Free Republic

After capturing the fervor of the intensely progressive wing of the Democratic party in the 2016 presidential primary — despite never having been a member of the party at all — Vermont senator Bernie Sanders seems to be falling out of favor with the ruling social-justice-warrior class. What proved his undoing was not, in fact, a sudden recollection on the part of Democrats that the party’s base is not composed entirely of socialists. No, Sanders’s star has fallen because he has revealed himself to be insufficiently dedicated to the radical pro-abortion movement. This progressive consensus arose after Sanders had the...

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah) is taking a leave of absence from Congress to undergo "immediate" foot surgery and is expected to return in mid-May. Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, shared a photo to his Instagram on Wednesday showing an x-ray of a previously repaired broken foot with 14 screws and a metal plate in it, Politico reported. The lawmaker said doctors are now recommending that he have the hardware removed or "be at risk for serious infection." Chaffetz originally sustained the injury falling off a ladder nearly 12 years ago.

President Trump met with conservative media personality Matt Drudge in the Oval Office, Politico reported Thursday. Trump has kept in close contact with a number of conservative media figures, the report said. And in addition to meeting with Trump at the White House, Drudge reportedly speaks regularly with Jared Kushner, the president's top aide and son-in-law. Earlier this month, the Drudge Report proprietor said he thinks Republicans in Congress are intentionally undermining the president with legislative and policy hurdles and obstructions. "I suspect there's a sabotage," he said earlier this month. "Do you know Obama had the stimulus package on...

California's $54 billion plan to fix roads and fund highway improvements cleared a major hurdle late Thursday, passing in the state legislature and setting the stage for what could become a massive spending spree. Positive comments last week from analysts about the state transportation plan sent shares of several construction-related companies sharply higher. Some of them continued to trend higher this week and with passage in both houses of the legislature it's possible they could rally Friday. Analysts have suggested beneficiaries of the state spending could include Summit Materials, a construction materials producer, and AECOM, an engineering firm. Summit's stock...

Despite continuous stories in the media reporting that President Donald Trump has the lowest favorable rating in his first 100 days of any president in modern history, Congress’s approval is worse. A new Gallup poll shows Trump’s favorable rating stands at 40 percent, one percentage point above 39 percent for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s favorable rating is eight percentage points lower than Ryan’s at 31 percent. But the honor for having the lowest rating goes to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), which stands at 27 percent.

The city of Portland decided to cancel the annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade after email threats were received promising violence if the event went forward. The family oriented event was threatened with disruption by thugs who promised to "stab to death" marchers associated with the Multnomah County Republican Party. After consulting police, organizers decided they couldn't protect marchers or bystanders and ended up cancelling the event. Oregonian: At least two protests were planned for the day of the parade, one by Oregon Students Empowered and another by Direct Action Alliance. Both events were mentioned in an email sent to...

President Donald Trump's biggest achievement in his first 100 days? Easy. He stopped the left. Measure Trump's first 100 days not just by looking at what he has or has not accomplished. Look at what America would have experienced under the alternative: Hillary Clinton. Under Clinton, the debate would not be on how to replace Obamacare, but how quickly can the left realize its ultimate ambition, a Canadian-style, single-payer system. Under Clinton, the issue would not be how steep the tax cuts, but how many "rich" people, also known as job creators, would experience yet another growth-restricting tax hike....

It’s unanimous! 7.5 billion to zero! No one in the entire world likes Donald Trump! That would be the conclusion you’d have to draw if you watched the segment NBC’s Richard Engel prepared for today’s Morning Joe on international reaction to Trump’s first 100 days. From the UK to South Korea, the West Bank to Germany, there was amazing consensus against Trump. Among people Engel aired, the best anyone had to say about Trump was British news anchor Alistair Stewart’s observation that at least we’ve literally survived his first 100 days. Said Stewart: there isn’t “all-out nuclear conflict—although it is...

Chelsea Clinton claims she’s not running for office, but many of the high-powered strategists, political players and communications professionals who groomed her mother for political stardom are working hard to improve Chelsea’s image on social media. Monday night, Brian Fallon, the Hillary Clinton campaign’s national press secretary rushed to Chelsea’s defense after social media “blasted” the former First Daughter for retweeting a reporter asking about her plans to move to the suburbs and run for Congress.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to visit Israel in the last week of May, according to multiple sources, as first reported by JewishPress.com on Sunday. Both the White House and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to confirm or deny the report to Bloomberg News. However, an American delegation is expected to arrive soon in Israel to work out plans for the president’s first visit to the Jewish State since his election to office, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 2 news. An exact date has not yet been finalized, however. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud...

With President Donald Trump set to greet Machmud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, at the White House on May 3rd, the time has come to examine how the US allowed the PLO to trample upon ten US government PLO policy guidelines, and to examine what the current US administration could do to see to it that the PLO does not “trample on Trump”. 1.The US recognized the PLO during the final month of the Reagan administration December 1988, on the condition that the PLO would recognize UN resolution 242, which required the PLO to recognize the right of each...

Israeli society was nearly torn apart in the one year and eight months between Sharon’s surprise announcement and the expulsion of Gaza’s Jews in August 2005. The day after Israel celebrates its 69th Independence Day, US President Donald Trump will greet PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas at the White House. The date of their meeting, May 3, is notable not least for its timing. The timing of the meeting presumes a linkage between the establishment of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state. This is not merely obnoxious, it is also blind to reality. In reality, an independent state of...

Without uttering a word to students at the University of California, Berkeley, Ann Coulter on Wednesday made herself the latest cause célèbre in the rapidly escalating effort by conservatives to fight liberals on what was once the left’s moral high ground over free speech on campus. Ms. Coulter, the acid-penned conservative writer, canceled a planned appearance on Thursday after the political organizations that invited her rescinded their support over fears of violence. “It’s a sad day for free speech,” she said. But across the country, conservatives like her are eagerly throwing themselves into volatile situations like the one in Berkeley,...

French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron has been heckled by factory workers in Amiens after a visit by his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen. Ms. Le Pen upstaged her centrist rival by turning up to speak to the workers as he met their union representatives a few miles away.... This was a neat publicity coup for Marine Le Pen. As Emmanuel Macron was holding talks at the local chamber of commerce, the National Front leader made an unannounced visit to the picket line at the Whirlpool factory where she was greeted with enthusiasm by may of the striking workers. She told...

No one voted for Trump because of the “Access Hollywood” tape. They voted for him because of his issues; most prominently, his promise to build “a big beautiful wall.” And who’s going to pay for it? MEXICO! You can’t say that at every campaign rally for 18 months and then not build a wall. Do not imagine that a Trump double-cross on the wall will not destroy the Republican Party. Oh, we’ll get them back. No, you won’t. Trump wasn’t a distraction: He was the last chance to save the GOP. Millions of Americans who hadn’t voted in 30 years...

The @AnnCoulter event in Berkeley is NOT canceled. I will be speaking tomorrow with @Lauren_Southern @FaithGoldy @BrittPettibone #POYB

Globalist French President candidate Emmanuel Macron faced animosity from workers at a Whirlpool plant facing closure during a campaign visit after anti-mass migration candidate Marine Le Pen made a surprise visit hours earlier. What started as a planned campaign stop to visit the union bosses of a Whirlpool plant facing closure in Amiens ended in disaster for Mr. Macron after a surprise visit from his presidential rival. Mr. Macron was shoved and shouted at by workers who may lose their jobs as the factory is scheduled to be relocated to Poland next June French broadcaster BFMTV reports. The 39-year-old Presidential...

President Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Canada agreed Wednesday to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the White House said Wednesday night. "it is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation," Trump said in a statement. "It is an honor to deal with both [Mexican] President [Enrique] Peña Nieto and [Canadian] Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better." The White House added that Trump "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time" and that all three leaders ""agreed to proceed swiftly,...

Conservative groups wrote a letter to Congress Tuesday asking lawmakers on the appropriations committee to eliminate a solar subsidy program worth $270 million. Conservatives want Congress to pull funding from the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative, citing recent investigations that found the program provided subsidies for rooftop solar power. The letter calls SunShot the “ground zero of the solar subsidy machine,” arguing that it gives out millions of dollars in subsidies through net metering programs. Such programs force utilities to buy the electricity from rooftop solar panels at up to six times the market price, effectively forcing non-solar residents to pay...

he decision by a federal judge in San Francisco Tuesday doesn’t have any practical effect on the Trump administration’s policy toward sanctuary cities. That’s because the White House and the Department of Justice have not been on the same page about the definition of a sanctuary city and how much federal money those sanctuary cities should lose. The executive order signed in January by President Donald Trump called for sanctuary jurisdictions to be eligible to lose all federal funding except money needed for law enforcement purposes. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, however, talked only about sanctuary jurisdictions losing grants from the...