Free Republic

Let the campaigns begin. First, Sen. Mark DeSaulnier got himself elected to the Assembly in November 2006. Then the Concord Democrat got himself elected to the state Senate last November when he and Tom Torlakson, now back in the Assembly, swapped seats. And now that Rep. Ellen Tauscher has officially announced that she's leaving Congress for a post in the Obama administration, DeSaulnier has decided to run for that East Bay seat. What about Torlakson? He's endorsed DeSaulnier for Tauscher's seat and says he's formally kicking off his state schools chief campaign on April 3.

PART I: DOMESTIC & SOCIAL ISSUES 1. A recent national poll reported that nearly 25% of Americans want the government to pass more socialism. Do you agree or disagree? • Agree • Disagree • Undecided 2. Which do you believe creates more jobs for the American economy: Government Programs and Spending or the American Free Enterprise System? • Government Programs & Spending • American Free Enterprise System 3. The Obama Administration has proposed spending as much as $1.5 trillion to bail out the banking industry. Do you agree or disagree with this proposal? • Agree • Disagree • Undecided 4....

We hear a lot these days about the blunders and failings of Chairman Michael Steele. Many think that Chairman Steele has been making too many public mistakes and is simply not up to the job. In my humble opinion, they are totally and absolutely wrong. Dead wrong. Steele knows exactly what he’s doing. You see, Steele is obviously using a classic military tactic. A probing action to draw out the enemy (or in this case the opposition “us” – Movement Conservatives) for the purpose of judging their strengths/weaknesses. Steele is gutsy and bold. He aggressively thrusts forward with his “Extreme...

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer has a comfortable lead over potential Republican challengers for her job in 2010, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, though voters are divided in their enthusiasm for her re-election, according to a Field Poll released Thursday. In a hypothetical matchup against Schwarzenegger, who will leave the Governor's Office in January 2011, Democrat Boxer leads by 54 percent to 30 percent, the poll found. The Republican governor has never said publicly that he plans to run for another political office. That marks a drop for Schwarzenegger from the October 2007 Field Poll, when the governor had a 44 percent...

<p>In the political field, any poll taken far away from Election Day is a game of name-recognition.</p> <p>And this is as close to far-away as one can get from the presidential election of 2012.</p> <p>So what do Republicans say about election?</p> <p>Palin. Huckabee. Romney.</p>

Budget hero – or turncoat? Sen. Abel Maldonado has staked his political future on being the final piece of California's budget jigsaw puzzle. The $40 billion package to ease the state's budget crisis had been stalled, a single vote short, until the moderate Republican flipped to cast the decisive vote early Thursday morning. To secure his support for higher taxes, the Santa Maria lawmaker wrung concessions from resistant Democrats that could launch his ascent via a mixture of populism and tilting the political playing field to his advantage. Those victories, however, came at a political cost. Maldonado had to abandon...

We all wondered I'm sure, why President Bush never seemed to speak up against his critics. I suppose he took the high road which is very admirable. Still it did my heart good to hear him at one of his last press conferences speak up and at least address some of the critics and their railings. He was quite strong about it and very convincing. For me it was like , Oh my God,Finally as I slapped the TV screen high five. It was the first time and the only time I've ever seen this. Perhaps we'll see more in...

- Palin's national approval rating is now 49-40. That's up four points since the last poll in early November, and seems to contradict claims by some in the media that she'd fade away after the election. Among Republicans, her approval rating is a whopping 85-10, among independents a still healthy 46-41. - People overwhelmingly back Palin's criticism of her treatment by the MSM during the election campaign. On the question 'Do you think Sarah Palin has been treated fairly or unfairly by the press?', 58 percent said she was treated unfairly, 35 percent fairly. Among Republicans the score was 85-12,...

Please take the time to visit the Obama-Biden transition teams web site at http://change.gov/ On this site you can navigate to the "Citizen's Briefing Book" and then select "Share Your Idea". You will need to register, but it is free. I would suggest skipping the main entry page, and immediately navigating to the "Popular Ideas" section. There you will be able to "Vote Up" or "Vote Down" on the top ideas being submitted to the President Elect.

Blagojevich tops scandal list of the last 10 years - only beat by Clinton/Lewinsky. See the goods at the link!

ATTENTION!! Grassroots, On January 5, Americans for Tax Reform will host a debate among the candidates for Chairman of the Republican National Committee and are soliciting the public for questions. The site is setup so not only can you ask questions, but you can also search and vote on questions submitted by others.

Question Of The Day: Many in Michigan reacted Friday with disappointment and outright disgust to news that a $14 billion emergency bailout for Detroit's automakers collapsed late the night before in the U.S. Senate. Does the bill failure anger you? Yes No I don't care Poll is near the bottom of the page...

Three fourths of conservatives still give President George Bush the thumbs up, according to Gallup.

Freep this Poll for Palin

The lowest rate of combat deaths in Iraq - ever - occurred in November, virtually ignored by mainstream press. A plug for the military's "Freedom Facts" which spells out American progress each week by the numbers. Plus the anniversary of the Day of Infamy, Reagan meets Gorby, and new technology for the old record player.

Two thirds of the news coverage of Pres. Elect Obama has been positive, compared to 33 percent positive coverage for Sen. John McCain, according to a new analysis. It has set a 20-year record.

A survey of women only reveal that they think Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton both were discriminated against by voters and press on the campaign trail. They are also more comfortable with Clinton as Sec. of State than president.

Check that: Romney barely leads among all voters, within the margin of error. But here’s evidence, in case more was needed, of how sharply conservatives’ view of the ‘Cuda diverges from America’s. Among Republicans, it’s Palin 24.4, Mitt 18.1, Jindal 15.6; among everyone, Mitt 13.7, Palin 13.4, Jindal 12.5. What happened to Huck, who was in the thick of things when Gallup recently asked a similar question? Palin happened to Huck: http://hotair.com/archives/2008/11/28/zogby-on-2012-palin-leads-among-republicans-romney-leads-among-all-voters/

Should the GOP be nice to Obama for a while? Or not? Plus news of America's prevailing mood, select quotes and one cool thing for the fireplace.

Contradicting polling numbers released earlier this week by his Democratic opponent, physician John Fleming (R) put out a new survey that showed him ahead by 5 points in Louisiana’s open 4th district race. The survey showed Fleming led Caddo Parish District Attorney Paul Carmouche (D) 48 percent to 43 percent, with 8 percent undecided. The poll of 140 likely voters was conducted for Fleming’s campaign by Multi-Quest International and was taken Nov. 6-8. It had a 6-point margin of error. The election to decide who will succeed retiring Rep. Jim McCrery (R) will take place on Dec. 6 after the...

Some interesting observation from the county votes in North Carolina.

This Tuesday, following the Public Advocate national citizens survey on Marriage protection, supporers of both presidential candidates, McCain and Obama, also voted in favor of Marriage Protection initiatives. States where marriage protection measures were approved by voters included California and Florida. Public Advocate of the United States conducted a citizen survey, which is now posted on Youtube, which proves that most citizens favor the national definition of marriage as being ONLY between a man and a woman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCzxLpn4E5A Even in New York state, citizens overwhelmingly proved to favor marriage protection. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzvkvEuYrFY During this year's national debate on marriage protection, Public...

Well, the election has come and gone like a shot, apparently. After the interminable round of primaries, Operation Chaos, PUMAs, the conventions, Sarah-cuda, and all the rest. In one night Obama and Biden have won. This means we have a troika: Reid, Obama, Pelosi. The "rulers of peace" (ROP). But this also means, they can no longer blame Bush and the evil Republicans for anything that goes wrong. This includes: the economy the Middle East taxes tainted food from China immigration crime unemployment gas prices Let us never lose an opportunity to loudly proclaim: "OBAMA'S FAULT!" Secondly, can we now...

Just 10 years ago, in south Korea experienced similar election situation and we let pro-Kim Jong Il party get handle of south Korea, which was made disaster for 10 years when south Korean government have poured dollars to Kim Jong il to make Nuclear. At the time south korean selected lower person than better even though they well knew. I am so worring when I see the same situation in America election. Further America’s nobleness must effect to most nations on the globe. Every day I pray to the Lord not let America’s handle be taken by hand of pro-Babylon...

It appears that Senator Obama's cult followers are attacking people across the country who do not want to vote for their Messiah. How anyone, claiming to be a Democrat can condone and support this by voting for Obama is beyond my comprehension. This man and his cult followers are not Democrats, they are violent Chicago gangs being led by their gang master Obama. Where is Obama's speech denouncing this and asking for his cult members to refrain from attacking voters? Where is his speech telling his supporters that people have the right to vote in America for whichever candidate they...

I believe that most of us participants of Free Republic believe in God, who loves all of His creatures, and we want that members of our government to be also people who believe in God and try to do what God wants because they trust God more than themselves. Does God not want only our love for Him and our love for each neighbor which God created, behind whom Jesus hides ("You did it to ME"!; Mt 25:40)? Thus it is very important to help, in any way, to encourage and bring our friends and acquaintances, who believe as we...

Former Tennessee Senator and one-time Republican presidential candidate, Fred Thompson tells Newsmax TV that the polls showing Obama leading are closing rapidly in all the bellwether states and McCain has reason to be optimistic. Hear his views on Republican defectors and John McCain's qualities.

The 20th Century’s consummate propagandist was Goebbels; the 21st Century’s could well be David Axelrod, Obama’s master manipulator.

Twenty-five people in downtown Charleston weighed in about their choices in the upcoming presidential election. Their responses covered a wide spectrum of attitudes and beliefs.

Thompson online ad supports McCain By Bill Theobald Gannett News Service WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee on Friday announced that former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has released a video supporting Republican presidential candidate John McCain. In the two-minute video, Thompson, who also was a GOP presidential candidate, presents a foreboding view of the future of America, mentioning the economic crisis and the possibility of terrorist attacks. "John McCain’s entire life has been devoted to defending those principles that made our country great. His life has been one of duty, honor, dedication, sacrifice." Thompson said. While not mentioning Democratic nominee...

With less than a week towards election day I am preparing for both the best and worst outcome. Part of me wants to believe that all the hype viewed on CNN and college campuses across the country are just that, hype. With the amount of undecided voters left at this point in time it seems like the decision isn't quite as clear as Camp Obama would like it to be (especially considering the margin of error in all of the polls which are showing Obama leading anywhere between 5% pts. and 7 %pts.). I was in my Public Policy class...

This was an interesting premise. Do you think that no matter what happens on election day, Sarah Palin will stay a GOP leader?

Win or lose, many marketing experts agree that Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency will provide the blueprint for political campaigns to come. There is the message and design discipline, the embrace of social media, and—most importantly—an openness to the idea that candidates, like brands, are built from the bottom up rather than the top down. As Scott Goodson, founder of agency StrawberryFrog says, "He is not a brand in the traditional sense, he is a cultural movement." Call it Politics 2.0. Headed by chief strategist David Axelrod and manager David Plouffe, and with help from new media director Joe...

Who knows how this election will turn out in the end? There are about 500 polls out there, but now I’ve just seen one that makes sense to me (Not one of these automated dialing wonders by a machine that can’t tell if it’s talking to a sixty-year old man or a six year old child or a mental patient but a real honest to goodness poll with 873 pages of statistics.) So here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth. Just naturally, candidates like to believe their virtues – their speeches and stands and ads – are what get them...

Please FREEP this poll.

Obama's disdain for the National Anthem is nothing new. So perhaps it won't bother you that he canceled the anthem at his political rally in order to free up more time for yet another worshipful speaker to sing his praises.

"With an African-American running for president this year, there has been a lot of chatter about the "Bradley effect," allowing the media to wail about institutional racism in America. Named after Tom Bradley, who lost his election for California governor in 1982 despite a substantial lead in the polls, the Bradley effect says that black candidates will poll much stronger than the actual election results. First of all, if true, this is the opposite of racism: It is fear of being accused of racism. For most Americans, there is nothing more terrifying than the prospect of being called a racist....

Maybe this Democrat will be able to stop Obama. Is he a natural born citizen?

“About 50 parishioners were locked into the Assemblies of God church before it was set ablaze”; ”by mid-February 2008, more than 1,500 Kenyans were killed”; “more than 500,000 were displaced”. Supporters of Raila Odinga led the violence.

DRUDGE POLL: WHO WON THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE?... MCCAIN 72% = 168,203 OBAMA 27% 63,495 NEITHER 1% 3,068 http://drudgereport.com/

Dumpster-diving pays off again for Junior Cub Reporter Biff Spackle. Full-name: Please enter your real name, you will have an opportunity to make up names later Do you have access to a car or other vehicle? Yes No Don't know/don't remember If No, do you know how to hot-wire an ignition? Yes No If Yes, how many homeless vagrants or illegal aliens can you transport? 0-1 Coupe 2-4 Sedan 5-7 Minivan 9-11 Conversion van 12-99 Schoolbus 100-199 Semi with empty trailer Do you know any dead people? No Yes If you had to make up names for some reason, which...

On Sunday I decided that I was going to take advantage of the in person absentee voting option available to me in the great state of Wisconsin. This afternoon, after much soul searching, I cast a vote for McCain/Palin. I decided to do this because I really didn’t want to risk waiting in line for hours on end on Election Day as I did in the primaries. Or be forced to watch a performance by My Vote Performs. Beyond that, however, was my desire to avoid having someone else vote in my name. A real concern in the City of...

WASHINGTON -- In an economy that appears to favor Democrats and in a year when Republicans are expected to lose seats in the U.S. Senate, one of them almost certainly will not be Tennessee's. Popular two-term governor Lamar Alexander is seeking re-election this year with a low-key campaign reminding voters that he has proposed concrete solutions, sometimes opposed by President Bush, even as he's climbed to the third spot in the Senate's GOP leadership. His opponent, Nashville lawyer Robert D. Tuke, is lesser known and stresses Alexander's partisanship and ties to Bush and, most recently, to an unpopular vote bailing...

If the third and final debate goes as the first two did, there will be little news and no good news for Sen. McCain. He needs to make--and break--some news at the next debate. So, what should he do? He should propose the appointment of a Special Prosecutor--a career prosecutor with experience prosecuting financial crimes--to look into the mortgage mess. It is the right thing to do. And promise that if one is not appointed by the current attorney general, he will appoint one on Inauguration Day. Specifically, the Special Prosecutor would look into the housing mess, including: --The collapse...

Vilmar has a post up wondering how on earth Obama is so far ahead in the polls when all this ACORN dirt is making the news. And evidence of registration fraud is rampant. What gives? The truth is simple: It doesn’t matter because there is no truth. There are no morals. There are no standards. It’s as simple as that. The media has lost all credence. Period. We no longer have truth, we have “truthiness”. The propagandists have won. Technology has advanced to the state where any document can be forged by almost anyone. Papers, film, video, sound recordings ......

Pollster John Zogby says the presidential race is still too close to call and could come down to the very last weekend before voters decide if they like or distrust Barack Obama. With non-stop favorable coverage by the media, Obama should be twenty or more points ahead. The report at the link below says: Zogby’s latest poll, released yesterday in conjunction with C-Span and Reuters, shows Obama and John McCain in a statistical dead heat, with the Illinois Democrat up 48-45 percent. Zogby said the race mirrors the 1980 election, when voters didn’t embrace Ronald Reagan over then-President Jimmy Carter...

As the election grows closer, it's clear that Barack Obama has a very good chance of becoming our next president. Such an admission might get me accused of defeatism, but at present the trends do favor the Democrats. This possibility and this post by lauraw at ace's site got me thinking about what an Obama presidency would be like. Since Obama is such a cipher and the press has shown little inclination to examine his life or beliefs, this is a difficult exercise. Still, it's possible to guess some of what's to come based on what the blogosphere has discovered...

How the exit polls gave the 2004 Election to Kerry

"Hannity's America - Obama & Friends: A History of Radicalism" This was a very good and informative segment. I wonder how we can get a DVD of this 1 hour show out to folks. This is the sort of real journalism that needs to be pushed in the masses most especially in Republican swing states. Sean Hannity has done an outstanding job to do what the other mainstream new agency's like CNN, ABC, NBC and other simply ignore. As Americans we need to understand what is on the potential plate by electing someone like Obama to the presidency. This would...

There's nothing wrong with "guilt by association" if the person you're associating with is guilty of something... The McCain campaign needs to spin the Ayers connection much better. It doesn't matter when Obama met up with Ayers, or how many meetings they ever had. It's about the fact that Ayers went from domestic terrorist to "respected community leader", to the point where Ayers was throwing well attended fundraisers for Obama, and they sat on boards together. Bill Ayers should never have acheived such respectable positions in the first place. Bill Ayers should be sitting in jail, not on boards! But...