Free Republic

History may or may not repeat and may or may not even rhyme. But certain events can only be ignored or dismissed with great peril. Sixty years ago this month, the Congress recklessly and foolishly raced to pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, with just two dissenting votes in the Senate. That law gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to begin a war in Vietnam that the U.S. would eventually lose. The cause celebre was an alleged attack by North Vietnamese PT boats against two U.S. Navy destroyers patrolling off the North Vietnamese coast in international waters. Two days before,...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is reportedly closing in on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, as he runs out of places to hide and as other senior members of the terrorist organization are eliminated. The Jerusalem Post reported Friday: Sinwar is almost alone at the top of Hamas. His close friends in the senior military ranks of the organization, as well as the senior officials, have been eliminated or have disappeared: Mohammad Deif, Rafa’a Salama, Ahmed Ghandour, Raad Saad, and Ayman Nofal. … The fact that Sinwar’s entire operational hub has disappeared makes it difficult for him,...

Long-time political commentator Chris Matthews said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Vice President Kamala Harris is a natural leader like John Wayne’s cowboy characters. Host Joe Scarborough asked, “What were your thoughts about the rally last night?” Matthews said, “Well, one was the strength of Kamala Harris. I mean, she came off as a leader. She owned that whole room. Her confidence level was through the roof.” He continued, “I said after Barack Obama spoke in Boston back in 2004, we saw the first black president. I think anything is possible in this campaign now, and she proved it...

During an extended edition of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live” that covered the reported assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson stated that the killing of Haniyeh means that his “moderate voice is off the table” because Haniyeh “was seen as a more moderate within Hamas.” Robertson said, “This is going to be an extreme test of the new President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian. This is a man who’s quite literally just taken up his job, who has quite literally just seen one of his principal regional interlocutors who came to congratulate him and witness...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage. Iran’s statement gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed. Iranian state television reported on his death early Wednesday, and analysts immediately began blaming Israel for the attack. Israel itself did not immediately comment but it often doesn’t when...

Gaza-based Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar believes that “[W]e have the Israelis right where we want them,” despite massive losses to the terror organization, because of growing international pressure on Israel to stop short of victory. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Sinwar, who is likely hiding in a tunnel in southern Gaza, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields, is happy with how the war is going — civilian casualties and all. The Journal noted: For months, Yahya Sinwar has resisted pressure to cut a ceasefire-and-hostages deal with Israel. Behind his decision, messages the Hamas military leader in...

A stunning new video has been delivered that makes the case for ONLY President Donald Trump as commander-in-chief. The Gateway Pundit explains it is the "most powerful pro-Trump ad of the year" – "It is that good." It is from Claremont Institute chairman Tom Klingenstein, a philanthropist, public speaker, writer, and playwright.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed three of the sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in an airstrike in Gaza. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh learns that three of his sons were killed and responds: “I thank Allah for the honor that my children and grandchildren have been martyred.” And therein lies the problem. A father should aspire for his children to live in peace, not die for jihad. pic.twitter.com/vUivLJH8hN — Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 10, 2024 In a statement, the IDF said: Earlier today (Wednesday), directed by IDF and ISA intelligence, IAF aircraft struck three Hamas military...

Chaos erupted this week surrounding the introduction of a new draconian speech law in Scotland as Police received nearly 4,000 complaints within the first two days of it being in place, with far-left First Minister Humza Yousaf reportedly receiving more complaints than Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling over her transgenderism critiques. Former general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, Calum Steele revealed on Wednesday that Police Scotland received a hate speech report on an average of every two minutes since the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force on Monday, LBC reports. This, he said, equated to...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday officially announced a run to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Republican leader, setting up what is expected to be a hotly contested race for the top spot in the conference. “I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell,” Cornyn said in a statement. “Throughout my time I’ve built a track record of listening to colleagues and seeking consensus, while leading the fight to stop bad policies that are harmful to our nation and the conservative cause.” Cornyn pointed to his work in leadership as...

Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was fully capable of being leader after he froze and was unresponsive twice during press conferences. Rounds said, “I spoke with Mitch yesterday afternoon and told him I was going to be doing an interview, and I waned to personally touch base with him before I did that and he was in good shape. He was direct. He said, you know, I had that concussion and they warned me that I would be light headed in the future and to be...

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will become the longest serving party leader in Senate history on Tuesday. McConnell, 80, will remain the Republican minority leader in the 118th Congress and thus eclipse the late Sen. Mike Mansfield’s time as Democrat leader from 1961 to 1977. McConnell overcame ten Republican “no” votes in November to remain minority leader. The votes against McConnell marked the first time McConnell had received a “no” vote as leader, a sign the GOP has begun to turn against his establishment agenda.

Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is the “most effective” leader he has ever worked with. Anchor Dana Bash said, “You go back a long way with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. You were interns together in the office of Daniel Brewster in the 1960s." Hoyer said, “I think that story doesn’t get enough play. Nancy was sitting in the front office as a receptionist, and I was sitting right behind her in sort of a little divided half wall handling academy appointments, opening mail, doing things that interns do,...

House Democrats plan to vote Wednesday on whether election denier Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will be the next Democrat House leader. Following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to step down as Democrat leader, House Democrats have scheduled a vote on Wednesday at 9 a.m. to replace her in the position. Jeffries appears to be the chosen Democrat to win the coveted position. A lawyer from central Brooklyn, Jeffries, 52, is a far-left Democrat who appears to have been hand-picked by Pelosi to lead the Democrats in the next Congress. Jeffries was first elected to Congress in 2013 and has...

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Tuesday hailed House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a rare show of bipartisan support for a congressional member on the other side of the political aisle. Blunt praised Hoyer following a Washington Post editorial about Hoyer deciding to step down from Democratic leadership in the House. “An editorial in today’s Washington Post referred to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer as a ‘beloved, admired giant on Capitol Hill.’ I couldn’t agree more,” Blunt said. “During the almost 10 years we served together as the Republican and Democratic Whips in the House, we often didn’t vote...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is a “very weak leader” of the GOP conference and predicted “chaos” when Republicans take control of the House next year. “He’s a very weak leader of his conference,” Schiff told co-anchor Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week,” saying McCarthy will follow Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) direction.

Sen. Mitch McConnell was reelected as Republican leader Wednesday, quashing a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the Senate GOP campaign chief criticized over his party’s midterm election failures.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was re-elected as Republican leader on Wednesday, defeating a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida that reflects growing angst within the party after it underperformed in the midterm elections.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) nominated Sen. Mitch McConnell for reelection as GOP leader after a motion to postpone the leadership election was quashed during a Wednesday meeting among members of the conference. The motion to postpone the Senate leadership election failed by a reported vote count of 32-16. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) put forward the motion, which Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) supported.

House Republicans elected Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the chief of their campaign team,to be House majority whip in a closed-door conference vote on Tuesday, ending a closely-fought race with Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.). The conference separately voted to elect Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as majority leader by voice vote. Scalise had been serving as minority whip. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected Speaker-designate. A vote on the House floor will eventually determine the Speakership.