Free Republic

Who’s “we,” kemosabe? Twenty-four hours ago, over Ryan’s own objection, House Republicans were all set to revamp the Office of Congressional Ethics. Then Trump logged into Twitter and, three hours later, the plan was scrapped. Members of Ryan’s caucus were eager to reassure the media yesterday that it wasn’t Trump’s influence that made them reconsider, it was the barrage of angry phone calls their offices were getting from grassroots Republicans, but that seems to be a partial explanation at best: OVERHEARD in the Speaker's lobby: "The guy puts out a tweet and half our conference goes nuts. What are...

Rep. Paul D. Ryan might have just given away the road map for House consideration of immigration reform. “Tentatively, in October, we’re going to vote on a border security bill, an interior enforcement bill, a bill for legal immigration,” the Wisconsin Republican and Budget Committee chairman told constituents at a district town hall event Friday, according to a report by the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Ryan also reportedly said negotiations were underway for the chamber to vote on legislation that would provide undocumented immigrants with “probationary” visas while they waited a minimum of 15 years to attain citizenship. The timetable is...

One year ago today, the then-Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, Martha Coakley, was on vacation, presuming her victory was in hand. Scott Brown had a very different idea on the way to the polls. As 2011 quickly approaches, so does the kick-off for the 2012 election cycle, which means the Democratic National Committee will declare open season on our Republican senator. Despite their desires, Brown has not made any major gaffes and continues to be far more likable than Anchors-Away John Kerry, who was caught last summer berthing his new yacht in Rhode Island to avoid paying Massachusetts taxes....