Free Republic

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R.-Tenn.) said on the Senate floor on Wednesday that the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass) set a wonderful example for other senators. “He set a wonderful example for us, and it is nice to be reminded of him,” said Sen. Alexander. Alexander’s remarks came while the Senate was discussing his proposal to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Act that imposes federal regulations and sends federal money to local public schools. The initial No Child Left Behind Act was co-sponsored by Kennedy and Rep. John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and signed into law in 2002 by President George W....

...give gushing interview and say Hillary and Jeb will treat each other with respect... but do we believe them? Self-proclaimed 'long lost brothers' George W. Bush and Bill Clinton shared a stage in a rare joint appearance in Texas on Thursday - to claim the current presidential campaign between their family members will be conducted with respect. The two former presidents - who have become friends in their retirement despite being from opposing parties - spoke about the contest that has seen Bill's wife Hillary seek the Democratic nomination and George's brother Jeb go after the Republican one. Both men...

Jeb Bush’s plutocratic fantasy land: Why his comments about American workers are completely divorced from reality. It’s possible that you can forgive Jeb Bush for not knowing about regular people, when in an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader on Wednesday, he demonstrated a complete lack of appreciation for how hard Americans work — and for how little. Perhaps you can also forgive him for not recognizing that, in fact, Americans work more than their counterparts in other industrialized countries, that we get less vacation time, less maternity leave, and retire later than most anyone else, and that that...

Donald Trump is now the super-hawk on immigration. It wasn’t always so, and not so long ago. A Newsmax article from November 2012 on his views on what went wrong in the election is making the rounds. Back then, Trump’s view on immigration was utterly conventional–he wanted a “comprehensive solution” to accommodate immigrants who want to be “wonderful productive citizens,” and thought Romney’s policy of attrition (infamously described as self-deportation) was “maniacal” and mean-spirited

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is clearly tired of talking about rival presidential candidate Donald Trump. In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Bush dismissed two questions about the real-estate magnate whose controversial immigration comments have drawn reams of headlines. Asked about Trump's success in the polls, Bush replied: "I don't know if he's having success. We'll see in the long haul." Bush was then pressed if he felt Trump's candidacy was harming the broader Republican Party. He declined to answer. "I've already stated my views about Donald Trump," he said. With some light prodding, Bush said he wouldn't...

WHAT HE SAID: Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said yesterday that in order to grow the economy "people should work longer hours" -- a comment that the Bush campaign argues was a reference to underemployed part-time workers but which Democrats are using to attack him. During an interview that was live-streamed on the app Periscope, Bush told New Hampshire's The Union Leader that to grow the economy, "people should work longer hours." He was answering a question about his plans for tax reform and responded: "My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent...

Jeb Bush may have made his first notable gaffe of the 2016 presidential campaign, declaring in an interview that Americans need to “work longer hours” for substantial economic growth to return. The Republican presidential candidate was conducting a recorded interview with New Hampshire’s The Union-Leader and was answering a question about his tax plan, which he used as an opportunity to state his goals for economic growth. “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see,” Bush said. “Which means we have to be a lot...

Today, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who as of-late has gone relatively gaffe-free, uttered a phrase that may not go over too well with the constituency he seeks to reach. During an interview that was live-streamed on the app Periscope, Bush told New Hampshire’s The Union Leader that to grow the economy, “people should work longer hours.” He was answering a question about his plans for tax reform and responded: “My aspiration for the country and I believe we can achieve it, is 4 percent growth as far as the eye can see. Which means we have to be a...

Coincident with July 4, the Pew Research Center published a survey asking, "Why has the U.S. been successful? Reliance on principles or ability to change?" Fifty-one percent attributed America's success to its "ability to change" and 44 percent to its "reliance on longstanding principles." Not surprisingly, 73 percent of conservatives attribute America's success to its "reliance on principles," and 77 percent of liberals attribute it to its "ability to change." But the survey question, I think, is deeply flawed. It's like asking what explains the work of a great artist -- the ability to master the discipline of their art...

If elected to the White House, Mike Huckabee says he would use “all powers of the presidency to deny federal funding to sanctuary cities,” among other executive orders to stop illegal immigration. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor running for president, said he would “use my pen and my phone to follow the Constitution” and sign executive orders. That includes:

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-08/marco-rubio-says-he-opposes-same-sex-marriage-constitutional-amendment

In the wake of yet another murder of an American at the hands of an illegal immigrant, it’s worth revisiting the immigration bill put forth in part by GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)80% , which offered rewards for sanctuary cities. Juan-Francisco Lopez Sanchez, a felon with multiple convictions and five deportations under his belt, admitted to shooting Kathryn Steinle dead at Pier 14 in San Francisco and says he came to work in that city because he knew that he would not be deported, crimes and illegal status notwithstanding. Had the Gang of Eight measure become law, not...

We should never forget that it was the Democrat party that gave America this perversion called gay marriage. For about forty years the Democrats have invited the gays into the Democrats' "Rainbow Coalition". The Democrats invited them into the party and gave them a seat at the decision making table. Gays became part of the Democrat coalition. Each group in the coalition gets what it wants and the Democrats have supported the gay agenda for decades. Back in the Clinton administration, Bill Clinton tried to get homosexuals in the military. He was not able to get everything that he wanted...

Is "The Donald" in for the long hall, or is he going to "Pull Out" at the last minute -- like he has done so many times before? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/16/donald-trump-us-presidential-race I don't think he has demonstrated that he is in for the long haul. Therefore I have taken the liberty to give him the handle of Trumpus Interruptus! I confess that I was excited (as was his collective base) when he announced in 2012 that he was considering a run for the republican nomination for President of the United States. I was thus willing to overlook the fact that he was...

Mitt Romney‘s seemingly nonstop hospitality tour of the 2016 presidential field took him to Maine on Monday. After hosting Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and their families at his home in New Hampshire over the weekend, Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, dined with Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, in Kennebunkport, Me. The meal was at Walkers Point, the home where Mr. Bush’s mother and father, George H.W and Barbara Bush, reside. Both the former president and first lady attended the Romney luncheon, which was in the dining room of the main...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Worried about "Republican on Republican violence," top party donors are taking action, with one firing off a letter calling for more civility and another seeking to block businessman Donald Trump from the debate stage altogether. Foster Friess, a Wyoming-based investor and one of the party's top 20 donors in the last presidential contest, issued a letter to 16 White House prospects and the Republican National Committee late last week calling for candidates to stay on the "civility reservation." "Our candidates will benefit if they all submit to Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment, 'Thou shall not speak ill of...

“I don’t think that this is going to be easy. I don’t think that it’s going to be painless,” Nikki Haley told NBC this weekend. I dunno. Seems pretty easy and painless so far. The S.C. Senate moved forward with plans Monday to lower the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds and retire it to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.

Jeb Bush led the Republican field in the most recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, but the data show significant challenges ahead for him. -snip- Beyond his family-name challenges, the former Florida governor faces a more fundamental issue. In the June WSJ/NBC poll, just 37% of Americans said that they would feel optimistic or satisfied about a Jeb Bush presidency, while 61% would feel uncertain or pessimistic. Comparing Jeb Bush’s ratings to those of the past three Republican presidential nominees at this time in the election cycle also suggests a tough road ahead. All three eventual GOP nominees were viewed...

If we elect Jeb Bush to be the nominee for the Republican Party, I will relentlessly and effectively push for a third party candidate in the general election. This Republican primary will determine the fate of the party. There are millions of Republicans that see this time in our country as a turning point. We have a great opportunity to rally together clearly communicate our message to a generation that has never heard the truths and values that so wonderfully make up the conservative stance. Conservative policies work for everyone. They make life better for us all. However, the average...

As if right on cue after Romney and Rubio, Bush on Saturday afternoon joined the coordinated parade of establishment Republicans attacking Trump. “I don’t think he represents the Republican Party, and his views are way out of the mainstream of what Republicans think,” Bush said Saturday afternoon in New Hampshire. “No one suggests that we shouldn’t control our borders – everybody has a belief that we should control our borders. But to make these extraordinarily ugly kind of comments is not reflective of the Republican Party. Trump is wrong on this.” Trump has been harsh on Bush, Rubio and Romney....