Free Republic

Syria's butcher Bashir Assad could end up toppling British Prime Minister David Cameron and not the other way around, while also giving Russia a big boost back on to the Great Power stage and green lighting Tehran's most ambitious and sparky plans in its mountain tunnel complexes. Along the way he has exposed President Obama as feckless and fearful. The president and his team are scrambling to remind lawmakers of what the Commander-in-Chief ought to have long ago argued to the country: When the good guys blink, the bad guys notice. Lots and lots of blinking. Most of the people...

ORLANDO — There was no question who was the favorite among the crop of possible 2016 Republican White House candidates who wooed conservative activists at a two-day conference here this weekend. Loud chants of “Run, Ted, run!” filled a hotel ballroom packed with more than 1,500 people Saturday after Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) finished excoriating President Obama’s administration and challenging Republicans to use an upcoming budget vote to try to force through a measure to defund the Affordable Care Act. “How do you win this fight?” he asked, and the audience responded in unison with him: “Don’t blink!” Cruz was...

Cruz, one of four potential 2016 presidential candidates to speak to the two-day gathering, got by far the most enthusiastic response from the limited-government, free-market group. He received standing ovations when he called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and repealing the federal health care law. Cruz, Rubio, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry all made speeches to the group and got the most enthusiastic responses when they sounded anti-Washington themes. While the 2016 election is more than three years away, Tucker and other activists said it’s not too soon to size up which candidate can run...

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, the Republican Party will explode. When the smoke clears, there’ll be four (4!) new parties. First, there will still be the Republican Party, sort of, but it will change its name to the GOPPPP (Grand Old Party of Perennial Pathetic Putzes). The new name, though, won’t change the fact that the party has failed to win a majority of America’s voters in five of the past six elections or that it keep running candidates even its own members don’t like! It’s top contenders? Sen. Marco Rubio; Rep. Paul Ryan; Gov. Rick Perry;...

A woman who makes corsets for fetishists and those who practice bondage has come up with a novel way of making money for Planned Parenthood. Michelle Sinched, who lives in Houston, Texas, wanted to protest the legislation banning late term abortions and setting up safety guidelines for abortion clinics. So she’s making and selling voodoo dolls of Governor Rick Perry. You can’t make this stuff up. The voodoo dolls, which come with pins, range in price from $25-$30. The $25 version sports a t-shirt with a coat hanger on it. The more expensive version is attired in a tuxedo. Each...

KINGWOOD, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has come home to Texas to promote his long-shot bid to defund "Obamacare," warning Tea Party activists Monday that they have only a few months to stop the health care reform law before people get “addicted” to it. Cruz, who has thrilled his conservative base with his promise to shake up business as usual in Washington, says that once the insurance subsidies kick in at the beginning of 2014, it will be too late to undo the Affordable Care Act. He said that is precisely President Obama’s goal. “His strategy is to get...

Earlier this week, CNN asked me to write an op-ed on Ted Cruz, and whether he’s a realistic contender for the presidency. My reaction: Of course he is — but probably not in 2016. And for that matter, neither are the Republicans who seem to get the most mention for that position: No one doubts that Cruz has a bright future in the Republican Party, but that doesn’t mean the future is now.Cruz, like Rubio and Rand Paul, have only barely arrived on the national stage and are many years younger than their sell-by date. None of the three has...

Many Republicans who are eyeing a run for president in 2016 are backing an all-or-nothing plan to defund ObamaCare. More than half a dozen possible GOP White House candidates support that strategy while a handful are calling for a more nuanced approach to defunding or repealing the healthcare law. Another five are dodging questions and a couple others are not signaling one way or another. [A detailed breakdown is outlined in the chart below.] In short, some are willing to go to the brink and beyond of a government shutdown to defund ObamaCare. But it’s far from unanimous. Still, the...

Our most recent rating of Republican presidential contenders features a top tier of three notably different candidates: A Midwestern governor (Scott Walker) who is known best by the activists who will help decide the nomination; a leading national figure (Chris Christie) who has irked conservatives; and a firebrand senator (Rand Paul) with devoted supporters who would shake up the party’s platform and, perhaps, identity.Chart 1: Updated Crystal Ball Republican presidential rankings First Tier Candidate Key Advantages Key Disadvantages Since Last Update Scott WalkerGovernor, WI •Midwest GOP gov. in Obama state •Heroic conservative credentials •Shown political durability •Too bland? Next Pawlenty?...

<p>AUSTIN, Texas -- When he filed an abortion-related bill with only one day remaining in the recently completed second special session, Texas state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. was hoping to make a statement, not change the law - at least not right away.</p>

After a key provision in the Voting Rights Act was struck down by the Supreme Court in June, the Obama Administration turned to another tactic to seek pre-clearance for changes to election laws, starting with the Lone Star State. In Texas, following Holder's announcement, the DOJ claimed clear evidence of discrimination both in the past and present, and asked a federal court to impose at least 10 years of required pre-clearance. Holder also pledged to block a Texas voter ID law passed in 2011 that state Attorney General Greg Abbott had green-lighted immediately following the Supreme Court’s Shelby County ruling...

Congress can do more to advance offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean while boosting the economies of coastal states, eight governors said Friday. Options rage from giving states a greater share of federal drilling royalties to passing legislation that would force the Interior Department to make more coastal tracts available for oil and gas development, the group of coastal governors said. The governors, including Texas’ Rick Perry, made their pleas in a letter to their congressional delegations in the nation’s capital. “During this congress, legislators will consider several matters that directly and indirectly affect the future...

BRYAN, TX, July 18, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On the same day as Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed the state's new late-term abortion ban into law, Planned Parenthood has announced that they are closing three more clinics in the state, one of which performs abortions. In a press release, Planned Parenthood blamed the closures on funding cuts that Republican lawmakers passed in 2011. Those funding cuts have already led to the closure of numerous Planned Parenthood clinics across the state. However, one of the three clinics, the Bryan clinic, is also subject to the requirements of the new abortion law signed...

Photo credit www.bates.edu While those on the left look to place blame for George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin, a radical professor said it’s because God is a white racist.In an editorial published on Sunday, Anthea Butler, a religious professor at the University of Pennsylvania, proclaimed God is “a white racist god with a problem.” “God ain’t good all of the time. In fact, sometimes, God is not for us. As a black woman in an nation that has taken too many pains to remind me that I am not a white man, and am not capable...

Wendy Davis won the battle, but Rick Perry won the war. Today, the governor signs the omnibus pro-life bill that, for at least a few weeks, drove thousands of protesters to the statehouse and put a national spotlight on Texas. Strangely, it came down to the issue of transportation. The legislature didn’t pass needed transportation legislation during the normal session, which led Perry to call a special session. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst sent Perry a letter requesting that a special session address, among other matters, pro-life issues. Perry agreed. It’s important to note that the pro-life legislation, to have a...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he will visit Israel in October, a move that signals to the political world that he is seriously considering making another presidential run in 2016. “We will be going to Israel to bring together Arabs, Christian and Jews in an educational forum,” Mr. Perry told The Washington Times in an interview just three days after he announced he would not seek an unprecedented fourth term as Texas governor. Many analysts interpreted that decision as evidence that he is setting the table for a White House campaign. Asked what would induce him to announce...

If you’re wondering whether my Governor is going to try to become our President, I have no magic window to that, even though I have known him for nearly twenty tears. But from here in Texas, where all kinds of political plotlines are getting attention, there are some insights I can share as Rick Perry plans a return to private life that may be only momentary. First, let’s get rid of the dumbest analysis of the past week-- the notion that Perry is not seeking re-election because he feared a loss to pro-choice rock starlet Wendy Davis. Senator Davis may...

The Texas state House gave final approval to the ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy today, supporting it on a 96-49 vote. The measure now heads to the Texas Senate, where it was a victim of a pro-abortion filibuster and a mob that interrupted proceedings. Yesterday, during second reading, lawmakers voted 98-49 for the bill. The vote yesterday for conditional approval is four more votes for the measure than the last time the House approved the bill before Wendy Davis’ infamous filibuster. In that vote, five pro-life Democrats voted for HB2 including Guillen, Herrero, Martinez, Munoz, and Pickett while...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has hinted he could mount a 2016 presidential bid, is already taking shots at his potential competition in the Republican primary. The freshman senator was asked Monday night during an appearance on Fox News about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) announcement he would not seek reelection — a move that has prompted speculation that Perry could again run for the White House. “If Gov. Perry decides to run for president, I think there would be three good reasons why he could be president: Texas is a big successful state, he’s a long term governor and...

Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, said Monday he won't seek re-election in 2014. The staunch Christian and fiscal conservative said he will instead spend the remaining 18 months of his term guiding Texas through innovation and job creation. However, Perry did not rule out a second Republican presidential run. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/08/texas-gov-perry-wont-seek-re-election-in-2014/?test=latestnews#ixzz2YV3bZamK