Free Republic

It was only a matter of time before the media began their drool parade over Hillary Clinton. Since the announcement of her presidential run on Sunday, they have been chasing after her like paparazzi, patiently waiting for any word she might utter, and alas, begin the tedious task of trying to paint her into a likeable person. No more of the “old” Hillary - an opportunistic, scandal ridden, “technically challenged,” pantsuit-wearing former first lady, Senator, Secretary of State….and one of those “evil one-percenters” she claims to detest. The media’s mission, which they have chosen to accept, is to humanize her...

In the first week of her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton and her team sought to have a "grassroots" effort with a road trip to Iowa, where she focused on small, intimate roundtables with voters. But it takes extensive planning and cloak-and-dagger maneuvering to stage simple events for a former first lady and Democratic front-runner, who has a Secret Service detail and media circus following her every move. Clinton started the final day of her first campaign trail trip on Thursday by having coffee with a group of five local leaders in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Business Insider spoke with most of...

Is another shoe about to drop on the Clinton Foundation, and on Hillary Clinton’s problematic rollout? Newsweek’s Rory Ross reported this morning that the largest individual donor to the Clinton family business has conducted trade with Iran, perhaps in breach of US sanctions. Ukrainian energy mogul Victor Pinchuk has connections to the Clintons that go back almost a decade, and financial connections to the regime in Tehran that go much farther: The fourth richest man in Ukraine, Pinchuk owns Interpipe Group, a Cyprus-incorporated manufacturer of seamless pipes used in oil and gas sectors.Newsweek has seen declarations and documents from...

I have a sneaky feeling that MSNBC political correspondent Kasie Hunt isn't a registered Republican. Even so, there's little doubt that at least for now Marco Rubio is winning the Kasie Hunt primary. In successive appearances on the Up with Steve Kornacki and Melissa Harris-Perry shows this morning, Hunt made clear that Rubio was her standout in the Republican field assembled this weekend in New Hampshire. On "Up" Hunt called Rubio "the strongest candidate in telling a story . . . really somebody to watch." A bit later on MH-P, Hunt hailed Rubio as the person who "stood out to...

U.S. military officials are concerned that Iran's support for Houthi rebels in Yemen could spark a confrontation with Saudi Arabia and plunge the region into sectarian war. ADVERTISEMENT Iran is sending an armada of seven to nine ships — some with weapons — toward Yemen in a potential attempt to resupply the Shia Houthi rebels, according to two U.S. defense officials. Officials fear the move could lead to a showdown with the U.S. or other members of a Saudi-led coalition, which is enforcing a naval blockade of Yemen and is conducting its fourth week of airstrikes against the Houthis. Iran...

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz phoned in on Friday's broadcast of the Adam Carolla Show to discuss his candidacy, the IRS and taxes, big government, his father's America compared to our current America, Jeb Bush and more. ADAM CAROLLA: Thank you so much for calling in and thank you so much for wanting to eliminate the IRS. It's driving me nuts. SEN. TED CRUZ: Well, I tell you April 16th is a day when a whole lot of folks want to move into a simple flat tax and just padlock the IRS. I think that is a powerful populist...

How long will this country remain free? Probably only as long as the American people value their freedom enough to defend it. But how many people today can stop looking at their electronic devices long enough to even think about such things? Meanwhile, attempts to shut down people whose free speech interferes with other people's political agendas go on, with remarkably little notice, much less outrage. The Internal Revenue Service's targeting the tax-exempt status of conservative groups is just one of these attempts to fight political battles by shutting up the opposition, rather than answering them. Another insidious attempt to...

It's a question that naturally springs to mind when tax season rolls around: Where are all those tax dollars being spent? In total, Washington will spend $12,304 per citizen. Unfortunately, the government will collect only $10,878 in tax revenue per person. That means that, you, the American citizen, will be left with an additional tab of $1,426, on average. The $1,426-per-person represents this year's deficit of $455 billion. Perspective: Adjusting for inflation, the government spent $894 per person in 1940, $7,319 per person during the peak of World War II (1945), $6,026 per person in 1980 and slightly more than...

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Ties between Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, political allies for more than a decade, are fraying as the Republican presidential campaign picks up. In public, mentor Bush and protege Rubio have avoided criticizing each other since Rubio announced his candidacy. But Bush allies have started quietly spreading negative information about Rubio's record. Also, supporters of the two Miami politicians are drawing contrasts between Rubio, a 43-year-old son of Cuban immigrants, and 62-year-old Bush, a member of one of the nation's most powerful political dynasties. "Sparks are going to fly," said Al...

It's one thing for Hillary Clinton to lift Granny Warren's applause lines, but now she's speaking with a forked tongue about her grandparents, just like the fake Indian does. You know how Fauxcahontas says she's an Indian because her grandma told her she had "high cheekbones"? And how her parents had to elope because her paternal grandparents were angry that their son was marrying a "breed"? (Funny, the newlyweds had a big wedding party in their hometown right after they got married in the biggest church in the next town over.) Now Hillary is out in Iowa making it up...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said he believes that President Barack Obama’s first executive amnesty for so-called DREAMers—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—is “important” and he won’t reverse it himself if elected president. He delivered these remarks in a Spanish-language interview he gave to Univision’s Jorge Ramos. “I believe DACA is important. It can’t be terminated from one moment to the next, because there are already people benefiting from it,” Rubio said in Spanish on Ramos’s television program, according to an English translation provided by the media service Grabien. “But yes, it is going to...

Hillary Clinton gets in a van a drives from New York to Iowa and somehow it’s all the media can talk about—but it’s what most Americans do. They load up their cars for a family road trip and yet, it’s not covered by the media. Her attempt to be normal is humorous; she even made a pit stop for lunch at Chipotle—WOW! However, while at Chipotle she chose to be incognito and donned a pair of sunglasses. Let me get this straight, she wants to listen to everyday Americans but she doesn’t want to be seen or recognized at a...

Elizabeth Warren took one of her characteristically earth-shattering ideas to the Daily Show Thursday night: “If we would reduce the interest rate on student loans, young people would have a lot more money to spend.” “Right–and then they could buy more weed and then they’d be quieter!” Stewart interjected. That wasn’t quite the point Warren wanted to make—but it does a good job of highlighting how ridiculous her economic thinking–or lack thereof–is. Warren has tried—and failed—in the past to lower student loan interest rates by raising taxes on the wealthy. On Stewart’s show, she continued her never-ending quest to convince...

Less than a week after announcing his 2016 campaign for president, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida doesn't need to worry about money. It's as good as in the bank. "Marco Rubio will have the resources necessary to run a first-class campaign, that’s already been determined," said billionaire Florida auto dealer Norman Braman, a former Jeb Bush supporter who is now one of Rubio's highest-silhouette donors. Annandale Capital founder George Seay, who is hosting a Rubio fundraiser with the moneyed Dallas elite at his 7,000-square-foot, seven-bath home on Tuesday, said: "Marco has had zero trouble raising money." At least seven...

Posters telling Muslims not to vote in the election were plastered across an area of Cardiff yesterday. They read: 'Democracy is a system whereby man violates the right of Allah.' Posters were stuck on lampposts and bus stops across the Grangetown suburb telling the Muslim electorate: 'Islam is the only real workable solution for the UK'. Cardiff Council have begun removing the posters, dubbed 'chilling' and 'threatening' by locals. The full message on the poster reads: 'Democracy is a system whereby man violates the right of Allah and decides what is permissible or impermissible for mankind, based solely on their...

Politics: Anyone hoping that Hillary Clinton learned something from her disastrous book tour must be pretty worried right about now. Her first week as a presidential candidate was little short of a train wreck. Hillary's June tour for "Hard Choices" went just about as badly as a book tour could. In what should have been softball interviews, she fatuously claimed that she and Bill were "dead broke" when they left the White House; couldn't defend herself on Benghazi; and got in a spat with an NPR reporter over gay marriage. The week went so poorly that the mainstream press started...

Rand Paul’s entry into the presidential race raises an interesting question: Just how many people consider themselves “libertarian” and what is the potential voting strength of this segment of the population? Paul Krugman weighed in early with the brash claim that "there basically aren't any libertarians." But as David Henderson reminds us, once again Krugman’s opinions are nowhere near factual reality. Gallup, which has been polling on the issue for quite some time, finds that 38 percent of the public identifies as “conservative” and 24 percent as “liberal” in the latest poll Gallup doesn’t ask people if they are libertarian,...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said he believes that President Barack Obama’s first executive amnesty for so-called DREAMers—the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—is “important” and he won’t reverse it himself if elected president. He delivered these remarks in a Spanish-language interview he gave to Univision’s Jorge Ramos. “I believe DACA is important. It can’t be terminated from one moment to the next, because there are already people benefiting from it,” Rubio said in Spanish on Ramos’s television program, according to an English translation provided by the media service Grabien. “But yes, it is going to...

Reuters) – Less than a week after announcing his 2016 campaign for president, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida doesn’t need to worry about money. It’s as good as in the bank. “Marco Rubio will have the resources necessary to run a first-class campaign, that’s already been determined,” said billionaire Florida auto dealer Norman Braman, a former Jeb Bush supporter who is now one of Rubio’s highest-silhouette donors. Annandale Capital founder George Seay, who is hosting a Rubio fundraiser with the moneyed Dallas elite at his 7,000-square-foot, seven-bath home on Tuesday, said: “Marco has had zero trouble raising money.” At...

After I write a column that rips Barack Obama up one side and down the other, talks about our debt or the fact that we essentially don’t have borders any more, there are usually conservatives who show up in the comments section or email me something like, “I agree with you 110%, but what’s the solution? What policy do we put in place to fix everything that’s going wrong? When are we going to have another Ronald Reagan ride in on a white horse and fix what’s wrong?” Here’s the problem with that: It’s the wrong mentality. It’s sort of...