Free Republic

Rand Paul has a little-discussed problem. Yes, he’s riding a wave. Yet another new poll brings happy tidings, putting him at the top of the GOP heap in both Iowa and New Hampshire (although still well behind “undecided”). He keeps doing these clever things that titillate the Beltway sages, like coupling with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker (ooh, he’s black!) on sentencing reform. All this, you know. He’s a shrewdie, we have to give him that. But here’s what you maybe don’t know. Paul is up for reelection in 2016. One assumes that he would want to hold on to his...

Event organizers of the 134th Fancy Farm Picnic are firming up the last of their speaking roster for this year’s event as the main attraction of Grimes versus McConnell has staff updating the venue, and guests are being warned to be respectful as a national TV audience descends upon the village of Fancy Farm. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s staff confirmed that the senior Senator for the state will be at the event. McConnell’s Democratic challenger Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes will share the stage with McConnell in a repeat of last year’s showdown. Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator Republican...

The issues of gender equality and women’s rights are being used by Democrats in the Kentucky U.S. Senate race to illustrate the disconnect between Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and women voters as a pro-choice group begins to run ads in the state and a big name McConnell foe criticizes his stances. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC, a group which has endorsed Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes and called her a “pro-choice champion”, released an ad Tuesday to run statewide in Kentucky for a week. The group says the 30-second ad, titled “Mitch McConnell Will Never Do the Right Thing for...

The Medicare claims from a budget plan proposed in 2011 are again at the center of the Kentucky U.S. Senate race as the campaign of Kentucky U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell released another ad on the topic Monday defending his record. The McConnell campaign released a new web ad Monday morning hitting Democratic candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes on her campaign’s first negative TV ad , which caused controversy because of claims made by Grimes. The ad, titled “Asked and Answered”, uses clips of news programs questioning the claims in the Grimes ad where a retired coal miner asks Senator McConnell why...

Sen. Mitch McConnell (Incumbent) Republican Age: 72 Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes Democrat Age: 35 No doubt about it: The Kentucky Senate race will be the most watched 2014 contest of them all, and the stakes could not be higher. It is a rare occurrence that a congressional leader in the House or Senate is ousted, but with McConnell’s favorability ratings in the state low, Democrats see the opportunity of a lifetime in the Bluegrass State. Democrats see the numbers and are buoyed. McConnell won’t go down without a fight like we’ve never seen before, and this will...

A bank teller in Kentucky claims she was fired from her job for telling customers, "Have a blessed day." Polly Neace wished customers at U.S. Bank in Walton, Kentucky, well with those words of blessing for more than two years. She said she never had anyone complain about the saying, which she said she was inspired to adopt when someone said the phrase to her in 2009. "I mean, in my opinion, I don't think there's any better way to have a blessed day," she explained in an interview with Fox News. But Neace said she was told she could...

We released a new web video today, entitled “Out of Touch,” exposing Elizabeth Warren’s weak stance on illegal immigration. The video highlights Warren’s opposition to the border fence and her support for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. From her Ivory Tower and the comfort and safety of her multi-million dollar home, Professor Warren insists that Massachusetts taxpayers turn a blind eye to illegal immigration and even subsidize college tuition for illegal aliens.

Former Rep. Ron Paul said the law enforcement that swarmed around Boston in the days following the marathon bombings was scarier than the actual terrorist attack. “The Boston bombing provided the opportunity for the government to turn what should have been a police investigation into a military-style occupation of an American city,” he said on the Lew Rockwell website, Politico reported. “This unprecedented move should frighten us as much or more than the attack itself.” The terror attacks on April 15 in Boston killed three and injured 264. Mr. Paul, a former libertarian political candidate who served in Congress as...

New research takes a look at decades of corruption convictions to find the crookedest states in the union. When we think of government corruption (as one tends to do), our biased minds often gravitate to thoughts of military juntas and third world governments. But, of course, corruption is everywhere, in one form or another. And it’s costing U.S. citizens big time. A new study from researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Indiana University estimates that corruption on the state level is costing Americans in the 10 most corrupt states an average of $1,308 per year, or 5.2% of...

Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban was struck down Tuesday by a federal judge who ruled that it is a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. "In America even sincere and long-held religious views do not trump the constitutional rights of those who happen to have been out-voted," U.S. District Judge John Heyburn in Louisville argued. The ruling follows similar decisions in Utah and Indiana where gay marriage bans were also dismissed. In his decision, Heyburn stated that his ruling does not "diminish the freedom of others to any degree." There is an "utter lack of...

This is Noteworthy for three reasons. One: The judge is a Bush 41 appointee, nominated to the federal bench by, er, Mitch McConnell. Two: This decision doesn’t matter much on the ground because the Sixth Circuit, the federal appellate court with jurisdiction in Kentucky, is set to hear arguments on gay marriage on August 6th. They’re going to end up superseding this decision one way or the other in the next few months anyway.Three: Heyburn, the judge, went out of his way to make clear that he thinks this issue is a no-brainer. Usually when a court examines the...

Judge John Heyburn issued an opinion on Tuesday that Louisville gay couples are entitled to marry one another because denying them to do so violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, couples can't rush to get married. In Love vs Beshear, Judge Heyburn stayed the order pending the 6th Circuit of Appeals ruling. Oral arguments are set for August 6.

I never thought I would see the day when there were participants in this forum openly advocating voting for a liberal Democrat. Yet that is what many are doing in advocating Kentuckians vote for Alison Lundergan Grimes. This makes no sense unless one is a liberal or leftist anti-American or are unable to move beyond emotion and irrationality or a nihilist mind set that lets anger, fear, lack of faith and hatred dominate one's logical faculties. Alison Lundergan Grimes was born in 1978. That's the year I graduated High school. Many here are older than I, and in politics, at...

SNIP The Oscar winner, 53, is seriously contemplating running for governor of California, Us Weekly reports. SNIP “George has said his ultimate goal is to become a US senator, but he knows he would have to hold a position like governor first,” the source adds. SNIP

"Rand Paul: No more aid to Christian-killers Exclusive: William Murray reports on senator's demand to Islamic-supporting Obama" Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., surprised several thousand people with the truth about Syria in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference at the Omni Hotel in Washington, D.C., today. Most in the room were social conservatives and already knew that the administration of Barack Obama was arming Islamists in Syria who are killing Christians. The real surprise was a senator standing up in front of national TV news cameras and telling America that yes, your tax dollars are being used to...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)One U.S. lawmaker firmly believes the United States should keep its sons and daughters out of Iraq's increasingly tangled and bloody conflict. "I'm not willing to send my son into that mess," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, told CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on Sunday. Appearing on "State of the Union," Paul acknowledged that while the chaos in Iraq intensifies by the day, he believes advances by jihadist Sunni militants on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite government forces do not pose an immediate threat to U.S. national security. Though he refused to rule out some kind of U.S. assistance, Paul...

ormer Vice President Dick Cheney fired back Sunday after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his position on Iraq. In an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Cheney argued Paul, who is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2016, is an "isolationist" who doesn't understand the "absolutely essential" need for America to be involved in the Middle East. "Now, Rand Paul and — by my standards, as I look at his — his philosophy, is basically an isolationist. That didn't work in the 1930s, it sure as heck won't work in the aftermath of 9/11, when 19 guys armed with...

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned conservatives when it comes to immigration reform the party needs to “get beyond” the term amnesty and move the focus to border security and work visas. The Kentucky Republican said, "I don't think any immigration reform will get out of Washington. I do think there is a path to a secure border and an expanded work visa program." “I think that everyone needs to be for some form of immigration reform because the status quo is untenable," he continued. "So I consider myself a bridge to conservative community because...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that the Sunni militants taking over Iraq have quickly gained power because the United States has armed their group in Syria. “I think we have to understand first how we got here,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have been arming [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] ISIS in Syria.” ISIS, an al Qaeda offshoot, has been collaborating with the Syrian rebels whom the Obama administration has been arming in their efforts to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Paul explained. The administration has reportedly assisted the moderate opposition in Syria,...