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If there are material changes in that conference report different from this bill that adversely affect the agreement, I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote," he said. "Let me repeat it, I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote, if there are material changes to this agreement in the conference report. And I will vote against it if that is the case." Sounds like cold feet. Nelson might not like the heat he's feeling since announcing his deal. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/20/senate-democrats-warn-house-alter-health/

Sarah Palin is such a cold-eyed skeptic about the Copenhagen summit on climate change that it's no surprise she would call on President Obama not to attend. After all, Obama might join other leaders in acknowledging that warming is a "global challenge." He might entertain "opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." He might even explore ways to "participate in carbon-trading markets." Oh, wait. Those quotes aren't from some smug Euro-socialist manifesto. They're from an administrative order Palin signed in September 2007, as governor of Alaska, establishing a "sub-Cabinet" of top state officials to develop a strategy for dealing with climate...

Sarah Palin is such a cold-eyed skeptic about the Copenhagen summit on climate change that it's no surprise she would call on President Obama not to attend. After all, Obama might join other leaders in acknowledging that warming is a "global challenge." He might entertain "opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." He might even explore ways to "participate in carbon-trading markets." Oh, wait. Those quotes aren't from some smug Euro-socialist manifesto. They're from an administrative order Palin signed in September 2007, as governor of Alaska, establishing a "sub-Cabinet" of top state officials to develop a strategy for dealing with climate...

If America’s elderly think there is an eerie echo in all of the warnings in Washington about frightful cuts to Medicare as a result of the Democrats’ proposed health care legislation, they are right. They have heard it all before. Just 14 months ago, then Senator Barack Obama accused his Republican rival in the presidential race, John McCain, of proposing “drastic cuts to Medicare.” The Obama campaign asserted that Mr. McCain’s health care proposal posed a serious risk for Medicare beneficiaries, by proposing cuts that would total $882 billion over 10 years and would likely require “cuts in benefits, eligibility...

Why is every single thread that I log onto this day after Thanksgiving, have a picture of Mitt Romney, that then trashes him?? Does JimRob and this website condone the Palin trashers, and try to create a Mitt backlash, to trash him? Does this website wish to promote a Republican/Conservative candidate who has no real business experience, like our current loser-in-chief, Zer0? Mitt has problems, as do each and every Pubbie, Conservative, or RAT potential to lead this once great US! Back off on the hits to Romney, (or maybe do you see him as a threat, much like the...

Rand Paul, a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky revealed in an interview Thursday for the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog that his campaign has asked 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to campaign for him: Washington Wire: Do you want Sarah Palin to campaign for you?Paul: We’d love to have her come. We’ve made some overtures to her.But the son of Texas congressman Ron Paul did not seem too excited about two other potential Republican presidential candidates: Washington Wire: What about Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney?Paul: I don’t know much about Tim Pawlenty....

For Immediate Release November 19, 2009 BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY – Leading United States Senate candidate Rand Paul today criticized the Obama administration’s decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center and try terrorism suspects in United States Civil Courts. “Foreign terrorists do not deserve the protections of our Constitution,� said Dr. Paul. “These thugs should stand before military tribunals and be kept off American soil. I will always fight to keep Kentucky safe and that starts with cracking down on our enemies.� Dr. Paul believes in strong national defense and thinks military spending should be our country’s top budget priority....

The growing problem for the Obama administration is that the public has finally caught on that the president's tough rhetoric and soaring oratory don't match reality. "Considering all options" and "wanting more information" essentially mean dithering and voting present on Afghanistan, even after announcing the adoption of a new bold strategy. "Saving jobs" means conjecturing about the effects of massive borrowing and enhancing your figures through the creation of fictitious congressional districts and bogus employment reporting. "Punishing KSM" means giving the liberal community a world platform for legal gymnastics designed to repudiate the past administration and demonstrate that community's "tolerance"...

Link only, per FR copyright rules

Barack Obama is to reject all of the options outlined for increasing troop numbers in Afghanistan in favour of revised plans which include a clear exit strategy, it has been claimed. The report came from a senior administration official close to the high-level deliberations Mr Obama is holding with his war cabinet over the refocusing of the Afghan war effort. The President is said to have raised questions at a meeting on Wednesday that could alter both the size of any possible troop increase and the length of time they are in the country before they can hand over to...

For the first time, in a long time, there is actually some tangibility to the abortion debate in this country. Yes, after years of Democrats dodging around the issue by saying they don't approve of abortions, but favor a woman's right to choose (the same way they supported the troops but still were rooting against them in Iraq and Afghanistan) Democrats in the House were forced to vote whether they would support government-subsidized abortions as part of the new health care bill. In an amendment to the House's health care bill, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) proposed an amendment which essentially...

Throughout the primary campaign last year, Obama consistently said one of the genuine, important policy differences between him and Hillary Clinton was that he did not support an individual mandate to buy health insurance. I know people who voted for him in the primary on this one issue. One example of many: Senator Clinton. . . believes that we have to force people who don't have health insurance to buy it. Otherwise, there will be a lot of people who don't get it. I don't see those folks. And I think that it is important for us to recognize that...

<p>MSNBC and Bloomberg are reporting that the Obama administration is denying reports by CBS News and the AP that Obama has decided to send nearly 40,000 reinforcements to Afghanistan.</p> <p>Both outlets report that Obama has not received final recommendations from his advisers and he would then need time to review them.</p>

A top House Democrat said Monday she's "confident" that a conference committee will strip language in the House health bill on taxpayer funding for abortion. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the Democrats' chief deputy whip in the House, said that she and other pro-choice lawmakers would work to strip the amendment included in the House health bill that bars federal funding from going to subsidize abortions. "I am confident that when it comes back from the conference committee that that language won't be there," Wasserman Schultz said during an appearance on MSNBC. "And I think we're all going to be...

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he is not flip-flopping when it comes to support of the federal stimulus package championed by Democrats, saying his comments earlier this week to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer were more about the actual stimulus legislation passed by Congress, and not the effort itself. “I think the question posed to me was, ‘Did you endorse this specific bill?’” Crist told reporters Friday after speaking to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices policy institute in Tampa. “And I said, ‘No, I didn’t,’ but the concept I thought, and still believe, was important, necessary and it helped...

Congressman-elect Bill Owens was sworn in at noon today. Owens indicated in a press release that he was now in favor of the bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during his campaign. According to Politico.com, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option. Mr. Owens also indicated during his campaign that he was firmly opposed to cutting Medicare benefits, taxing health...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist is saying he did not endorse the $787 billion federal stimulus bill, a statement that might confuse some voters. Crist appeared with President Barak Obama in February to support the bill, asked Florida members of Congress to vote for it and previously told The Associated Press that he would have voted for it if he had been in the Senate. But when the Republican governor talked about the bill Wednesday on CNN, he said he didn't endorse it. Crist told CNN he understood that the bill was going to pass and wanted to...

I month or two ago (maybe longer) I posted a thread on why I was leaving Free Republic. I was angry over a post that was pulled (which Jim very nicely re-posted). I took some heated comments, and some justifiably so. I registered with a couple of conservative websites, and I will maintain those registrations. But after comparing those other websites, along with a few others, I have come to the conclusion that I was wrong for threatening to leave and I wanted to make an apology for my actions to Jim and others who were angered or offended.

(snip) Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate, told Reuters that it was vital for Republican candidates in 2010 to "not just talk about our principles but hold true to them.""We're a party that doesn't believe in spending money we don't have. And Republicans that can show that they have been fiscally conservative will stand in stark contrast to the extraordinary deficits and forecasts of even greater deficits that are coming from the Democrats," said Romney, who ran for president last year and lost the party's nomination to John McCain. (snip)

He never intended to beat the taliban.

Ernest Hemingway offered a memorable description of the experience of going broke: it occurs at first very slowly, then all at once. The Obama foreign policy remains as yet in the "very slowly" stage. But the ultimate destination to which it is trending has already come into sight. AFGHANISTAN. George W. Bush took a lot of criticism for cutting taxes at the beginning of the prior administration's wars. What are we to say about President Obama cutting military spending at the beginning of his? Senior military commanders are pressing for more troops. The civilian overseers of the Department of Defense...

“My husband and I met him and many others on a cruise sponsored by National Geographic and The Aspen Institute. He talked about supporting job growth in California, but of course I did not do a background check of his past over dinner. As these reports have surfaced, it’s clear that he holds views that I entirely reject; any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous.” --Meg Whitman

The Obama administration says it will release names of most visitors to the White House, starting at the end of this year. Information on visitors in the first eight months of his administration will remain secret — unless you know which names to ask for. The White House called the release of information "voluntary," continuing to argue the Bush administration's position that full disclosure is not required by the Freedom of Information Act. After being sued twice by a nonprofit organization seeking the records, the Obama administration said Friday it will post the visitor logs online. The release will be...

Oops, was the White House Lying? Good Heavens. It was just yesterday, the White House went on the attack, they went after the blog world for pulling the wool off of the President's Health Care plan, by showing that Obama's real goal is a single payer system. Despite the presidential push-back the claims of presidential support of a single-payer system received a shot in the arm from Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) In reference to why Obama changed his mind about single-payer, Conyers said: “I'm just guessing now, because we haven't talked about it, but he wants it because of...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is refusing to release government records on its "cash-for-clunkers" rebate program that would substantiate—or undercut—White House claims of the program's success, even as the president presses the Senate for a quick vote for $2 billion to boost car sales. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday the government would release electronic records about the program, and President Barack Obama has pledged greater transparency for his administration. But the Transportation Department, which has collected details about 157,000 rebate requests, won't release sales data that dealers provided showing how much U.S. car manufacturers are benefiting from the...

Is this the new excuse for the hospital change and the recent scrubbing of all comments related to the hospital where he originally stated he was born? This was taken fron Obamaneighborhood.com. Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children is the site of Barack Obama's birth on August 4, 1961. Located in the Makiki district, it was originally established by Queen Kapi'olani as the Kapi'olani Maternity Home in 1890. Today it is part of Hawaii Pacific Health's network of hospitals. s the state's only 24-hour pediatric emergency room, pediatric intensive care unit and adolescent unit. Originally, he is on record...

Rather than holding their ground, the Obama administration has decided to revise the restriction that did not allow lobbyists to meet with government officials to discuss potential uses for the Federal stimulus money they have been allocated. Under the..

John Anderson at the Arkansas Concealed Carry blog has an interesting explanation as to Mark Pryor's opposition-turned-support of the concealed carry amendment to the defense appropriations bill. He blames the staff: Call returned from Senator Pryor's office. Micheal Teague, his Comunications Director tells me the "no" vote was because they initially saw this as a "states rights" issue and blamed a lot of the confusion over his changed vote on a lapse in initial understanding of the amendment and his staffs recent developments in their understanding of the bill. According to him Pryor was not getting some important updates, after...

..."Before election, Wal-Mart Bad. After election, Wal-Mart Good!!! President Barack Hugo Obama has gone from joining with democrat unions to bash Wal-mart for not hiring union workers to loving Wal-mart for supporting his idea to mandate health insurance coverage by large employers. Wal-Mart used to be the bad guy and Obama’s campaign was critical of Hillary Clinton for her ties to the Wal-Mart Board. What he didn’t tell you then is that he and his wife made a lot of money from the Treehouse Foods Co., which does big-time sales with Wal-Mart. In at least two years he and Michelle...

Lawmakers shocked by the brutal beating of little Nathaniel Turner allegedly at the hands of his father are pushing anew for the death penalty as the only punishment that fits the sickening crime. “The way that boy was beaten and tortured, it’s unconscionable. It’s deplorable,” said House Rule Chairman John J. Binienda (D-Worcester). “I would definitely vote for that.” “If this doesn’t convince people we need it I don’t know what will,” said Rep. James R. Miceli (D-Wilmington), who plans on organizing a group of pro-death penalty lawmakers today. “I’m going to do my best to get this on the...

Officials: President Obama reconsidering July 4 invitations to Iran Posted: 12:23 PM ET From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Obama administration is seriously considering not extending invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4 celebrations overseas, senior administration officials tell CNN. The officials said intense discussions on the issue were taking place, but the final decision had not been made. Late last month the State Department sent a cable to its embassies and consulates worldwide informing them they "may invite representatives from the government of Iran" to their July 4th celebrations. The U.S. receptions marking Independence...

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. “When there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government’s doing,” Mr. Obama said as a candidate, telling voters he would make government more transparent...

In a move that puts a cloud over transparency, White House officials are blocking access to the lists of the names of visitors to the White House. The practice, carried over from the Bush administration, argues the public does not need to know who comes calling at the Executive Mansion, even for policy purposes. "We are deeply disappointed," said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington spokeswoman Anne Weismann, whose group is suing to get the records. "The president, who has committed his administration to transparency and accountability, now takes the position of the Bush administration that the public is...

President Obama’s Justice Department filed legal papers late Thursday to dismiss the first same sex marriage case filed in federal court. The Justice Department defended the Defense Of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which as a candidate then-Sen. Obama opposed, saying that the plaintiffs Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer are seeking a ruling on "whether by virtue of their marital status they are constitutionally entitled to acknowledgment of their union by states that do not recognize same-sex marriage, and whether they are similarly entitled to certain federal benefits. Under the law binding on this Court, the answer to these questions must...

“Now, some have suggested that this represents a reversal on my part,” President Obama declared last week in the soaring rotunda of the National Archives, a snippet of self-defense tucked into a far-reaching philosophical address on terrorism and the rule of law. “They should look at the record.” Mr. Obama was speaking, in particular, of his decision to revive George W. Bush’s practice of trying terrorism suspects in military commissions. True, Mr. Obama said, he fought Mr. Bush on the commissions. But, he went on, he had always said that with reforms he would support them. With “meaningful due process”...

PHOENIX – Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney joined Bush administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, in arguing today that President Obama’s approach to combating terrorism had left the country less safe. "It's the very kind of thinking that left America vulnerable to the attacks of September 11th," Romney told the National Rifle Association's annual gathering. “And the approval of left-wing law professors and editorial boards won’t be worth much if this country lets down its guard and suffers an attack." Even while declaring an end to past interrogation practices he calls “torture,” Obama has alienated many in his...

The fuming and fussing by left-wing bloggers upset with Barack Obama is both ironic and amusing. Back in November of '08, these types thought they'd be getting their whole agenda, including exposés and criminal charges against George W. Bush and various Bush administration officials. But reality has intruded into the process, and now-President Obama has enough sense to realize that these left-wing agenda items are just not good ideas.

Erratic By: Ben Johnson FrontPageMagazine.com | Thursday, May 14, 2009 THE PRESIDENT’S INCREASINGLY ERRATIC HOMELAND SECURITY POLICIES just took another turn. President Obama announced yesterday that he will challenge the court-ordered release of 44 photos of interrogators abusing detainees after all. This comes just weeks after he announced he would release those photos, and up to 2,000 pictures in all, by May 28.   For once, the president is right: change is good. It is heartening to see the commander-in-chief of a nation embroiled in two wars and threatened with constant terrorist threats to our homeland listen to his military...

The Republican Party is not an endangered species but can do a better job of outreach, recruiting candidates and getting the message out, Sen. John McCain said Sunday. In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” McCain responded to a question referring to a story in Time magazine, describing the party as “in distress.” “I probably would not go that length,” McCain said. “We all work in cycles for many years. We have seen parties down and parties up. That’s a great thing about American politics. “But having said that, do we have to do a better job of getting our...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday condemned the Obama Administration for placing a deadline on the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay without having a solid plan for what to do with its detainees. “What should have taken place, in my view, was the announcement of the closing and an announcement of exactly how we’re going to put these people on trial, (and) where you’re going to put people that are enemy combatants,” he said. . . . . . “I would say, I’m not going to close Guantanamo until I have a comprehensive approach to every aspect of...

Unwed teen mom Bristol Palin did a turnabout Wednesday with her views on teen sex, saying abstinence is a realistic option for teenagers.....Johnston said he and Palin had used condoms but occasionally had slipped up. That's how Tripp was conceived, he said.

Those old Republican hot buttons are growing cold. For proof, check out a recent interview with Mitt Romney, a former presidential candidate and ex-governor of Massachusetts. According to TheHill.com, a congressional newspaper that publishes when Congress is in session, ''Romney believes that one way to attract more minorities to the GOP is to pass immigration reform before the next election, saying the issue becomes demagogued by both parties on the campaign trail.'' The article also quotes Romney as saying, ``We have a natural affinity with Hispanic-American voters, Asian-American voters.''

Stance about-face at issue. BY JULIA DUIN Evangelical leaders say they are bewildered and stunned by the Rev. Rick Warren's apparent turnaround on gay marriage after the famous California pastor said earlier this week that he was not a proponent of California's Proposition 8. Mr. Warren told CNN's Larry King on Monday that he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the proposition, which said marriage in the state could only involve one man and one woman. The measure won at the polls last November by a close margin, in effect negating an earlier California Supreme Court ruling allowing gay...

The decision today by the Iowa Supreme Court that ruled a ban on same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State unconstitutional is certain to have an impact on the state's critical Republican presidential caucuses in 2012. . . . . . Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in 2008 and is an almost-certain candidate in 2012, did offer a comment on the decision when asked by the Fix. "I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman and the definition of marriage should be left to the people and not to activist courts,"...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder has signaled a change in policy on medical marijuana.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reversed course on Monday, issuing a statement saying that if he were still in office he would "reluctantly and sadly" support the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill. Gingrich, who led the charge against the bailout last week, explained his change in position by saying that the House Republicans, "reinforced by John McCain," have improved the bill "significantly" so it is "less bad" than the original proposal offered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. While saying that he sympathizes with any member of Congress who votes "no," Gingrich says in his statement that the crisis of...

He talks to Sean Hannity.

AP story, here's a blurb: The Swiss government said Friday, March 13, it would cooperate on cases of international tax evasion, breaking with a long-standing tradition of protecting wealthy foreigners accused of hiding billions of dollars in the Alpine nation.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took dead aim Thursday at potential foes to a budget-related ballot measure he wants voters to pass in May.In a speech at the Commonwealth Club of California, Schwarzenegger said "special interests" are trying to derail Proposition 1A, which would limit spending in good years but also extend a series of temporary tax increases. So far, no coordinated opposition has formed, but labor unions are discussing whether to mount an attack."And the very interests, the far left and the far right, that prefer dysfunction over change have already launched a campaign to confuse the people and to defeat...

Boehner: Democrats Should Post Half-Trillion Dollar Omnibus Spending Bill Online Immediately Washington, Feb 19 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement on plans by Democratic leaders to schedule a vote as soon as next week on the half-trillion dollar “omnibus” spending bill to complete the FY 2009 appropriations process: “If Democratic leaders plan to schedule a vote on the half-trillion dollar omnibus spending bill next week, they should post the legislation online immediately so the American people have adequate time to read the measure and understand what is in it. My colleagues in the Republican leadership...