Free Republic

DES MOINES REGISTER SHOCK POLL: CRUZ 29%, TRUMP 22%, RUBIO 13%, CARSON 11%

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — He knew all the right things to say to rile up the conservative base. Ted Cruz, the junior Republican senator from Texas, received waves of standing ovations, cheers and whistles as he addressed the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday. “Hillary Clinton embodies the corruption of Washington,” Cruz told the assembled conservatives. ”We need to run a populist campaign standing for the hardworking people of America.”

An NBC affiliate in Virginia reports that nearly 250,000 people in that state will lose their health care plans due to Obamacare:

It's been a tough year for the liberal cable news outlets. Data released Tuesday show CNN shedding 48 percent of total viewers since last November and MSNBC dropping 45 percent. The numbers were even worse in the all important demographic of people aged 25 to 54 as CNN's ratings dropped 59 percent and MSNBC's 52 percent. In an off-election year, and with last November's numbers skewed higher as a result of the presidential election, it should be expected for ratings to decline. However, Fox News didn't see close to these losses. In total day, FNC is only down 18...

Covered California executive director Peter Lee told the Chronicle editorial board that he expects 800,000 to 900,000 people to lose their non-grandfathered private insurance policies on Dec. 31, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. (This figure — which is higher than past numbers reported – does not include small business coverage.) “The individual market is changing dramatically,” Lee said. What about President Obama’s promise that if people liked their plan, they could keep it? “I think it was not well stated,” Lee answered. Obama’s rhetoric “may have been an inarticulate way of describing what the realities are.” How many will...

Fox News confirms the administration was aware of the issue in 2010

Many part-timers are facing a double whammy from President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The law requires large employers offering health insurance to include part-time employees working 30 hours a week or more. But rather than provide health care to more workers, a growing number of employers are cutting back employee hours instead. The result: Not only will these workers earn less money, but they'll also miss out on health insurance at work. Consider the city of Long Beach, Calif. It is limiting most of its 1,600 part-time employees to fewer than 27 hours a week, on average. City officials...

The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said Tuesday that his unit’s budget would lose $1 billion this year as a result of the defense budget stalemate in Washington. During an annual National Defense Industrial Association conference for special operators, Navy Adm. William McRaven noted that the Defense Department is operating on a continuing resolution, which limits spending to 2012 levels, even as automatic, across-the-board spending cuts called sequestration are set to begin March 1. “The continuing resolution … in all honesty puts a greater constraint on us than sequester

Former presidential candidate explains the 'Carville Rule' and how the shift in momentum doesn't bode well for President Obama

I feel really bad for my niece. Last year, she made her school's competitive Varsity Volleyball team as a Freshman, plays club, and has already been looked at by college scouts. A sports scholarship would really help her family out. Here's the thing: she's stuck at this school and they've recently changed their "focus in sports" to one of where everybody gets to play. My niece was an excellent OH (outside hitter), but other kids want to play outside hitter, so she doesn't play that position much anymore. She's very tall and can play middle well, but that's not always...

First Lady Michelle Obama stopped by a Virginia YMCA yesterday where she met with elementary and middle school kids. The kids had tough questions for the first lady, including the whereabouts of the president of the United States. She did not immediately know. From the pool report: Asked where he was, she said, “he’s at work,” then asked the adults, “Where is Barack Obama?” She was told he’s in Colorado today. When asked by a kid where the Obamas would live if President Obama loses, "The First Lady said they could figure that out later," according to the pool report....

Film directors, authors, journalists and socialites who raised £200,000 to secure Julian Assange bail face losing thousands after the WikiLeaks founder breached his bail.

I received a campaign letter from Michelle Obama the other day. This is especially surprising because I am a registered Republican; hardly a likely prospect to contribute to her husband’s reelection efforts. “Every day I learn about the challenges and the struggles—the doctor bills they can’t pay or the mortgage they can no longer afford,” said the text. The “fairness” theme, a socialist meme, was expressed. “American prospers when we are all in this together, when hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, when everyone—from Main Street to Wall Street—does their fair share and plays by the same rules.”...

This is how we know what LOVE is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16 We just lost a special election here in Oregon where the establishment ran a self described moderate and lost twice in a row. When all of the experts try to explain that you have to run the perfect candidate to satisfy the moderates you need to ask them by what proof do they come up with that truth? There is more proof of Global Warming than moderate candidates winning elections...

The Air Force is preparing to trim hundreds of aircraft from its aging fleet in order to meet an Obama administration austerity order. The move will strike many Air Force supporters as ironic. Because just as the fleet is set to shrink, Defense Secretary ...

The GOP’s Death Wish By Kathleen Parker December 9 “Anybody but Mitt” has become a familiar mantra throughout the Republican primary campaign. It is also weird and self-defeating. Republicans apparently want to nominate anyone except the one person who can defeat Barack Obama. And for all the strangest reasons: One: He’s changed his mind. True. He changed his mind, thus becoming more conservative. Two: He’s too perfect. Three: You can’t drink beer with him. Whatever. The result of these petty obsessions has been a pathological flirtation with a parade of lesser candidates who could replace Romney. This parade has persisted...

SALT LAKE CITY, August 16, 2011—Many on the Left claim to think that President Obama will be handily re-elected. Commentators who are reliable cheerleaders for Democrats, such as Lawrence O’Donnell and Peter Beinart, have publicly declared their faith in the president’s re-election prospects. Hillary Clinton said a few months ago that she was “confident” of Obama’s re-election, while Nancy Pelosi guaranteed it. Most Democrats, however, merely fall back on the standard prognostication that Obama will eke out a close election, like a coach telling his team that things aren’t that bad during halftime of a game in which they find...

NEW YORK - Verizon Communications (VZ.N) is sending its 45,000 striking workers notice that their health insurance benefits will expire at the end of the month if they are not back at work. The company said on Tuesday that it has started to send out letters to the strikers in response to questions about how healthcare coverage will be affected by the strike, which started on August 7. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) called a strike after they failed to reach a labor agreement with the company

Public Unions and public union employees spent more than ten times the normal campaign budget to block an anti-public union candidate from winning a Costa Mesa council seat. The result? How did the union candidate fare with more than 1000% of the usual campaign war chest stuffed in it from unions? They lost and the anti-public union candidate won! Times are a changing’ as they say. First Wisconsin, now California. Is this the new normal? For the pro-public unions to get creamed? Americans have it in their DNA to compete and win, and how they want to be compensated for...

Washington – The Obama administration said Wednesday that the government will lose about $14 billion in taxpayer funds from the bailout of the U.S. auto industry. In a report from the president's National Economic Council, officials said that figure is down from the 60 percent the Treasury Department originally estimated the government would lose following its $80 billion bailout of Chrysler and General Motors in 2009. The report's release coincides with the administration's efforts to tout the bailout's role in the revitalization of the U.S. auto industry after last week's announcement that Chrysler is repaying $5.9 billion in U.S.