Free Republic

Cancer Research Before Activism, Billionaire Conservative Donor SaysBy MICHAEL COOPER Published: March 4, 2011 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — More than a thousand miles from the labor tumult in Wisconsin — where his name shows up on the signs of protesters and a liberal blogger impersonating him got through to the governor on the phone and said “gotta crush that union!” — the real David H. Koch was greeted rather more warmly here Friday when he officially opened a new cancer research institute bearing his name. **SNIP** “It’s a case of identity theft,” Mr. Koch said of the call in which the...

Wisconsin legislature pushing for prank call banLaura Donovan - The Daily Caller – Tue Mar 1, 3:43 pm ET A week after Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker received a prank call from blogger Ian Murphy, who posed as conservative billionaire David Koch, two Wisconsin legislators introduced a bill Monday that would ban prank calls, reports the Badger Herald. Republican state Sen. Mary Lazich and Republican state Rep. Mark Honadel said their measure would forbid deceiving the call’s recipient into believing the caller is someone he or she is not. “While use of spoofing is said to have some legitimate uses,...

Since lefty blogger Ian Murphy prank called Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Wednesday, various media outlets have devoted significant coverage to the prankster. None have seen fit to mention some of Murphy's more colorful antics - proclaiming "f**k the troops," for instance, or pretending to be autistic to gain access for a story. CNN has been out front covering the prank and its perpetrator. The channel named Murphy its "most intriguing person of the day" in one segment, and devoted an article on its website to Murphy's wild claims - that Walker is "delusional," as CNN's headline blared, and that...

I made a few phone calls myself this morning. I contacted the NY AG office, the Buffalo AG office, the Wisconsin AG office and Koch Industries. I got as far as the press office of the NY AG and chatted with that individual for about 15 minutes. It's hard to get through to the proper division but I'll check in again later. 1-800-771-7755. I left a long, detailed message with the Buffalo AG. 1-716-853-8404. The Wisconsin AG office told me that if an investigation was in the works, it would be kept quiet. Fine. Anyone can file a complaint in...

Fake Phone Calls: News or Not?Updated: Feb 23, 2011 8:18 PM EST Many news organizations, I believe, are walking a fine ethical line by playing the recording of a prank phone call made to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by the founder of an alternative website. It may be news that the phone call was placed and that someone in Walkers office even took the call and switched it to the governor, but what was said is not "real" and must be treated carefully. Our credibility is on the line. Ian Murphy, the founder of the website the Buffalo Beast, placed...

Governor Walker Responds to Prank Call MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Scott Walker says he won't be distracted by a prank phone call made by a blogger posing as one of his campaign donors, and he'll push forward with a bill to limit the power of public employee unions. Walker stood by his comments on the call, saying they were no different than what he has said publicly. A website called the Buffalo Beast posted audio of Tuesday's call in which its editor pretended to be conservative billionaire David Koch, who had supported Walker's campaign. **SNIP** Walker revealed his supporters...

S 190.25 Criminal impersonation in the second degree.A person is guilty of criminal impersonation in the second degree when he: 1. Impersonates another and does an act in such assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another; or 2. Pretends to be a representative of some person or organization and does an act in such pretended capacity with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another; or 3. (a) Pretends to be a public servant, or wears or displays without authority any uniform, badge, insignia or facsimile thereof by which such...

It's been quite some time since Fess Parker -- coonskin cap on head and long rifle in hand -- half-sung, half-yodelled the great anthem of Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Parker played the legendary frontiersman/congressman Crocket both on TV and in a feature film. He was also one of a number of singers who sent the song about Crockett onto the hit parade of the 1950s more than once. No question it's a song about a hero. We're told right in the first stanza that he was "born on a mountaintop," which is a pretty special way of...

This global-warming/climate-change stuff is a great racket. Over in England right now, they're locked in the jaws of a very early freeze-up. The roads are iced, the plows overworked, and people are angry. But there's a precious subset of the English population that are not enduring the frigid and premature torments of a northern winter. They're the climate-change activists, bureaucrats, politicians, puppeteers and NGOs -- the class of professional alarmists who've been banging on about global warming for close on two decades now. This bunch has exempted itself from the rigors of English November, traded their sackcloth and ashes for...

At his post-victory news conference Wednesday morning, Governor elect Jerry Brown showed why he won the election with a million votes to spare. He's steeped in the issues, he listens to what is happening on the ground, and he's not afraid to mix it up. Now, I don't agree with Brown on a number of issues. But in the course of the campaign, I rarely got the feeling that Meg Whitman was listening to anyone other than her consultants or that she was even curious. California needs a strong governor; Whitman showed them a wind-up doll. Worse, the former eBay...

Residents cry foul over ballots By: PETER HALL Bucks County Courier Times A petition was filed with the Board of Elections over absentee ballots. A trio of Bucks County residents backed by the county Republican committee say they have evidence linking Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy's campaign to a scheme to flood the county voter registration office with fraudulent applications for absentee ballots. In a petition filed Tuesday, county Republicans say the name of Murphy's campaign manager appeared on a Bristol post office box where voters were urged in a series of letters paid for by the state Democratic Committee to...

Republican Chris Gibson has catapulted ahead of Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy in the race for the upstate New York's 20th congressional district, according to an independent poll released Tuesday. The survey found that Gibson was leading Murphy 51-42 percent, reversing a 17 point deficit from last month, according to the poll by the Siena College Research Institute. The survey found that Gibson was now drawing strong support from Republicans and also was leading among independents, in the district that includes a number of counties around Albany. The district is one of several upstate New York districts won by Democrats in...

In New York’s 20th Congressional District, Siena finds a huge late surge for one of the candidates we’ve urged you to help: Entering the final week of the campaign, Republican Chris Gibson has reversed an early campaign deficit and turned it into a 51-42 percent lead over Democratic Representative Scott Murphy,

Loudonville, NY. Entering the final week of the ampaign, Republican Chris Gibson has reversed an early campaign deficit and turned it into a 51-42 percent lead over Democratic Representative Scott Murphy, who is seeking his first re-election, according to a Siena (College) Research Institute poll of likely voters released today. Gibson has become much more known to voters over the last six weeks, with a positive three-to-two favorability rating. Murphy remains known to more voters, however, they are evenly divided between those who view him favorably and those who view him nfavorably. “Chris Gibson has completely erased a 17-point deficit...

...In his first race for the office, Murphy sold himself as a moderate. But he certainly hasn't voted that way, providing Pelosi with a critical vote on final passage of ObamaCare -- after voting against it the first time around. ...There's only one way to ensure that there's one less vote for Nancy Pelosi continuing as speaker in January: Vote for Democrat Murphy's opponent, Chris Gibson, on Nov. 2.

Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy is confronting worrisome new poll numbers in his rematch against former GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. A new Franklin & Marshall survey out Thursday morning shows Murphy trailing Fitzpatrick by a steep 49 percent to 35 percent margin among likely voters — perilous territory for the two-term Democrat, who occupies a Bucks County-based 8th District seat. The poll of 379 likely voters was conducted Sept. 14-19.

SCHODACK -- Rudy Giuliani thinks Chris Gibson's race for Congress isn't so much about his experience as an Army colonel, or about the voting record of that other guy currently representing the district. Instead, the former New York City mayor said it's about stopping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she moves the country toward a "European-style social democracy." "I'm not really campaigning against the current congressman -- who doesn't have my views on government, doesn't have my views on where the economy should go," Giuliani said Wednesday morning. "Let's put it this way: a vote against Chris is a vote...

Between now and Election Day, the Times Union will examine the claims of many of the ads -- TV, radio, print -- being deployed by the candidates in regional and statewide races. Here's a look at two ads currently on the air in the 20th Congressional District contest between U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy (D-Glens Falls) and his Republican challenger, Chris Gibson. The ad: "Betrayed" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoGNX3Mv54&feature=player_embedded Producer: The 60 Plus Association, an advocacy group that describes itself as "the conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons." The organization has fielded similar ads in more than a dozen congressional races...

Chris Gibson, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy for New York’s 20th Congressional District, told supporters in Maplecrest on Saturday his campaign is raising “respectable figures.” “Clearly if you’re following this closely you see that my opponent has a lot more money than me,” he said. “But fear not,” he told the supporters, gathered under the pavilion of CD Lane Park. Filings with the Federal Election Commission last week show Gibson has $526,334 cash-on-hand compared to Murphy’s $1.45 million. Gibson raised $262,000 during the last filing period, while Murphy brought in more than $325,000. Gibson, a Republican and retired...

There has been much discussion among Maryland conservatives about the insurgent candidacy of Brian Murphy for Governor in general, and Sarah Palin's endorsement in particular. Some conservatives are outraged at what they view as an intrusion into a fragile political landscape by Palin. They view her endorsement of Murphy as an ill informed exercise that will do little to strengthen Murphy, while undermining our only realistic way of taking back the state. They assert that Bob Ehrlich will win the primary anyway, and all this endorsement accomplishes is the undermining and weakening of our Republican standard-bearer. Other conservatives, such as...