Free Republic

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, the Washington Post noted an amusing coincidence: “Almost a quarter century ago, Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson served as Republican counsel on the Senate Watergate committee. Now he chairs the Senate panel investigating the current White House fund-raising scandal.” The timing was interesting because, as the Post explained, the “controversy came to light last year because of the reforms of Watergate, including requirements that campaigns and political parties regularly submit lists of their contributors to the Federal Election Commission.” The Post went on to list seven major reforms that stemmed...

The American people have had enough with the assault on their first amendment rights. They just want to be left alone by their government and government-affiliated pressure groups. It is the establishment in both parties, who is on the take from these pressure groups, that prevent ordinary Americans from speaking their minds like the civilized people we ARE. People disagree, sometimes vehemently. That’s normal and healthy, and it shouldn’t be the job of the government to shut people up. That’s not American – that’s totalitarian. How do we fix this? It’s remarkably simple. We, the normal people, outnumber the control...

A monumental opportunity has presented itself as Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio, takes over as the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Congress looks ahead on the critical issue of housing finance reform. After years of tepid growth and false starts, leaders in Washington have the opportunity to give housing finance reform a shot in the arm. This reform is readily achievable even in today’s log-jammed Congress, as there is bipartisan consensus that the most prudent reforms would accomplish three essential goals: appropriately and strategically wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way...

America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. But as we become bogged down in our many problems, I see, unfortunately, a mentality in which we are becoming increasingly a nation of the unfree – the victim – and the timid, in how we’re approaching these challenges. Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman wrote a column this week drawing attention to the latest dire projections from the Congressional Budget Office. CBO projects the nation sinking deeper and deeper into an ocean of red ink. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the Senator notes, we’ll pile...

An armed citizen stopped a deadly knife attack with a warning shot.  Under the new law, that went into effect a few days ago, he can be certain that he will not be charged. Specifically, the new bill is the "Threatened Use of Force" bill, which was passed by legislators after scrutiny of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.   That scrutiny  revealed that prosecutors were using the mandatory sentencing law to pressure people who believed they had acted in self defense, to plead out instead of going to trial.  A wide variety of groups, from the Unified Sportsmen of...

Water, Carried: Politico‘s Seung Min Kim and Carrie Budoff Brown sum up “How immigration reform died.” Some questions for them: 1) Is it true “reformers largely won the August recess [of 2013]? That sure wasn’t my recollection. My recollection is that initial opposition to amnesty at town halls was muted, in large part because frightened GOP congressmen simply stopped holding town halls. Reporters sympathetic to the “reformers” immediately rushed write stories claiming that “Immigration Reformers are Winning August.” (SNIP) You never seem to carry water for opponents of “comprehensive” legislation. Do we need to leak to you more? Take out...

SHEBOYGAN – On Monday, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said that immigration reform will not be decided by the Congress in the 2014 calendar year. The decision to not pursue immigration reform led President Barack Obama to consider taking executive action on the issue. Wisconsin Election Watch talked to all three Republican candidates running for the 6th Congressional District on where they stand on the issue of immigration reform. More: Glenn Grothman wins endorsement of Rick Santorum Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) felt on whether Congress should pursue immigration reform that: “Not this year. First and foremost, we need to secure the...

President Barack Obama paused for what felt like an eternity to the immigration reform activists seated around the Roosevelt Room. Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, had just explained why she declared him the “deporter in chief” in a speech in early March. Obama, who was infuriated when he first heard Murguia’s remarks weeks earlier, sat in silence, trying to keep his anger in check, according to advocates in attendance. (SNIP) In January, King held a key piece of paper in his jacket pocket during the immigration discussion at the House GOP retreat in Cambridge, Md....

Shawn O'Hara is a familiar name in Mississippi politics because he has run for several statewide offices under a variety of party labels, but he has yet to win an election

There is rarely a good time to do hard things, and America won't advance if legislators act like seat-warmers. When I learned that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had lost his Republican primary, my heart sank. Not simply because I think he is an intelligent and talented member of Congress, or because I worry about the future of the Republican Party. Like others who want comprehensive immigration reform, I worried that Mr. Cantor's loss would be misconstrued and make Congress reluctant to tackle this urgent need. That would be the wrong lesson and an undesirable national consequence of this single,...

"In their letter, dated Tuesday, the chief executives of McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Choice Hotels, Tyson Foods, Exelon and six other corporations say the ability to hire foreign, “less-skilled” workers when Americans won’t fill physically demanding jobs is “indispensable” to their businesses.

Nothing makes a diehard eeyore like me happier than a depressing poll, but even I’ve got to call BS on this one. C’mon, Politico.That 71 percent includes 90 percent of Latinos, 78 percent of Democrats, and 64 percent of Republicans — and frankly, I’m surprised the totals for each aren’t higher. Except to the small minority of the population that follows immigration news closely, the phrase “comprehensive immigration reform” is almost totally meaningless. News junkies recognize it as a term of art to describe a compromise on border security and legalization; to everyone else, which is pretty much everyone,...

by Brian Hayes | Top Right NewsFurious over his support for amnesty for illegal aliens, conservative activists gave Rep. Eric Cantor a rough "welcome" in his own district -- sending a message that the House GOP leadership would be wise to heed before they hand Barack Obama a victory on "immigration reform". Cantor (R-Va.), the House Majority Leader was "heckled and booed" by conservatives and Tea Party activists at the 7th Congressional District Convention held in Richmond Saturday.  — and that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Is THE REPEAL 16 COLALITION really trying to end taxes calculated from incomes?  As stated at repeal 16.org, “The Coalition to Repeal the 16th Amendment (Repeal 16) is comprised of a broad range of individuals and organizations including the Tea Party Patriots, Americans For Fair Taxation, Americans for Limited Government, Competitive Governance Action and Free Market America.” According to REPEAL 16 ORG, its stated goal is to “end our corrupting tax system and the oppressive IRS”. They go on to ask “What is the Repeal 16 Bill?” And they answer the question as follows: ”Congressman Jim Bridenstine has introduced a bill...

Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer's political action group is targeting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in an anti-Keystone XL pipeline ad set to air Sunday. NextGen Climate, founded by Steyer in 2013, announced on Friday that Rubio would be the subject of its ad blasting the proposed $5.4 billion pipeline after the senator was selected in an online poll. "Oil lobbyists take Rubio for a sucker," the 60-second ad states. "Sen. Rubio, don't get taken for a sucker."

Ramesh is kind enough to cite a recent piece of mine for Forbes, describing it as a continuation of my “lonely campaign to get conservatives to drop the idea of ‘repealing and replacing’ Obamacare and instead to embrace reforming it.” But it’s only lonely if by lonely he means “shared by a large plurality of the electorate.” Let me cite the data. A Pew Research poll asked whether or not politicians should “make the law work as well as possible,” or “make it fail.” The “work” side won 30–19 overall, and 36–19 among independents. (“Make it fail” won among...

Governor Deal signed Georgia's modest gun law reform today, 23 April, 2014.  Gun law reform has been stalled in Georgia for several years, leading to the measure that makes several modest changes in Georgia's law.   None of the changes are particularly radical.   All, with one possible  exception, have been adopted in other states before this law was passed.  From FoxNews.com: The bill makes several changes to state law. It allows those with a license to carry to bring a gun into a bar without restriction and into some government buildings that don't have certain security measures. It also allows...

  SEE: Tea Party Patriots Use Elections to Push 'Flat' or 'Fair' Tax Monday, 14 Apr 2014 06:05 PM The Tea Party Patriots are pushing a "flat tax" or a "fair tax" rate in the coming elections to stop the endless hiking of taxes on Americans, group President Jenny Beth Martin says. "A flat tax, a fair tax — either one is better than what we have now," Martin told Ed Berliner and Diane Dimond, guests hosts of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "The tax code has grown and grown and grown. It's time to address the fact that...

Freshman Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.), who touted his Christian values while campaigning, says he is the man seen in a grainy video, passionately kissing a woman in his office two days before Christmas. He said, "There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness"

Immigration reform looks to be dead. Again. With the 2014 midterms bearing down and House Republicans standing pat, activists who pushed hard to get a bill passed in this session of Congress are making valedictory speeches about their efforts and looking to the future.MSNBC's Benjy Sarlin spoke to several pro-reform advocates who now expect President Obama to do what he can through executive orders. The strategy extends beyond November to the next presidential contest. "Immigration advocates hope to repeat the cycle by forcing the White House to take unilateral action," Sarlin wrote, "which would set the stage for Latino voters...