it agreed to in the 2001 failure of a Chicago-area bank it owned, while 1,400 former depositors are still owed more than $10 million in lost savings. And now, 11 years later, the prospect that any of the depositors will get their money back is bleak. The Pritzker family, which made its fortune in hotels and manufacturing, agreed to a $460 million settlement offer in December 2001...

Fly ’em.... ... and fry ‘em! Sneed hears a bevy of out-of-town bigbucks benefactors of President Barack Obama , a.k.a., “The Wallets,” were tarmack sizzling hot Saturday morning when their private jets were unexpectedly grounded at O’Hare and Midway airports. ◆ Translation: Word is President Obama, who overnighted at his Kenwood home after raising tons of campaign cash, decided to spend a little more time with his Chicago buddies Saturday morning, thereby delaying his departure — prompting a security “ground hold” being placed on private jets leaving their airport terminals, according to a top Sneed source. (No commercial flights were...