Free Republic

The man who oils India's wheels By Ramtanu Maitra No US ambassador since John Kenneth Galbraith massaged the Indian ego more efficiently than Robert D Blackwill. The former envoy to India (2001-2003) is now reportedly cultivating his Indian friends to win a lobbying contract for his firm, Washington-based Barbour, Griffith and Rogers International (BG&R). [1] Blackwill's timing is right. India has terminated its relationship with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Field as a result of its failure to stop US government consideration of the sale of F-16s to Pakistan. Blackwill resigned suddenly last November from his position as number two...

There were few who defended Romney’s comments. Even snake-bit Republicans, chastened by the swift backlash in the media, hedged when asked to back up Romney’s assessment of the challenges posed by Moscow. But MSNBC’s wagons circled particularly quickly in defense of the president. Volley after volley of snark was lobbed in the GOP nominee’s direction. ... “This is Mitt Romney’s severely conservative problem,” University of Georgia professor Cynthia Tucker opined on-the-air. “It made Romney look dumb. He’s not a dumb man, but he said something that was clearly dumb.” Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein agreed that Romney’s statement was evidence...

Former Mississippi Republican governor Haley Barbour was arrested last week for trying to bring a loaded gun through the airport in Jackson, Mississippi. The Hattiesburg Patriot broke the story Tuesday, confirming that Barbour was caught by airport police but still boarded his flight after he posted bond for his crime. The former governor was arrested by airport police, posted bond, and was able to catch his flight. ".38 caliber revolver loaded with five bullets"

Am I losing my mind? Donald Trump gives me the creeps at times. He offends my Christianity. His persona turns me off. He can be all other the map in terms of consistent principles. But there is something inside of me that wants him to kick the stuffing out of the powers that be. Even though I am a Cruz man I could see myself voting for the guy. Am I losing my mind?

A modern-day variation on "better red than dead" . . . Joe Scarborough says that Haley Barbour and many Republican leaders would "much rather" have Hillary be president than to let Trump win and represent the GOP. On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough said that if it looks like Trump will win the nomination, something Scarborough sees as very plausible, he envisions Mitt Romney or Michael Bloomberg jumping into the race as a third-party candidate. Not really with the goal of winning, but rather to "take a bullet," splitting the vote and denying Trump the White House. View the video here.

You'd think that back in April when, as Ken Shepherd noted, Chris Matthews talked about Blockbuster being about all that's left in Rust Belt towns, one of his assistants would have gently taken him aside and explained that Blockbuster shuttered its stores some time ago. But on this evening's Hardball, there was Chris committing the exact same gaffe. And in the very next segment, Matthews introduced MSNBC reporter Hallie Jackson, who is youthful and female, as . . "Haley Barbour," who for all his great qualities is neither. But, hey, look at the bright side. The guest in the next...

Former Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel (R) on Tuesday accused Republican leaders of enforcing a double standard in their response to the revelation that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002. ADVERTISEMENTMcDaniel nearly took out Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in the this year's GOP Senate primary. He was the target of attacks from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and some in the state GOP who said he should withdraw from the race because he had booked a speaking engagement at a conservative rally alongside a white nationalist. McDaniel ultimately withdrew from the rally....

Friend, Reince Priebus just asked me to reach out to you because the RNC is still $67,000 short of its critical end of quarter fundraising goal. There are only a few hours left to meet this crucial deadline before midnight tomorrow. And, Friend, we hope we can count on you to reach it. This is a deadline we literally can't afford to miss. Let me remind you what we're facing. We're going up against the Big Liberal Establishment that's been preparing for Hillary's coronation for more than a decade. We're going up against the special interest-backed Clinton Machine that's going...

The former governor of Florida, John (or as he prefers to be called, Juan) Ellis Bush, doesn't appear to have a lot of support among Republicans, as opposed to Republicans in Name Only (RINOs), who absolutely adore him. But Juan isn't sweating it. He's rolling in dough, and more importantly, he's rolling in opponents. Have you ever heard of a "straw" candidate? When you have a weak front-runner that can't reach 50 percent, often a third, or a fourth, or even a fifth candidate suddenly jumps into the race. If he has a name similar to that of the strongest...

Republican heavyweight Haley Barbour said Monday "no true" front-runner exists among the various Republicans announcing for president or those expected to become candidates in 2016. Whoever it is can't just run against the policies of Democratic President Barack Obama but has to "give something to be for" particularly in improving the economy, creating jobs and bringing down the national debt, he said. Barbour made the comments at a news conference before speaking at the annual Lincoln Dinner of the Knox County Republican Party at Rothchild catering center in West Knoxville. Some 325-350 people attended based on table arrangements for 400....

A staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) admitted to distributing methamphetamine and another drug in exchange for sexual favors, according to a report in The Washington Post. Customs and Border Patrol officers in Cincinnati found a package of gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) addressed to Fred Wesley Pagan, according to a court document. Homeland Security agents searched his house in the Brightwood neighborhood of Washington D.C., on Thursday and found a substance that tested positive for meth in plastic bags, the court document states. The Post reports Pagan is a long-time employee of Cochran and currently serves as his office manager. Pagan allegedly...

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senate staffer is facing a federal charge after court documents say he bought drugs from China with the intent to exchange them for sexual favors. Senate staffer Fred W. Pagan is facing the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute after court documents say he shipped drugs in from China. Pagan is a staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi.

GOP power broker Haley Barbour’s lobby shop, BGR Group, represents a Russian bank that has financed a company that helped build Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, according to corporate documents and lobbying disclosure records. The bank is owned by a secretive oligarch, Mikhail Fridman, who has met at least twice with White House officials in the last few years, according to visitor logs.

My local paper featured a column by David Lightman of McClatchy. It headlined “GOP can’t seem to overcome diversity problems” He went on to point out minor flaps about how a few elected officials portrayed the truth. It turns out the author of the “study” was Henry Barbour - a major part of the “progressive” cabal in the party. He, his Dad, Haley, Michael Bloomberg, Boling, the Lt. Governor of Virginia, with the help of Karl Rove are part of what is clearly an effort to rid the party of its Tea Party philosophy base. That’s another subject, but be...

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Republican presidential primaries have for decades been orderly affairs, with any momentary drama mitigated by the expectation that the party would inevitably nominate its tested, often graying front-runner. But as the 2016 White House campaign effectively began in the last week, it became apparent that this race might be different: a fluid contest, verging on chaotic, that will showcase the party’s deep bench of talent but also highlight its ideological and generational divisions. As Democrats signal that they are ready to rally behind Hillary Rodham Clinton before their primary season even begins, allowing them to focus...

Democrats may be making their last stand in Arkansas. At the beginning of the cycle, Democrats touted a dream ticket that could help rally the party back to relevance after a series of stinging losses in the state. They cheered Sen. Mark Pryor’s (D) centrist profile and strong family name. In the governor’s race, they hoped former Rep. Mike Ross’s long string of successes in conservative southwest Arkansas would boost him. But months later, Pryor has trailed freshman Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) for much of the summer in the Razorback State and former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) has had a...

Cochran Attempt to Strike Hosemann's Opinion on 20 Day Deadline Fails Thad Cochran's attorneys failed in their effort to keep the Secretary of State’s statements on Republican Chris McDaniel’s appeal out of the record yesterday. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has at least twice previously stated to the Clarion-Ledger that there was no deadline for filing a challenge for a statewide primary election. Attorneys for Cochran filed a motion to strike Hosemann's statements from the record in the McDaniel appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Judge Hollis McGehee heard arguments on the Motion in Mendenhall on Monday.

JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Oct. 2 as a candidate tries to revive a lawsuit that challenged his Republican primary loss to six-term Sen. Thad Cochran. The high court has released a schedule for the appeal by state Sen. Chris McDaniel. Justices said they will handle the case quickly, as McDaniel requested. Justices gave McDaniel’s attorneys until Friday to file legal arguments in his appeal. They gave Cochran’s attorneys a Sept. 24 deadline to file arguments. The McDaniel camp must file a response to Cochran’s arguments by Sept. 26. Judge Hollis McGehee dismissed McDaniel’s lawsuit...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)There are 65 prominent people who might run for president in 2016. The Democratic and Republican fields contrast sharply. Hillary Clinton is the clear front-runner, while there is no front-runner on the Republican side. Twenty-three Democrats have been mentioned as a candidate or are eyeing a bid, according to an analysis by The Hill. The GOP side has 42. Most of the people on this list won’t run, and some have adamantly claimed that they’re not interested. But many politicians have changed their minds on seeking the White House. Before mounting his 2008 bid, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said he...

On Tuesday’s broadcast, Fox News's “Hannity,” network correspondent Ainsley Earhardt unveiled one of the attack radio spots that aired on stations around the state including WMGO. "If someone tells you that by voting today, you cannot vote in November - it’s just a Tea Party, bald-faced lie." Are you going to let the clock run out on today? By not voting, you are saying 'take away all of my government programs, such as food stamps, early breakfast and lunch programs, millions of dollars to our black universities.’ Everything we and our families depend on that comes from Washington will be...