Free Republic

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he will stay in the top post in the House of Representatives until his successor is elected, adding that he would announce the date of that vote later. "We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks," the Ohio Republican said in a statement released after the surprise withdrawal of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy from the race.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves a campaign event September 23, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. The two leading Republican presidential candidates — real-estate mogul Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson — had very different reactions to the mayhem in Washington on Thursday. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was expected to easily have the speaker's race sewn up. But instead, McCarthy suddenly exited the race and threw the legislative chamber into disarray. Trump, the Republican front-runner, said McCarthy made the right decision because he wasn't tough enough. "Great, Kevin McCarthy drops out of SPEAKER race. We need a...

I started with a simple enough question: how do I watch the October 13 Democratic debate on CNN? And I wound up learning the answer to so many more questions I didn't know I had. Among those answers: Cheryl Crow, virtual reality, Las Vegas, and maybe Joe Biden or maybe not. Crazily, CNN itself seems to be offering no information about whether they will livestream the debate, as they did with the Republicans last month, or whether they'll shunt it over to cable-only like Fox did with their debate. Mashable is the only site reporting that CNN will be livestreaming...

“Rubio said he joined the Gang of Eight to ‘to get the best bill possible’ but he produced the most extreme immigration bill in history (more extreme than McCain-Kennedy) and written by special interest groups. Rubio’s plan earned the endorsement of Obama, La Raza, Reid, all Dems, Gutierrez, Pelosi, Zuckerberg, Murdoch, Iger, the Chamber of Commerce, and every open borders outfit in the country,” the site reads. It details how Rubio broke promises he made to nationally syndicated talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity and Fox News host Bill O’Reilly—again, for which he’s never apologized. “Rubio...

<p>McCarthy's demise comes hard on the heels of Boehner bowing out of the speakership as a sort of human sacrifice to the tea party right. And it happens as Donald Trump is in the midst of his fourth consecutive month as the Republican front-runner for the party's presidential nomination -- and with Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, two other people who have never held elected office before, running in second and third place, respectively.</p>

There’s a guy out in America who has emails for a massive number of members of Congress and the email addresses of highly influential conservatives outside Congress. A few days ago, he emailed out to 91 people, including these members of Congress, an email with a series of links to stories alleging a relationship between Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina. It is worth nothing that the two deny a relationship. But the email began circulating pretty heavily. Conservatives were buzzing about it. The first line pointed to the current scandal about Denny Hastert and concluded suggesting...

It is time to become concerned with the personal diligence of Ben Carson, with respect to the preparation he has put into running for President. In what is becoming a sadly familiar refrain, Carson was once again today unable to answer a very basic question about United States policy, or to even be prepared to discuss the subject knowledgeably (or even conversantly).

Rupert Murdoch, who founded the News Corp. media empire that includes Fox News Channel, apologized on Thursday for a Twitter message suggesting that President Barack Obama isn’t a “real black president.” […] Following a backlash, Murdoch tweeted Thursday: “Apologies! No offense meant. Personally find both men charming.” …

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in Las Vegas at noon Thursday. WATCH BELOW

The onetime front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination now likes to call himself a “disrupter.” During a swing this week through eastern Iowa, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush stepped up his rhetoric against the political establishment, seeking to catch up to the outsider candidates leading the GOP field. “I’ve never lived in Washington, never been part of Washington,” the former two-term governor said Wednesday at a coffee shop here. “I just have the skill set to disrupt the beast.”

The Establishment is going to be VERY, VERY pissed at all of us! They're power is crumbling, and their neat little line of successors is no more!

Jeremy Corbyn has snubbed the Queen by refusing to be sworn into the Privy Council on Thursday, as it emerged he could use a loophole to join the advisory body without ever meeting Her Majesty. The Labour leader, a lifelong republican, is known to have reservations about kneeling in front of the Queen and kissing her hand as he swears an oath of allegiance to her, which is the normal process when a new Privy Councillor is sworn in. And having refused to sing the National Anthem at a Battle of Britain 75th anniversary service last month, Mr Corbyn tried...

After Leader McCarthy’s announcement, members of the House Republican Conference will not vote today for a new Speaker. As I have said previously, I will serve as Speaker until the House votes to elect a new Speaker. We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new Speaker in the coming weeks. Our conference will work together to ensure we have the strongest team possible as we continue to focus on the American people’s priorities.

Three political outsiders with no prior experience in political office are now leading in California among Republicans likely to vote in the state's June 2016 presidential primary. Businessman Donald Trump, at 17%, and physician Ben Carson, at 15%, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina, at 13%, are besting the crowded field of current an d former U.S. Senators and Governors, who collectively receive 42% of the vote. Another 13% are undecided SNIP The findings come from a Field Poll completed September 17-October 4, 2015 among 1,002 registered voters in California, of whom 214 are consider likely to vote in next year's June...

.S. Sen. Harry Reid is suing a company that makes and markets a flexible exercise band that he says broke or slipped from his hand during an arm-strengthening routine on New Year's Day, causing him to fall and suffer face, rib and eye injuries. The Senate minority leader from Nevada and his wife, Landra Gould, seek more than $50,000 in damages from Thera-Band maker Hygenic Intangible Property Holding Co., The Hygenic Corp. and Performance Health LLC.

Grammy-award winning singer Sheryl Crow is scheduled to sing the National Anthem at the first Democratic primary debate being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 13. Crow, who calls herself an "avid follower of politics," said she is as anxious as other interested voters to hear from those seeking to nab the Democratic presidential nomination.

The smart folk at Grammarly -- an online grammar checker -- examined Facebook posts written by supporters of the 2016 presidential candidates in a savvy bid to garner free press. It helped that the grammar site's findings confirmed the left's most treasured conceit -- that liberals are more learned than conservatives. Specifically, the study found that supporters of GOP candidates made more grammatical errors than supporters of Democrats, who also displayed a richer vocabulary. Oh, joy, I thought, once again Republicans are the knuckle draggers. I'm with the stoopid party. Supporters of Democrat Lincoln Chafee, the former Rhode Island governor,...

Rather than cooperate, Democrats from the start have tried to thwart the Benghazi probe from within, Chairman Trey Gowdy said in a letter released Thursday that accused Democrats of bad faith and also announced the release of emails that call into question the relationship between former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her associate Sidney Blumenthal. Mr. Gowdy said it was Democrats, not Republicans, who “selectively leaked information” to try to set the political narrative about the probe. Mr. Gowdy said Democrats have been more interested in that than in actually participating in the investigation, and he accused the...

I'm dreaming of a nice Hanukkah! 8 Presents in 8 Days Day 1 - President Cruz Day 2 - VP Carson Day 3 - Atty General Trey Gowdy Day 4 - Sec State John Bolton Day 5 - Sec Treas Milton Friedman - even dead he's an improvement over anyone else Day 6 - Obamacare repealed Day 7 - Hillary and Valerie Jarrett both arrested Day 8 - Raul Castro overthrown in popular uprising, Maduro arrested by Venezuelan uprising, Iranian people rise up and arrest ruling Mullahs. Bonus Day: Barack Obama defects to Iran just before uprising and the Iranian...

When House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced his resignation earlier this month, the likelihood that his successor would be able to navigate a series of high stakes deadlines looked uncertain at best. Since then, the leadership succession has erupted into full-out chaos. What was supposed to be a relatively smooth ascension for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been rocked by his own gaffes, outsider challengers, and the threat of an unprecedented floor fight that could undermine efforts to avoid a government shutdown and a historic default on the national debt before the year's end. According to Norman Ornstein,...