Free Republic

On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved two immigration enforcement amendments offered by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act. The bill includes funding for the Justice Department, and Rep. King's amendments addressed the recent report of more than 36,000 criminal illegal aliens being released from custody and sanctuary cities. SNIP Nine Republicans voted against the amendment, including pro-amnesty supporters Mario Diaz-Balart, Peter King, David Valadao, and Jeff Denham.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch conceded Wednesday it’s only a matter of time before gay marriage is legal across the country, even though he doesn’t think that’s the right way to go. Hatch said people who can’t see what’s happening aren’t living in the real world. He made the remarks during an appearance on KSL-Radio’s Doug Wright Show. […] Hatch also questioned whether judges should be able to tell states how to handle an important matter like marriage. He said he believes nobody should suffer discrimination, and said religious people should try to understand other people’s beliefs. …

Providing fodder for endless attack ads, challengers to Democratic incumbents in three tough Senate races voted for a budget even more draconian than Paul Ryan’s. This November’s election will never approach presidential-year numbers, but if Democrats can add a percentage or two—and in some deep red states, more than that—victory could be within reach. To boost turnout, Democrats have to make voters believe the stakes are high, and one of the best ways to do that, as history has shown, is persuading people that if Republicans are elected, they will scale back programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “It’s...

“What has altered the storyline in the past several years is not the emergence of the Tea Party but rather the permanent entrenchment of Big Government Republicans, aka Obama Republicans. President Obama has had that much effect on the national debate, which has had a direct effect on the national Republicans. The last gasp of principled conservatism may have come in 2010 with the rise of the Tea Party, but this also gave rise to the countervailing force of the Obama Republicans, resulting in the nomination of Mitt Romney in 2012.” –Craig Shirley (Highlighting Forum’s.) Reagan admirer and chronicler Craig...

President Barack Obama won’t act to reduce deportations on his own until the end of the summer — giving Speaker John A. Boehner one more chance to vote on an immigration overhaul. Two administration officials confirmed that the president has directed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to hold off on releasing the results of his review of immigration policy in the meantime. The hope in the White House is that once Republican primary season largely wraps up June 10, Boehner, R-Ohio, will have the political space to get something done.

Yesterday I noted that the tea party in big states and national elections faces a challenge both in money and support when facing competent, mainstream Republicans. To put it bluntly, there aren’t enough Republicans who think that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a sellout or that the shutdown was a good idea to sustain the tea party in its current form. I’ve suggested that it, in essence, disappears as a distinct subset of the right and, like most insurgent movements, will be soaked up by the larger political entity, in this case the GOP. But are there other things the...

The media narrative is on full display today. This is a narrative that the left and establishment Republicans want to spin.That spin is that the tea party is losing. The tea party lost in North Carolina and now lost in Kentucky.The tea party did not lose. But the tea party has a major problem: It is being hijacked.In 2010, the Republicans welcomed the tea party movement. The GOP was all but dead, and the tea party movement was the vehicle for a GOP resurgence. In 2012, the Republicans tried to ignore the tea party. This year, Republican consultants in D.C....

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who suggested on Monday that "every institution" in America should ignore the nation's immigration laws until Congress passes amnesty legislation, said President George W. Bush will go down as the last Republican president in history if Congress does not act on immigration. "I give you George W. Bush--the man who will go down in history as the last Republican president in American history," Gutierrez said Tuesday on the House Floor. He added: If you do nothing on immigration, I guess you can take comfort in knowing that from Abraham Lincoln to George W. Bush, you had...

Speaking to the National Rifle Association’s recent annual conference, NRA executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre, in describing America, said, “Almost everywhere you look, something has gone wrong. You feel it in your heart, you know it in your gut. Something has gone wrong. The core values we believe in, the things we care about most, are changing. Eroding. Our right to speak. Our right to gather. Our right to privacy. The freedom to work, and practice our religion, and raise and protect our families the way we see fit.” He went on to say this: "There are terrorists...

Some 57 percent of Americans “who were aware of Clinton” (isn’t that everyone?) have a favorable opinion, while 43 percent see her negatively. And “nearly one-quarter of Republicans said they had a favorable view of Clinton.” That’s pretty remarkable in a polarized electorate, suggesting a certain crossover appeal. Clinton was most frequently described as “strong,” but “‘Benghazi’ was the term that stood out most when respondents who said they had an unfavorable view of Clinton were asked to explain this perspective.” And therein lies the rub. […] “The reality is that if nothing extraordinary happens, the only person who could...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders intervened Friday to prevent a vote on U.S. immigration legislation, dealing a severe blow to election-year efforts to overhaul the widely denigrated system. The move came after a Republican congressman announced plans to try to force a vote next week, over strong conservative opposition, on his measure creating a path to citizenship for immigrants who live here illegally yet serve in the military. Rep. Jeff Denham labeled his bill the ENLIST Act and said he would seek a vote as an amendment to the popular annual defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, or...

by Jason DeWitt | Top Right NewsA park employee left for dead at the Chiricahua National Monument is speaking out about her attack.Karen Gonzales, 60, was viciously beaten in broad daylight in one of the park restrooms.She suffered a brain injury and is now walking with a limp. She tells News 4 Crime Trackers, “I will never forget his face coming at me.”Gonzales was cleaning the women’s restroom at the Faraway Ranch Campground when she heard a noise, looked up, and saw her attacker come at her with a rock.The DNA evidence left behind identified 33-year-old Gilbert Gaxiola as her attacker. The...

Republican Rep. David Valadao says he’s not worried that Congress’ failure to pass immigration legislation will hurt his prospects for re-election to a district in California’s agricultural heartland. Same goes for GOP Rep. Jeff Denham, who represents a neighboring district in the state’s San Joaquin Valley. Still, the California congressmen are making sure voters know they support an immigration overhaul. They’re aware that Democrats will try to turn the congressional gridlock into an advantage during this year’s midterm elections. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $300,000 on television ads in Valadao’s district, noting that he is the son of immigrants....

Proof that the GOP’s terrified of an immigration backlash from the right in November? Or proof that Eric Cantor in particular is terrified of losing his primary? I’ll accept “both” as an answer. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will block attempts next week to include a measure on a must-pass defense policy bill that would legalize young undocumented immigrants who serve in the military. A spokesman confirmed Friday that the legislation, known as the Enlist Act, will not be among those debated with the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. Rep. Jeff Denham...

An illegal immigrant who killed a police office while driving the wrong way in on an Arizona freeway Monday had a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit, the Associated Press reported Friday. Raul Silva Corona had driven 35 miles in the wrong direction on three freeways with a blood alcohol level of .238 percent in the wee hours of Monday morning before he killed Mesa Police Officer Brandon Mendoza, according to the AP's report. In Arizona, a driver is considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent. Mendoza, who served for thirteen years at the Mesa Police...

There are people who believe Elvis is alive and there are those who insist that the phases of the moon effect human conduct; then there are those who believe kowtowing to Hispanics will bring Republicans victory in 2016. The fact that many people believe these things doesn’t make them true. While the first two are harmless fairytales believed by supermarket tabloid readers, the third is a dangerous lie believed by far too many decision makers in the Republican leadership. Like the first two, the supposed connection between capturing the Hispanic vote and insuring victory for Republicans cannot be defeated with...

For a two-term governor of a political hotbed who’s openly mulling over a presidential bid, Jeb Bush is unusually reliant on his own counsel. But to the extent Bush has a kitchen cabinet, two figures have seats at the head of the table: Sally Bradshaw, Bush’s no-nonsense, ex-chief of staff, and Mike Murphy, the Republican consultant and “Meet the Press” mainstay who’s taken up residence in Hollywood. -snip- Jeb Bush has always been part of Murphy’s Holy Trinity of clients; the others are Mitt Romney, whose 2002 gubernatorial run Murphy advised, and Sen. John McCain.

I haven't posted this in a while. I've added "2016" to the senators that are up for reelection in the cycle following this one. Take a look at their horrible conservative ratings and you'll get a clue as to why the Establishment is working so hard to defeat any conservative primary challengers this year.

We need more conservative leaders and fewer Establishment types who oppose conservatives. The latter, including but not limited to Boehner, must go.This Bill Whittle video provides a brief history of two former conservative leaders who got to the roots of problems, led and were not hesitant to attack those who deserved attack. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgA5GtiKtU0] Video linkGood conservative leaders are difficult to find and hard to elect, at least until a crisis has already bloomed, become terrifying and far more deadly and otherwise onerous to deal with than earlier. Winston Churchill finally became Prime Minister after Chamberlain's peace in our time appeasement had failed miserably and Germany had greatly advanced her war-making...

Jahan Wilcox is the rapid response director at the RNC. He’s charged with responding quickly to attack Democrats and rebut Democrat attacks on the GOP. Last night, Jahan Wilcox responded quickly to Thom Tillis’s victory in North Carolina by declaring that next would be to defeat Matt Bevin, the Republican candidate in Kentucky, who Wilcox called a “fraud.”