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A woman whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant thanked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday for drawing national attention to what she described as some cities’ fatal failure to uphold federal immigration law. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Laura Wilkerson, whose 18-year-old son Josh Wilkerson was killed near Houston in 2010, urged Congress to “do something.” “Quit sitting silently because it’s going to help you get a vote,” she said. “I thank you, Mr. Trump, for getting the message out.” Ms. Wilkerson was one of several individuals who told the committee Tuesday their loved...

“The hardest part for me was to watch some of the Congress members falling asleep and some of them were doing whatever they did on their phones,” she said. “There were a few that paid attention, because people were pouring their hearts out, and our lives have been shattered. They sit there and participate in it and don’t even have enough decency to just sit there and look at us.”

I'm feeling a bit Onion-y today and consequently I must offer a explanation–a theory–about what we are seeing these days in this hallucinogenic political season. Now that Donald Trump has taken the lead in the latest Fox poll, it’s time to call this perverse reality show for what it really is. Trump is working for his friend Hillary Clinton’s landslide election.

Imagine if you will you were crafting the perfect presidential candidate. It's likely the following would not be on your list: two-time divorcee with multiple bankruptcies; bombastic reality television star who has appeared on professional wrestling shows; loud-mouth uncensored ego maniac with questionable hair. In other words, Donald Trump. But among the 2016 GOP presidential nominees, it's Trump that's taking the headlines. It's Trump who has people talking. And, most tellingly, it's Trump who is surging in the polls, with the latest numbers showing him with almost twice the support of his closest rival. Why? There a several reasons. First,...

ecause the Republican presidential candidate hasn't gotten around to mocking everyone in the world just yet Perhaps no presidential candidate in history has wielded the put-down quite like Donald Trump. John McCain’s a “dummy.” John Kasich is “desperate.” Rick Perry “needs new glasses.” Karl Rove is “a total loser.” Lindsey Graham, Trump said Tuesday as he announced the South Carolina Senator’s cell phone number on live television, is a “stiff. What a stiff.” The list goes on. Feeling left out that Trump hasn’t gotten around to insulting you or your friends? Here’s an app for that. Built on the real-live...

A triumphant and unrepentant Donald Trump launched a barrage of personal attacks and name-calling on his campaign rivals Tuesday, most notably calling South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham an “idiot” handing out Graham’s cell phone number to the whole world He dismissed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as “weak on immigration,” and mocked Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s glasses and Hillary Clinton’s hand wave. “What a stiff, what a stiff, Lindsey Graham. By the way he has registered zero in the polls,” Trump said, at an appearance in Bluffton, S.C. “A total lightweight. In the private sector, he couldn’t get a job.”...

Sen. Ted Cruz insists he won’t wage “violence” on Republicans–which is part of the reason why he won’t condemn Donald Trump’s comments about immigrants and prisoners of war. The Wall Street Journal isn’t holding back, though. The paper’s conservative editorial board slammed Cruz and praised former Gov. Rick Perry for their starkly different responses to Trump’s claim that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., “is only a war hero because he got captured. I like people who weren’t captured better.” Perry, an Air Force veteran, had one of the quickest and most forceful condemnations of Trump, insisting the real estate mogul wasn’t...

Being president of the United States is serious business, not a reality TV show. This is especially true for the next president, who will have a big job ahead after the failures of the Obama administration. Our challenges are too complex — and the future of our country too important — to let egos, inflated rhetoric, and emotion take the place of thoughtful discussion. I made the case recently for why GOP policies are the best to create opportunity across the country for families of all backgrounds. I’ve held up my home state’s reforms in economic, education, and sentencing policies...

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker joined the crowded field of Republican contenders vying for the White House in 2016 on Monday, and immediately stands out for having one of the poorest records on environmental and climate issues, according to green groups and political experts. Since taking office in 2010, Walker has dismantled several longstanding policies protecting wetlands and waterways, fast-tracked mining projects, fought climate action, slashed funding for dozens of state scientists and environmental education positions, and impeded development of wind energy in Wisconsin. "He's one of the worst," said Heather Taylor-Miesle, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Action Fund,...

July 20, 2015John Kerry, who knows something about having his war record attacked, savages Donald Trumpby Brett Logiurato Secretary of State John Kerry came to the defense late Saturday night of Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), whose combat record had come under fire earlier in the day by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Kerry served in the US Senate with McCain for nearly 30 years before replacing Hillary Clinton as secretary of state near the start of President Barack Obama's second term. "I have known John McCain for more than 30 years. We've had our share of disagreements and still do...

Trump: Media Treating Me ‘Unfairly,’ Other GOP Candidates Jealous by Evan McMurry | 10:03 am, July 19th, 2015 VIDEO 1258 On This Week, Trump said the controversy had been ginned up by the media and a jealous pack of GOP rivals upset he was leading in the polls. “This whole thing was brought up be a lot of people that are competing against me currently, that aren’t even registering in the polls, because a lot of people are tired of them,” Trump said, alluding to former Texas Governor Rick Perry, who called for Trump to exit the race following his...

Isnip)......I truly, honestly, and with all my heart and mind think Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are making a yuuuuuuge mistake. I think they are being conned and played. I feel like a guy whose brother is being taken advantage of by a grifter. I’m watching helplessly as the con artist congratulates him for taking out a third mortgage......(snip)

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry lashed out at fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday over “offensive” comments the real estate mogul made about Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Trump questioned McCain’s status as a war hero over the weekend — but the gaffe could cost him with an important base of Republican voters: military veterans. Perry, who served in the Air Force, called Trump’s comments a “bullet that went through John McCain and hit a lot of us that were in the uniform of this country.” Trump taunted McCain on Saturday at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa....

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sunday he’s not sorry and he’s not withdrawing from the race over remarks he made about Arizona Sen. John McCain‘s status as a war hero. Mr. Trump drew fire after he said Saturday that Mr. McCain, the party’s 2008 presidential standard-bearer who spent five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was “not a war hero.” Mr. Trump explained his dislike of seeing Mr. McCain was described that way by saying that Mr. McCain was “a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” The New York developer and...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Bernie Sanders told veterans in Iowa Friday that unlike some other politicians, he doesn't pay lip service to their concerns. "It is very easy to raise the flag at a troop deployment, it is very easy for a politician to give a moving speech on Veterans Day," Sanders said. "But it is very hard to go down that long road with the men and women who served and make sure that they continue to get all the benefits, all the healthcare, that they are entitled to for the rest of their lives." The Vermont senator told...

Republican presidential candidate and former Texas Governor Rick Perry strongly criticized fellow candidate Donald Trump for his remarks about Senator Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) at Saturday’s Family Leadership Summit in Iowa. Perry’s discussion began with Frank Luntz asking the audience who they would invest in the most between teachers, nurses, and veterans. Perry then expressed his desire to answer the question. He stated, “if you don’t first keep this country free. If you don’t first have the investment in the men and women who are willing their hand up and say, ‘Here am I, send me,’ You will never have...

At the Family Leadership Summit, Gov. Rick Perry blasts Donald Trump over his comments about John McCain and says that Trump should apologize or be disqualified to be President! I'd like to know where y'all stand on this?

Lots of Donald Trump‘s Republican presidential candidates have already shredded him for his comments about John McCain, but Rick Perry came out swinging by calling for Trump to basically GTFO. In case you missed it, the draft-defering Trump attacked McCain today over his war hero status because, “He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”Now, for some unbelievable reason, lots of conservatives including the aforementioned candidates thought Trump crossed a line.Perry was the first to release a statement on The Donald’s latest rambling, this one really going for the jugular (emphasis his): Donald Trump...

Another day, another Donald Trump doozie. The presidential candidate, who’s soared to No. 1 among Republican presidential candidates in the latest Fox News poll, attacked opponent Rick Perry’s intelligence on Twitter Thursday. “.@GovernorPerry just gave a pollster quote on me. He doesn’t understand what the word demagoguery means,” Trump tweeted. Also Read: Trump Dumped! Univision Drops Miss USA Pageant Over Mexican Immigrant Remarks He followed up with a proposal: “.@GovernorPerry failed on the border. He should be forced to take an IQ test before being allowed to enter the GOP debate.” Trump’s tirade against the former Texas governor came after...

If you had to vote in your state primary/caucus today, knowing what you know now about the various declared and probable candidates, who would you vote for? Why? Who would you like to see as the running mate for your preferred candidate? If you could help staff your candidates cabinet and other top appointments, who would you choose? If you could recommend different congressional leaders than we have now, who would they be? And who would you like to see on the Supreme Court and why? And finally, feel free to donate to Free Republic.