Free Republic

GREENLAND, N.H. – Sen. Ted Cruz continued his two-day presidential campaign swing through New Hampshire on Saturday morning with a speech to the Seacoast Republican Women.. . .Before entering the room, Cruz expanded on an allegation he aired Friday, that GOP leaders had cut off his access to campaign donations as retribution for his role in the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013.“In 2013 we got quite a bit of money from DC PACs, and when the defund fight happened that dropped to almost zero,” Cruz said, asked to clarify the allegation he aired Friday.Who does he blame?“It was leadership,”...

Well, Oregonians, are you ready to lose your ability to privately transfer guns? A senate bill under consideration would require you to appear before a gun dealer and go through a background check. How fun would that be? It probably won’t be cheap and it certainly won’t be private. Here’s an email blast we received from the Oregon Firearms Federation:

Using the “March Madness” model from the annual NCAA basketball tournament, the pro-gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety released its “NRA Madness” bracket to highlight 16 states where the National Rifle Association (NRA) is advocating for legislation that would allow guns to be carried on college campuses.

Don’t you wish that once – just once — someone would actually stand up and say something that everybody knows to be true: that Harry Reid, who apparently has been talked into retirement by a couple of thugs — excuse me! an exercise machine! — is a no-account, corrupt, nasty, petty, lying scumbag who enabled Barry Hussein to impose his anti-constitutional agenda on a big-hearted but soft-headed American public? But no: The Senate majority leader had kind words for his Democratic counterpart, who announced Friday he would be retiring in 2016. ”Nothing has ever come easily to this son of...

One unfortunate day in the future, America will again have a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. And when that day happens, conservatives had better start digging foxholes, because their worst nightmare will be the majority leader. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, the former hyper-partisan majority leader (and present minority leader) announced yesterday that he will retire at the end of his term in 2017. He named Chuck Schumer, D-New York, as his heir apparent. As a Westerner from a blue state that could flip to red at any time, Reid was forced to take account of libertarian views. Nevada is,...

You won’t hear the song about the decline of the nation’s power and influence overseas along American rivers out on its farms or in its factories, nor in its offices and homes, but only among the self-obsessed chattering class in Manhattan, Washington, and in self-important academic enclave after enclave where it’s an award winning soundtrack. America’s best days as a power in the world, as a force for good, are over, is how its words go. More than that -- that such days should be over because it was never really a force for good, not really. Instead, America is...

Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. What if Ted Cruz could win the General election and everything the experts know about politics is wrong? What if you don’t have to choose a candidate that mirrors the Dem selection and Americans are not as liberal as the media claims it is? The reason these questions are never asked or answered is that conservative voters have been shamed into a corner so they will...

On March 23, 2015, United States Senator Ted Cruz of Texas gave a speech announcing that he is running for the Republican nomination for President. In his speech he said the following about illegal immigration: Instead of the lawlessness and the president’s unconstitutional executive amnesty, imagine a president that finally, finally, finally secures the borders. And imagine a legal immigration system that welcomes and celebrates those who come to achieve the American dream. Missing from Sen. Cruz’s speech was anything about how the nation should treat the illegal immigrants who are here. Sen. Cruz’s position on this point has been...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) may have chosen April 13 as the date to launch a presidential bid. The Miami Herald is reporting Rubio may be planning to announce his candidacy at an event in downtown Miami’s Freedom Tower on that date.

LAS VEGAS — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's decision to retire next year leaves no clear successor in his home state of Nevada, where a popular Republican governor appears reluctant to change jobs and the pending loss of Reid's clout in Washington is causing anxiety over who might replace him. As of Friday, the list of potential candidates came down to Gov. Brian Sandoval and everyone else. The political centrist who was easily re-elected last year is likely to face intense pressure from national Republicans and business interests to pick up where Reid leaves off on Capitol Hill. Sandoval didn't...

Obama has actually accomplished quite a bit, and here’s a long list of his accomplishments, so stop bashing, haters! First President to be photographed smoking a joint. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner. First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in. First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States. First President to violate the War Powers Act. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of...

In terms of skills and education, Israel probably has the highest level of human capital per person in the whole world. Yet it’s per capita output is mediocre – in the middle of the developed country pack. Why is that? Because Israel has been slow to adopt capitalism. How do I know that? Because Bibi Netanyahu told me that in an interview in Dallas, several years before he became prime minister. Once he became Israel’s leader, he was been able to do something about it. In recent years Israel has become a center for entrepreneurship, innovation and capitalist spirit. But...

While waiting at the airport for a recent flight, I observed a bright-eyed little girl who came running over into the gate area. She was full of the exuberance you would expect from a six or seven-year-old. Rushing over to the window, she gazed in amazement as the planes took off and landed. I could not suppress a smile as I saw her bright eyes and cheerful face. However, my smile faded as two women came over to grab her hand and lead her back to the seating area. Both women were wearing wedding rings and there were visible signs...

Updated March 27 to include responses from the FBI and the State Department. Emails disclosed by a hacker show a close family friend was funneling intelligence about the crisis in Libya directly to the Secretary of State’s private account starting before the Benghazi attack. Starting weeks before Islamic militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, longtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal’s account. The emails, which were posted on the internet...

Dear journalists: May I have a public word with you, especially if you edit the Raleigh News and Observer? You probably take a dim view of unsolicited advice from a junior member of the guild, but I think I can save you some grief in the run-up to next year’s presidential election, with an assist from the first official candidate for the Republican nomination. That candidate would, of course, be Senator Ted Cruz. Many of the stories about him are written with the same “Get a load of this guy!” tone regardless of where they come from, but I thought...

[BIG SNIP] ".....Sen. Cruz is America’s last hope for a credible border. By that I mean a border that is controlled by the citizens of America, not the citizens of other countries. I mean a border that is controlled primarily for the benefit of citizens of America, not the citizens of other countries. I mean a border that is controlled by an American population that appreciates and welcomes immigrants, but only when they come here legally, and in numbers that are conducive to their assimilation into the American value system that is based on the principles expressed in our Declaration...

In the coming days, as many Mainers scramble to finalize their tax returns, the Legislature will begin debating what has already become one of the most bipartisan bills of the session. Sponsored by freshman Republican Sen. Eric Brakey of Auburn, this legislation seeks to bring constitutional carry (already the law in Vermont) to Maine. Currently, if one wishes to carry a concealed firearm in Maine, one needs to apply for a permit to do so, through either the Maine State Police or your local police department. This bill would repeal that requirement, allowing anyone who can legally purchase a firearm...

The Boy Scout Motto is "Be Prepared." Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a teen, has taken that motto seriously. His Eagle Scout status has him so prepared, he indicated this week, he's ready to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. military. The Republican governor and likely 2016 presidential candidate spoke on Wednesday at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona. The event was closed to press, but video of Walker's conversation with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt was recorded by the opposition research group American Bridge and released by the...

It’s early 2011, and an unheard-of candidate for Senate is deciding to enter a race 22 months down the line to replace one of Texas’ most revered senators. He has no money, no prospective sources of donors. He has no establishment credibility. He has chosen to battle perhaps the most establishment of the establishment — the state’s lieutenant governor. Now, it’s early 2015, and a still relatively unheard-of candidate for president is deciding to enter a race 20 months down the line. He faces questions about whether he can raise a consistent amount of money. He has no establishment credibility....

A broad cross-section of Republican officeholders, major donors and conservative pundits are agreed on one thing: Ted Cruz has no chance to be elected president. The junior senator from Texas marked the fifth anniversary of the signing of ObamaCare by announcing his candidacy for the presidency today at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia and no one in the chattering classes thinks he has a prayer of being sworn into office as commander-in-chief in January 2017. Just about everyone thinks his positions on the issues are too extreme and that his advocacy of the 2013 government shutdown and the complete antipathy...