Free Republic

Honduras signs a deal that means international recognition of the November 29 elections. If there is one person in Honduras who is more despised these days than deposed president Manuel Zelaya it is a foreigner who goes by the name of Hugo. We refer here not to the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez but to U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens.

The Conservative Party, beginning its 47th year, continues to be the champion of the taxpayers of New York State and now more than ever the proposals in this legislative program are needed to restore New York’s fiscal well being. The Conservative Party urges the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government to adopt the following proposals in order to restore New York's fiscal credibility, properly educate our children, keep our citizens safe and maintain the values that made New York the Empire State. The Conservative Party made substantial contributions in bringing New York State back from a credit rating equal to...

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same. It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support...

Dierdre K. Scozzafava's decision to suspend her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat is a shocking development in what had already been an extraordinary race. In her statement Saturday morning, the assemblywoman explained the reasons behind her decision: "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so." During the day Saturday, she began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens.

Now, instead of being embroiled in the Democrat’s lose-lose health care mess (a debacle that she no doubt would have been smack dab in the middle of as Vice President or as a senator), she has mostly been isolated from the political misfortunes of the Democrats. Those political misfortunes could very well cost the Democrats dearly in 2010 and could force Obama out in 2012 unless he is able to recover quickly. If Hillary can make it through the next few years without making any major foreign policy gaffes, she can launch a political comeback and tout these years as...

Obummer thought it was pretty cute to use analogy of a (socialist) mop last week. I think the analogy might be more like a capitalistic broom for what may be coming this Tuesday. I can hear the dems shaking tonight on Halloween! And it isn't because it's Halloween. I'm stoked. Freepers thought please.

A farm in every Pittsburgh neighborhood would be one of the goals of a Franco Dok Harris administration, the independent mayoral candidate said today, as his campaign sounded its final notes before Tuesday's election. The novel proposal -- which would have the city assemble vacant lots and help gather the expertise needed to transform them into farms Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/09303/1009555-100.stm#ixzz0VRy1TKRj

The Family Foundation Action, a prolife, pro-family group in Virginia has released their voter guides for the 2009 elections. Sized to fit in a church bulletin, these guides show the positions of the candidates on various issues of interest to the family. They do NOT endorse candidates or parties, so are PERFECTLY LEGAL for use in churches. There is a version for the 3 statewide candidates, a Spanish version of the same, and several versions for selected House of Delegates races. Please visit the website for more information.... http://www.tffaction.org/

On Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell appeared on the Laura Ingraham Radio Show and, to the delight of many pro-lifers, took a definitive stand on banning taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. For many, such as Virginians For Life, such a public stand from McDonnell was essential and urged him for some time to make a public pledge. Remember

"The Taliban's brazen attack on U.N. election workers undermines the U.N.'s ability to help steer Afghanistan through a runoff election in only 10 days. Although the U.N. insists it will not be deterred by the assault, another big attack could derail its limited ability to assure a credible vote and remain in the country."

GOA-PVF Supports Doug Hoffman in New York Special Election October 27, 2009 Dear Friend of the Second Amendment, You may have heard about a special Congressional election taking place next week in upstate New York. The race features a Nancy Pelosi Democrat and a Republican with long-standing ties to ACORN against a genuine pro-gun leader named Doug Hoffman. Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse Doug Hoffman in this race. Doug Hoffman is a 100% gun rights supporter who will be a leader in the battle to defend the Second Amendment. Doug Hoffman Mr. Hoffman believes...

There is something reliable about things that are consistent. I have often said the something that is reliably wrong is as useful as something that is reliably right. Just as the public mania for stocks almost always signals a market top, the Virginian Pilot is a reliable guide. If you do the exact opposite of what they advocate in their opinion found in either their editorial (or “news”) pages the odds are heavily in your favor that you are doing the right thing. By endorsing Creigh Deeds by telling us that he will raise Virginian’s taxes I believe that the...

What a difference two weeks can make. Toward the end of an Oct. 14 conference call organized by David Keene of the American Conservative Union, congressional candidate Doug Hoffman plaintively asked, "Does anybody know how to get Glenn Beck interested in this?" Monday afternoon, Hoffman was interviewed on Beck's popular Fox News program, evidence of the surging momentum the Conservative Party candidate has experienced in the three-way special election campaign in update New York's 23rd District. In the past six days, Hoffman has been endorsed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim...

Hearing scheduled on G-20 arrests Students to air complaints Nov. 10 Wednesday, October 28, 2009 By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The city's Citizen Police Review Board last night tentatively scheduled a Nov. 10 hearing, ideally to be held on the University of Pittsburgh campus, to hear the complaints of students arrested during last month's protests of the G-20 summit. The time and place of the meeting is contingent upon arrangements to be made with university administrators. Review board Executive Director Elizabeth C. Pittinger said the board has received 75 complaints about police actions, a dozen of which involve sworn statements.

President 'de facto' of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, said that there will be no settlement to the political crisis in the country before the elections on 29 November this year, and reiterated that it refunded to the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya. "We will not fix anything, no dialogue or anything, if not after the election," Micheletti said in a press conference at the presidential palace. -- Note- Article is in Spanish and the machine translation leave a little to be desired.

Forum with David Harmer and John Garamendi Monday, October 26 7:00pm (Please arrive by 6:15pm) Soda Center, St. Mary's College, Moraga (map) We are asking all of our friends and supporters to join us tonight, October 26th at St. Mary's College for the only forum between David Harmer and John Garamendi for the election. We need to pack the house with supporters as we contrast our values of fiscal discipline and personal responsibility against the tax-and-spend agenda of John Garamendi. A strong showing at the forum will further energize the campaign as we count down to victory on November 3rd....

Pollster Patrick Murray says that the turnout model on a Suffolk University poll released this morning is based on a 93% turnout in a race where less than half of the state's registered voters will turn out. The poll, which included all twelve candidates for governor, has Gov. Jon Corzine leading Republican Christopher Christie 42%-33% among likely voters, with 7% for independent Christopher Daggett. "...Normally, likely voter models have little impact, as they tend to be only a couple of points different from the results for all registered voters. However, that is not the case in this election. The Monmouth...

Washington - A poll released today by the Club for Growth shows Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman surging into the lead in the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district to replace John McHugh, the former congressman who recently became Secretary of the Army. The poll of 300 likely voters, conducted October 24-25, 2009, shows Conservative Doug Hoffman at 31.3%, Democrat Bill Owens at 27.0%, Republican Dede Scozzafava at 19.7%, and 22% undecided. The poll's margin of error is +/- 5.66%. No information was provided about any of the candidates prior to the ballot question. This is the third...

Corzine, cash & corruption Last Updated: 4:37 AM, October 24, 2009 Posted: October 24, 2009 New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine really has no shame. Just hours after Bergen County's longtime Democratic machine boss, Joseph Ferriero, was convicted Thursday on three federal felony corruption counts -- which could land him in prison for 20 years -- New Jersey's governor proudly defended having written him personal checks totaling nearly a half-million dollars. That's right: Corzine, the Wall Street multimillionaire, and his family have funneled no less than $441,600 of their own money to keep Ferriero's arrogant political machine rolling. And Corzine claims...

On October 20, the North Carolina State Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the petition requirement, 2% of the last gubernatorial vote, does not violate the State Constitution. The plaintiffs are the Libertarian and Green Parties. This is the case that was filed in 2005. The 2% requirement for 2010 and 2012 is 85,379 signatures. North Carolina’s requirement is the second most severe in the nation, both on a percentage basis and a raw number basis, when one compares each state’s easier method for getting on the ballot for president. Here is the decision. The Court also upheld the 2%...

We are thrilled to welcome back to NC@FR Will Breazeale (yes, think Zeal!) Republican candidate for the House from the great state of North Carolina, Doug Hoffman Conservative Party candidate from NY for the House and Peg Luksik Conservative Republican candidate for the nomination for Senate from PA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCfA5gj796M

xxxx -- Virginia, it's time to get fired up. I've just announced that I'll be visiting next Tuesday to rally you and your neighbors in support of Creigh Deeds and our movement for change. Creigh Deeds has offered real solutions to address Virginia's challenges in transportation and the economy, and it's up to us now to build the support that will make those solutions a reality. We made history here in Virginia last year. Together with your neighbors, you built a movement in order to move this commonwealth and our country forward. But from day one, we knew we were...

Once upon a time, ‘Republican’ Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava was the front-runner in the special election to replace actual Republican Rep. John McHugh. That was then, the video below is now:

Received this in an e-mail yesterday, best explanation I've seen yet. --From a teacher in the Nashville area "We are worried about 'the cow' when it is all about the 'Ice Cream.' The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year... The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We...

Who Won Last Night's Debate? Bob McDonnell Creigh Deeds It Was A Draw

There are some who believe “Tea Party” and “Town Hall” crowds fit in neat categories of at-best Republican Party strong hands, or at worst anti-Obama bigots. In both instances, there has been no evidence to support these stereotypes. We have heard time and time again testimony from individuals who are concerned with too much government intervention, and too much government spending, not your typical political thug nor white supremacist. I had the opportunity to speak at an August town hall meeting in Bellerose Queens, where I discussed how government run health care will negatively impact medical care for millions of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlgvNld_Go8&feature=player_embedded

On the Right, an Upstate Upstart By the Editors The case for rallying around Dede Scozzafava, the liberal and nominal Republican seeking to represent New York’s conservative 23rd Congressional District, eludes us. Scozzafava was thrust imprudently into the nomination by upstate Republican grandees faced with a special election following Republican John McHugh’s leaving his seat to become secretary of the army. The Republicans once again have shot themselves in the right foot. In spite of its having gone for Obama in 2008, the district’s history suggests that it is basically conservative; Ms. Scozzafava is basically not. Boy, is she not:...

Clearly, there was momentum for the GOP this summer that has slowed or reversed in autumn. The party used that momentum to get top candidates into key Senate and House races, which will reap benefits if voters are angry at the Democrats a year from now. But the 1993-1994 scenario is not, so far, repeating itself

Just a year after this one-time Confederate state helped elect a black man president, Democrats are desperately trying to hang onto the governorship. A lot has changed: Loyal Democrats are more subdued than last fall. Republicans are energized. Independents are proving to be ... independent. Voters of all kinds seem disenchanted. Just like Americans nationwide. The contest between Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat R. Creigh Deeds provides a snapshot of sorts — 12 months after America elected Barack Obama as president and expanded Democratic majorities in Congress, and one year before midterm elections in every state. And the picture, in...

Is it odd how anti-Palin polls pop-up all over the MSM? The few and infrequent polls that are less favorable to Governor Palin always seem to be big news. The reality is over 90% of the many 2012 polls show she is the front runner. Michelle Malkin’s Hotair.com offered the latest Poll on 2012 & Governor Palin with Sarah leading with 63% of the 4,538 votes cast. Another important question is, has HarperCollins issued a 2nd edition of Going Rogue: An American Life?

Sign in Nicaragua: Attention NicaraguansHuevos (balls) are sold in HondurasContact Mr. Micheletti 1) Zelaya changed his mind - Mel now wants amnesty. One of the main reasons the dialogue is kind of stalled is because Mel Zelaya is now asking for amnesty for himself and for all of his people. This would include amnesty for everyone within Honduras and internationally and might be for several reasons, one of the reasons being.... 3) The US may be changing their minds - Micheletti's people are saying that they are getting mixed signals from the US State Department. Some people tell them...

“One Year Away” Greetings fellow South Florida riders, South Floridians, and Americans, here we are for another monthly installment of our Wheels on the Road (WOTR) political assessment. By the time this piece goes into print WOTR will have celebrated 10 years being the definitive voice of the South Florida biker community. However, more importantly, we will be one year from what will be the most critical mid-term election in our Nation’s history. In the national elections of 2008 we experienced a repudiation of the Bush administration, clear, got it, and can actually understand why it happened. I also realize...

In a sign of an expensive fight ahead for Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, the candidates' combined $1.2 million campaign stockpile is already much bigger than it was at this stage in the last election. Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann holds $617,000 of that money, giving her an early cash-on-hand lead over two Democrats vying to deny her a third term. But the combined $581,000 in the accounts of state Sen. Tarryl Clark and Dr. Maureen Reed far exceed what Bachmann's Democratic opponents mustered a year out from the 2008 election.

New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, just published a recent column entitled "The Cheney Daisy Chain". In it she writes about the Cheny sisters, Liz and Mary, starting a consulting firm with their dad, Dick Cheney. The text covers basically everything the left hates about the former Vice President and then paints his daughters as having the same mindset. She then wanders into talking about Liz Cheney, along with Bill Kristol launching the web site "Keep America Safe" and how it might serve as a launching pad for Liz to run for office. Then out of nowhere she raises what...

Poltico's Jonathan Martin reports: "The surging campaign of third-party candidate Chris Daggett has turned the New Jersey governor's race into a dead-heat and left Republicans divided over the seriousness of the threat he poses to GOP nominee Chris Christie." The Hill's Reid Wilson reports: The House GOP conference is bitterly divided over a centrist New York Republican’s run for the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh. "Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support for gay rights, has drawn a challenger from the right who is running on the Conservative Party line. And though House...

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- The rise of conservative "tea party" activists around the country has created a dilemma for Republicans. They are breathing life into the party's quest to regain power. But they're also waging war on some candidates hand-picked by GOP leaders as the most likely to win. In upstate New York, Dede Scozzafava, 49 years old, is the choice of local party leaders to defend a Republican seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, an abortion-rights candidate who could appeal to independents. Doug Hoffman, 59, is a local accountant backed by tea-party activists who has jumped into the race...

Recently, the left has been turning up the heat on Obama on Afghanistan, even calling for Vice President Biden to resign over it. And now Obama's views on national security is making the cracks in the left grow even more.So how will this affect the Obama Administration? It seems unlikely that democrat politicians will challenge Obama on any of this, so it most likely won't have any effect on policy creation in the future. However, if it continues, it could cause some real problems for democrats in 2010 and Obama in the 2012 elections.

There is little debate about the value of Honduras as an American ally. As a democracy in an increasingly unstable region, Honduras has been a partner in the war on drugs, a necessary check against President Hugo Chavez's aggressive regime in Venezuela and an important $5 billion export market for American manufacturers through the Central American Free Trade Agreement. A stable and democratic Honduras is unquestionably in America's best interest. I recently traveled to Honduras as part of a GOP congressional delegation observing efforts to ensure an open, free and fair election there this November. When leftist President Manuel Zelaya...

Given his incompetence in handling the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it was surprising to many that Mayor Ray Nagin was reelected. A poster on the Huffington Post put this absurdity down to the stupidity of the New Orleans voters. Next month, we'll see if New Yorkers will rate the same judgment. Both Mayor Bloomberg and many City Council members will be seeking reelection despite residents voting for term limits twice. Mr. Bloomberg has arrogantly ignored their wishes and is running for his third term under the rationale that the public needs more choice in the time of an economic...

There is no better temperature gauge of the Left’s derangement syndrome — the object of the hatred is irrelevant — than the New York Times’s liberal op-ed columnists. So when Maureen Dowd goes into full-rant mode over Liz Cheney (and her political-consultant sister), you pretty much know the object of the next spasm of liberal venomous paranoia. And as it usually is, the rant is more revealing of the ranter than the intended victim... READ THE REST AT COMMENTARYMAGAZINE.COM

I am fed up with those Democratic strategists who parade to cable-news shows and pollute the pages of newspapers with the pap that the way for Democrats to win in 2010 is to throw mud at Republicans. John Harwood in the Monday New York Times gave a fair account of this dumbed-down view of American politics. There is a time for Democrats to attack Republicans, but only to promote real change helping real Americans.

Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell are going to meet in their first live, televised prime time debate of Virginia's race for governor. Monday night's event is critical for Deeds. Trailing in two statewide polls by eight to nine percentage points just three weeks before Election Day, Deeds needs a breakout performance. Television stations in most Virginia markets are carrying the hourlong 8 p.m. debate originating from the studios of WCVE, a public television station in Richmond.

Bad News: Democrats ready to get dirty despite years of telling US that such tactics alienate the voters!Polls continue to show strength for the GOP in the two hot governor's races to be decided this November in Virginia and New Jersey. In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell holds a comfortable lead for governor over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. With the mud the Democrat Deeds has been slinging his nickname became: "Dirty Deeds." Afraid to talk about the issues, where Virginia voters are increasingly remorseful about the mistake their state made in voting for Obama in 2008, Deeds has launched a campaign...

As soon as Republican Rep. Michael N. Castle announced last week that he was running for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s open Senate seat, election analysts rated the contest a tossup favoring the Republican Party. Mr. Biden's seat had been rated safely Democratic by all the forecasters. However, the nine-term congressman and former two-term Delaware governor, who has never lost an election (winning vote totals in the 60 percent to 70 percent range) changed all that with his entry into the race. The Democrats were in danger of losing yet another Senate seat in 2010...

Former presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) acknowledged on CNN's State of the Union Sunday that tensions flared during his campaign between senior strategist Steve Schmidt and those allied with his running mate, then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "With a high-pressure situation, there's always tensions that develop within campaigns," McCain said in a video excerpt posted online. "And there were clearly tensions between Steve Schmidt and people in the Palin camp." Schmidt has recently become a vocal public critic of Palin, predicting that a presidential run by her in 2012 would prove "catastrophic" for the Republican Party. McCain did not criticize Palin...

Asked who they favored in Republican and Democratic categories, 76 percent of those responding said the former Alaska governor is the person they’d like to see elected in 2012. Where did Barack Obama come in? Check it out at www.daveweinbaum.com.

I consider myself one of those disgruntled registered voters who prefers to consider himself a conservative rather than a Republican. In fact, I had been leaning toward throwing my support behind candidates from lesser-known third parties. That changed today after a conservative friend of mine shared a copy of an e-mail he sent recently to a local representative of a conservative, third-party group seeking candidates to run against Democrats and Republicans in future elections.