Free Republic

Sarah Palin sat down Friday night with Tribune-Review political reporter Salena Zito for a wide-ranging interview that covered the economy, education, energy and the Alaska governor's approach to governing. It was Palin's first face-to-face interview with a print reporter as Republican vice presidential candidate. John McCain's running mate was in Pittsburgh for a fundraiser at the Westin Convention Center Hotel, Downtown. Palin: Energy independence ... certainly will stimulate our economy, circulating the dollars that we're presently spending overseas and in other countries; ... but also the clean coal technology that we got to be able to tap into; and the...

Here are my Get Out of Dodge posters/ Farmers' Market:

I worked the booth at Farmers' Market here in Pasadena, CA -- the Belly of the Beast. We were right next to the Obama booth, well-funded by our Marxist friends around the world. We had a steady, feisty, conservative bunch coming by to get yard signs and bumper stickers. One lonely lib wanted to argue/ I let my husband take him on. Our last visitor was a woman who had JUST become an American citizen and wanted to vote for McCain. I GAVE her a yard sign and welcomed her to America. We heard that a lot of the new...

Harry Brighouse hears some murmuring: So I hear (via a prominent member of the sane Republican faction) that the word on the right side of the street is that the Republican National Committee is about to pull the plug on its joint ads with the McCain campaign, and devote its resources instead to trying to save a couple of the senators who are at serious risk of losing their seats. Now this is gossip, albeit of the high class variety; take it with the requisite pinch of salt.

On Nov. 4, Maine voters will be asked to repeal a package of tax levies passed earlier this year by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci. Without hesitation, voters should blacken the “yes” box on their ballots next to Question 1, The People's Veto, which reads:

Boehner Calls for Defunding of ACORN Washington, Oct 9 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement following mounting allegations of voter registration fraud perpetrated by the left-wing group ACORN: “The latest allegations of voter registration fraud by ACORN are further evidence that this group cannot be trusted with another dollar of the taxpayers’ money. “Election cycle after election cycle, this organization has been at the forefront of breaking the law in order to promote their left-wing agenda. All the while, they have been the recipients of millions of dollars of federal funding through various federal...

This era finds our citizenry sometimes feeling like a butterfly in a hurricane in the midst of this crashing economy, seesaw gas prices, a punchdrunk housing market, and so on. Then comes a group of Mainers launching what amounts to a 21st century version of the Boston Tea Party.

Republicans ramp up efforts to label Obama as terrorist sympathizerSheldon Alberts, Washington Correspondent, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 NASHVILLE - With a new poll showing Barack Obama with a double-digit lead in the U.S. presidential race, John McCain's campaign on Wednesday escalated its efforts to characterize the Democratic candidate as a terrorist sympathizer - an incendiary charge that Democrats described as a "dangerous" and desperate strategy. Five days after Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin first accused Obama of "palling around" with William Ayers, a one-time member of the radical Weather Underground, McCain's campaign released a statement from...

Voters see negative advertising as another form of information. They so distrust politicians that they want to see their opponents tear them down so they can get at the truth. In fact, voter attitudes toward politicians are akin to their opinions of criminal defendants (they could be forgiven for confusing the two). Just as juries want a prosecutor who tears the defendant apart and punches holes in his alibi, so they want a political candidate to run ads exposing his opponent.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - When the polls say Senate seats in Republican bastions such as Alaska, Kentucky and Texas are vulnerable to a Democratic takeover in November, you know it's the Democrats' year. The Democrats, who now have 51 seats in the 100-member Senate (counting independents), are beginning to dream of an almost unattainable goal: Reaching the magical 60 votes needed to exercise absolute control of the chamber. ...

Guilt by association is the latest theme of the presidential race. John McCain's campaign continues to attack Barack Obama for his relationship with Vietnam-era radical Bill Ayers. The Obama campaign fired back Monday with a 13-minute Web video on John McCain's connection to Charles Keating and the 1980s savings and loan crisis.... Regardless of his background, it was never a problem for anyone — including Republicans and Chicago's most powerful business leaders — to work with Ayers on Chicago's public schools. In fact, Ayers is widely respected in the field of urban education. "It was never a concern by any...

ORONO Maine's new beverage taxes, at the heart of Question 1 on this November ballot, will cost Maine businesses and households as much as $40.7 million annually in higher taxes on beer, wine and nonalcoholic beverages, according to new research by University of Maine economist Todd Gabe. These taxes, imposed by Public Law 629, also would result in the reduction of $17.5 million in beer, wine and soft drink net sales revenue. Including multiplier effects, the total economic impacts are an estimated reduction in sales revenue of $26.3 million statewide, with a loss of 395 full- and part-time jobs that...

The pending tax on soda, beer and wine that is the subject of Question 1 on the November ballot won’t cause businesses to fail or taxpayers to go bankrupt. For all the worries and claims about its potential impact, a few extra pennies on a can of soda or a bottle of beer is likely to amount to little more than an annoyance.

What’s Wrong With Double-Poxer Pro-lifers? Filed under: Uncategorized — Hierothee @ 11:09 am In my occasional travels through cyberspace, I have noticed that many pro-life Catholics are so fed up with the current state of American politics that they refuse to vote for either major party. Mark Shea is perhaps the biggest example of this. Indeed, one of his readers has accused him and his ilk of being “double-poxers.” They say a “pox upon both your houses” to Democrats and Republicans alike. They will vote for a third-party candidate, or not vote at all, and this, Shea’s reader asserts, is...

The Citizens for McCain phone banks are up and running. Please help us in our efforts to reach out to Democrats and Independents in targeted regions near you to ensure that we secure the support of every potential voter who could make the difference in this tight race. Please use the links below to connect to the phone bank and begin making calls to these voters who are putting country before party. Daytime Phone Bank (10:00AM-6:00PM local time): http://www.johnmccain.com/PhoneBank/?guid=59169733-6F60-4228-8A8F-7FD538E52989 Evening/Weekend Phone Bank (6:00PM-9:00PM & Weekends 10:00AM-9:00PM local time): http://www.johnmccain.com/PhoneBank/?guid=A72D7DE9-5BFE-41D6-808C-F1E8CCF9E500 PHONE BANKING INSTRUCTIONS Please use the first link to make calls...

The 263-171 roll call Friday by which the House approved a $700 billion government bailout bill for the battered financial industry. ADVERTISEMENT A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the bill. Voting yes were 172 Democrats and 91 Republicans. Voting no were 63 Democrats and 108 Republicans. X denotes those not voting. There is 1 vacancy in the 435-member House.

Maine voters in November will consider a ballot question seeking to overturn a newly-minted state law that changes the funding method for the Dirigo Health Program.

From the front page of Amazon.com. Republican books are outselling Democrat books by a wide margin. Updated hourly. If sales are any prediction, the GOP is doing better than the media is reporting. Which Party Do You Support?Which is selling more? Updated hourly Republican 64%   36% Democrat › Find out more about this meter Discuss

Bush Won’t Support House Conservatives' Alternative Financial Plan Wednesday, October 01, 2008 By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer White House (CNSNews.com) - With Senate passage of a revised financial bailout in sight, the White House rejected considering a more free market alternative proposed by House Republicans. The alternative plan, announced Tuesday by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), replaces the $700 billion bailout package aimed at easing the credit crisis with a plan to federally insure mortgages up to 100 percent. The current plan, supported by President Bush, would allow the Treasury Department to purchase the...

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, I have called your office, the office of Senator John Cornyn and Senator John McCain. I am a lifelong Republican, a McCain Victory 08 Blogger and have my own blog and Internet talk radio program. After your vote last night, I will never support you for elected office, I will instead support any other Republican opposing you who disagrees with what you did. You voted for a huge piece of pork last night that is totally unnecessary. We need to repeal Sarbanes Oxley, Mark-to-Market rules, cut capital gains and immediately investigate and prosecute anyone involved in...

Republicans' Votes Against Rescue May Backfire Wednesday, October 1, 2008 5:13 PM By: Ronald Kessler Rightly or wrongly, Republicans are being blamed for the failure to pass a financial rescue package, causing a one-day loss of $1.2 trillion in the value of American equities. If the bill does not pass this week, Republicans will be blamed not only for another scary decline in the stock market but also for the ensuing loss of jobs that will accompany what probably will be a deep recession or depression. The reality is that, if they do not receive enough support from Republicans, the...

Wednesday, October 1, 2008: Joy calls Sarah Palin a few names, inclusing "DUMB" and more, MUCH MORE!!! Barbara Walters confronts Elisabeth Hasselbeck and asks her why she keeps defending Palin all of the time. These broads are totally losing it in this clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_GjgZseFRc

It's no secret that the mainstream media is leftist. Excuse me, progressive. Polls have shown since the 1980s that around 80 percent of journalists vote Democrat. Conservative Christians have long been viewed by the mainstream media the way jihadists should be viewed. I say "should be viewed" because the media makes excuses for the behavior of jihadists.

I know, the title is creepy, but before jumping at me, just consider these facts... 1. IT IS THE WORST TIME TO BE IN POWER FOR ANY NATIONAL PARTY America has been suffering the worst economic crisis since 1929. Americans are blaming the party ruling the executive branch for this rout, and that's why McCain numbers are so low. Now think that Obama will begin his presidency with America depressed. The power will be 100% controlled by Democrats, and the anger of the folks will turn against them. 2. DECMOCRATS WILL HATE OBAMA JUST AS THEY NOW HATE THEIR DEMOCRATIC...

House Republicans picked a heck of a time to rediscover their free-market “principles.” The pork-barreling GOP luminaries – who during their time in the majority couldn’t be bothered to get federal spending under control, fix Social Security, reform the tax code or lift the ban on offshore drilling – are suddenly committed to limited government. The same underachievers who didn’t raise a finger when they had the power to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from endangering the nation’s entire financial structure, nor to exercise leadership on reform of the Community Reinvestment Act (which the Bush Administration wanted), now can’t...

I have read the posts here and elsewhere. Sometimes these things are made to look more complicated than they really are. From an economic perspective, if the problem is liquidity and credit, there simply is no need for the federal government to assume massive amounts of debt on its book by assuming loans in anticipation that their holders or borrowers will default.

Cavuto had breaking news that CLINTON/KERRY want the Senate to take up and approve this BAILOUT RESCUE PLAN tommorrow BYPASSING the House Republicans. Isn't this wrong? That isn't the procedure! This must be stopped. They know the House Republicans will present a better bill. I

Conservatism Can Be Revived: Unmasking Neocons Just a Beginning By Joseph Baldacchino Despite the apparent momentum of the Republican Party in the presidential race, it is clear that the party is tottering on the edge of intellectual and moral bankruptcy. Americans by overwhelming margins have had their fill of the George W. Bush Administration, and they have little faith in the GOP's nominee to succeed Bush. It is only because the Democrats have put forth a candidate who raises even more serious doubts that the Republicans may be able to avert electoral disaster. Americans are tired of the Administration’s policy...

In Ohio, Slight Movement to Obama, But Fight for 20 Electoral Votes Still Even: In an election for President of the United States held in Ohio today, 09/30/08, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama finish within one point of each other, according to this latest, WHIO-TV/SurveyUSA. Today, it's McCain 49%, Obama 48 -- McCain's nominal 1-point lead within the survey's 3.8 percentage point margin of sampling error. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released 15 days ago, Obama is up 3 points; McCain is flat. McCain leads by 17 points among those who earn more than $50,000 a year....

House Roll Call The 228-205 roll call Monday of the vote by which the House rejected a $700 billion emergency bailout for the nation’s financial system. A “yes” vote is a vote in favor of the bailout package. Voting yes were 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans. Voting no were 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans. X denotes those not voting. There is 1 vacancy in the 435-member House. ALABAMA Democrats — Cramer, Y; Davis, Y. Republicans — Aderholt, N; Bachus, Y; Bonner, Y; Everett, Y; Rogers, Y. ALASKA Republicans — Young, N. ARIZONA Democrats — Giffords, N; Grijalva, N; Mitchell, N;...

Bill Fails With 227 Against, 206 For; Alexander Pleas For Passage The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday declined to approve the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Congressman Zach Wamp was among those opposing the $700 billion financial bailout bill. There were 228 opposed and 205 in favor in the House. In the Senate, Sen. Lamar Alexander pleaded for passage of the bill, saying if it does not there is "a real risk that credit will freeze and Americans will not be able to get car, student, auto, mortgage, or farm credit loans – or even to cash their...

As a Black American Army Warrant Officer, it appears clear to me that Barack Obama does not think too highly of Black America. Whether liberal puppet-masters in his campaign are prompting this or Obama, himself, lacks a real connection with the Black American struggle, one thing is clear: Barack Obama and his party do not want us to leave the oppressive plantation mindset that has exploited the Black vote for years. Obama is far more liberal than he is Black. His elitist views that Black Americans cannot succeed, contribute to society, or take care of our families without government...

I began the day depressed at our chances, perhaps this could be a boon for McCain if he gets on the side of the House Republicans. It's amazing how when the will of the people goes against the Democrats, some how that's bad.

Assimilating to the GOP The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal, Mark Krikorian Scott McConnell No contemporary American political movement has had more difficulty finding an effective tone than the immigration-reform lobby. Its aim of slowing down the rate of immigration has long been supported by popular opinion, but it has never found majority elite support in either party. The eloquent arguments pushed by National Review in the early 1990s, particularly Peter Brimelow’s powerful brief for the American nation as a product of shared culture and ethnicity, were for the most part rejected or shunned by the conservative...

Partisan Trends New Rasmussen Reports Party Weighting Targets: 39.0% Democrat 33.4% Republican Given that the population as a whole has given Congress single digit approvals, Rasmussen should be questioning his own methodology on using a formula that is based on the same methodology as used in 2006 numbers. Here is what he had to say: This week’s adjustment will have little impact on the daily Presidential Tracking Poll. However, if the partisan trends do shift between now and Election Day, it could have a significant impact. During Election 2006, there was a notable shift in partisan identification favoring Democrats as...

Letter from an American CitizenTo our Congress and Senate:You sold us out. You have betrayed every sacred trust that the American People have given you.  I am one angry American. I am not alone. We are sick of your games: your finger pointing and misdirection, your lies and your corruption. Serving yourself and your cronies at the public trough. Feasting as a gluttonous pig on the fruits of our endeavor and labor. Because of your malfeasance, your incompetence, your corruption and betrayal of the public trust for which we elected you, every American family from coast to coast will be impacted...

YouTube

NASHVILLE — With just 37 days to go until Election Day, Republican presidential candidate John McCain continues to hold a double-digit lead in Tennessee over Democrat Barack Obama, a new statewide poll shows. U.S. Sen. Obama, D-Ill., has made some gains in recent weeks, but the survey of 625 registered, likely voters shows U.S. Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, still lead Sen. Obama and his vice presidential pick, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., by 16 points in the Volunteer State. The Sept. 22-24 poll shows Sen. McCain leading Sen. Obama by 55 percent...

Of the current financial debacle, we can be sure there’s plenty of blame to go around both sides of the political aisle. To the chagrin of main street conservatives, however, a whole lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of renegade conservatives who sit in the highest seats of government — renegades, because they behaved like liberals. An undeserved insult to those conservatives? No, because their behavior with respect to the corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can’t be distinguished from that of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, et al.

While we scrambled to meet income tax deadlines last April 15, Maine politicians passed $70 million in tax increases on health care and beverages to pump more tax dollars into Dirigo Health. In response, the state Chamber of Commerce, the beverage industry and other businesses united as the Fed Up With Taxes coalition to put a people's veto question on the November ballot, hoping voters will reject the new taxes.

Republicans and Big Government Spending http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSITu4pbfeM&feature=PlayList&p=5B0402C8953DDCEA&index=2

Politics and diplomacy were not a good mix at Monday's protest rally against Iran at the United Nations. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin didn't participate in the "Stop Iran Now" rally and there were a lot of hard feelings about it. It was a simple sign that read "We Want Sarah. Shame On The Rally Organizer." Howard Webber from Brooklyn held it. "As important an event as this is, you needed a unity of Democrats and Republicans to show Ahmadinejad that we're not going to accept a nuclear Iran." Buddy Macy of Little Fells, N.J., felt much the same way....

Ghosts from civil rights era are fading away OXFORD -- University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat is well aware of the significance of the nation's first black presidential nominee, Democrat Barack Obama, arriving this week on the same campus where James Meredith broke the color barrier in 1962. When the international media spotlight returns for the Friday debate, the chancellor knows questions about race will come from the expected 3,000 members of the media. Feeling confident about the work the school has done in recent years, Khayat believes many journalists with opinions of the university forged by the riot...

Post-convention swing state polls are tipping toward Sen. John McCain, the TV pundits are waxing about "The Palin Factor," and Sen. Barack Obama's California supporters are freaking out about a race Democrats were uncommonly confident about only a month ago. Conversely, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's addition to the GOP ticket jolted Northern California Republicans out of what one described as their "Underground Railroad" existence in one of the nation's most liberal regions. Ever since her speech to the Republican National Convention on Sept. 3, party officials say volunteers have been contacting California GOP offices in numbers unseen since Ronald Reagan...

The Securities and Exchange Commission can blame itself for the current crisis. That is the allegation being made by a former SEC official, Lee Pickard, who says a rule change in 2004 led to the failure of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Merrill Lynch...... My Comment: Worth Noting, this disastrous move was initiated by Bill Donaldson (former SEC Chair and Obama supporter). Also, when the Dems tried to endorse it later in the Senate Banking Committee, it was opposed by all Republicans and supported by all the D's on the Committee.

Republican lawmakers and conservative leaders are angry about the latest in a string of government bailouts announced less than a month after they renewed their pledge to control federal spending. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced an $85 billion bailout of the insurance giant American International Group (AIG), surprising many lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who had received little information in the preceding days. Conservatives on and off the Hill said this week’s massive bailout violated free-market principles and encouraged reckless behavior in the future. “I’m dubious,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). “I have not heard why its failure would...

Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives yesterday passed on a party line vote a drilling bill that effectively allows no drilling. She hates drilling, and this bill was solely an attempt to avoid becoming the Former Speaker of the House. The Senate bills aren’t any better. Wherever the House bill would allow limited drilling, say in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Senate bill would forbid it. The real story is that the Republicans know they are on the winning side of this issue and if they can kill this legislation, the moratorium will expire on September 30, and drilling can...

PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also included is a poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? I logged on a couple hours ago and 33% percent had voted YES, 67% NO. It appears you can vote multiple times so I just voted again and it's now YES, 52%, and NO 47%. Here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

Until the voting began, most pollsters declared the 1980 presidential race between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter too close to call. Yet the Republican challenger beat the incumbent Democrat in a landslide victory, as Reagan unleashed an unlikely secret weapon—registered Democrats. Working-class Democrats who had grown tired of their party's leftward lurch helped land the conservative Republican in the Oval Office twice.

However, recent polls have seen Republicans surging in the generic congressional vote. A USA Today/Gallup poll even has it as a 50-45 edge for Republicans. Every other poll still has the Democrats up around 5 points. The RCP average has the Democrats by 4.2%. An average of all polls taken in July gave Democrats a 12 point advantage on the generic ballot question. With this shift in the polls has come a shift in the electoral college. The state polls have all shifted in McCain’s favor recently. States like Washington, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania shifting toward McCain could allow the...