Free Republic

If Brakey’s bill passes and is signed into law, Maine would join Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Vermont, and Wyoming in abolishing concealed carry permit requirements in their states. They would also join Montana, which only requires a concealed carry permit inside city limits.

Republican presidential hopefuls are united in blasting President Obama for his chaotic enforcement of marijuana laws, but the unity quickly breaks down when they are asked how they would handle things if they were in the White House. Some have sent mixed signals, saying state decisions should be respected while questioning how Mr. Obama has respected those decisions. Others have refused to say how they would wield the federal bureaucracy against marijuana. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is one of the few potential candidates to take a firm stance, saying he would insist on following federal statutes that outlaw the drug....

Anger toward those living below the poverty line seems to only be increasing. Maine and Missouri have proposed bills limiting residents’ food choices if they use SNAP. Missouri House Bill 813 would bar the state’s 930,000 food stamp recipients from using their benefits to buy cookies, chips, soda, energy drinks, steak and seafood. (The legislature also implemented mandatory drug testing for TANF applicants in 2011.) If the bill becomes law, a Missourian can’t buy a can of tuna with an EBT card. Tortilla chips to go with salsa? Nope. Flank steak — tough, stringy and the only cut of beef...

SACO, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s budget presentation at Thornton Academy in Saco came to an abrupt end when former Democratic state Rep. Joanne T. Twomey of Biddeford confronted the governor, according to multiple social media reports. According to social media reports, Twomey “threw a jar of Vaseline” toward the governor. Twomey reportedly was escorted from the meeting by security. A CBS 13 video shows Twomey throwing something on the stage, which did not strike LePage, as she was escorted from the building. The item was quickly retrieved by what appeared to be security personnel. In an Instagram video posted...

Maine's Governor was quickly escorted off stage at a forum in Saco, Maine, after a former Mayor and ex-Democrat legislator threw a large bottle of petroleum jelly at Lepage. The Governor's Security staff immediately escorted the perp out of the auditorium.

In the coming days, as many Mainers scramble to finalize their tax returns, the Legislature will begin debating what has already become one of the most bipartisan bills of the session. Sponsored by freshman Republican Sen. Eric Brakey of Auburn, this legislation seeks to bring constitutional carry (already the law in Vermont) to Maine. Currently, if one wishes to carry a concealed firearm in Maine, one needs to apply for a permit to do so, through either the Maine State Police or your local police department. This bill would repeal that requirement, allowing anyone who can legally purchase a firearm...

A fierce row has broken out between Stephen King and Maine Governor Paul LePage after the governor claimed that the author doesn't pay state income taxes and has moved away from the state. King immediately shot back that LePage should 'man up and apologize' for the comments because he still resides in Maine. LePage's comments came during his weekly radio address when he argued that states without an income tax, like Florida, have lured away Maine residents, including King.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says President Barack Obama’s Attorney General nominee, Loretta Lynch, is unfit to be the nation’s top lawyer because of her support for executive amnesty and other positions she’s taken, the governor’s spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski tells Breitbart News.“Given Loretta Lynch’s failure to commit to protect Americans from the president’s lawless executive overreach, that even he said nearly two dozen times, she is not fit to serve as the nation’s Attorney General,” Kukowski said in an email.Walker is in New Hampshire,the first in the nation primary state,on Friday, meeting with—among other—former Sen. Scott Brown(R-MA)—who narrowly lost to Sen....

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday praised the Republican senators who declined to sign a controversial open letter to Iran. "I'm heartened ... that a few Republicans, seven to be exact, didn't sign the letter. That's nice. Seven out of 54, certainly seven better than nothing," Reid said from the Senate floor. The open letter, signed by 47 Senate Republicans, states that any deal reached on Iran's nuclear program could be overturned “with the stroke of a pen” after President Obama leaves the White House in 2017. Republican Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.),...

Currently, 61 members of Congress have confirmed they will not attend the speech. Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) California Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) — “I am disappointed Speaker Boehner chose to irresponsibly interject politics into what has long been a strong and bipartisan relationship between the United States and Israel. As President Obama has noted, it is inappropriate for a Head of State to address Congress just two weeks ahead of their election. I agree that Congress should not be used as a prop in Israeli election campaigns,...

A full list of the Democrats who have confirmed they're missing the speech follows: SENATE - 4 members Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) HOUSE - 26 members Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.) Rep. Andre Carson (Ind.) Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.) Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.) Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.) Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.) Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Ill.) Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) Rep. John Lewis (Ga.)...

The Dem Congressmen Boycotting Netanyahu are the Same Old Hamas SupportersPosted By Daniel Greenfield On February 26, 2015 @ 6:02 pm In The Point | 12 Comments There are a lot of stories about the Dem members of Congress boycotting Netanyahu’s speech. But most of the names on the list are longtime opponents of the Jewish State.The boycott lists consists of two groups. Congressional Black Caucus members who are offended on Obama’s behalf and can smell racism anywhere.The other consists of opponents of Israel.It’s instructive to compare the list of boycotters to the 54 members of Congress who signed...

A group of 23 liberal House Democrats urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress next month. In the letter spearheaded by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the lawmakers argued that Netanyahu was being used as a "political tool" against President Obama. "As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concern that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president," they wrote. Netanyahu's March 3 address will be just two weeks before the Israeli elections and...

State legislators around the country have introduced more than 200 bills aiming to nullify regulations and laws coming out of Washington, D.C., as they look to rein in the federal government. The legislative onslaught, which includes bills targeting federal restrictions on firearms, experimental treatments and hemp, reflects growing discord between the states and Washington, state officials say. “You have a choice,” said Kentucky state Rep. Diane St. Onge (R). “To sit back and not do anything or say anything and let overregulation continue — or you have the alternative choice to speak up about it and say, ‘We know what...

WASHINGTON, DC - The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) voted Thursday to rescind its endorsement of Representative Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine 2nd CD, after he voted against the repeal of Obamacare. Poliquin was one of only three Republicans to vote against the repeal because, he claimed, "more than 60,000 Mainers have invested their time and energy in choosing health care plans that work for their families." Poliquin said he would only vote to repeal Obamacare if Republicans had a replacement bill ready to vote on at the same time. "We were both stunned and disappointed by Rep. Poliquin's...

ELLSWORTH, Maine — Goodwill staff and police got more than they bargained for last week after a book was donated to the Ellsworth location. An employee was going through one of the books and found a gun inside it on Jan. 30, according to Ellsworth police Lt. Harold Page. “It just looks like a regular book that somebody had cut the pages out of the inside,” Page said. Page said Goodwill has a central warehouse where they receive items from, and the gun was discovered upon the book’s delivery to the Ellsworth location. An employee called police upon discovering the...

Issues Action Items.... End Obamacare... Ending Obamacare and allowing Americans to shop across state lines to buy health insurance will lower unaffordable monthly premiums.... Millions of Americans are also losing their doctors and hospitals of choice because they don’t fit into the Obamacare-mandated health care systems. Others are suffering dramatic increases in their monthly insurance premiums, another broken promise from Washington.

For those who are tired of seeing their hard earned money forcibly seized by the government and redistributed to those who refuse to contribute anything of value to society. Even the staunchest of conservatives and libertarians understands that a civilized society needs to provide some level of support for those who are sick, disabled, or simply going through a rough period like losing a job. Americans are a generous people and for the most part we’re all willing to chip in to make our country a better place. But we can all probably agree that within the social programs designed...

AUGUSTA — Anti-abortion activists descended on the State House on Saturday as Republican lawmakers try to tighten access to abortion under federal and state laws. The annual rally – featuring speeches by Gov. Paul LePage and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin – culminated in a march from St. Michael School to the State House, where demonstrators joined hands around the building. A bell tolled 42 times, one for each year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion nationwide. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill this month that would ban abortion after the 20th...

AUGUSTA, Maine — While Gov. Paul LePage and U.S. Rep.-elect Bruce Poliquin were the ones giving victory speeches after Election Day, it’s arguable that another Republican was an equal winner: political strategist Brent Littlefield. A consultant who crafted the successful campaigns of both LePage and Poliquin, Littlefield proved beyond a doubt in 2014 that he’s got a winning strategy for electing conservative Republicans in Maine. But he’s not telling anybody what that strategy is. “I don’t want to give away the secret sauce just yet,” Littlefield, a Maine native who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, said in a recent...