Free Republic

It’s the same kind of elitism expressed by Brexit opponents who are casting Leave people as ignorant, parochial hicks . . . On today’s Morning Joe, historian Jon Meacham disparaged Trump supporters as people who think with their “gut” instead of with their “head.” After video rolled of Trump supporting waterboarding and saying we had to fight ISIS fire with fire, Meacham sniffed: “Democrats tend to seem to win the intellectual argument and Trump walks away with the emotional argument.” Really? What was the “intellectual argument” won by Hillary, Obama and other Dems on the Russian reset, “leading from behind,”...

Which is why the elite don't see what the problem is To listen to the howling and wailing from the political and media elites, you’d think the British people were forcing their government to close all the hospitals and burn all the schools down. The reaction to Britain’s exit from the European Union has been that over-the-top hysterical. The British Empire survived for many centuries before anyone ever conceived of the EU – which was only established in 1993 – and I think it can probably do just fine once again not being a member of it. But you’d never...

A basic economic premise holds that when the price of something rises, people seek to economize on its use. They seek substitutes for that which has risen in price. Recent years have seen proposals for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Some states and localities, such as Seattle, have already legislated a minimum wage of $15 an hour. Nobody should be surprised that fast-food companies such as Wendy's, Panera Bread, McDonald's and others are seeking substitutes for employees who are becoming costlier. One substitute that has emerged for cashiers is automated kiosks where, instead of...

Dear Donald Trump Fan, I'm going to tell you the truth, friend. You say you want the truth. You say you want someone who speaks boldly and brashly and bluntly and "tells it like it is" and so on. According to exit polls in South Carolina, voters who want a president who "tells it like it is" are an essential demographic for Trump, just as they're an essential demographic for Judge Judy and Dr. Phil. You say you want abrupt and matter-of-fact honesty, and you want it so much, you'll make a man president for it regardless of whether he...

In the past, Joe Scarborough hasn't exactly hidden his disdain for Marco Rubio, saying he reminds him of an eager student government candidate and questioning his integrity. But things have now escalated to open warfare between the two. Scarborough, responding to an ad in which Rubio speaks of feeling "out of place in our own country," tweeted an attack accusing Rubio of playing a "crass, offensive, nativist" [read xenophobic/borderline racist] card. Rubio has fired back, putting out a fundraising message in which he slams Scarborough as an "elitist." View the video here.

Airport commission approves a private LAX lounge for the rich and famous A proposal to build a posh private lounge at Los Angeles International Airport for Southern California’s glitterati was approved Thursday in a move that officials hope will reduce disturbances by paparazzi, looky-loos and autograph-seekers in the busy central terminal area. The Board of Airport Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the exclusive facility, which would cater to wealthy Hollywood celebrities, sports figures, diplomats and anyone else seeking privacy while waiting for their flights or after arriving at LAX. Airport officials say the lounge will be located in a...

Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough railed against Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson’s candidacy and warned that despite the content of Carson’s character, he isn’t qualified to be president.

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey (D) was awarded a lifetime pension after only four months on the job as an attorney for Hudson County. County spokesman James Kennelly sought to abate outrage from taxpayers and other county employees who must put in years of work to qualify for much smaller pensions. “Governor McGreevey brought a unique experience — an intense commitment to the job,” Kennelly argued. “His four months on the job is worth far more than decades put in by any other county employee. So, I don’t think there are any grounds for complaints.” Although he was unable...

I want to beat Hillary Clinton next year. I want to beat her with a Republican who is not just another party apparatchik surrounded by lower level party apparatchiks within the Republican Party. But I know we cannot beat Hillary Clinton with this level of anger. We won’t be able to draw people to our side and our cause like this. I get the anger. I do. I am angry at the betrayal and the repeated lies from Washington Republicans who say they love children, but won’t even defund Planned Parenthood. I get the anger of voters who sent men...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is clearly tired of talking about rival presidential candidate Donald Trump. In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Bush dismissed two questions about the real-estate magnate whose controversial immigration comments have drawn reams of headlines. Asked about Trump's success in the polls, Bush replied: "I don't know if he's having success. We'll see in the long haul." Bush was then pressed if he felt Trump's candidacy was harming the broader Republican Party. He declined to answer. "I've already stated my views about Donald Trump," he said. With some light prodding, Bush said he wouldn't...

Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested Monday afternoon at a UCLA athletic facility and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

I have got to hand it to Amy Chozick of the New York Times for her deadpan article on Hillary Clinton’s “quandary” over what to do about the Hamptons this summer. You see, she and Bill have for years vacationed there, among the show business and Wall Street elites who rent or own fabulous mansions along the shore of eastern Long Island, mingling with one another. It takes a lot money:  In 2011 and 2012, there was the eight-bedroom, 12,000-square-foot East Hampton rental with a heated pool that the couple took for part of August, the kind of house...

The unemployment rate has fallen by nearly three percentage points and the U.S. economy has added 4.6 million jobs since President Obama won re-election in November 2012, but voters in the midterm elections gave him no credit for the improvement. Analysis of exit polls from Tuesday’s elections shows that voters who say their finances are getting worse voted 2 to 1 for Republican candidates, and that 6 out of 10 voters were dissatisfied with the Obama administration’s management. Obama pointed out Wednesday in his post-election press conference that although many economic indicators are improving, "there are still a lot of...

A simple addition problem seems to become a little more complicated under Common Core. That is made very clear in a new “Homework Helper” segment that recently aired on WGRZ-TV in Buffalo, New York. In the new educational segments, local teachers attempt to help confused parents better understand their children’s Common Core homework. In the introductory segment, a math teacher takes nearly an entire minute explaining why 9 plus 6 equals 15. “Our young learners might not be all together comfortable thinking about what 9 plus 6 is. They are quite comfortable thinking about their friend 10,” the teacher says...

According to CBS This Morning host Gayle King on Monday, unless an illegal alien is doing something "illegal," Americans should leave him or her alone. Mike Hogan from Vanity Fair appeared on the program to discuss a new poll about ethical dilemmas and how people respond. Guest host Vinita Nair wondered, "Who's more likely to report an illegal immigrant living next door?" Hogan discussed the responses of Republicans, Democrats and independents. He then quoted an off-air discussion: "I think Gayle [King] in the green room said, 'As long as they're not doing anything illegal, you know, let them live.'" Standing...

With public school students using #ThanksMichelle to tweet photos of their skimpy, stomach-turning school lunches, I decided to look at what Michelle Obama's daughters are served at Sidwell Friends school, and it turns out the girls dine on lunches from menus designed by chefs. While the Obama daughters have enjoyed dishes like chicken coconut soup, local butternut squash soup, crusted tilapia, they also get their fill of what Mrs. Obama might consider junk food. This week, for example, they'll enjoy meatball subs, BBQ wings, and ice cream, in addition to chicken curry, deviled egg salad and the intriguing "Chef's Choice."...

You have to hand it to the game-makers in the two major parties: they have done an outstanding job of putting the problems of the world into a convenient left-right paradigm. To the average conservative out there, Republican equals conservative, which equals good – while Democrat equals liberal, which equals bad. And to the average liberal out there, Democrat equals liberal, which equals good – while Republican equals conservative, which equals bad. So, all the party game-makers have to do is paint the other guys as liberal or conservative and all of the sheeple within the two parties will blindly...

FULL TITLE: Beijing hotel workers already 'fed up' with Obama entourage in 3400-square-foot, $8,350-per-night suite inconveniencing 'pretty much everyone' – and the first lady's mother is 'barking at the staff' Michelle Obama and three of her family members are staying in a $8,350-per-night Beijing presidential suite, but despite a 24-hour butler and other perks that come with the lodging, her entourage has inconvenienced 'pretty much everyone' and made the hotel staff 'fed up,' a well-placed hotel staffer has told MailOnline. The sumptuous pad at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang hotel – its website calls the room 'an oasis of comfort –...

As conservatives, we're all aware that progressive liberals have been waging an all-out war on traditional values, especially that of marriage. It seems that they won't be content until a man can marry a goat, his sister, and his best friend all at the same time. While we get caught up in fighting for what has kept society stable for millennia, we can lose focus on what else we can glean from the liberal obsession with marriage. I speak of elitism and of control. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Colorado Marriage Education Act ballot measure requiring brides...

Liberal New Republic editor Jonathan Cohn admits that under Obamacare, the California networks have become exceedingly restrictive regarding doctors and hospitals. He even points out that one of Los Angeles’ finest hospitals, Cedars-Sinai, isn’t in the new Obamacare networks. But don’t be upset, Cohn coos; Cedars-Sinai isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And people just wanted to go there for the snob appeal, anyway, in order to hobnob with the rich and famous. […] Cohn ignores the entire topic of liberty and choice, as though it is of no importance whatsoever. And to Cohn, perhaps it isn’t—at least, for...