Free Republic

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, a longtime Democrat, says she is switching to the Republican Party because she feels abandoned by Democrats in her fight against same-sex marriage. Davis' made the announcement while in Washington, D.C., to attend the Family Research Council's Value Voters Summit, said Charla Bansley, a spokeswoman for Liberty Counsel, which represents Davis in her legal battles. "I've always been a Democrat, but the party left me," Davis said, according to Bansley.

The spectacular rise of Donald Trump as leading presidential candidate should at last force Republicans in Washington to face the chronic ineffectiveness of their party: rank and file Republicans are turning to the Donald because he, unlike the party establishment, seems energetic, articulate, and determined to get something done. They have so long despaired of a party leadership that is inarticulate, somnolent, and inept that they are not deterred by the fact that Trump is dangerously unpredictable. The problem is not an insufficiently conservative party, as some conservatives think; a two-party system will always have a broad spectrum of viewpoints...

When conservatives held a Washington, D.C., rally last week in opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran, which names do you suppose inspired the loudest boos from the crowd? Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and John Kerry would be good guesses. So would Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But none of those are the right answer. Instead, it was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner, the two most important Republican leaders in Washington, who seemed to get the loudest boos. When Dave Brat, who won his Virginia congressional seat by beating then-House Majority Leader...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) will be the next target of conservatives frustrated with party leadership, according to one of the conservative representatives who pressured House speaker John Boehner in the weeks leading up to his resignation. “Next guy in the crosshairs will probably be McConnell,” Representative Matt Salmon (R., Ariz.) said in a text message to Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah), ... That fits a theory of Boehner’s struggles that is common among the outgoing speaker’s friends and foes alike — that his unpopularity among the grassroots stems more from McConnell’s failure to take advantage of the...

Two sources close to Kentucky country clerk Kim Davis tell Breitbart News that the gay men whose demand for a marriage license started her on a path to jail for five days are again trying to get her locked up. ........ It is as if the two men believe the Supreme Court ordered Davis specifically to issue marriage licenses rather than simply guaranteeing that someone will issue marriage licenses to them. This sets up yet another challenge for Davis and almost certainly for Judge David Bunning. Davis will without a doubt refuse. Bunning may determine that the men must be...

A county clerk in Kentucky who was briefly jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples said on Friday that she and her family have switched to the Republican Party because the Democrats no longer represented them. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 50, who has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, said they had changed parties last week. She was a long-time Democrat in eastern Kentucky. "My husband and I had talked about it for quite a while and we came to the conclusion that the Democratic Party...

Kentucky county Clerk Kim Davis, who may go back to jail based upon a new complaint, discussed what has caused her the most pain during her ordeal. "What people say about me does not define who I am," Davis told ABC News on Monday. "That's everybody's opinion and that's everybody's right." Davis, 50, admitted that she had been called "Hitler" and "a homophobe" by some of her detractors but said those names do not hurt her. "I've been called things and names that I didn't even say when I was in the world. Those names don't hurt me," declared Davis....

Kentucky Senator and Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that the US’ refugee needs “more scrutiny” and wondered why Saudi Arabia and Iran aren’t being asked to take refugees on Thursday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.

Detroit resident Willie Burton is one of seven elected Police Commissioners, overseeing law enforcement in the troubled Motor City. He is also, according to MichiganLive news, currently living in Kentucky and working on Democrat Jack Conway’s campaign for Governor. Kentucky is one of three states electing governors this November. “I’m not sure where you’re getting your information or your source,” Burton told MLive Detroit when first contacted about the bizarre arrangement Monday. A spokesman later confirmed Burton was living and working in Kentucky, assuring the news site, “He’s kept abreast of everything in his absence and he may well come...

July 5, 2005 Dear Mr. Derrick W: Thank you for your recent message. On June 14, I spoke on the Senate floor about my heartfelt concern regarding the treatment of prisoners and detainees at Guantanamo and in other places. I noted that many others, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, have raised legitimate concerns about whether the policies of this Administration are truly making us safer and whether some of those policies might tarnish America's image around the world and jeopardize our soldiers. During that speech, I read an account from an FBI agent describing the mistreatment of prisoners...

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - A viewer took video when a fight broke out at Publix in Temple Terrace. Jessica Jordan was at Publix, and grabbed her camera phone when the fight broke out. Jordan said the fight started when an older gentleman was being loud, obnoxious, and rude to deli employees. Other shoppers took offense and exchanged words with him. The viral video shows it ended in a group brawl with people being chased around the deli and out of the store. Publix released an official statement: “An altercation occurred involving our customers. A couple of our associates placed themselves...

Gay couples in Kentucky are questioning the validity of altered marriage licenses issued by a defiant county clerk and have asked a federal judge to order her to reissue the licenses or put the office in receivership and have someone else do it.

MIDWAY — Set against the back drop of Kentucky’s lone women-only college, candidates for lieutenant governor Jenean Hampton a Republican and Rep. Sannie Overly a Democrat went head to head at Midway College tonight. ... Overly said she and running mate Attorney General Jack Conway, “want to encourage programs that offer partnerships, a state wide apprentice program, and other opportunities so students can earn while they learn.” Hampton spoke of her time of working her way through college, and using loans grants and scholarships. Hampton said that she and Bevin would work to strengthen partnerships and emphasized alternative education. “We...

A federal judge on Wednesday denied Kim Davis a stay of his order requiring her office to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples who want one, the latest setback for the Kentucky county clerk who went to jail rather than issue licenses to gay couples. Lawyers for couples suing Davis have said that since her return to work, the Rowan County clerk has interfered with the issuance of marriage licenses in violation of orders by U.S. District Judge David Bunning's in Louisville. An attorney for Davis has said she has made a good-faith effort to comply with Bunning's orders....

During a brief visit to Kentucky on Thursday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will become the first presidential candidate to pay his filing fee in Kentucky, securing his place on the ballot for the 2016 caucuses. Bush, in a visit to Louisville, will raise money for the state party to help with local races while beating out Kentucky junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to become the first candidate to formally enter the state party's new method of picking a presidential nominee. Bush's campaign said that the former governor will deliver his paperwork and a check for $15,000 to cover the...

Kim Davis went back to work as a Kentucky county clerk last week after a stint in jail and a pledge that she wouldn't interfere with deputies who were issuing wedding licenses to same-sex couples. But in a court motion filed Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union said that she was doing just that. After returning to her job on Sept. 14 as the Rowan County clerk, the filing said, Davis "immediately" began meddling with licenses that the office's deputy clerk, Brian Mason, was issuing. Kim Davis went back to work as a Kentucky county clerk last week after a...

Kim Davis, the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk who spent five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in compliance with a judge’s order – and who resumed work a few days ago – is still not doing her court-ordered job, say couples who’ve tried to get their proper wedding documentation. And they’ve taken their case back to court, saying Davis needs to fully comply or face fines. Reuters reported Davis is issuing forms that contain material changes, not the original, official ones. Specifically, she’s taken the documents pertaining to marriage licenses and removed the references...

South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney announced his support for Rand Paul's presidential bid Monday, saying the Kentucky senator's dovish foreign policy and anti-establishment message is "falling on receptive ears" in his home state. Mulvaney, who rode to Congress on the Tea Party wave in 2010, cited his growing dissatisfaction with Republican leaders as a leading reason for endorsing Paul, who holds the No. 10 spot in the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have become the targets of heavy criticism on the campaign trail recently for failing to advance conservative legislation...

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis has interfered with the issuance of marriage forms by her office, raising a concern about the validity of licenses issued since Sept. 14, attorneys for couples who sued Davis argued Monday. The attorneys filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning to order deputy clerks to use the state's standard form for marriage licenses.

Speaker John Boehner's future was on Rep. Henry Cuellar's mind when he was speaking with fellow House Democrats last week. The question they were mulling: Would they throw Boehner a lifeline and save his job if he needed their votes to survive? "Heck yes!" Cuellar said in an interview when asked if he'd consider it. The Texas Democrat is one of more than a dozen House Democrats who told CNN they'd be willing to vote to keep Boehner in place if he faces a rebellion from the tea party wing of his caucus this fall. In interviews, a number of...