Free Republic

As the news media and country gets to know John McCain's vice presidential pick, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, tidbits are being dug from their archives (or sent to them by opposition researchers.)MTV unearthed a videotaped interview with Palin done in February where she praises and identifies with Ron Paul's independence from the "party machinery".MTV Video at story link.Politico dug up a quote by Palin from two years ago discussing whether she tried smoking pot:Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is known as a staunch social conservative. She's a life long NRA member, belongs to an anti-abortion-rights group called Feminists for Life...

Congressman Ron Paul says there is 'no difference' between US presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. "Their foreign policies are identical," the Texas congressman said in an interview with CNN on Thursday. "There's no difference." "They want more troops in Afghanistan. They want to send more support to Georgia to protect the oil line there. Neither one says bring home the troops from Iraq from the bases -- you know the bases are going to stay there, the embassy as big as the Vatican, that's going to remain. So their foreign policies are exactly the same," he...

Central Planning is sold to a hopeful people as a way to solve societal problems, to right wrongs, and bring about perfect justice and equality. Central Planning promises you everything you are entitled to. As a bonus, goods and services produced by others are added to the list of commodities that everyone has a "right" to. Suddenly everyone is entitled to healthcare, housing, education, food, et cetera. It might sound nice that the state will magically provide all these wonderful things, but these rosy promises mask a dehumanizing, ugly reality. The other side of these entitlements is that now the...

We’ve got a jam-packed, exciting day planned for Tuesday, September 2nd, and we wanted to let you know that the events don’t stop after the stage lights turn off at the Target Center. Famed guitarist (and Ron Paul supporter) Jimmie Vaughan will be providing the entertainment for The Rally for the Republic After Party. The party will be taking place at The Lone Tree/Annex (music starts right away on the linked page)- one block away from the Target Center. It will officially start at 9:30 pm, and it will last until 4 am. There is a $10 cover charge, and...

WASHINGTON — While this year's presidential election shows signs of drawing in more young voters than any since 1992, the candidates who pulled some of them into the Republican race are long gone — and it's unclear whether they've taken their young supporters with them. Once former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul were both out of the race, their many young supporters were faced with a choice: Should they switch to the party's pick, find another candidate, cast a write-in vote or sit the election out?

NEW YORK The Pentagon would be required to grant journalists access to ceremonies honoring fallen military personnel, under a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation is significant because it would, for the first time since Vietnam, let photojournalists capture the powerful images of flag-draped caskets arriving on American soil during wartime. This week the bill won the endorsement of the National Press Photographers Association. The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act, or H.R. 6662, was introduced July 30 by Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a member of the House Committee on Armed Services. The bill states: "The...

From the Houston Chronicle: The wife of Republican Rep. Ron Paul was in serious but stable condition Monday at a Houston hospital, a spokesman for the congressman said.Carol Paul was in the critical care unit at an unidentified hospital, spokesman Jesse Benton said in a statement. There is more to life than politics, folks. Mrs. Paul is one of the most gracious people I’ve ever met. Please keep her and Ron in your prayers.

Ron Paul's Wife in Serious Condition at Hospital Monday, August 11, 2008 9:00 PM HOUSTON -- The wife of Republican Rep. Ron Paul was in serious but stable condition Monday at a Houston hospital, a spokesman for the congressman said. Carol Paul was in the critical care unit at an unidentified hospital, spokesman Jesse Benton said in a statement. Benton would not disclose why Carol Paul was admitted to the hospital Monday, only saying "she has had several abdominal surgeries." Paul "appreciates the outpouring of concern and good wishes during this difficult time," Benton said.

I am a lifelong activist registered Republican and I certainly understand the "loyalty" issue and I will be voting for McCain at the convention. But there are some significant philosophical issues that Rep. Ron Paul raised during his campaign and I am hoping to have an opportunity to move the Republican Party back in the direction of these Barry Goldwater/Ronald Reagan principles. McCain and Paul are both outstanding Americans whom I have the privilege to know since the early 1980s. I met McCain shortly after he came to Arizona and I was very impressed. I worked on his first campaign...

ELKO - The Nevada sky was clear and blue for the first time in weeks Saturday over the Nisbet Cabin in Lamoille, but the festivities on the ground were decidedly red as the Elko County Republican Central Committee held its annual steak fry with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on hand to stump for presidential candidate John McCain. “I've known John McCain for over 20 years,” said Hatch, the senior senator from Utah now in his 32nd year in the Senate. “We all know his story, his service to his country, the price he paid. I've seen him stand up to...

One problem with politicians is that when problems they create come to a head, they typically feel this irresistible urge to DO something, rather than to UN-do something, or to simply back off to avoid exacerbating the situation. Too often, that which they end up doing has very little connection to the cause of the crisis, but plays well in the press and superficially makes everyone feel better. Bills that are rushed through Congress under duress are never studied enough, providing too tempting an opportunity to quietly slip in unrelated provisions that erode freedoms in ways that would never pass...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday passed and sent to the White House legislation that bans lead from children's toys and seeks to ensure that chemicals posing possible health problems will not end up on toys and articles that kids chew on and play with. The Senate, stymied by partisan differences over the energy crisis, put aside those differences momentarily to vote 89-3 for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The House passed the bill Wednesday by 424-1, a reflection of the national outcry over a rash of recalls last years of toys and children's products contaminated by lead...

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura will return to the Minnesota political stage Sept. 2, lending his big voice and strong opinions to an alternative rally for GOP Rep. Ron Paul during the Republican National Convention. Rally for the Republic spokesman Jesse Benton predicted Ventura's appearance would boost national interest in the two-day rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis for Paul, the Texas congressman and unsuccessful presidential candidate. "He's a great voice for freedom and limited government," Benton said of Ventura. "He's got a lot of charisma and a lot of credibility, and we're very happy that he's going to lend...

From the beginning of this year's presidential primary season, the FOX News Channel (FNC) has hardly kept its preference as far as Republican candidates go a secret. In fact, FOX has alienated many of its viewers when on air-personalities, like Sean Hannity, openly stumped for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Indeed, many blame Rupert Murdoch's network for tampering with the election which led to the primary victory of Sen. John McCain. It was obvious who FOX News personalities didn't like...

I watched Ron Paul on Glenn Beck today and as usual I was amazed that he is just about the only politician in Washington talking about the real issues. Neither McCain nor Obama will talk about monetary policy. They are scared to, because they know the system we have is unconstitutional and that the only way to fix things is to go back to constitutional money. But that would hurt, so it wouldn't be prudent to bring it up...

The dangers inherent in the foreign policy advocated by the neo-conservatives are well known. While many Americans have become increasingly aware of those dangers, far less attention has been focused on the dangers of neo-conservative economic policies. This issue is of critical importance right now, because many are mistakenly pointing their fingers at the free market as the culprit behind our current economic plight. There are only a few in elected office who have any real loyalty to free markets and limited government. The agenda of neo-conservatives in the economy calls for a very active central government. Indeed, while there...

STUART VARNEY, GUEST HOST: A live look at Capitol Hill, House members inside, right now, voting on that $300 billion housing bail-out bill — the president saying, today, he will sign it, even though Democrats tacked billions onto it. My next guest voting against it. Ron Paul is a Republican congressman from Texas. Congressman, good to have you with us. Thanks for being here. REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: Thank you. Thank you. Nice to be with you. VARNEY: OK. Now, you'll vote against it. OK. You don't like this thing. We understand it. But the argument is that, if...

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul have ramped up plans for a local counterweight to the GOP's national convention in September. Not content with a planned rally at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena on Sept. 2, the Paul forces now plan a three-day "Rally for the Republic" that will climax in a 10-hour extravaganza at Target Center in Minneapolis. "It's getting exciting," said Marianne Stebbins, a longtime GOP activist who ran the Texas congressman's campaign in Minnesota. "We realized [Williams Arena] wasn't big enough for everything we wanted to do." Although Paul was a long-shot candidate who came...

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul have ramped up plans for a local counterweight to the GOP's national convention in September. Not content with a planned rally at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena on Sept. 2, the Paul forces now plan a three-day "Rally for the Republic" that will climax in a 10-hour extravaganza at Target Center in Minneapolis. "It's getting exciting," said Marianne Stebbins, a longtime GOP activist who ran the Texas congressman's campaign in Minnesota. "We realized [Williams Arena] wasn't big enough for everything we wanted to do." Although Paul was a long-shot candidate who came...

Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention and will instead pick its delegates to the national convention by private conference call. The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul hijacked the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention in September. Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs, according to local reports. “With so many people concerned about the economy, it simply wouldn’t be fair for...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 If they expected us to retire quietly from the scene, the political elite are in for a surprise. Today I am making some very big announcements. First, from August 31 to September 2 in Minneapolis, we will host a handful of events that will shake the political establishment. Everything will culminate on Tuesday with the official launch of the Campaign for Liberty at the Rally for the Republic. The Campaign for Liberty will be the largest organization for peace, freedom, the Constitution, and sound money in American history. It will launch in grand fashion with lots...

E-Gold, an Internet-based payment service, and three owners have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday. E-Gold, based in Nevis, West Indies, and corporate affiliate Gold & Silver Reserve each pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Douglas Jackson, 51, of Melbourne, Florida, the principal director of E-Gold and CEO of Gold & Silver Reserve, pleaded guilty to the charges, the DOJ said in a statement. E-Gold's other two senior directors, Barry...

What does everyone here think of the Federal Reserve? Does it do too much or too little? What should it's role be? Is it necessary? Should we actually have it at all? Just curious to get people's opinions.

Local toll road activist Terri Hall, the Spring Branch home schooling mom who's campaign against toll roads made her WOAI's San Antonian of the Year for 2007,. is taking her populist campaign nationwide. Hall is among the speakers for Saturday's 'Freedom March,' in Washington DC, organized by supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, and designed to keep alive his message of smaller government and vigilance against encroaching government power. "They wanted someone to speak about the Trans Texas Corridor, and what's happening here, and the eminent domain abuses, and how all these toll roads are tied to corporate...

Since the start of the presidential campaign in the USA, greatest differences between the Republicans and the Democrats could be seen in their views towards war in Iraq. The primaries are over and John McCain and Barack Obama remain as the pivotal rivals, one of which will head the country in the next four years. Republican John McCain is a famous Vietnam War veteran and has been an eager supporter of war in Iraq even before the US Army invaded the country. On the other hand, Democrat Barack Obama opposes war, he has done so from the very start and...

September's national convention for Republicans won't be a bed of roses for Sen. John McCain. There's at least one impediment to keep him from his party's nomination — a probable fight over the platform. At issue are his stances on such explosive issues as global warming, immigration, stem-cell research and campaign finance. The Washington Post reports that, "Virtually the entire platform will have to be rewritten to lessen the imprint" of President Bush, whose name appears on nearly every page." Although McCain has yet to reveal how he plans to alter the strongly conservative platform, the Post reports that many...

One reason people are unhappy with the way politics and governments operate is that people who run for office are known to “say one thing and do another.” Thus, we have the call for “change.” Candidates for high office make frequent use of that word. Even our House Republican Conference’s recently released slogan highlights that word. Yet, bringing about change is easier said than done. The American people are aware that government is broken and must be fixed. They will demand more than lip service as our problems become more severe. Change, then, cannot simply be a word. It must...

If Ron Paul does not win the nomination in September who will you vote for? Barack Obama Bob Barr Chuck Baldwin John Mccain Ron Paul (WRITE IN) None of the above

The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions. We do not have the right to rob our neighbors to make up for our mistakes, neither does our neighbor have any right to tell us how to live, so long as we aren’t infringing on their rights. Freedom to make bad decisions is inherent in the freedom to make good ones. If we are only free to make good decisions, we are not really free. Socialist ideologies blur this line between self reliance and government...

A group of disaffected Republicans held a renegade state convention Saturday and exposed divisions that threaten to dog the party up to the national party convention and beyond. Organizers maintained the gathering was a lawful reconvening of the GOP's recessed April 26 state convention in Reno. The party's executive committee has set a July 26 date to resume the state convention. The April convention was abruptly shut down prior to final votes on what was shaping up as a national convention delegation with more backers for Ron Paul than presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain. Paul supporters and others voted...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a23mbSYcBgc

With iconoclast Ron Paul having ended his quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination — his platform had called for, among other things, ending the Iraq War, repealing the PATRIOT Act, returning to the gold standard and eliminating taxes on tips — his many dedicated supporters are up for grabs. Even excluding his support in caucus states, Paul received a few more than a million votes in the Republican primary, finished second in five states including Pennsylvania and Oregon and continued to draw votes well after he’d effectively withdrawn from the race. His campaign also tapped into the potent new...

Representative Ron Paul says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed a section from a bill passed by Congress which would have barred the U.S. from going to war with Iran without a congressional vote, claiming she did so at the behest of the leadership of Israel and AIPAC. Paul, a former Republican presidential contender who formally removed himself from the party’s nomination race last week, makes the allegation on C-SPAN during a recently held foreign policy conference in Virginia. Paul says Pelosi’s first act as House Speaker in 2006 was to “deliberately” remove a portion of a legislative spending bill which...

An old friend sent me a link to a 10 minute long Ron Paul video clip. In this clip RP attempts to make that case that not only should we just walk away from the war on terror, but that we shouldn’t have ever gotten involved in the first place. Here’s my response to her: When I joined the Libertarian party, I signed a pledge that I would not advocate or support initiating violence as a means of political change. I never swore I wouldn't respond to violence in kind. I never swore that I would allow my country to...

While most Republicans are likely to consider Rep. Ron Paul of Texas a mere pest, his devoted followers could be a problem for Sen. John McCain in November. Paul, the GOP congressman with the squeaky voice but with a following of vocal supporters, will not go away. He's suspended his presidential campaign but his crusade goes on. Paul got into the presidential race with no chance of winning. But his opposition to the war in Iraq, his isolationist foreign policy, and his leave-us-alone views on the domestic front won him faithful supporters during the debates earlier this year. Based on...

Congressman Ron Paul officially unplugged his dormant Republican presidential campaign Thursday night. The Lake Jackson obstetrician was expected to tell a Houston crowd here for the state GOP convention that he wants to build a national organization to elect libertarian-leaning Republicans at all government levels. As of 9:45 p.m., he had yet to address the crowd at the Hilton Americas Hotel. "The presidential campaign was Phase One" of the national movement, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton told the Washington Post. Paul reportedly has rented a stadium in Minneapolis-St. Paul to rally supporters during the Republican National Convention there in early September....

Upon hearing that Rep. Ron Paul has ended his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination, Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, issued the following statement: "Congressman Ron Paul has fought tirelessly in both the Libertarian Party and the Republican Party to minimize government power and maximize individual liberty. I want to thank him for all that he has done for liberty in this nation, and encourage him to continue his fight through whatever avenues he sees fit." Barr represented the 7th District ofGeorgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, where he served as...

AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Ron Paul ended his rebel campaign Thursday night and announced a new effort to help elect libertarian-leaning Republicans to public office around the country. "With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started," Paul told supporters in a letter posted on the website of the new group, Campaign for Liberty. "We will be a permanent presence on the American political landscape," added Paul, who announced his move during a rally coinciding with the Texas GOP State Convention in Houston. "That I promise...

In a formal announcement Thursday Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) ended his campaign for the Presidency. But as one campaign ends another beings, with Paul launching what he calls a nationwide effort to elect "Ron Paul" style conservatives. "The presidential campaign was Phase One," said Jesse Benton, Paul's spokesman. He said Paul is forming a non-profit organization that will tap into the activism and fundraising energy that was created by the Ron Paul Revolution during his bid for the Republican nomination. Ron Paul has stood apart from mainstream Republican's in policy and has strayed from the traditional GOP lockstep. The first...

house.govRon Paul has disclosed his earmark requests for 2009. The deadline has passed for House members to submit their requests for earmark projects for fiscal year 2009. We'll post the requests by the Houston delegation as we receive them. Here they are for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science: • $250,000 for Galveston Economic Development Partnership, for Galveston Center for Business and Technology Development to help spin off private investment at National Lab of the University of Texas Medical Branch • $500,000 for City of Bay City for NuBlac Rehab Center (youth rehabilitation) Subcommittee...

Ron Paul is suspending his presidential campaign. WASHINGTON (CNN) – Texas Rep. Ron Paul announced Thursday he is suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to focus his time on building an organization to help recruit and elect “limited government Republicans.” “We want to elect constitutionalists, limited government Republicans across the country at the state and federal level,” said Paul spokesman Jesse Benton. The congressman will speak about his political plans at the Texas Republican State Convention being held in Houston. Late Thursday afternoon, Paul launched a Web site for his new organization where he explained the decision to...

U.S. troops serving in Iraq may be getting more letters during mail call, but they won't be care packages — one group is sending them letters and DVDs claiming 9/11 was an “inside job” and that they should rethink why they’re fighting. Mark Dice, founder of The Resistance, which he calls a media watchdog group, says that the U.S. government was responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and that the armed forces should know it. “People want the facts. The Marines are hungry for the truth — what got them there [in Iraq], why are they risking their lives...

Ron Paul plans his own convention By David Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Maverick GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has booked an arena in Minneapolis for a "mini-convention" that could steal some of John McCain's thunder just days before he accepts the Republican nomination. A Paul campaign aide said the Texas congressman hopes to pack about 11,000 supporters into the Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 2, which coincides with the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in neighboring St. Paul.

Now on Fox, a spokesman for a group called "The Resistance." They are sending personal letters to our troops in Iraq blaming the U.S. for 9-11 and calling the troops stupid murderers who should desert the military. The spokesman is having a quiet tantrum as he curses the U.S. and demands we pull out of the Middle East. Eye-opening.

Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Roberta Lloyd today dissolved a court order restricting how the Texas Republican Party should run its convention under state law this week in Houston. Lloyd said the order, issued last week by retired substitute judge Tom Sullivan, was improper because her court lacks jurisdiction over such a case. She suggested the group of Republican delegates and activists who asked for the order take the case to the Court of Appeals in Houston — and that's where the group headed late this afternoon. The group, headed by Wharton County GOP Chairman Debra Medina and represented in court...

Ron Paul is frequently described as a strict constitutionalist who won't vote for anything not authorized in the Constitution. Some call him Dr. No. Some call him "The Taxpayer's Best Friend." It's a reputation that doesn't appear to square with the fact. Try to find the constitutional authority for the earmarks he submitted for the upcoming FY 2009 budget. Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science: • $250,000 for Galveston Economic Development Partnership, for Galveston Center for Business and Technology Development to help spin off private investment at National Lab of the University of Texas Medical Branch • $500,000 for City...

Prodigy Calls Obama 'A Phony' And 'A Puppet' Published: Thursday - June 5, 2008 Words by Allen Starbury, with reporting by Rohit Loomba Just days after Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, secured the nomination for the Democratic Party, hip-hop has rallied behind the black candidate -- including Diddy, Jay-Z and Russell Simmons. However, not everyone is hip-hop is riding with Obama. One rapper in particular is incarcerated Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy, who as of late has blogged about his weariness of the government and its politics in his recurring column on Vibe.com. Just this week, Prodigy hit us with answers to...

It’s a shame that Ron Paul supporters such as myself have to get tarnished with the same brush as the wacko fringe of his supporters here in Nevada who appear to be sniffing glue while drinking the Kool-Aid between taking drags from a crack pipe. In case you missed it, a small band of Paultard agitators - who now have anointed themselves as THE authorities on Robert’s Rules of Order - are attempting to convene their own Nevada Republican Convention on June 28th in Reno. Only…they can’t. Nevada state law is pretty explicit and clear on this matter… “In presidential...

Recently Congress sent the latest Farm Bill to the president. The bill features brand new federal programs, expansion of existing subsidies, more food stamps and more foreign food aid. This bill hits the taxpayer hard, while at the same time ensuring food prices will remain elevated. The president vetoed the bill, citing concerns over its costs and subsidies for the wealthy in a time of high food prices and record farm income. Nevertheless, this over-reaching, government-expanding Farm Bill will soon be law.

Republican activists' Houston case warned state leaders will try to shut out grass-roots opposition at meeting next week A Harris County judge on Wednesday ordered the Texas Republican Party to comply with state election law at its state convention in Houston next week after Republican activists alleged that the party illegally uses procedures to minimize grass-root dissent. Visiting Judge Tom Sullivan issued the temporary restraining order on Wednesday, a few hours after it was requested in a lawsuit filed by activists across the state. Represented by lawyer Gary Polland, a former Harris County Republican Party chairman, the group alleges that...