Free Republic

Last year, House Democrats saw ex-Majority Leader Eric Cantor as a possible (if ultimately disappointing) ally in the fight to rewrite the Voting Rights Act for the 21st century. On Tuesday, Cantor’s leadership successor, Kevin McCarthy, might have revealed himself as another important potential friend to the effort. The California Republican echoed at a pen-and-pad briefing what fellow GOP lawmakers have said before: Any revision of the landmark 1965 law has to start in the Judiciary Committee — a disappointing answer for advocates who know Chairman Robert W. Goodlatte, R-Va., is disinclined to tackle the matter. But McCarthy later said...

Republican insiders are reconciling themselves to the idea that Donald Trump won’t be exiting the stage anytime soon — and their main concern now is limiting his damage to their party. The GOP establishment is almost universally hostile to Trump, who has soared in the 2016 polls on the back of his celebrity, his outspoken statements on immigration and trade deals, and media coverage of his antics. Many party strategists believe Trump did himself serious damage with his recent remarks denigrating Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) experiences while a prisoner of war in Hanoi, Vietnam — but there is not yet...

What Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) understands about the political system is that policy initiatives are worthless if you are unwilling to harness critical moments and pivotal legislation to relentlessly push that agenda. It’s nice to oppose Obama’s amnesty, funding for abortion, Obamacare, or the Iran deal, but it’s nothing but vapid campaign rhetoric without pursuing a consequential battle over a so-called must-pass bill. Today, Ted Cruz has introduced 8 amendments to the 1,030-page $300 billion highway bill that will address a number of the critical issues facing this country during these dark times. Here is the list of the Cruz...

The Corner The one and only. ‘You Should Be for Americans’: Victims of Illegal-Alien Sanctuary Policies Tell Their Stories by Mark Krikorian July 21, 2015 7:39 PM @MarkSKrikorian The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing today featuring family members of Americans killed by illegal aliens. The witnesses told the stories of Danny Oliver, Grant Ronnebeck, Kathryn Steinle, Dennis McCann, and Josh Wilkerson – all dead because federal, state, and local governments have abdicated their responsibility to protect American citizens from foreign criminals. The anti-borders activists were sensible enough not to disrupt the proceedings, as they have done so often before....

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough wrote a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday about real-estate magnate Donald Trump and whether the Republican establishment should challenge his controversial presidential campaign. "Trump will always be Trump, and there is no need for anyone in the Republican establishment to think otherwise. The best they can do is ride this wave of dissatisfaction and learn a lesson or two from it," Scarborough wrote. Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," wrote that if front-running GOP candidates truly fear that Trump will harm their party, they should take it upon themselves to bring...

I'm sort of breaking my promise here. No news. Why no news? Because the news you read is almost always by uninformed reporters and is totally irrelevant in 99.999% of the cases. Example: Greece has not paid a single debt since Rome took over in 146 BC. And yet, everyone keeps asking me about Greece. News flash: They will borrow more money, and AGAIN they will not pay their debts. Nor should they. Greece is a subsidized beach resort, healthy food, etc but they aren't a real country - (sorry in advance to anyone offended by this) and then in...

Ever since Donald Trump claimed Saturday that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) isn’t a war hero -- or, maybe, is one only because he was captured in Vietnam -- cable networks have covered those remarks without pause. The national media are obsessed with Trump, who has ridden the feedback loop of press attention to the top of the Republican presidential primary polls. Trump’s comments last month about Mexican immigrants being “rapists” drew extensive coverage as well. But the McCain swipe seemed to send TV bookers into a unique frenzy. Over four days, The Huffington Post found 162 people -- rival presidential...

You either love him or hate him. In any given hour of the day, his name is on the lips of some politician or media talking head. I haven’t seen this much celebrity notoriety since Charlie Sheen launched his incomprehensible “My Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour to an incredulous public. Winning was never like this. Donald Trump’s remarks on immigration may not have that Lindsay Lohan mark of sensationally shabby repute, but no one can deny he’s created a media firestorm that’s taken a life of its own. You may have seen a few political cartoons depicting him as the...

Donald Trump struck back at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who called him a “jackass” on CNN, bashing the senator for soliciting him for campaign cash years ago and announcing his telephone number to a full crowd. “It’s amazing, he doesn’t seem like a very bright guy. He actually seems to me not as bright, obviously, as [former Texas Gov.] Rick Perry,” Trump said during a rambling speech Tuesday in front of retirees at Sun City, S.C. “Didn’t this guy call me four years ago? Yes, he called me three or four years ago, Lindsey Graham, I didn’t even know who...

When Donald Trump derided John McCain’s war hero status on Saturday and set off a media firestorm, many in the Republican establishment thought he had finally self-destructed. They can keep dreaming. Trump’s partisans are disappointed. But they’re disappointed in McCain, the media and the party establishment, not Trump. Interviews with his supporters in New Hampshire and the first drips of polling data suggest the mogul’s core constituency has no intention of abandoning him over the dust-up. “I don’t like McCain anyways, to be perfectly frank with you,” said Jerry DeLemus, a Marine Corps veteran and Republican activist in New Hampshire....

This is why Trump is doing so well in the polls. It’s not about him. It’s about a Party who has abandoned their conservative principles, a Party who has forgotten how to act like men, and a Party that wants to be loved so much they’re willing to be indistinguishable from Democrats. Trump is the bold color. The GOP establishment are the pale pastels. It isn’t any more complicated than that.

People are alternately freaking out over a new poll from the Washington Compost and ABC that shows the Trumpinator just had a huge surge in support. From the poll: Trump’s frontrunner status, moreover, reflects the crowded GOP race. He leads the 16-candidate field with 24 percent support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are registered to vote, up sharply from 4 percent in May. While enough for a lead, that also means 76 percent prefer someone else, or none of them. Scott Walker has 13 percent support, Jeb Bush 12 percent, with the rest in single digits. Trump’s support was...

Businessman Donald Trump surged into the lead for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, with almost twice the support of his closest rival, just as he ignited a new controversy after making disparaging remarks about Sen. John McCain’s Vietnam War service, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Support for Trump fell sharply on the one night that voters were surveyed following those comments. Telephone interviewing for the poll began Thursday, and most calls were completed before the news about the remarks was widely reported. Although the sample size for the final day was small, the decline was statistically significant....

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush promised to break Washington gridlock in a sweeping domestic policy speech Monday meant to frame him as the only leader who could alleviate the nation's woes. Promising a vision "on a scale we haven't seen since the Reagan years,” the GOP presidential candidate said he’d announce tax and regulatory reform proposals over the "coming months,” as well as changes to entitlement programs and a replacement for ObamaCare. "Should I win this election, you will not find me deferring to the settled ways of 'Mount Washington,' either," Bush said at Florida State University, chiding D.C. as...

Beating Hillary Clinton requires a Republican nominee who will energize all elements of the Republican Party: fiscal conservatives, national security conservatives, values voters, and constitutional conservatives. Nominating a milquetoast Republican who fails to gain the support of the whole party will cripple Republican enthusiasm and shrink turnout just as it has in previous elections. Since the media is going to chastise Republicans for rejecting the liberal agenda, let’s nominate a solid conservative, energize the Republican Party, and win. At a time when judicial activism and DC’s perverse incentives are concentrating power in Washington, we need a tested candidate who has...

John McCain is a war hero. Period. Unless, of course, he’s a threat to Democrats and Barack Obama — as he was in September of 2008 as the Republican nominee for president. Then the man whose honor is suddenly being defended by outraged Establishment figures from both parties and the media was no longer a war hero. No, back there in the fall of 2008 McCain was being savaged as a mean SOB with an uncontrollable temper — a man who threatened to physically strike a wheelchair-bound, oxygen-dependent mother of a missing Vietnam serviceman. When he wasn’t busy causing another...

During a recent Republican presidential forum, Donald Trump disparaged Senator John McCain’s war record, claiming that McCain is “not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” And the Internet responded, surfacing a photo that some are calling the perfect comeback and reminder of McCain’s service to his country.

As a conservative and a “wacko-bird“, John McCain is a constant source of irritation and embarrassment. The only thing that can be considered Maverick about John McCain is his willingness to give Conservatives the finger whenever possible while still begging for votes from them every six years. J.D. Hayworth weakly primaried John McCain in 2010, however his campaign quickly found itself mired in Birtherism. This made him un-electable even from this conservative’s point of view. I wanted to vote for J.D. Hayworth in 2010. I really, really, really, wanted to. However, I refuse to pander to conspiracy nuts like truthers...

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) doesn’t really understand why congressional Republicans are again focusing their limited time on lightning-rod social issues, but if they’re going to force the debate, he’s hoping to soften any blowback. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, Republicans — 124 of them in the House and 34 in the Senate — want legislation passed ensuring the federal government cannot discriminate against anyone who actively opposes same-sex marriage, citing “a religious or moral conviction.” Specifically, they support a measure saying those entities cannot have their tax-exempt status revoked. There is broad agreement,...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will spend $1 million on television and digital ads for Republican Senate candidates in critical races in Illinois and Nevada, according to Federal Election Commission documents filed this week. The Chamber is putting $550,000 behind ads for Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is seeking reelection in a solidly blue state during a presidential election year in which turnout could favor Democrats. The 30-second ad touts Kirk as a “fighter” and “independent leader,” and seeks to highlight his time in the military. The Chamber is also spending $400,000 on ads for Rep. Joe Heck, (R-Nev.) who...