Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Soon after the Senate opened its long-awaited debate on health care legislation this week, John McCain strode into the chamber to spearhead his party's efforts to reshape the massive bill. He offered Republicans' first amendment and leveled the party's most politically stinging charge--that its cuts in Medicare spending will hurt the elderly. A day later, McCain took the lead in grilling President Obama's team on its newly minted plan for the Afghanistan war. Why, McCain pressed, had the president set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops? "A withdrawal date only emboldens al Qaeda and the Taliban," he complained....

Across the land, grindstones sing as axes are sharpened for the RINOs. For years, conservatives have railed against these moderate "Republicans in Name Only," launching primary campaigns against them, pouring money into their opponents' campaign funds, and excluding them from committee chairmanships. But since 2006 the party's pulse has weakened, and the GOP's leaders have decided that nothing is more healthful in such a situation than hacking off a limb or two. That, evidently, is the thinking behind the 10-point test for GOP candidates that was proposed last week by a group of Republican national committee members. If a candidate...

In an embarrassing blunder, Gov. Charlie Crist mistakenly directed parents of uninsured children to call a toll-free sex line. People calling the governor's office heard an on-hold recording of Crist promoting the toll-free Florida KidCare line. Except two numbers were transposed.

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in). The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels. The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO...

(snip) Don Imus and the Arizona Republican were talking Friday morning about the February stimulus vote when McCain, who kept his famous temper at bay during the '08 campaign, went Howard Beale. Imus: Did you support that bill? McCain: Hell no. Imus: I don't think you have to swear at me Senator when I'm just asking a... McCain: I'm not swearing at you. I'm swearing I've had to have been smoking something pretty strong to vote for that outrageous use of taxpayers' dollars. Toggling to the economy at large, McCain added: "There's not a lot of happy people out there,...

"All the signs are in place for 2010 to be (as Marco Rubio suggested the other day) a costume party where liberal Republicans dress up as fiscal conservatives or perhaps just run on not being lunatic Democrats bent on national destruction."

Jim Robinson's Free Republic started a great movement the other day...it's the RINO FREE AMERICA PROJECT...It is now on facebook also. If you are a facebook member, I ask you to join. We need to show Washington that there is a movement going on and RINO's will not be tolerated.

A map of how California will be affected by climate change in the future was unveiled yesterday by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by 150cm (60in).The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels.The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt,...

Republicans Pay Tribute at ‘Tea Party’ Movie Premiere Members of Congress Mingle With Activists at D.C. Film Debut By David Weigel 12/3/09 10:08 AM Presenters at the premiere of "Tea Party: The Documentary Film" Wednesday in Washington (Photo: David Weigel) Getting into Wednesday’s Washington, D.C., premiere of “Tea Party: The Documentary Film” meant walking through a steady rain into the Ronald Reagan building, a sprawling downtown trade and convention center where the economic conservative group FreedomWorks, which helped organize a number of Tea Party protests, had rented a foyer and a sizable auditorium. The stars of the film relaxed and...

Democracy would be wholly valueless to the proletariat if it were not immediately used as a means for putting through measures directed against private property and ensuring the livelihood of the proletariat. The main measures, emerging as the necessary result of existing relations, are the following: (i) Limitation of private property through progressive taxation, heavy inheritance taxes, abolition of inheritance through collateral lines (brothers, nephews, etc.) forced loans, etc. (ii) Gradual expropriation of landowners, industrialists, railroad magnates and shipowners, partly through competition by state industry, partly directly through compensation in the form of bonds. (iii) Confiscation of the possessions of...

Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters nationwide say they’re at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That figure includes 46% who are Very Angry. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 27% are not angry about the government's policies, including 10% who are Not at All Angry........ The data suggests that the level of anger is growing. The 71% who are angry at federal government policies today is up five percentage points since September. Even more stunning, the 46% who are Very Angry is up 10 percentage points from September.

The map, which demonstrates the devastating effects of global warming in just a century, shows how San Francisco Airport would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by ...60in. The coastline on the map was also coloured, highlighting how nearly half a million Californians are at risk from rising sea levels. The map, named CalAdapt, which was revealed at a press conference on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay by Mr Schwarzenegger and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, was created as part of a plan for the state to adapt to global warming. 'Within a century, Treasure Island, this...

(snip) “Why did I do this? I want my time to count. I want to be seen as someone who can solve a hard problem by working with my colleagues across the aisle. I want to do something that matters. I can’t think of a better use of my time than to work with Democrats and Republicans to break our dependency on foreign oil, to create jobs for our next generation of Americans that will never go to China. And yes, leave behind a cleaner planet.” (snip)

HELLO FREE REPUBLIC AND WELCOME TO AN EXCLUSIVE FREE REPUBLIC CALL TO ACTION BURNIN' DOWN THE TENT!!! We have all been frustrated and angry at the way we have been treated by the political elite in this country. They have ignored us, belittled us, overlooked us, and singled us Conservatives out for their special brand of contempt. It is bad enough when liberals and Democrats do it, but the betrayal of our Constitution and of our whole system of Conservative values and morals at the hands of the party we built and supported for lo these many years has...

Mitt Romney says that like other presidents, Barack Obama inherited a recession. But the former Massachusetts governor feels unlike his predecessors, Obama has made the recession he inherited worse, not better. In an op-ed in Wednesday's USA Today, Romney says what he calls the president's inability to "stem" the rise in unemployment should not be a surpise. "With no experience whatsoever in the world of employment and business formation, he had no compass to guide his path. Instead, he turned over much of his economic recovery agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, themselves nearly...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

Most Mormons have long suspected what three political science professors have confirmed: Increased knowledge about Mormons and their faith helps remove stigma attached to them. That news comes as the nation's highest-ranking Mormon risks his political future on heath care reform. Writing in USA Today, Professors David E. Campbell, John C. Green and J. Quin Monson, wrote "Americans still have a bias against Republican Mitt Romney, according to a study conducted during last year's election. Not a political bias, but a religious one. The good news: When people understood his Mormon faith, the bias melted away. The trio teach political...

Huckabee's astounding record of leniency on felons: --1,103 total clemenices in 10 1/2 years as Arkansas Governor --Almost 1 out of every 10 criminals who asked for clemency received it --At least 9% of those who received clemency were later convicted and sentenced for new felonies --12 murderers received reduced sentences.....

State Sen. Abel Maldonado will run for lieutenant governor in 2010 whether or not the Legislature confirms his nomination to fill the vacant post. The Santa Maria moderate Republican confirmed his decision during a 45-minute meeting Wednesday with the Contra Costa Times editorial board. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently named Maldonado as his choice to succeed Democrat John Garamendi, who was elected to Congress in a special election in November. Since the announcement, Maldonado has been on the road pitching his qualifications for a job that many Californians, if they think about it at all, view as superfluous in a high-tech...

Images of Prosecutor's strongly voiced complaints against Huckabee's clemencies, and a response stating that Huckabee "laughed out loud" upon reading it and suggesting the Prosecutor "cut down on your caffeine consumption". Click to view images of original documents.

Mike Huckabee needs to shut up, for his own good. He cannot stop talking about the Maurice Clemmons case. The more he does, the worse he sounds.

If America’s elderly think there is an eerie echo in all of the warnings in Washington about frightful cuts to Medicare as a result of the Democrats’ proposed health care legislation, they are right. They have heard it all before. Just 14 months ago, then Senator Barack Obama accused his Republican rival in the presidential race, John McCain, of proposing “drastic cuts to Medicare.” The Obama campaign asserted that Mr. McCain’s health care proposal posed a serious risk for Medicare beneficiaries, by proposing cuts that would total $882 billion over 10 years and would likely require “cuts in benefits, eligibility...

RomneyCare is big government forcing its will on a formerly free people. It's anti-American, anti-free-markets, anti-Liberty and unconstitutional. Listen to the Reagan tape. RomneyCare is the socialism he's talking about. RomneyCare = ObamaCare. No difference. Government is not the solution, it IS the problem!! Free Republic will not support gun grabbing, abortion pushing, gay rights pushing, big government socialist RINOS!! In fact we will actively campaign AGAINST them!! Free Republic is a pro-Life & Liberty small government conservative site for pro-Life & Liberty small government conservatives!! Take a freaking hike if you don't like it. RINOS be damned!! Hope this...

Senator Lindsey Graham’s office has responded to a query from AT about the Senator’s response to Climategate. In an email response, a representative from Senator Graham’s press office has stated the Senator’s position: Here is what he [Senator Graham] said yesterday. “The real driver for me is energy independence,” Graham said. “There may be a debate among some about how much the planet’s heating up. There’s no debate by any American that we’re dependent on foreign oil way too much.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is holding a rival jobs forum to match the White House's Thursday event, heading to Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday for the start of a program he calls "a real jobs summit." Gingrich, who is head of a political action group called "American Solutions," is widely known to be toying with a run for the presidency. The trip to Ohio, where unemployment is slightly higher than the national average of 10.2 percent, is the first in a series and will followed by a trip to Jackson, Miss. In promoting the event, Gingrich's group is dismissing the...

**U.S. Senator John McCain will be appearing on the following television programs TOMORROW December 2, 2009, beginning at approximately 7:00 am ET. 7:00 am NBC’s TODAY Show with Matt Lauer 7:00 am ABC’s Good Morning America with Robin Roberts 7:00 am CBS’ Early Show with Harry Smith 7:30 am CNN’s American Morning with John Roberts 8:00 am Fox News’ Fox & Friends 7:00 pm CNBC’s Kudlow Report 5:30 pm BBC Newsnight with Gavin Esler 7:00 pm BBC World News America with Matt Frei

Jeb Bush is unique in that he is both unknown and known. He can certainly win a GOP primary, and can raise the money to compete with frontrunners Palin and Romney. I think Jeb will be getting more involved over the next several months, starting with the Florida senate primary. I also think Cheney is a Jeb proxy, and that his attacks are meant to undermine Obama while moving the country back into the Bush/Cheney policy direction, awaiting a new leader to take the torch from the former Vice President. Remember, Cheney earlier this year, unprompted, suggested he would support...

Link only, per FR copyright rules

If you liked George W. Bush's brand of big-spending, big-government conservatism, you'll love Mike Huckabee. BY MICHAEL D. TANNER Most of the leading Republicans running for president show some support for Bush's ideology, but no other candidate so completely embodies it. As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee dramatically increased state spending. During his two-term tenure, spending increased by more than 65 percent — at three times the rate of inflation. The number of government workers increased by 20 percent, and the state's debt services increased by nearly $1 billion. Huckabee financed his spending binge with higher taxes. Under his leadership, the...

My Friend, Last night, I introduced the first Republican amendment to the Democrats' massive health care bill aimed at overhauling how Americans receive health care. My amendment will send the bill back to the Finance Committee to force Democrats to pay for the bill without cutting Medicare coverage for our seniors. I urge you to immediately send a message to your Senator by adding your name as a supporter to this amendment so that we can prevent Medicare cuts and government rationing of health care. The Democrats' bill as it is written would gut Medicare as we know it, and...

When the Charleston County Republican Party censured South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham last month, the official statement read that Graham: “in the name of bipartisanship — continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism.” That some Republicans-any Republicans-would dare treat Graham as a traitor for his bipartisan efforts, was portrayed by the national media and liberal pundits as yet another example that “fringe” elements were taking over the GOP. (Accompanying YouTube video)When Connecticut Democrats sought to censure Joe Lieberman in 2008 they cited the senator’s “extraordinary disloyalty to countless Connecticut...

I hope Mike Huckabee meant it when he said recently that he's not sure he wants to make a second run for president. Though he's right up there with Sarah Palin in polls of the prospective Republican field for 2012, his odds of success are suddenly slim to none. You could argue that the former Arkansas governor is a victim of bad luck. You could argue that he's a victim of his own bad judgment. What's inarguable is that Huckabee commuted the prison term of a man killed by police after he allegedly shot and killed four police officers Sunday...

Under fire for commuting the sentence of suspected cop-killer Maurice Clemmons, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday called some of the criticisms “disgusting” and suggested they were attempts to score political points. “It really does show how sick our society has become that people are more concerned about a campaign three years from now than those grieving families in Washington,” Huckabee said during an interview on Joe Scarborough’s radio show. “It is disgusting, but people use anything as a political weapon.” Huckabee granted Clemmons, a suspect in the killings of four police officers in Washington state over the weekend,...

I lurk this forum way too much. But it does give me my news fix and some interesting tidbits as well. I am in here enough to get a good gauge of the political celebs Freepers don't like. That would be pretty much everybody. I'm kinda sure nobody likes Mitt Romney. And as of 11/6/08, John McCain is a favorite whipping boy. Overall, the bulk of characters who stood on stage in the early GOP debates last year is tainted in some way. Giuliani, the cross-dressing gun-hater. Ron Paul, the anti-war drug-legalizer. Huckabee, the soft-on-crime wingnut. Yada yada... I'm aligned...

If Sarah Palin runs for president in 2012, can she win? Pundits have been buzzing about the possibility since the release of her book two weeks ago, and the itinerary and politics of her book tour suggest she hasn't ruled out a bid. Palin has said she "cannot predict what doors will be open in 2012," but can recent polling provide an answer? Can Palin Win a General Election? Ultimately, the potential for any Republican in 2012 will depend on voters' future assessments of President Obama. But even if he is vulnerable, Palin will face some huge obstacles, as the...

Last week, Charlie Crist decided to attack conservatives by telling reporters that “It’s hard to be more conservative than I am on issues — there’s different ways stylistically to communicate that — I’m pro-life, I’m pro-gun, I’m pro-family, and I’m anti-tax,” then went on to say he guessed he just wasn’t angry enough. In the DNC - McClatchy News hit job of Jim DeMint and me, the one where the reporter and DNC dutifully compare me to Rev. Wright, the John Cornyn’s National Republican Senatorial Committee dutifully got in on the fun parroting Charlie Crist. “Charlie Crist is pro-life, pro-gun...

Mike Huckabee was on The O'Reilly Factor tonight and apologized for releasing cop killer Maurice Clemmons from prison as governor in Arkansas.

I’ll just leave this here… Before a defense of any kind of religious discrimination, one ought to make all of the necessary disclaimers: of course I oppose government-sponsored discrimination, and I certainly would not support the kind of absurd treatment described by Steven Reinhart in his piece featured below. That being said, there is a legitimate case to be made for judging any candidate for office by his religious convictions. In late 2007, Mitt Romney made his somewhat-famous speech on religion, where he spoke the following words: “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of...

Mike Huckabee said today it's "less likely than more likely" that he'll run for president in 2012. Recent polling has shown him to be the most popular candidate among Iowa Republicans, but Huckabee told Chris Wallace on Fox New Sunday today that polling isn't the only factor. "There's a whole different deal of saying some folks take a poll and whether there's the financial support," he said. Huckabee said he's enjoying his current gig as a Fox News host, and wants to see what the political climate is like heading into 2012.

Sen. John McCain just offered the first Republican motion as part of the Senate health care debate, which would remove roughly $500 billion in Medicare cuts and send the legislation back to the Finance Committee. While Republicans don't have the votes to pass their amendments, the Senate floor debate gives Republicans the opportunity to highlight areas of the Democratic health care bills that are unpopular, and the proposed cuts to Medicare are a large reason why older Americans remain among the most opposed to the health care push. But even though it's true that Democrats should be called out on...

(CNN) -- Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Christian leaders last week issued a bold political statement. They intended to target the Obama administration. Inadvertently, they may have also hit probable Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney ought to rank atop the Republican candidates for president in 2012. He finished second in votes cast in the primaries of 2008. He is a candidate with immense private-sector economic expertise in a time of urgent economic debate. But Romney has a political problem: his Mormon religious faith. A Gallup survey in December 2007 found that 18 percent of Republicans would not vote for...

So it seems Mike Huckabee pardoned the dude who's suspected of murdering four cops in Washington state. Josh raps Huck a little. Still, it looks like the entire system bungled this one: News accounts say Huckabee commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed. But Clemmons remained on parole -- and soon after landed in trouble again. In March 2001, he was accused of violating his parole by committing aggravated robbery and theft, according to a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He was returned to prison on a parole violation. But in what appears...

The man wanted in this morning's shooting deaths of four Washington State police officers was granted clemency by then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee nine years ago.

2008 Iowa Caucus winner and current GOP poll leader Mike Huckabee says it is "less than likely" he will run for President in 2012. Huckabee was a guest on "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace when he made the remarks.

(snip) Trey Grayson, a Republican candidate for US Senate, was the keynote speaker on the issue of global warming last year at Eastern Kentucky University as part of the National Focus the Nation event. Now, why is that such a big deal? Well, the Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for Focus the Nation is none other than Van Jones. Yes, that's right, the self-proclaimed communist Obama hired to be the Green Jobs Czar that had to tuck tail and resign at midnight. WHOA Now, let's back up a bit. Here's a bit of history on Focus the...

Scozzafava says she'd fare OK on purity test By Eric Zimmermann - 11/29/09 11:54 AM ET Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate in NY-23 who eventually dropped out after incurring the wrath of conservative acvists, says she would have fared pretty well on the so-called GOP "purity test." "I would have been at seven out of 10 on the list," Scozzafava told CBS's Face the Nation. She continued: "If people looked at my record and understood how I felt about a lot of the federal issues, I think they could see that I was for lower taxes, lower government spending. I...

Just days before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators finalized a water package, including an $11.1 billion bond issue, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned them not to do it. California is already deeply in debt, Lockyer warned, has huge budget deficits and can't afford another big bond issue. "The days of blithely heaping more and more debt burden on the general fund are over – at least they should be," Lockyer said. The earmark-laden bond issue, the package's single most controversial element, raises an interesting question: Just how deeply in debt are our state and local governments? The answer: No one...

She's a God, Country, Family, small government, no nonsense traditional Christian conservative. She's an outsider not corrupted by business as usual Washington politics. They hate her. She's pro defense. An army mom. She's pro-gun. Hunts, fishes and enjoys the great outdoors. She eats corrupt office holders and wasteful spenders for lunch. She drills for oil. She's a fighter. A winner! She's the exact opposite to Obama in all respects. She's an American patriot! In short, she's exactly what we the grassroots tea party patriots are looking for.

The Western Conservative Political Action Conference has always been a smaller sibling to the annual Washington, D.C., CPAC. It’s gained some strength this year with the addition of speakers like Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) and California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. But it’s also attracted some notable “birthers.”