Free Republic

The House of Representatives voted to kill a resolution to censure progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, R-Mich., on Wednesday night. Nearly two dozen Republicans voted along with all House Democrats to table the resolution in a final vote of 222 to 186 in favor of killing the motion without debate. Democrats briefly broke out into applause when the resolution failed.

A group of congressmen are looking into the University of Virginia (UVA).In April, I covered the story of Kieran Bhattacharya, a medical student who allegedly got a little too curious.In October 2018, Kieran attended a UVA panel discussion covering microaggressions.During a Q&A segment, he asked as follows:“Thank you for your presentation. I had a few questions, just to clarify your definition of microaggressions. Is it a requirement, to be a victim of microaggression, that you are a member of a marginalized group?”Presenter and Assistant Dean Beverly Cowell replied that it wasn’t a necessity.Yet — as Kieran observed — a slide...

The handwritten list was found in a van belonging to James Hodgkinson by the FBI, and the lawmakers named on the list are known to be conservative members associated with the Freedom Caucus: Reps. Scot DesJarlais (R-TN) (pronounced day-zharr-LAY), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA).

Senator Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) introduced a bill to the Senate on March 14 that would institute new protections for gun owners who travel across state lines with their firearms. The Lawful Interstate Transportation of Firearms Act, also introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R., Va.) to the House of Representatives in January, would expand and clarify the interstate firearm transportation rules instituted under the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986. Under that law, Americans are allowed to transport firearms from one state where they can legally possess them to another so long as certain requirements are met, such as the...

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement on the Speaker of the House for the 114th Congress: “I strongly believe that Congress ought to be more aggressive in opposing President Obama’s policies than in the past. Time will tell if the new Congress will bring a more aggressive approach in fighting President Obama’s failed policies.” “That being said, no candidate other than John Boehner stepped forward for the nomination at the Republican Conference meeting of November 13, 2014. Had a viable candidate sought the nomination at that meeting, I would have given serious consideration to supporting them due...

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today issued the following statement after sending a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell regarding reports that Virginia Intermont College in Bristol is under consideration by HHS as a possible detention center to house immigrant children who have illegally entered the United States: “While I am personally opposed, American citizens impacted by such a decision ought to know beforehand, and they should have a meaningful opportunity to have their voices heard.” The full text of the letter follows below: June 20, 2014 The Honorable Sylvia Burwell U.S. Secretary of...

Insurance Execs: Premiums Are Not Lowering Under ObamacareA group of top health insurance executives on Capitol Hill Wednesday stayed stock-still when asked whether they expected families they insure to experience a lowering of their premiums under Obamacare. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R., Va.) extended the question, and awkward silence ensued:

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today regarding the EPA’s finalized Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. The rule requires 27 states in the eastern half of the United States to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from power plants. This rule impacts 3,642 electric generating units at 1,081 facilities: “Today’s release of the final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is yet another attack on American jobs by the EPA. If the EPA’s purpose under the Obama Administration is to create uncertainty in the economy, kill jobs, and increase electricity rates, then mission accomplished. “In Southwest Virginia, a...

WASHINGTON– Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released the following statement today after voting against a $2.4 trillion debt limit increase with no spending cuts or budget reforms attached: “We can not consider raising the debt limit without substantial cuts in spending and a systemic change in Washington’s spending culture. It is easy to simply continue spending and borrowing. But our government has done that for too long. Almost nine percent unemployment and over a $14 trillion national debt is proof that throwing money at every problem is not a viable solution. “Congress has a responsibility to the American people to rein...

The freshman Congressman representing Virginia’s 9th district Morgan H. Griffith has recently introduced H.J. Res 46, which is a constitutional amendment that will allow any federal law to be nullified by a two-thirds super-majority of state legislatures. The text of the bill is as follows: H.J.RES.46 -- Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to allow the several States to nullify a law or regulation of the United States. (Introduced in House - IH)

Veteran Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) — a leading coal-state negotiator in last year’s House cap-and-trade debate — has lost his reelection bid against Republican Morgan Griffith in perhaps the first real surprise of the evening.

A dramatic reversal of fortune in Virginia's 9th Congressional District, where Republican challenger Morgan Griffith appears to have awoken after 3 months of polling at 40% and today, 7 days until votes are counted, vaults into a tie with incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher, who had been sailing to a 16th term. In a SurveyUSA polling conducted exclusively for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, it's Griffith 47%, Boucher 46%, within the survey's theoretical margin of sampling error. Griffith's lead may or may not be statistically significant; the contest should be reported as even. Among traditional midterm voters -- those who vote in most...

When a candidate spends $29,000 from his campaign treasury to buy a sport utility vehicle -- as did Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., last fall -- it tends to draw attention. It's a perfectly legal but profoundly strange purchase, one his donors likely didn't have in mind. It's also what you'd expect from a congressional campaign that isn't worried about losing and has money to burn. Boucher is now in a close race -- close enough that he may worry as he rolls about his southwest Virginia district in his new Ford Edge, which the Roanoke Times reports was bought "with...

Ba-boom! Summarizing the big poll dump the NRCC just provided the Washington Post: •FL-8: Daniel Webster (R) 46, Alan Grayson* (D) 30 •PA 3: Mike Kelly (R) 56, Kathy Dahlkemper* (D) 39 •OH-15: Steve Stivers (R) 51, Mary Jo Kilroy* (D) 39 •WA-3: Jaime Herrera (R) 51, Denny Heck (D) 38 •NY-20: Chris Gibson (R) 48, Scott Murphy* (D) 45 •MA-10: Jeff Perry (R) 44, Bill Keating (D) 42 •IL-17: Bobby Schilling (R) 44, Phil Hare* (D) 41 •PA-10: Tom Marino (R) 44, Chris Carney* (D) 37 •VA-9: Morgan Griffith (R) 44, Rick Boucher* (D) 44 •OR-5: Scott Bruun (R)...

The race for Virginia’s sprawling 9th congressional district is so heated that both candidates are trolling for votes not just in Virginia–but also across the border, in Tennessee. Caught in the race of his career, 14-term Democrat Rick Boucher plans to duck into Kingsport, Tenn., to press the flesh of the 2,000 or so potential Virginia voters who work at the Eastman Chemical Co. plant there. His challenger, Virginia state House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, is heading to the same plant on Friday. Both are responding to an invitation from the company. [Snip] Republicans are planning an all-out push to...

Even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi twisted arms for the final votes to pass her climate bill in June 2009, Democrats feared they might be "BTU'd." Many of them recalled how Al Gore had forced the House to vote in 1993 for an energy tax, a vote Democrats later blamed for helping their 1994 defeat. The politics isn't the same this time around. This time, it's much, much worse. Ask Rick Boucher, the coal-country Democrat who for nearly 30 years has represented southwest Virginia's ninth district. The 64-year-old is among the most powerful House Democrats, an incumbent who hasn't been seriously...

The National Republican Congressional Committee is set to go up with new ads this week against a pair of incumbents who had previously been considered lower tier targets this fall, providing further proof the House playing field still very fluid with 49 days to go before the elections. According to a GOP strategist who tracks ad buys, the NRCC has placed an $82,000 buy against Rep. Rick Boucher (D) in Virginia's 9th district as well as a $45,000 buy against Rep. Mike McIntyre (D) in North Carolina's 7th district. The ad buys are for the week of Sept. 17-23. Neither...

Rep. Rick Boucher (D) leads state House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R) by 10 points with two months remaining until Election Day, according to a new independent poll of the 9th district. The SurveyUSA poll, conducted for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, shows Boucher ahead among likely voters, 50 percent to 40 percent. Independent candidate Jeremiah Heaton drew 5 percent. That result is a slight improvement for Griffith over a mid-July poll by the same firm, which showed the Republican trailing by 13 points in the Southwest Virginia district.

VA-09: Women Propel Democrat Boucher to 15th Term in Congress: In an election for US House of Representatives in Virginia's 9th Congressional District today, 07/21/10, incumbent Democrat Rick Boucher defeats Republican State House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith 52% to 39%, according to this latest exclusive WDBJ-TV poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Among men, the contest is tied; among women, Boucher leads by 25 points. 1 in 4 Republicans cross over to vote for the Democrat. Independents split. Those with favorable opinions of the Tea Party movement back Griffith 3:1; those with unfavorable opinions of the Tea Party back Boucher 14:1.

The two candidates running for the 9th Congressional district seat in Virginia have found something they can agree on: the controversial Arizona law aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, the Democrat incumbent, and state Del. Morgan Griffith, the Republican challenger, both oppose the federal government’s decision to file a lawsuit against the state to prevent the law from taking effect. In a recent letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Boucher expressed his “strong opposition to file suit in United States District Court against the State of Arizona challenging the validity of the Arizona state...