Free Republic

President Obama defended the IRS Tuesday in an interview with “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, saying the tea party-targeting scandal was actually Congress’ fault for passing “a crummy law” and that the real problem is the agency doesn’t have enough money. Mr. Obama, who has overseen a series of scandals at the IRS, the Veterans Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and now the Office of Personnel Management, was asked why government didn’t seem to be working on his watch. But the president said he’s not to blame, using the IRS as an example of how what...

In what seemed like a political nanosecond, the Republican National Committee (RNC) released a statement on Saturday condemning Donald Trump’s callous assertion that day that Sen. John McCain is “not a war hero.” Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period. There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably. The RNC is 100 percent correct. McCain is a hero. His sacrifice and service to this country when so many like Trump looked for ways to avoid the Vietnam...

Writing for the Huffington Post today, Daniel Cubias suggested that liberals get rid of the term "white privilege" with "white advantage," or another phrase that shows that whites receive societal benefits simply for being white. Cubias cautions in his piece Let's Get Rid of the Term 'White Privilege' that "white privilege" does indeed exist. However, the phrase itself is not catchy enough. Liberals were smart to change "global warming" to "climate change." He explains, "consider the worst branding decision of all time: "global warming". As we all know, climate deniers just scoff and say, "Then why was it so cold...

Yahoo Finance is closely following the money pouring into the 2016 campaign, and we analyzed newly released data to see which companies are aligned with which candidates. (Our full methodology is at the end of this story.) Not surprisingly, Bush and Clinton are pulling down millions from deep corporate connections. But we found a few unexpected things as well. While it’s no secret that Jeb Bush is Wall Street's preferred candidate, for instance, Hillary Clinton more than makes up for that with thousands of donations from attorneys at powerful law firms. Many analysts consider ultraconservative Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas...

Monday on AM 970’s “The Joe Piscopo Show,” pollster Frank Luntz suggested that since Republican presidential candidate and longtime Clinton friend Donald Trump refused to say he would endorse whoever got the Republican party nomination, it is a real “possibility” Trump is planning a third party run. This, as host Joe Piscopo pointed out, would allow Hillary to “walk right in” to the presidency and be an astonishing historical repeat, because Ross Perot’s third party candidacy is credited for President Bill Clinton’s victory over President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Suddenly, the gloves are off between Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Surprisingly, Bush threw the first punch, sparking a back-and-forth between the two leading Republican candidates in early-state polls, both eager to highlight what they see as the other’s fatal flaw — Bush as the establishment shill and Walker as the foreign policy lightweight. It started during a town hall in Nevada Friday, when Bush took an unprovoked shot at Walker, portraying him as unserious and unsophisticated over a promise he made in his announcement speech last Monday to repeal the nuclear deal with Iran “on the very first day...

Last week's successfully concluded Iran agreement is one of the two most important achievements of an otherwise pretty dismal Obama presidency. Along with the ongoing process of normalizing relations with Cuba, this move shows that diplomacy can produce peaceful, positive changes. It also shows that sometimes taking a principled position means facing down overwhelming opposition from all sides and not backing down. The president should be commended for both of these achievements. The agreement has reduced the chance of a U.S. attack on Iran, which is a great development. But the interventionists will not give up so easily. Already they...

I’ve never written a column like this. Readers rarely believe it, but I am not on any political team. Generosity toward the high and mighty isn’t among my few virtues. But this needs to be said: Americans are lucky to have Barack Obama as president and we should wake up and appreciate it while we can. President Obama will go down in history as an extraordinary president, probably a great one. He will have done this in an era that doesn’t aggrandize leaders and presidents, but shrinks them. All presidents have had profound opposition, vicious enemies and colossal failures. A...

Pandering Is Hard. Suffice it to say the Wisconsin governor and 2016 hopeful has a hard time explaining his views on the subject. It’s safe to say LGBT issues are not Scott Walker’s favorite conversation topic. Questions about various aspects of the gay rights debate have frequently tripped him up on the campaign trail - most recently during an interview on CNN when he was asked whether being gay was a choice. “Oh, I mean, I think that’s -- that’s not even an issue for me to be involved in,” the Wisconsin governor said. “The bottom line is, I’m going...

OK the time has arrived. Art Bell returns to American radio in two hours. Tonight.

Dan Rather is coming to your local movie theater. At least the story behind why he’s no longer at CBS is. In “Truth,” Robert Redford plays Rather. Cate Blanchett plays his CBS producer Mary Mapes. In 2004, Rather reported that President George W. Bush’s powerful father arranged to keep his son in the National Guard to prevent serving in Vietnam. The report caused such hoo-hah that a treasured 24-year anchorman lost his job. Dan: “I’ve read the script. It’s serious. People behind it do a good job. It’s two great actors. You couldn’t want for a better cast. Redford playing...

Is anyone concerned that the media have succeeded in using a flap between Donald Trump and John McCain to divert our attention from serious issues facing the nation? Trump has been very outspoken in recent weeks on certain issues, especially immigration. His unfiltered remarks have resonated with people, driving him high in the polls among the GOP hopefuls. I don't think for a second this means Trump has a realistic chance of getting the GOP presidential nomination, much less winning the presidency, but it is a powerful indication that people are tired of what's been going on in the country....

Never! Vote out the Obama enabling quisling RINO amnesty pimps! Enforce the law! Secure the borders! FUBO!! FUGOPE!!

Media Matters, the allegedly non-partisan progressive “watchdog” group that has been caught coordinating with the Obama administration and whose founder has pledged his group’s loyalty to Hillary Clinton, sure doesn’t like Ann Romney. And why? Because she’s written too many books. Oliver Willis, a “research fellow” at the activist group, was disturbed that the former first lady of Massachusetts had written another book. He was so bothered that he felt the need to tell the world of his disgust...

Media Matters is a 501(c)(3), and the lawful restrictions on its political activities are listed above. I’m sure a check of Carusone’s IP addresses will confirm that he is using Media Matters’computers while on his paid on-the-clock employee time, and a search of other records will prove he is also using Media Matters’ phones and other resources to run the #DumpTrump campaign, which is illegal, as you can read here at the IRS website. However, if Trump hasn’t yet formally filed, the restriction on “any statements against candidates” may not apply. But if they do, Trump should sue. Excerpted from...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been the target of much criticism, most recently for inflammatory remarks he made about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at a forum Saturday in Ames, Iowa, hosted by pollster Frank Luntz. Speaking by phone Monday on NBC’s Today, Trump reiterated to host Matt Lauer that he’s “not a fan of John McCain,” asserting that “he’s done a terrible job for the vets.” The Today host steered Trump from McCain’s record to Saturday’s comments:

"If you listen the comments in total, he's not critical of John McCain the war hero, he's critical of his Senate record," co-host Steve Doocy said. Responding and agreeing was co-host Geraldo Rivera, who was not as enthusiastic as Doocy, but did say that Trump would need to at least clarify his remarks. Later in the show, co-host Brian Kilmeade interviewed former Ronald Reagan advisor, agreeing that the situation was "blown out of proportion." Kilmeade continued to defend Trump, saying that "he went on to say 4 more times that he was a war hero." This statement was looked into...

This week, a pathological liar with a Mystic Tan and hair that has spawned dozens of thinkpieces is on a nationwide media blitz, voicing bizarre opinions on complicated issues to anyone holding a microphone. This person's shameless bid for media attention has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, wresting the national conversation from people and things that matter in exchange for a celebrity of which most of us can only dream. Are we talking about former NAACP chapter president/white person Rachel Dolezal, or lattice-haired clown and current presidential candidate Donald Trump? At this point, there's not much of a difference. The...

There was a brief time this year when it almost seemed like the nation’s biggest newspapers, including the Gray Lady, were going to be giving Hillary Clinton the same level of required scrutiny which should apply to every candidate for elected office. It came when they actually covered the email server story and went into a fair amount of depth on it. Of course, it would have been embarrassing in the extreme to not do so, since everyone else on the planet was talking about it. But all good things must come to an end, as they say, and New...

The celebration of Obama's capitulation to the dictators is in full swing when you watch the local media in Miami. Looks like the ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC stations all sent reporters have "journalists" up there singing the praises of Castro and Obama.