Free Republic

Rick Perry’s record on immigration isn’t as bad as I thought. It’s worse! … It’s not just that he doesn’t want to build the border fence. Many fence opponents argue (though I disagree) that it’s far more important to take away the “jobs magnet” that lures illegals to try to cross the border in the first place. But Perry hasn’t supported the quickest, best way to take away the jobs magnet, which is to require all private employers to use the “E-Verify” electronic check of Social Security numbers. Perry wouldn’t even require his own state government to use E-Verify, let...

US president was afraid to push, to call for autocrat to immediately resign from his illegitimate perch. Obama reacted; the people of Egypt led. I’m sitting and watching President Barack Obama’s speech on the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. He is eloquent as usual, supplying compelling visuals of the protesters demanding a free government in spite of great personal peril. He is quoting Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He has ‘taken charge’ of the situation. But say what he will, for Obama it’s all too late. Throughout the riveting three weeks of Egypt’s democratic birth, the leader of the free world...

As Obamaniacs whoop it up, the Right is undergoing the same self-examination it went through starting in 1977. Some decisions will be easy, others less so. Few will claim that "big government Republicanism" — or, as Goldwater referred to it, a "Dime Store New Deal" — is the wave of the future. Conservatives know that competing for the affection of voters by leasing their souls to corrupt lobbyists has been a fool's errand. Within days will come a restatement of minimalist government principles, especially by the economic right.

Are the Republicans politically suicidal? I don't think so. The public can oppose you on a specific policy question but still favor you on the issue in general. Richard Nixon was fighting an unpopular war in 1972, but he still crushed George McGovern on foreign policy. Likewise, despite the unpopularity of the Iraq war, John McCain's general hawkishness might still be an asset for him. A Democracy Corps poll, highlighted by Ed Kilgore, suggests exactly that. When presented with the choice of a generic Democrat or Republican, voters strongly prefer a Democrat. But when asked to choose between John McCain...

Bruno, the alpha male, is said to be large, powerful and wary of visitors Police in Sierra Leone are on the hunt for a group of chimpanzees, who escaped from their wildlife sanctuary after a fatal attack on construction workers. Armed reinforcements are combing the area after a Sierra Leonean died and two Americans were seriously injured. Security personnel said four men were attacked on Sunday after entering the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Angry chimps killed and mutilated the driver. The two Americans are in a hospital in the capital, Freetown. A worker at Tacugama told the BBC that some...

Neither Bush nor Kerry meets our endorsement test. Detroit News

And we're lead to believe the world loved us before Dubya. Surprise! We're not talking President Bush here but President Clinton. Read these fascinating old FR threads prior to the last electionClinton Trip to Greece Postponed ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Following a wave of anti-American demonstrations, the government announced today that President Clinton has postponed and shortened a visit to Greece. The government said Clinton would come to Greece from Nov. 19-20, cutting his stop to less than 24 hours "http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a382991ab5f38.htm" Greek Police Clash With Anti-Clinton Protesters ATHENS (Reuters) - Leftists demonstrating against President Clinton clashed with police trying to...

You hear it every election year. Those 5 little words, strung together to make up the biggest lie in politics: “You’re throwing your vote away.” The media even has a name for the candidates that get the “throw away” votes. They call those candidates “spoilers”. Why? Because it ruins the whole two-party myth. It shows evidence that there are more choices out there than tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. The two major parties are beginning to realize this too. No longer can they sit back as the Greens, Constitutionalists, Libertarians, and Independent Americans take away a percentage of the votes. They can’t...

<p>CLINTON, Ky. — City Council member Yvette Thomas had a steady job — with medical insurance — at a sewing plant making sweaters for Wal-Mart.</p> <p>Thomas, a single mother, was able to support her family and even put her eldest daughter through college with the money she earned during her 14 years at Garan.</p>