Free Republic

The dramatic shift in the Republican Party on immigration continued Tuesday, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a conservative tea party icon and possible 2016 presidential contender, endorsed an overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws that would allow the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants to obtain legalized status. “Immigration will not occur until conservative Republicans, like myself, become part of the solution. That’s why I’m here today: to begin that conversation and become part of the solution,” he said in a breakfast speech Tuesday morning before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

As I didn't watch the State of the Union speech live, I also missed the two responses to it from Barack Obama's opposition. The networks carried Marco Rubio's speech live, but most viewers had to go to the Tea Party Express website to watch Rand Paul rebut Obma's SOTU address. While some may complain about that decision, it is arguably fair. If Mitt Romney had won the election, would we have cheered while the networks not only provided live coverage of Harry Reid's rebuttal, but also one from Senator Bernie Sanders representing the Center for American Progress? Somehow, I doubt...

RON PAUL, Republican of Texas, has retired from the House, after winning more than two million presidential primary votes in 2012. He took the party’s libertarian wing from ignorable fringe to significant faction. His son, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, is angling to lead that faction, very possibly as a presidential candidate himself. The libertarian wing’s dissatisfaction with Mitt Romney led the Libertarian Party to earn 1.2 million votes in the presidential election for its candidate, the former New Mexico governor (and former Republican) Gary Johnson. That was its largest vote total ever. In at least seven national House...

The maelstrom of political controversy regarding Free Republic founder Jim Robinson and his attitude towards the then Republican presidential candidate front runner and odds-on favorite to win the nomination, as anointed by the msm as the weakest candidate in the Repuplican field, was one punctuated by severe criticism of Mr. Robinson for his uncompromising, vituperative take-no-prisoners stance towards the liberal bent, RINO candidate Mr. Romney,as unacceptable under any circumstances as Republican Party nominee in the 2012 presidential election. While his intensely vociferous stance against Mr. Romney surprised, confused, alienated many, the political rationale for the utter blanket rejection of Mr....

I voted for Virgil Goode.

In the 2008 United States election, I wrote in Ron Paul for President. In the 2012 election, I will be voting for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Those who are of a more leftist persuasion than myself might want to consider voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Here are 93 things that Barack Obama has done, that should cause his supporters to switch to Gary Johnson or Jill Stein: 1) Carried out military interventionism in Libya without Congressional approval In June 2011, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said that Obama had violated the Constitution when he launched military operations...

Well, I am voting for Ron Paul in the Texas primaries. He is the only way to stop Romney. Hear me out before you zot me. I really think that this is the correct call. First and foremost, we need to remove Obama from his throne. I think this should be our number one priority, and believe it or not, Ron Paul polls several points higher than Romney against Obama. I have been checking the polls, and it looks like youth and independents are flocking to Paul. Obama must go. Second, Ron Paul is 100% pro-life. This is a very...

LAS VEGAS—Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul outlined his views on immigration Wednesday, saying he favors a compassionate policy that doesn't rely on "barbed-wire fences and guns on our border." Paul spoke to several dozen people organized by Hispanics in Politics, Nevada's oldest Hispanic community group. The Texas congressman has scheduled several days of campaigning in Nevada before the state's caucuses Saturday. Paul went into much greater detail on immigration policy than he has at most of his campaign stops. He typically steers clear of discussing rights for specific groups of people, insisting that his libertarian-leaning views apply to everyone as...

A former congressional aide to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has written a piece slamming the presidential hopeful's foreign-policy views, calling them "pure lunacy" in an online post on the conservative website Rightwingnews.com. The long piece by former aide Eric Dondero alleges awkward treatment by Paul of gays and Jews, but saves its strongest criticisms for his policy positions. "It’s his foreign policy that’s the problem; not so much some stupid and whacky things on race and gays he may have said or written in the past," he writes. Dondero writes that Paul does not believe Israel should exist, that the...

Click link to watch the video of a FOX news debate featuring Ron Paul giving Rick Santorum a history lesson on Iran http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8u5hnMGOQ8

PICKET: (audio) Gingrich hits Rep. Paul on volunteers who want drug legalization and 9/11 truther views By Kerry Picket December 22, 2011, 02:32PM Former House Speaker and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich explained on Thursday morning to radio host John McCaslin on the Washington Times affiliated radio show America's Morning News why he thinks the current popularity of fellow GOP candidate Rep. Ron Paul of Texas will not last long. "Look, I think the odds are against the Republican Party of nominating somebody who is for drug legalization and who doesn't understand that an Iranian nuclear weapon is dangerous and...

So-called leaders of the Tea Party faction chose to speak for all members when they dissed Herman Cain. The very thought that a Tea Party can have one leader goes against everything that I and others believe in. Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are voices of the Tea Party, the message is the true leader of the party.

Ron Paul: Wrong about many things, but not everything.

Nato today announced it was ending its bombing campaign which helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Officials said all operations for the air and sea campaign will conclude at midnight on Monday, as the strikes were described as 'one of the most successful' operations in the history of the 62-year-old alliance. Nato stopped its bombing missions soon after Gaddafi's death earlier this month, but has maintained regular air patrols. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055630/Nato-ends-Libya-mission-Al-Qaeda-flag-flies-Benghazi-bad-omen.html#ixzz1cOFYqq66

In a conversation with a show panel about the country's debt and credit downgrade, MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan passionately calls both the Democratic and Republican economic plans, "reckless, irresponsible and stupid."

In November of 2010 in Don’t be VAT stupid Herman Cain writes: ``A national retail sales tax on top of all the confusing and unfair taxes we have today is insane! It gives the out-of-control bureaucrats and politicians in denial one more tool to lie, deceive, manipulate and destroy this country.`` The fact is, Herman is now proposing a new tax, a national retail sales tax, in addition to taxing corporate profits and incomes, and also would tax the wages working people earn. Herman Cain essentially admitted in the above mentioned article his existing plan is ``insane!`` So, why do...

Rep. Ron Paul is definitely the only Republican candidate who has displayed a degree of sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street protesters, and last night he proved it on a national stage by addressing resident Republican crazy man (one of many), Herman Cain.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas turned out his well-organized crop of supporters Saturday and won a presidential preference straw poll with 37% of the vote. Coming in second place in the poll of social conservatives at the annual Values Voter Summit was retired pizza chain executive Herman Cain, who pulled in 23% of the vote.

The desperate search for an acceptable Republican Party presidential candidate continues. Republican leaders apparently are pushing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who previously said no, to jump into the race. The GOP's frustration is palpable. Mitt Romney has been running for four years but generates little enthusiasm. Rick Perry was an instant front-runner before losing much of his support after unimpressive debate performances. Michelle Bachmann briefly streaked across the political firmament but now barely registers in the polls. Newt Gingrich committed political seppuku shortly after announcing his candidacy. Ron Paul's support is fervent but limited. However, the real Republican problem...

"Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself. It is not someone's fault if they succeeded, it is someone's fault if they failed,"___ Herman Cain Of course Herman Cain, former ringleader of the Federal Reserve would say something like that, especially when the Federal Reserve and its un-constitutional money monopoly is in defiance of our founding fathers expressed intentions, and is used to plunder what America‘s Businesses and labor have produced. And what did Daniel Webster have to say regarding working people: "Of all the contrivances for...

Ron Paul is still mad as hell over America's killing of U.S.-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki - and he's warning that members of the media could be next on the government's target list. The Republican presidential hopeful told an audience at the National Press Club on Wednesday that if citizens do not protest al-Awlaki's death, the country could start broadening its threat list to include reporters. "Can you imagine being put on a list because you're a threat? What's going to happen when they come to the media? What if the media becomes a threat? ... This is the way this...

“I put responsibility on the president because this is obviously a step in the wrong direction,” Paul said. “We have just totally disrespected the Constitution.” The comments once again put Paul at odds with his Republican rivals over foreign policy and the war on terror in the latest indication of how his foreign policy views stray far from Republican orthodoxy even in a GOP that’s taken on an increasingly isolationist bent. Candidates like Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney — who included the president in a list of people he commended in a statement released Friday — have generally been supportive...

Judge Napolitano, "When the president can kill whoever he wants, he's not a president anymore, he's a King." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnem1Ohm3Q0&feature=player_embedded

Ron Paul says he'd consider putting Dennis Kucinich in his Cabinet By Justin Sink - 09/21/11 12:02 PM ET Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) says he would consider putting the liberal congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in his Cabinet if he wins the presidency in 2012. Paul said his libertarian political philosophy helps him connect with some on the far left — including Kucinich, who shares Paul’s general anti-war stance. Paul joked that if he brought the Ohio congressman aboard in his administration, he might have to create a "Department of Peace." "You've got to give credit to people who think," he...

As influential members of the Republican Party pick favorites for the 2012 presidential nomination, Rep. Ron Paul can’t catch a break. While he hovers at about 10 percent in most national presidential polls of GOP primary voters, leaders of his own party–including former Vice President Dick Cheney–are openly dismissing his presidential run. Paul, a longtime critic of Cheney’s neo-conservative foreign policy, used valuable camera time on Fox News yesterday to explain his non-interventionist foreign policy and to address Cheney’s less-than-warm feelings toward his presidential candidacy. In the interview, Fox News reporter Neil Cavuto showed Paul a clip of Cheney essentially...

Why is the American media so intent on ignoring congressman Ron Paul and his prickly libertarian views? Paul is running for president in the Republican primaries, and it's plain that the handmaidens of the political establishment — Democrats as well as Republicans — are freezing him out. He came within a few votes of winning last week's Iowa straw poll, just 152 votes short among almost 17,000 cast. But rather than shower this intriguing candidate and his views with attention, the news media willfully forgot about him. The question is, why? Perhaps the answer could be found during the recent...

<p>Ron Paul got a great birthday present Saturday, as the 76-year-old defeated 11 other Republicans in Saturday's New Hampshire Young Republicans Straw Poll.</p> <p>Paul, a congressman from Texas, won a commanding 45 percent of the vote and bested runner-up Mitt Romney by 35 percent votes despite not actually attending the event, which was held in New Castle and also included a lobster bake.</p>

In his ongoing mission to declare Republicans who dare question America’s foreign policy “isolationist,” Sen. John McCain asked recently concerning Libya: “I wonder what Ronald Reagan would be saying today.” Columnist George Will answered McCain: “Wondering is speculation; we know this: When a terrorist attack that killed 241 Marines and other troops taught Reagan the folly of deploying them at Beirut airport with a vague mission and dangerous rules of engagement, he was strong enough to reverse this intervention in a civil war.” Will added: “Would that he had heeded a freshman congressman from Arizona who opposed the House resolution...

I may be a little way out there, but I've seen Rush predict crazier things and they came true. Here is my crazy scenario, and please, comment on it...let me hear what you think. Romney continues cris-crossing the US. Palin continues the tour, and declares on July 4th or a day before or a day after so as to not send conflicting messages. Obama's ratings keep dropping with the USD, commodities rise more, golf rounds continue...and Boehner continues his stupidity like volunteering to play golf with the pretender in chief. About the end of August, our RNC still hasn't come...

With Friday's dismal jobs report — showing a paltry 54,000 increase in nonfarm payroll employment in May — more and more analysts are realizing that the so-called economic "recovery" is stalling. As Jeffrey Tucker recently pointed out in an important article, Austrians realize that the recession never left. This has all been smoke and mirrors for the last two years. As John Papola and Russ Roberts's latest video underscores, the classic confrontation is still between the Austrians and the Keynesians. These contrasting visions are still the primary choice when the average person tries to understand why the economy seems broken,...

Chris Whalen says “No Downside” to Not Raising the Debt Ceiling Geithner Cries WolfThe U.S. Congress has a little less than two months to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling or possibly default on its debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says not allowing the Treasury to raise the debt limit would be "catastrophic" for the economy. Geithner is crying wolf according to Chris Whalen, a banking industry analyst and co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics. Whalen argues Congress should vote against raising the debt ceiling unless they agree to major spending cuts. "Congress has the right to say 'no' and the...

The biggest problem with Rep. Paul's (R-Texas) latest comments on immigration is that they are NOT just some ad hoc thoughts tossed off carelessly at some speaking event. These are engraved in a brand new book. Until the release of the book, Liberty Defined, Dr. Paul had a mixed record in Congress and the fact that he had taken the NumbersUSA "No Amnesty" pledge at the end of his Presidential campaign in 2008. That had earned him a C-minus on our 2012 Presidential Hopefuls Immigration Stances Report Card. Not impressive, but the third best (behind Rep. Bachman with a B-minus...

Rep. Raul Labrador, a newcomer to Washington, reminded the crowds at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) of the current context: “We weren’t elected because the American people love Republicans. We were elected because the American people love Republican principles.” Not to throw cold water on a sentiment whose intent I can only applaud, still, it’s hard not to offer a challenge: What principles? Craven accommodation to the military-industrial complex? Empty “limited government” windbaggery? Inertia? The American people do respect many of the principles that have become commonly bandied-about in American politics, associated with the Republicans since Reagan or before....

Given the contentious relationship between his followers and many in the conservative movement, it’s safe to say that Rep. Ron Paul’s address to CPAC this year was one of the more anticipated speeches of the political holiday weekend. And Rep. Paul delivered: railing against the “neo-Jacobins” that passed the PATRIOT Act, calling for drastic cuts in military spending, and a passionate repudiation of the Federal Reserve. Opening with a jubilant recognition of the results of last November’s midterms– and, especially, the election of his son Rand to the Senate– the tenor of Paul’s speech was mostly combative towards the more...

Things should have been nice and chummy at CPAC an hour ago. Dick Cheney strolled on stage to cheers and the inspirational tune of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” and got began to present the “Defender Of The Constitution” award to Donald Rumsfeld. However, as the chants of “USA! USA!” died down, a voice screaming “War criminal!” could be heard. And then, as Cheney continued to talk up his former colleague, a shouting match began between supporters of Ron Paul and the rest of the convention hall. The Paul supporters eventually walked out in the middle of Rumsfeld’s speech as...

Long before the tea party movement grabbed half a dozen Senate seats, before its early proponents ever even dreamed of wearing Colonial-era garb in public, there was longtime Texas Republican Ron Paul, the one guy in Congress trying to abolish the Federal Reserve and shrink the government into near nonexistence. Paul won a devoted-bordering-on-cultish following during his 2008 presidential run, one which, obviously, didn't work out. But now Paul is telling the Times that "it’s at least 50-50" that he'll try again in 2012, and this time, with the movement built largely on his libertarian philosophy now a real force...

VIDEO: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=599164944 Mr Speaker I RISE THIS EVENING TO ANNOUNCE THAT I INTRODUCED SOME LEGISLATION TODAY DEALING WITH THE CALAMITY THAT WE HAVE FOUND AT OUR AIRPORTS, WITH T.S.A.

The Republican Party has a history of using desperate times to call for drastic measures and when bailing out AIG, bolstering Medicare or bombing Iraq, that party has always been willing to go big and bold on some of the largest government expansions in this nation’s history. But what about cutting government? You know, that stuff GOP politicians always talk about during election time? One might think that in a political environment in which so many are desperate to reverse what they see as unsustainable government growth, Republican rhetoric might at least attempt to reflect that desperation. But when GOP...

I know not a lot of people on free republic like Dr. Paul because of his stance on foreign policy. I want to ask: if he changed his foreign policy and supported finishing the war on terror and stood behind Israel 100% would you vote for him in 2012? What other candidate wants to bring America back to the constitution and end the FED?

Who agrees and who disagrees with Dr. Paul? I would like to see income tax abolished (it is socialism light) but what say other Freepers? Watch the video of course.

Gary Johnson as candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination? What has he in common with you? video link: http://factreal.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/libertarians-marijuana-gary-johnson-interview-with-hannity-video/ Gary Johnson supports abortion rights, gay unions and legalized pot. And he's probably running for president." Salon.com LEFTISTS LOVE LIBERTARIANS Leftists like Salon.com love libertarian Gary Johnson so much that they titled their interview with him: The most interesting Republican you've never heard of. Here is a summary of that interview: Johnson Favors ProstitutionGary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico and a likely candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, is talking about hookers. "It's never been a...

Lately many have characterized this administration as socialist, or having strong socialist leanings. I differ with this characterization. This is not to say Mr. Obama believes in free-markets by any means. On the contrary, he has done and said much that demonstrates his fundamental misunderstanding and hostility towards the truly free market. But a closer, honest examination of his policies and actions in office reveals that, much like the previous administration, he is very much a corporatist. This in many ways can be more insidious and worse than being an outright socialist. Socialism is a system where the government directly...

LOUISVILLE — Rand Paul sounds nothing like any major candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky ever has, let alone a front-runner for the Republican nomination. He complains as much about actions of those in his own party as he does about Democrats. He has said he doesn't need the Republican power structure to win the party's May 18 primary or the November election to replace U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning. And he rarely mentions Kentucky in stump speeches. Instead, he sticks to his big-picture message of slashing spending, constraining federal powers and imposing term limits on members of Congress. And...

Ron Paul has been brought to prominence by his long-standing opposition to the nation's monetary system and the Federal Reserve Board that prints money and controls its supply. Here are some of Rep. Ron Paul's most recent legislative battles. • Federal Reserve: Wants to remove the veil of secrecy over the board controlling the nation's money supply. • Government regulation: Wants Congress to sign off on any federal rule that imposes costs of $5,000 on an individual or $10,000 on a business. • Congressional pay: Seeks to end automatic annual cost-of-living pay increases for lawmakers. • Foreign policy: Opposes the...

"…The more terrifying the occasion for defense, the closer will become the organization and the more coercive the influence upon each member of the herd. War sends the current of purpose and activity flowing down to the lowest level of the herd, and to its most remote branches. All the activities of society are linked together as fast as possible to this central purpose of making a military offensive or a military defense, and the State becomes what in peacetimes it has vainly struggled to become—the inexorable arbiter and determinant of men’s business and attitudes and opinions…" -Randolph Bourne Dear...

Transcript from the video, Dr Sabrosky speaking: “They did 9/11, they did it, I have had long conversations over the past two weeks with contacts at the Army War College and at Headquarters Marine Corps, and I have made it absolutely clear in both cases that it is 100% certain that 9/11 was a Mossad operation..period” “9/11 has led directly to 60,000 Americans dead and wounded, God knows how many hundreds of thousands of people in other countries that we’ve killed or wounded or made homeless, and its an ongoing sore” “this is an open wound, and what Americans need...

Dang, this interview is good! The Pauls's are interviwed together on CNN and discuss their desire to fix the gridlock in Washington. They are not dummies by any stretch of the imagination. Ron: "The mechanism is broken because it's financially broke.....once the government gets as much debt as we have, the liquidation of debt always happens, you can't avoid it.....and it will be liquidated by paying back money that doesn't have as much value". Rand: "The voters are asking how are we going to spend a trillion dollars on healthcare and not add anything to the debt?....Show me the government...

I have a question for the denizens of Free Republic. Why do so many conservatives consider libertarians to be as bad as liberals? Yes, I realize that libertarians tend to be unrealistically isolationist and don't support the conservative social agenda, but it would seem that we would be natural allies based upon economic policy. A country where conservatives and libertarians were the two dominant parties wouldn't be a bad thing.

It turns out that crackpot Ron Paul’s son Rand can understand why poor, innocent Iran might want nuclear weapons—they feel “threatened” by big, bad America (hat tip to Rand Paul: Too Kooky for Kentucky for the video): Watch it at NRB - sorry, can't embed videos here at FR.