Free Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an era where political opinions that are not politically correct can get you blacklisted or worse, Bryan Kemper isn’t afraid to be visibly and outspokenly pro-life. Earlier this month, the activist – who heads up Stand True, the youth outreach for Priests for Life – proved it when he wound up sitting next to "pro-choice" U.S. Senator Mark Kirk, R-IL, on an airplane and used the opportunity to talk to the senator about abortion. LifeSiteNews caught up with Kemper last week to talk to him about the experience, and to ask him...

Frustrated with President Barack Obama’s reaction to Russian action in Ukraine, a group of Republican senators said Wednesday they will introduce legislation outlining a more muscular response. “What we’ve seen from the administration is a lot of rhetoric,” Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning. The White House has been dealing “with the situation after something bad has already occurred,” he said. Earlier this week, violence flared up in another area of Ukraine that hugs the Russian border, as the new government in Kiev criticized local police...

The 60 Plus Association today released TV and radio advertisements in seven states targeting Senate Banking Committee Members who are sponsoring recently introduced legislation that will allow the government to take over the mortgage industry in an action 'disturbingly similar' to Obamacare. 60 Plus targeted three Democrat and four Republican U.S. Senators supporting this government take-over, including Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Jerry Moran (R-KS).

Update 1145am EST. Many of you are asking for the list of the anti-drilling Republicans. The group who succeeded in pressuring the GOP to cave in calls itself the "Republican Main Street Partnership." They're holding a press conference at 130pm EST in Washington, D.C. to bray about their "victory." Here's some more info: Main Street Leaders who helped broker the deal to eliminate ANWR from budget cuts: Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH), Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Rep. Jim Walsh (R-NY), Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-MI), RMSP Executive Director Sarah Chamberlain ResnicHere's the complete list of "Main Street" members in Congress. 1pm EST....

Bruce Rauner, the billionaire Republican nominee for Illinois governor, is doing all he can to turn himself into a career politician named Mark Kirk. Fresh off a closer-than-expected primary victory over three underfunded opponents, Rauner is avoiding social issues at all costs and hewing to a throw-the-bums-out message against the unpopular Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. Rauner has on his staff four Kirk alumni in his effort to replicate the moderate GOP senator’s path to blue-state victory. And like Kirk — and unlike Republicans in almost everywhere else in the country — Rauner avoids bashing President Barack Obama, who remains popular...

Sen. Mark S. Kirk’s decision not to campaign this year against his in-state Democratic colleague should come as no surprise. While Kirk has said he will support the Republican ticket in November and has committed to actively assisting the party’s gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner, the Illinois Republican told the Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet that he won’t be stumping for Republican Senate nominee Jim Oberweis. Kirk said he wants to protect his working relationship with Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin by “not launching into a partisan jihad.” But there are other equally compelling reasons not to hit the campaign trail against...

In the race for U.S. Senate, Republican challenger Jim Oberweis is getting shunned by two top Republicans - one local, one national. Dick Durbin is such a favorite for reelection that Republican Senator Mark Kirk says he’s not even planning to campaign with fellow Republican Oberweis. “I’m going to be protecting my relationship with Dick and not launching into a partisan jihad that hurts our partnership [in which we] both pull together for Illinois.” And at his side at an unrelated news conference was Republican Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, in town for a fundraiser, who took a...

Republicans in the Senate are struggling to come up with the five votes they'd need to ensure passage on Wednesday of a House bill raising the debt ceiling. The measure is likely to win support from the upper chamber's 53 Democrats and the two Independents that caucus with Democrats. But only one Republican, Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), has so far said he would back the bill. The measure needs 60 votes because Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is filibustering the bill over the lack of spending reforms attached to it. Kirk told The Hill the vote would be close. “I think...

The White House has been exploring ways to circumvent Congress and unilaterally lift sanctions on Iran once a final nuclear agreement is reached, according to sources with knowledge of White House conversations and congressional insiders familiar with its strategy. The issue of sanctions relief has become one of the key sticking points in the Iran debate, with lawmakers pushing for increased economic penalties and the White House fighting to roll back regulations. While many in Congress insist that only the legislative branch can legally repeal sanctions, senior White House officials have been examining strategies to skirt Congress, according to those...

The Persian Triangle Clifford D. May On November 24, 2013, a “Joint Plan of Action” was concluded in Geneva by Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China—as well as Germany. “We have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program,” President Obama exulted. This agreement, added Secretary of State John Kerry, will ensure that Iran “cannot build a nuclear weapon.” Their confidence was not universally shared. “This deal appears to provide the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with billions of dollars in exchange for cosmetic concessions that...

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) triggered controversy with a fiery floor speech in the Senate on Tuesday night, during which she declared that "we cannot let Israel determine when and where the United States goes to war." Breitbart reports that the speech was made during a debate on a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran if it fails to comply with the nuclear deal that was reached with it in November. The bill includes a provision offering support to Israel in the event of an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran. Feinstein chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence and is...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) triggered controversy with a fiery floor speech in the Senate on Tuesday night, accusing supporters of the bipartisan Kirk-Menendez bill on Iran sanctions of wanting "regime change" and declaring that "we cannot let Israel determine when and where the United States goes to war." The bill includes a provision offering support to Israel in the event of an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran. Feinstein, who chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence and is considered pro-Israel, but her remarks, which echo those of anti-Israel critics, have provoked outrage. The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) called on her to...

Sen. Joe Manchin warns that Obamacare could collapse “under its own weight” if there are continued problems, repeating his push for delaying the individual mandate. “If it’s so much more expensive than what we anticipated and if the coverage is not as good as what we had, you’ve got a complete meltdown at that time,” the West Virginia Democrat said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This transitional year gives you a chance to adjust the product for the market.”Manchin is pushing legislation with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) that would delay the individual mandate for another...

Lawmakers in the United States continue to show determination in passing new sanctions on Iran, despite the nuclear deal that was reached with it several weeks ago. Reuters reported on Monday that two senators are preparing legislation to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Republic in six months if the interim deal on its nuclear program goes nowhere. The Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez, and Republican Senator Mark Kirk are close to agreeing on legislation that would target Iran's remaining oil exports, foreign exchange reserves and strategic industries, their aides said on Monday, according to...

Administration ups efforts to prevent Congress from passing new penalties against Tehran that could put kibosh on nuclear deal The Obama administration Tuesday stepped up lobbying against congressional action for new sanctions on Iran, with the White House warning such a move would lead to war. “The American people justifiably and understandably prefer a peaceful solution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and this agreement, if it’s achieved, has the potential to do that,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. “The alternative is military action.” Earlier in the day State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said John Kerry...

John McCain voted yea WASHINGTON, D.C., November 7, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This afternoon the Senate approved a bill that could force business owners who adhere to traditional values to hire homosexuals, bisexuals, and those who do not dress in accordance with their biological sex or face litigation. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed following a bipartisan 64-32 vote. Supporters say it would forbid “workplace discrimination” against homosexuals and transgender employees and job-seekers. But critics say, like the HHS mandate, its religious exemption is unduly narrow and would force employers – including Christian schools and nurseries – to violate their consciences....

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday called federal prosecutors’ efforts to crack down on gun crime “horrible” in Chicago when compared to other cities like New York or Los Angeles. “But that does not absolve us from our responsibility. It doesn’t absolve Springfield. There is a lot that needs to be fixed specifically on guns, both on the prosecutorial side, the gun prevention side and other aspects,” [Chicago Mayor Rahm] Emanuel said. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) have been encouraging the [federal prosecutor] to take on street crime, too.

<p>Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Monday sought to move past a controversy that flared over his call for mass arrests of gang members by pushing for new federal gang-apprehension initiatives to assist local law enforcement.</p> <p>Earlier this year, Kirk had called for arresting 18,000 Gangster Disciples to deal with the city's gang problem. That drew fire from South Side Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush, who labeled it an unrealistic "elitist, white boy" solution to Chicago's gang crime problems. Later, Kirk acknowledged his idea was unworkable and discussed the issue with Rush.</p>

A pair of tea party groups is teaming up to pressure key Republicans to support an effort to defund Obamacare. Tea Party Patriots and the grassroots group For America are launching online ads against a dozen GOP senators who either oppose the effort or haven’t announced a position. Along with the ads, leaders of the groups will embark on a six-state, five-day “Exempt America” tour (the idea being that the American people should be exempt from Obamacare) that will bring them to the home states of several of these senators. Update 12:01 p.m.: The conservative group Heritage Action is also...

Today we start with a quiz. Two politicians, one black and one white, have a disagreement on an issue. One airs an opinion, and the other responds with a racial insult. What will happen next? A) The politician who used the racial insult will be roundly and widely denounced and forced to resign from office. B) Nothing. The answer is: It depends. It's impossible to determine the correct answer without knowing whether the epithet came from the white politician or the black politician. In a society that treats racism, correctly, as a grave offense, it shouldn't really matter. But apparently...