Free Republic

It had all become too much. After three days spent fending off Senate Democrats' relentless badgering, including insinuations that he was racist, anti-woman and a liar, Samuel A. Alito Jr., President George W. Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, was asked directly by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, "Are you a bigot?" Justice Alito responded, "I'm not any kind of bigot." It was then that Martha-Ann Alito, the nominee's wife, burst into tears and promptly exited the room, creating the most indelible memory of her husband's confirmation hearings. The incendiary personal attacks employed by Democrats against Justice Alito...

It had all become too much. After three days spent fending off Senate Democrats' relentless badgering, including insinuations that he was racist, anti-woman and a liar, Samuel A. Alito Jr., President George W. Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, was asked directly by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, "Are you a bigot?" Justice Alito responded, "I'm not any kind of bigot." It was then that Martha-Ann Alito, the nominee's wife, burst into tears and promptly exited the room, creating the most indelible memory of her husband's confirmation hearings.

Our last president was ridiculed for claiming to have peered into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and gotten, in his words, a “sense of his soul.” Our current president wants to do something even more audacious: to peer into your mind to get a sense of your thoughts. And if he finds them insufficiently accepting of homosexuality, he may want to lock you up. And he could get the chance. This week, the House of Representatives passed The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR 1913), which adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of protected categories...

Former presidential candidate Gary Bauer on Wednesday, Barack Obama's 100th day in office, noted a series of mistakes, misstatements and missteps for an administration which has received little comprehensive media coverage. Bauer, chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, said that he released this list to provide a more balanced picture of the first 100 days of the Obama Administration. Bauer observed, "The media coverage has been so glowing from the Washington Press Corp that it is important to remind Americans about a number of bad decisions from policy to personnel from the most left-leaning administration in our nation's history."...

More than 3,000 people, including longtime Mormon critic James Dobson of Focus on the Family, have signed an online petition thanking the LDS Church for its efforts on behalf of California's traditional marriage initiative known as Proposition 8. "Anyone who participated in this process has come to admire the competence, diligence and moral courage that so many members of your faith community displayed as part of this coalition effort -- as Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons and people of other faith communities all came together to fight this great battle for marriage," says the petition, which is addressed to LDS President Thomas...

In this year of historic firsts, it should surprise no one that political prognosticators predict Election Day turnout to exceed 60 percent of the voting age population for the first time in 40 years.  Americans have “change” on their minds.  But they’re getting decidedly different visions of it from two presidential candidates who stand diametrically opposed on almost every issue.  Despite the stakes, there remain some conservatives who see little reason to exercise that which Samuel Adams called one of the most solemn trusts in human society -- the right to vote.  So, with voter registration deadlines looming, let me...

The Obama phenomenon is so wide-spread that there is a good possibility that someone you know – someone at your church, at your place of employment, a neighbor, perhaps even a family member – has bought into the myth that this man is the one who will save our nation from the “old politics” of cynicism and partisanship, and has the wisdom and leadership to heal our land. I could give you dozens of examples of Obama’s flip-flops and inconsistencies, but for this report I’ll limit most of my remarks to his contorted views on the most fundamental responsibility of...

A pro-family activist and former presidential candidate says it is outrageous that military personnel in uniform, who use public transportation while traveling to the Pentagon, are being publically harassed by anti-war leftists. The Air Force recently issued a security advisory, relating several incidents where military personnel have been approached by individuals expressing themselves as anti-government and shouting anti-war sentiments. Gary Bauer, Chairman of American Values, says in one case a woman in uniform was followed as she exited a Washington, D.C., subway train and a left wing thug continued to berate her as she exited the metro station. Bauer believes...

Monday, April 14, 2008 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary L. Bauer Obama & Small Town America Senator Barack Obama had a bad weekend. It all started in San Francisco when the senator shared with an audience of liberal left-coast elitists his view of “small town” Americans. Here is what he said: “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. …And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to...

WASHINGTON - Conservative Gary Bauer is endorsing Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The prominent abortion foe says in a statement that McCain "has dedicated his life to defending human rights around the world, including the rights of the unborn." The McCain campaign released Bauer's statement. Bauer himself ran for president in 2000. McCain thanked Bauer for his support. The Arizona senator says, "Gary has always been a forceful, unapologetic advocate for the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, judicial restraint and a strong American foreign policy based on our values."

Some prominent evangelical leaders are criticizing the heads of the National Association of Evangelicals for signing a letter to Muslim leaders containing controversial language. The critical leaders include Dr. Albert Mohler, Gary Bauer, and Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo who voiced opposition to the apology in the letter for the sins of Christians during the Crusades and for “excesses” of the global war on terror, without mentioning Muslim acts of violence. Moreover, the leaders contend the letter compromises the importance of Jesus in Christianity in order to appease Muslims. Mohler noted that the letter “sends the wrong signal” and contains basic theological...

One current permathread on Big Orange is that Krugman and Obama are feuding or having a vendetta. Which, when you take a step back, is bizarre. That movement conservatives and Villagers like stone Bush enabler William Kristol, like David Brooks, Broderella, and Andrew Sullivan are all good with Obama isn’t even mentioned in passing by Obama’s fan base. And yet those same enthusiasts spend inordinate amounts of time vilifying Paul Krugman, a true progressive who was there for us from the earliest dark days of the Bush regime. Curious. What’s really happening? Krugman doesn’t have a problem with Obama; Krugman...

G.K. Chesterton once stated, “When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.” I believe that sentiment defines the way many people — including me, on occasion — look at our world today. As we prepare to enter the year 2008, our world is encountering widespread turmoil and confusion. The shocking assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto rekindles the fears we have of militant terrorists who will recklessly sacrifice their own lives to carry on their reign of terror. And while the experts and pundits and politicians continue to weigh...

As I have said in months past, the reports of the death of social conservatism within the Republican Party are greatly exaggerated. There isn't a candidate in the Republican Primaries that doesn't dream of the opportunity to get key endorsements from the social Right. Rudy Guiliani would even like to get a few more than just Pat Robertson-after all, Robertson has been discredited within the conservative movement for a very long time. On the other hand, the idea that pro-family social conservatives are in total control of the GOP is something that both the press and the Democrats have attempted...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his rivals for the Republican nomination will face a tough crowd when they address the religious conservatives at the Values Voter Summit starting Friday. “I think what we can expect is a lot of folks talking about how dissatisfied they are with the choices they have,” former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said. Giuliani’s positions on abortion and gay rights continue to dog him as he looks for support within the leadership of the religious conservative movement, and those leaders say they want to hear more from the former mayor this weekend than...

Christian conservative activist Gary Bauer compares Fred Thompson to Ronald Reagan in an e-mail to supporters of his Campaign for Working Families, declaring the "Law & Order" star acceptable to the faithful: There continues to be a lot of confusion in the media and misreporting about the faith of Senator Fred Thompson and his wife, Jeri. I am happy to help clear it up. Mrs. Thompson is a strong pro-life Christian. Senator Thompson is not a regular church attendee (neither was Ronald Reagan), but he has been very clear about his faith. He has repeatedly said in both private and...

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Back in May 2000, I learned firsthand that James Dobson is a tough man to please. Dobson, the prominent Christian conservative who believes that his religious brethren have the God-given right to vet Republican presidential candidates, invited some political journalists to dine with him at his headquarters in Colorado Springs. As we silently forked our pasta salads, Dobson explained why he was so disappointed in frontrunner George W. Bush. Bush, apparently, was not sufficiently conservative, because he had not yet categorically renounced the idea of choosing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as his running mate. Ridge was a defender of abortion...

Dear Friends, You have probably heard at least a little bit in the past several days about Dr. James Dobson’s comments regarding presidential candidate Fred Thompson. It is true that Dr. Dobson, as a private citizen in an e-mail to friends, raised questions about former Sen. Thompson’s suitability to be president. What has not been true, in the days that have followed, is the media’s attempt to paint the incident as World War III among socially conservative Christians. Do some other evangelical leaders disagree with Dr. Dobson’s opinion about Sen. Thompson? Yes. But that is hardly uncommon in the realm...

A well-known evangelical leader is encouraging conservative Christians to give presidential hopeful Fred Thompson and all other candidates a fair chance not long after another prominent conservative leader criticized the former senator for being too weak on key issues. Although he doesn’t endorse Thompson, former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer contends that conservative Christians should seriously consider him if they want to avoid a “nightmare scenario” where they are forced to choose between two pro-abortion, pro-gay rights candidates – Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. “He (Thompson)’s obviously against same-sex marriage. He doesn’t support quite the same constitutional amendment that some...