Free Republic

A Republican group that includes former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday will kick off its efforts to improve the party's outreach to Hispanic voters, many of whom have been critical of some GOP candidates' harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration. The new Hispanic Action Network is part of a growing number of Republican organizations reaching out to Hispanics in advance of next year's presidential election — and it has powerful support. The group is backed by former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, whose American Action Network funneled more than $30 million in campaign funds to Republicans in about 30 congressional races...

At 9am Tuesday November 30, 2010, New Zeal will post documentary evidence linking Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, to the Communist Party USA. Why is this important? A key part of Mark Ritchie's job is to oversee electoral recounts in Minnesota. In early 2009 Mark Ritchie judged that his Wellstone Action Advisory Committee and Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party colleague Al Franken had won a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat, even though Republican opponent Norm Coleman was ahead on election night. The recount was dogged with controversy, with allegations that felon's votes were illegally counted. Currently, Mark Ritchie is overseeing another election recount....

Iran's Oil Mafia April 16, 2007 Frontpagemagazine.com Hassan Daioleslam Robert William (Bob) Ney is a current federal prisoner and a former Ohio Congressman from 1995 until November 3, 2006. Ney pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Jack Abramoff lobbying and bribery scandal. Ney reportedly received bribes from Abramoff, other lobbyists, and two foreign businessmen - a felon and an arms dealer - in exchange for using his position to advance their interests. Conspicuously missing from this dossier of disservice to the country was Ney’s assistance in the creation of a Washington-based lobbying...

WASHINGTON — Let’s clear two things up at the start of this article that will be helpful going through the rest of it. One: Former Sen. Norm Coleman finds himself once again in the conversation for a run as the next chair of the Republican National Committee. POLITICO reported late Thursday that he was considering it, and has told aides it would be an “intriguing” opportunity. Two: I have no idea how much of that is coming from Coleman, and how much is coming from people who flatly don’t like current Chairman Michael Steele and want to see him forced...

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds July 12, 2010 FoxNews.com The six-month election recount that turned former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. That's the finding of an 18-month study conducted by Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, which found that at least 341 convicted felons in largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race between Franken, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, then-incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. The final recount vote...

Felons Voting Illegally May Have Put Franken Over the Top in Minnesota, Study Finds By Ed Barnes July 12, 2010 The six-month election recount that turned former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken into a U.S. senator may have been decided by convicted felons who voted illegally in Minnesota's Twin Cities. That's the finding of an 18-month study conducted by Minnesota Majority, a conservative watchdog group, which found that at least 341 convicted felons in largely Democratic Minneapolis-St. Paul voted illegally in the 2008 Senate race between Franken, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent, then-incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. The final...

Former Senator Norm Coleman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Chief Political Reporter Tom Hauser Sunday he will not be running for governor in 2010. He made the official announcement on his Facebook page late Sunday night. He released the following statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS ahead of the announcement. "I love Minnesota and I love public service, but this is not the right time for me and my family to conduct a campaign for Governor. Timing is everything. The timing on this race is both a bit too soon and a bit too late. It is too soon after my last...

KSTP investigated absentee ballot inconsistencies and reported their findings last night, and you can watch the video here. Many cities put up roadblocks to their investigation request -- and Bloomington threatened felony charges against KSTP if they reported on their findings. The most damning part is Sec. of State Mark Ritchie's denial of problems and response when asked to look at ballot envelopes and comment. "Ritchie first told us he could not read our examples, then said he wouldn't look at photocopies of absentee ballot envelopes." A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation has found that mistakes made with absentee ballots in...

Tony Trimble couldn't catch a break. As one of the lead attorneys for Sen. Norm Coleman following Election Day, he hadn't stopped working in months. And as he watched the Republican's lead over Democrat Al Franken slip steadily and then finally vanish in the largest recount in American history, he marveled at how everything seemed to be breaking Franken's way. Clerical corrections, countless one- and two-vote shifts from sloppily filled-out ballots, major judicial rulings. They all added to Franken's vote quarry. In the closing days of the recount, Trimble watched, dumbstruck, as 933 rejected absentee ballots — once the domain...

Politics: The mantra from 2000's presidential recount doesn't seem to apply to the 2008 Minnesota Senate race. As the GOP incumbent pursues his court challenge, Democrats want the game called due to leading.This week in St. Paul, Minn., Republican Sen. Norm Coleman got to present his case of a stolen election before a three-judge panel, the last step in a very long and winding contest. The Democrats get to conduct an exercise in hypocrisy in this "election contest," as it's called, that may last three to four weeks. "Let every vote count" was the rallying cry after Al Gore lost...

Politics: Should the election law in Massachusetts be changed to keep Ted Kennedy's seat filled and get ObamaCare passed? As in Minnesota and Illinois, the voters might lose again.Recognizing his own mortality and waging a valiant battle against brain cancer, Kennedy has written a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, state Senate President Theresa Murray and state House Speaker Robert DeLeo asking them to change the law so his seat might be filled immediately until a special election could be held. His letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Boston Globe, does not specially mention his illness or...

Stimulus: The group that pushed banks into the risky loans that brought the economy down is now eligible for a huge chunk of stimulus cash. The stimulus plan does create jobs — for community activists.As in any agreement, contract or piece of legislation, the devil is in the details. So it is with the stimulus package percolating in Congress. Analysts are beginning to figure out that only a small percentage of the money will actually trickle down into the economy in the first two years, not enough to do much stimulating. Yet in this package is a $4 billion pot...

Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged? Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded defeat in the mother of all recounts in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race after the state's Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit. Arguably, his seat may have been lost the day in 2006 when Democrat Mark Ritchie defeated two-term incumbent Republican Mary Kiffmeyer to become Minnesota secretary of state. It was Ritchie who orchestrated the recount that gave Democratic challenger Franken a lead some...

Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged?Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged? Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded defeat in the mother of all recounts in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race after the state's Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit. Arguably, his seat may have been lost the day in 2006...

A review of Minnesota’s statewide database of registered voters revealed at least 2,812 deceased individuals voted in last November’s general election, according to a new report by the “traditional values” advocacy group Minnesota Majority. After obtaining the list of voters who participated in November’s election, the group hired an independent firm who specializes in “death suppression” for direct mailing lists to review the data. The process, which involved matching names and addresses to state death records, bore troubling results. According to Minnesota statute 201.13, the commissioner of health is to report monthly the name, address, date of birth, and county...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to become a Democrat significantly raises the stakes in a contested Senate race in Minnesota, with the outcome of that fight now set to determine whether Democrats gain procedural control of the Senate. The Minnesota Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on June 1 in the election dispute between Democrat Al Franken and Norm Coleman, who was the Republican incumbent until January. Mr. Franken currently leads the race by 312 votes, and many analysts say the state supreme court could reaffirm his victory within weeks. The Minnesota contest is now pivotal because,...

Norm Coleman’s legal team has filed a notice of appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, contesting his resounding defeat last week at the hands of a lower court in the seemingly endless Minnesota Senate race recount. Coleman’s appeal to the state supreme court was expected, but it comes after a week of pressure from Democrats, Minnesota media and even some Gopher State Republicans for him to concede. Coleman and his attorneys have dismissed these calls for his concession, and he has the full backing of Washington Republicans, who continue to raise money for his legal fees in the ongoing fight....

Republican Norm Coleman used a quick George Bush -esque move to dodge an egg thrown at him outside his Minnesota home. Coleman told police that he heard a thumping on his door Tuesday night and walked outside to investigate. Upon seeing Coleman, a man yelled “I [expletive] can't stand what you represent” and threw an egg at him. “He said something, some little obscenity, and then he threw another one,” Coleman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press . “I kind of ducked. A George Bush move.” “I ran after him, but I didn't get him.”

Norm Coleman doesn’t have much support back home for contesting the results of the Minnesota Senate race, according to a new poll of Minnesota voters conducted by Public Policy Polling. The poll showed that 63 percent of Minnesota voters said they believe Coleman should concede the race to Democrat Al Franken, with just 37 percent supporting further appeals. And 59 percent said they want Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sign the certificate declaring Franken the winner. “With the ruling of the three judge panel it appears that most Minnesota voters are now ready for this election be over,” said Public Policy...

A group of several dozen of the most influential business lobbyists in Washington is vowing to raise and spend whatever it takes to bankroll Norm Coleman’s upcoming appeal fight, in the wake of a three-judge ruling declaring that Al Franken defeated Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race. The group of lobbyists, which calls itself “Team Coleman,” is made up of some of the biggest players in D.C.’s permanent lobbying establishment, and includes executives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association and others. “We will raise as much as is necessary,” Dirk...