Free Republic

The secret negotiations that led to one of the most significant expansions of campaign contributions in recent years began with what Republican leaders regarded as an urgent problem: How would they pay for their presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in two years? The talks ended with a bipartisan agreement between Senate Democrats, led by the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and House Republicans, led by Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, that would allow wealthy donors to begin giving more than $1 million every election cycle to each party’s national committees. The agreement drew intense criticism from both liberal...

And you thought the Treasurer’s debate would be boring. That was the observation made by Fox 31 political reporter Eli Stokols as he moderated a debate between Treasurer Walker Stapleton and failed Congresswoman Betsy Markey. At about the 7 minute mark in the below video is when things get really heated. Stapleton asks Markey a basic question about public finance: “Could you describe to me what a yield curve is, please?” She is unable to answer. ... Stapleton has a degree in business economics from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is not...

Obama interview: How does it feel to break a glass ceiling? How does it feel to “win”? How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling? Who will be your VP? Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP? Will you accept public finance? What issues is your campaign about? Will you visit Iraq? Will you debate McCain at a town hall? What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech? Palin interview: Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking? Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders? Aren’t you conceited to be...

On Tuesday, President Bush announced that the federal budget deficit will be $100 billion lower than initially expected due to higher levels of economic growth. This is the third consecutive year substantial downward revisions were made to the deficit as part of the administration’s mid-year budget review. The president further claimed that the nation is ahead of schedule by one year in its goal to cut the budget deficit in half. On the surface this appears to be good news. Yet the biggest mistake the conservative movement could make is to focus on the budget deficit. The deficit is an...

IT IS one of the big, untold stories of the global economy. America's public finances are improving at last, to the great relief of the White House but to the puzzlement of much of the commentariat, which cannot fathom how tax cuts can possibly go hand in hand with a smaller budget deficit. The US budget shortfall fell to $35.3bn (£19.4bn) in May, down 43.5% on the $62.5bn seen during the same month last year, thanks to a continuing surge in tax revenues. This year's deficit was the smallest May shortfall since the $27.9bn seen in May 2001, which was...

Professor says bill would force department to repeat productions: To Stephen Tyler Davis, the monologue of character Paul in "A Chorus Line" was pivotal. Davis - an aspiring actor, playwright and director from Huntsville - played the character in a UA theater department production of the play last fall, and he said he wanted to convey it perfectly. In the monologue, Paul discusses the sexual abuse he endured as a child and his homosexuality. "It was just a real part of a person," said Davis, a UA sophomore majoring in theater. "It was a lot on my shoulders, and I...