Free Republic

On Saturday, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul won the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference by a landslide for the second consecutive year. Conservative firebrand Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came in second, but he actually gained the most ground of any candidate year-over-year. On Sunday, Cruz began making a play to draw foreign policy distinctions between himself and Paul, both of whom are considered two of the GOP's top presidential prospects. "I'm a big fan of Rand Paul. He and I are good friends," Cruz said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "I don't agree with him on foreign...

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell walked onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week holding a flintlock musket over his head has seemed to give ammunition to Democrats and McConnell’s Republican primary foe. Both U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, Kentucky’s lone Democratic Congressman, and GOP U.S. Senate challenger Matt Bevin have sought to declare the moment a gaffe. Calling McConnell’s entrance “pathetic,” Yarmuth tried to add a political and historical interpretation of the moment. “If you had a caption that you would run under that picture it would just say desperation,” Yarmuth said of McConnell. “He understandably feels like...

Video: The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson will focus on all current events from general news and crime to politics and investigative reports. On this new show, Carlson will interview newsmakers and lead in-depth panel debates, lending viewers context and perspective on the headlines of the day. The program will also utilize social media to explore trending news stories and enlist viewer feedback.

Sen. Rand Paul blasted fellow GOP Sen. Ted Cruz’s frequent references to Ronald Reagan on Monday, deepening the rift between the two potential 2016 presidential candidates. In an op-ed for Breitbart News, Paul (R-Ky.) took several shots at Cruz for espousing a foreign policy framework in the mold of Reagan. He also criticized Cruz’s frequent bashing of the GOP for nominating insufficiently conservative presidential candidates like Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney. “I don’t claim to be the next Ronald Reagan nor do I attempt to disparage fellow Republicans as not being sufficiently Reaganesque,” Paul wrote. “I will remind...

(NEW YORK) -- It may be the opening salvo of the 2016 Republican primary. During an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl for This Week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a friend, but drew a distinction between himself and the Kentucky senator on foreign policy, saying the U.S. “has a responsibility to defend our values.� “I’m a big fan of Rand Paul. He and I are good friends. But I don’t agree with him on foreign policy,� Cruz said. “I think U.S. leadership is critical in the world. And I agree with him that...

Sen. Rand Paul demolished his competition in the 2014 Washington Times/CPAC presidential preference straw poll on Saturday, winning 31 percent of the vote -- nearly three times the total of second-place Sen. Ted Cruz. Mr. Cruz's 11 percent was still a big improvement for the freshman senator, who won just 4 percent in last year's straw poll. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson was third with 9 percent and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was fourth with 8 percent in results that signal growing discontent with the GOP establishment in Washington. Indeed, CPAC voters now have an unfavorable view of Republicans in Congress,...

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- A contentious Kentucky bill that would enact a statewide ban on smoking in shared public spaces and places of employment is dead, the sponsor says.</p>

House Approves Bill to Stop Obama's "War on Coal" 07 March 2014 The House has approved a bill to block President Obama's climate plan that aimed at regulating so-called carbon pollution from new power plants.

Pro-life leaders have noticed that not a single panel or specific speaker on life issues has been scheduled for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is supposed to be the preeminent annual gathering of conservatives in America. Pro-lifers note there are important panels on the IRS scandal, immigration, Common Core, privacy, gun control, and criminal justice reform--issues in which pro-lifers would be keenly interested. Pro-lifers generally pride themselves on being “full spectrum conservatives”; that is, supporters of the three-legged stool: economics, national security, and moral issues. So they would not complain about panels covering these issues. But they note...

There are things you expect to see at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and there are things you don't. One of the things you probably don't is an audience cheering and applauding arguments for legalizing pot and bemoaning the war on drugs. A panel titled "Rocky Mountain High" held Thursday afternoon started out as a debate between Mary Katherine Ham of Fox and Hot Air and Christopher Beach a staffer for former Drug Czar William Bennett's radio show. But as the debate wore on it became clear the real disagreement was between Beach and the overwhelming majority of the...

The Republican Party needs to broaden its appeal by softening its edge on some volatile social issues and altering its image as the party always seemingly "eager to go to war," U.S. Sen. Rand Paul told hundreds of Greater Cincinnati Republicans Saturday. "We do need to expand the party and grow the party and that does mean that we don't always all agree on every issue," the Kentucky Republican said at the Northeast Hamilton County Republican Club's annual pancake breakfast at the Sharonville Convention Center. To help the party rebound from two successive losses in presidential races, Republicans must find...

Republican Sen. Rand Paul says President Barack Obama’s health care law probably can't be defeated or gotten rid of. And he’s suggesting there is little he and other congressional Republicans can do to stop the law from taking effect. …

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — Republican Sen. Rand Paul says President Barack Obama's health care law probably can't be defeated or gotten rid of. And he's suggesting there are few ways and little time for him and other congressional Republicans to stop it. Speaking to reporters Saturday at a gathering of Michigan Republicans, the presidential prospect said Republicans in Congress could use votes on measures in the House and in the Senate to come up with compromise legislation that could make the law more palatable. Some provisions, Paul said, include removing caps on health savings account contributions or deductibles for...

One year after his filibuster, the Paul love at CPAC is stronger than ever. NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—A year after his 13-hour filibuster won the hearts of young conservatives just a week ahead of the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference, the fandom for Sen. Rand Paul here has only grown. Paul gave a speech Friday before the first standing-room-only crowd at the conference so far, asking a cheering audience, "Will you, America's next generation of liberty-lovers, will you stand and be heard?" Following his typical style, Paul's speech focused largely on personal freedom, the Fourth Amendment, and rights he alleged are...

This beating is “tough to watch,” said the news anchor. But when it comes to black on white violence caught on video, that does not narrow it down much. This one is in Lexington, Ky., from WLEX news. “And we do warn you: Some may find the images disturbing.” But hardly unique. The reporter was introducing her viewers to a recently released video of black man attacking a white college student waiting for a bus. The assault begins with a close-up of the man who is about to ask the college student for a cigarette. When the student says no,...

Have you ever noticed that competitors open their stores next to each other? This seems crazy until you understand a principle called Hotelling’s model of spacial competition. And once you do, you’ll also understand how Ted Cruz is positioning himself to outmaneuver Rand Paul as the conservative candidate for the GOP nomination.

Spoiler alert: He’ll let us down. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a ballroom full of activists Thursday that he would fight “tooth and nail” for a conservative agenda if he takes the helm of a Republican majority next year…“If I’m given the opportunity to lead the United States Senate next year, I won’t let you down,” McConnell said. “I will lead with integrity, we will fight tooth and nail for conservative reforms that put this country back on track, we will debate our ideas openly, we will vote without fear, and we will govern with the understanding that the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Whether it's from an asthma attack, drug overdose or cardiac arrest, patients having difficulty breathing will no longer be cared for by respiratory therapists at three Louisville-area emergency rooms as a result of the recent layoffs at KentuckyOne Health. Instead, nurses at the three facilities -- Jewish Medical Centers South, Southwest and East -- will take over respiratory care after getting a "refresher training," KentuckyOne spokeswoman Barbara Mackovic confirmed. While respiratory care is within nursing's legal scope of practice in Kentucky, some employees of the facilities are concerned the nurses don't have enough knowledge or practical...

Other Kentuckians appeared just as divided as the attorney general and governor were on the handling of whether to appeal a federal judge’s ruling overturning Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage. State Auditor Adam Edelen, who formerly worked as Gov. Steve Beshear’s chief of staff, said Tuesday he wasn’t sure of the reasoning behind Beshear’s decision to appeal U.S. District Judge John Heyburn’s ruling last week. “I think he’s concerned about what the new system would look like and its just one I disagree with,” Edelen said. “I think the better approach was to let this go. He has chosen to...

In an emotional statement, Attorney General Jack Conway told reporters Tuesday that he will not appeal U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn’s ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages from other states. But moments after Conway announced his decision, Gov. Steve Beshear said he will appeal the ruling. “General Conway has advised me that he will no longer represent the Commonwealth in Bourke vs. Beshear. The State will hire other counsel to represent it in this case, and will appeal Judge Heyburn’s decision to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and ask the court to enter a stay...

Former U.S. Senator and President of the Heritage Foundation, Jim DeMint, joined WSJ Live host Mary Kissel on Tuesday where he was pressed for his thoughts on why insurgent tea party challengers are not faring well this year in primary challenges against incumbent Republicans. DeMint insisted that he could not opine on individual races because Heritage is not a political organization and added that he has never been “a part of the tea party.” He admitted, however, that he has “been to a lot of meetings.” Kissel pressed DeMint to explain why tea party candidate Matt Bevin is losing ground...

The phrase “jump the shark” comes from a scene in the TV series Happy Days in which Fonzie puts on his leather jacket, swim trunks and water skis and then ski-jumps over a shark. The phrase indicates a turning point, which marked the beginning of the show’s decline. At that point, the formerly sweet, entertaining show had become so ridiculous that it had become a caricature of itself. The same seems to have happened to Senator McConnell with his latest outrageous “fraud alert” attack on challenger Matt Bevin. While McConnell’s accusations have been shown repeatedly to be false, as indicated...

Opening a door to hedge his political bets, Sen. Rand Paul has asked the leader of the Kentucky Senate for legislation to ensure that Mr. Paul can run both for the White House and for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2016, The Washington Times has learned. “Yes, I am working on clarifying an ambiguous state law that Rand Paul believes is unconstitutional if it is interpreted to bar running for re-election to the Senate and for president at the same time,” Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer told The Times on Monday. “The purpose of the bill will be...

As he looks ahead to the possibility of leading the Senate, Mr. McConnell is promising a more open floor, with senators from both parties able to offer amendments. He says committees would be given more independence and authority to advance legislation. While he would not commit to reversing the limit Democrats put on filibustering White House nominees last November, he said the idea would be on the table if Republicans took charge. “If the American people give us the opportunity to put the Senate under new management, it is an appropriate discussion at that time for the new team that...

The familiar Washington narrative on the scrum for the U.S. Senate has been rinsed, recycled and delivered once again: Republicans are primed to pick up the six seats necessary to capture control of the upper chamber. The midterm atmosphere sure looks ripe, the polling appears favorable but, as it did in 2010 and 2012, the most competitive batch of races will likely come down to candidate quality. It’s the key component that stifled GOP chances before, and could very well again. .... .... A closer look at the most competitive contests demonstrates why a Senate majority in 2014 is again...

We dealt with Harry Reid's contemptible Obamacare comments yesterday, then followed-up by cataloguing the many ways in which his casual "all of them are untrue" smear was offensively false. On Twitter, I vented exasperation at the mainstream media -- which predictably overlooked the remarks -- and at the Republican Party, which seemed incapable of turning Reid's callous attack into a major political headache for Democrats: How is it possible that the RNC/NRSC/NRCC/RGA haven't yet produced an instant attack ad re: @SenatorReid's flaming #Obamacare lie? — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 26, 2014 Some Senate Republicans did emerge to challenge Reid,...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky’s attorney general has asked a federal judge to delay by 90 days an order requiring the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries. The two-page filing Thursday morning says the delay is sought to give the attorney general time to decide whether to appeal the Feb. 12 ruling and would give the state an opportunity to prepare to implement the order.

UPDATED VIDEO: Former President Bill Clinton said Kentucky voters will be better off with Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes than a senator whose main message might be good for a campaign but “is a dumb way to run a country.” A crowd of around 1,200 gathered at the Galt House in Louisville Tuesday to hear the former president make the case for Grimes in Clinton’s first campaign stop of 2014. In his speech, Clinton focused on Kentucky’s decision to go through with the health benefits exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act. Clinton praised Gov. Steve Beshear for his decision...

In Kentucky, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is running even or slightly behind in polls for reelection, despite the state’s heavily Republican lean. The central dynamic of the race concerns whether the Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes, can distance herself from President Obama. McConnell is painting Grimes as Obama’s puppet, while Grimes is instead attaching herself to Bill and Hillary Clinton, who are far more popular in the state. Why is that? Here, in today’s Washington Post, is an odd passage explaining Clinton’s popularity vis-à-vis Obama: While President Obama’s approval rating in Kentucky is in the mid-30s, Bill Clinton...

‘It’s a sad day in the history of the Senate,” Mitch McConnell bitterly announced. The minority leader wanted Americans to know, or at least to believe, that Republicans were outraged by what he called the Democratic majority’s “power grab” — detonation of the so-called nuclear option, exploding the minority’s ability to block presidential nominees. In truth, the GOP had not done much of anything to oppose Obama picks. Eric Holder, to take just one example, was confirmed by a whopping 75–21 margin — with 19 Republican yeas — despite the Mark Rich scandal, the FALN terrorist pardons, and a history...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- With lots of room for growth, the Jefferson County Republican Party is aiming to widen its appeal to people of different ethnic and economic backgrounds. The GOP's "Party for the Party" event on Friday, Feb. 21, not only brings together five-term incumbent Mitch McConnell with Tea Party favorite Rand Paul, but as WHAS11’s Political Editor Joe Arnold reports highlights Paul's outreach to black voters.

If the White House and the EPA is permitted to implement the MATS regulation the economy will dramatically decline. Life in America will resemble that of third world nations. It is entirely based on lies

There’s a good chance you’re somewhere between dismayed and disgusted by the guileless, spineless cravens at the helm of our Grand Old Party. And for good reason. They’ve aided and abetted America’s bankruptcy. They’ve spent the tax revenue yet to be collected from your grandchildren. They complained publicly about the Affordable Care Act, but, procedurally, they’ve helped implement Obamacare. Most recently, our Republican leadership abandoned their duty to mind the federal purse strings. Now, President Obama can raise the debt ceiling at will. But as reckless, deficient and madcap as Republican leadership has been up to this point, all of...

full headline (too long for the title): Bevin offers different explanations of his signature on 2008 report; Responds to Paul's credibility comment FRANKFORT — Dogged for a week about a 2008 report he signed that praised the bank bailout, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Bevin offered reporters at the state capitol Tuesday different explanations about how his signature got on the report. Since the news broke last week Bevin has struggled explaining why he signed off on the company report — and those explanations continued on Tuesday. Bevin told CNHI reporter Ronnie Ellis that his signature was digitally placed on...

EMINENCE — At the same time U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell toured Eastern Kentucky lauding his work on the passage of the Farm Bill, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee told a crowd in Henry County that she forgot McConnell was even on the committee. “Now, the reason that I had forgotten that is because he has never attended a meeting in the three years I have chaired the committee,” U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan. Stabenow stumped for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky farm country Monday afternoon and later at a town-hall style meeting in...

The United Kentucky Tea Party on Monday said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should drop out of the Republican primary in their state so conservatives can rally around Matt Bevin, the GOP candidate who is challenging Mr. McConnell from the political right. The tea party group cited Mr. McConnell’s dramatic vote last week to extend the nation’s debt limit and polling that suggests he could lose to the eventual Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, in the general election. “Senator McConnell’s recent vote with [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid to hand President Obama a blank check for the next year has...

WASHINGTON -- Long-shot Republican Senatorial candidate Rob Maness says he would not vote to re-elect Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader if he wins and McConnell survives a tough re-election challenge. "Sen. McConnell is a failed leader and it's time for a new perspective and for new leadership," Maness said Monday. "The time has come to stop routinely returning senators to leadership positions. We need a leader in the Senate who will stand up to President (Barack) Obama and Sen. (Mary) Landrieu and their harmful policies." If Democrats continue as the majority party in the Senate after the 2014 elections,...

LEBURN[Ky.] — Agriculture Commissioner James Comer on Monday announced the first five pilot programs to grow hemp in Kentucky as part of the foundation of his economic development plan for Eastern Kentucky. “Hemp will go into the ground for the first time in Kentucky since World War II,” Comer told several hundred people at the Knott County Sportsplex along Highway 80. That includes a project to research cannabinoids for medicinal purposes at an Eastern Kentucky site overseen by the University of Kentucky. Comer made the announcement with both Republican U.S. senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, as well as Democratic...

In 2010, one out of every two registered Republicans in the heart of southern Kentucky’s “Old 5th” congressional district came out to vote. A contiguous bloc of 14 counties in southern Kentucky boasted the most fertile and efficient ground for gathering Republican votes in that year’s primary. Those counties (see chart below) had slightly fewer registered Republicans than the 157,000 in Jefferson County, the state’s largest county. The 14-county region has less than half the population of Jefferson County. Yet, it turned out 78,200 Republicans in that spring’s primary compared to 50,449 in Jefferson County. A big reason: scores of...

Andy Beshear, the first Democratic candidate to announce for attorney general in 2015, will raise money in Louisville on Feb. 25 — hours after Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes’ event with former President Bill Clinton. Grimes and Clinton will be appearing at the Louisville’s Galt House for a fundraiser at 11 a.m. The campaign manager for Beshear, a Louisville lawyer and the son of [Ky.]Gov. Steve Beshear, said in response to questions from Pure Politics that the Beshear fundraiser was “scheduled several months ago” and will start five hours after the Grimes event ends. Jared Smith, Beshear’s campaign...

Senators Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn say they put the country first. The debt ceiling needed to be raised. Ted Cruz opposed raising it. So McConnell and Cornyn voted to shut down Ted Cruz. They voted to cut off debate on raising the debt ceiling so that it could be raised. McConnell and Cornyn have both been very clear about this. John Cornyn told the Austin American-Statesman “I think it would have been bad for the economy, bad for the American people, and I don’t think it would have been good politics either.” Mitch McConnell declared it his job to...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he voted to advance a clean debt-ceiling bill this week because his job is “to protect the country” when he can. The Republican leader said at a Friday campaign event in Louisville, Ky., that he has long preferred making structural changes to fiscal policy as a condition to raising the debt ceiling. But given that the House could pass only a clean debt ceiling — every policy rider Speaker John Boehner tried to attach failed to garner sufficient support — McConnell said he was left with one option: Avoid economic catastrophe. McConnell and most...

Some within the Tea Party are furious over the decision by Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to help shepherd the passage of the debt ceiling increase earlier this week. Both McConnell and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tx.) have come under fire -- with national conservative groups slamming McConnell and one of Cornyn's primary challengers, Rep. Steve Stockman, sending a colorful tweet criticizing the incumbent Thursday night. But, just when you thought you had seen it all comes this ad via Dwayne Stovall, who is also challenging Cornyn in the Texas primary.

Similar to last week’s lackluster result from Survey USA. Unless Bevin catches fire, looks like the best-case scenario for the GOP is an exhausting dogfight to the bitter end between McConnell and Grimes that sucks in untold millions of establishment dollars aimed at protecting the Senate minority leader. Again — that’s the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario, that that dogfight ends in decisive defeat, comes from Sean Davis: To put Wenzel's data in perspective, it had Thompson in WI (lost by 5), Mandel in OH, (lost by 5), Romney in OH (lost by 2).— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 14, 2014...

U.S. natural gas pipeline company NiSource Inc said it was investigating an explosion on its key Columbia Gulf Transmission interstate natural gas pipeline in Adair County, Kentucky that injured at least one person. The blast early Thursday morning engulfed and destroyed homes and cars, authorities said. The explosion and fire in Knifley, Kentucky, about 90 miles (145 km) south of Louisville, could be seen "just as plain as day" from Columbia, about 12 miles from the blaze, a local police officer said. Katherine Dupuis, a spokeswoman for NiSource, said the company was investigating the incident and would provide more details...

LOUISVILLE, KY, February 12, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A judicial ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex "marriages" conducted in other nations or U.S. states may spell more trouble for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II offered a strongly worded rebuke to tradition and religion on Wednesday, saying the state amendment -- which was approved by three-quarters of state voters -- "demeans" homosexuals. The Madison Project, a national grassroots organization that favors traditional marriage, noted that President George H.W. Bush appointed Heyburn to the bench in the early 1990s following a recommendation “from Senator Mitch McConnell...

The tea party is teeing off on Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Matt Bevin, who is challenging McConnell in the GOP primary in Kentucky, seized on the senator’s vote Wednesday to move ahead on legislation to increase the nation’s debt limit, describing it as a blank check for President Barack Obama. The tea party-backed businessman and conservative groups signaled they won’t let Senate Republican incumbents forget the vote this election year. “Kentucky and America can literally no longer afford such financially reckless behavior from the likes of Mitch McConnell,” Bevin said in a statement. …

KNIFLEY, KY (WAVE) - The entire town of Knifley, Kentucky was evacuated early Thursday morning after a gas line explosion engulfed at least three houses, two barns and four automobiles in flames, which spread to a nearby wooded area. At least one person was injured. About 150 people live in the Adair County community. The explosion happened about 2 a.m. near Highways 551 and 71 in Knifley. The was no immediate word on the condition of the person who was taken to a hospital for treatment.

In case you weren’t glued to C-Span2 for the last hour, here’s what you missed. The Senate voted 67-31 to quash a filibuster by Sen. Ted Cruz that would have blocked the Senate from lifting the federal debt ceiling. Cruz voted against cloture, naturally. But the top GOP leaders, fellow Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, sided with Democrats to cut off the filibuster. The measure raising the federal credit line through March 2015 sailed through the House on Tuesday, after Speaker John Boehner decided that it would be better to let Democrats own it...

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Kentucky's ban on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states is unconstitutional. The legal challenge was filed last year on behalf of Gregory Bourke and Michael Deleon of Louisville who have been together more than 30 years and have two children.