Free Republic

Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl split as the U.S. Senate approved a measure Friday that would allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from foreign markets. McCain voted for the measure, which passed 55 to 36. Kyl voted against it, saying he is concerned about safety and oversight issues. The Senate plan needs to be reconciled with a similar drug importation plan from the U.S. House of Representatives. . . . . . The Bush administration had opposed drug imports, but the new Obama administration has been more open to the idea.

Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as "the party of 'no.'" CNN has learned that the new initiative, called the National Council for a New America, will be announced Thursday. It will involve an outreach by an interesting mix of GOP officials... [John McCain and Jeb Bush]. In addition to Sen. McCain and Gov. Bush, GOP sources familiar with the plans tell CNN others involved in the new group's "National Panel Of Experts" will include: [Barbour, Jindal and Romney]...

Aides blast accusations, not from Mitt camp By Dave Wedge Saturday, November 8, 2008 - Mitt Romney’s camp is firing back at reports his foot soldiers are behind a brutal smear campaign against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a backdoor strategy to position the former Bay State governor for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. “It’s a completely absurd allegation that is totally divorced from the truth,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said. Fox News, the New York Times [NYT] and Newsweek have reported on a host of criticisms of Palin, including that she threw tantrums that made staffers cry and didn’t...