Free Republic

The “most expensive election in history.” Our democracy is being “bought and sold.” This election, “debased by money, shames us all.” These are some of the recent expressions of outrage about what the Center for Responsive Politicsestimates to have been $3.67 billion spent for federal offices during the 2014 midterms. Two days before the election on “Face the Nation,” CBS’s Bob Schieffer asked viewers to name one item whose costs have gone up as much over time as campaigns. That’s easy. While campaign spending soared to $3.67 billion this year from $1.6 billion in 1998, federal government spending rose 5%...

When questioned about openly homosexual football player Michael Sam, Pro Football Hall of Famer and CBS Sports analyst Deion Sanders said that gay “could be” a choice and added that, “The God I know don’t make mistakes.” In a Nov. 7 interview preview on ORA.tv, an online program, host Larry King asked Sanders what he thought about Michael Sam, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams and later released, and then picked for the Dallas Cowboys practice squad and not long thereafter also released. Sanders, who is also a commentator for the NFL Network, said, “You know what, I...

During his post-election news conference, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was repeatedly pressed by CBS News reporter Nancy Cordes about “a new crop of conservatives coming into the House” who she implied Boehner would have trouble managing. The CBS reporter asked Boehner “so the hell no caucus as you’ve put it is getting bigger and some of them don’t think you’re conservative enough. How do you deal with them differently than you did in the last Congress?”(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Cordes began her questioning by listing off some new members of Congress “who have suggested among other things that women need to submit to...

On Wednesday's CBS This Morning, co-host Norah O'Donnell fretted that the newly elected Republican Congress would dare to pass legislation: "If you look at a number of these new senators, they're quite conservative. Why wouldn't they go along with what Rand Paul has said? They're gonna send bills up to the President, as he told Charlie Rose last night, 'We're going to keep sending bills up to the President and we'll see whether the President wants to work with us or not.' Is the President going to be forced to veto a bunch of bills?" In response, political director John...

Top White House adviser Valerie Jarrett was given a cameo role in the latest episode of CBS's The Good Wife. The airing of the episode comes after a busy week for President Obama -- which included bombing the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a series of meetings at the United Nations, and various international crises. Jarrett appears to play herself: CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO The scene features Jarrett on the phone with Julianna Margulies (who is the star of The Good Wife and who plays Alicia Florrick), being coached by Alan Cumming (who is playing a political...

[Norman Lear wryly titled his memoir Even This I Get to Experience (out Oct. 14, Penguin) as a wink to his belief that even the bad times in his life were worthwhile because they made the living interesting. And over the course of 92 years, Lear has led as interesting a life as anyone in Hollywood. Born in 1922 in Connecticut, Lear lived with relatives for a time while his father spent three years in jail from 1931 to 1934 for a dodgy get-rich-quick scheme...] [All in the Family: Season 2 Carroll O'Connor's insecurities and fears drove him to great...

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may be dominating the headlines and stealing attention with its prolific propaganda, but CBS News' Bob Orr reports, another group in Syria -- one few have even heard of because information about it has been kept secret -- is considered a more urgent concern. Sources tell CBS News that operatives and explosives experts from Osama bin Laden's old al Qaeda network may again present an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland. At two dozen foreign airports, U.S.-bound passengers are undergoing enhanced security screening. Agents are searching for hidden explosives. Laptops and phones...

In the early hours of Thursday morning, “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” on CBS featured a guest musical performance with vehemently anti-religious lyrics, including a line wishing the mother of Jesus “would’ve had an abortion.” Kristeen Young was host Craig Ferguson’s guest, performing her song, “Pearl of a Girl,” which takes all three of the world’s major, monotheistic religions to task for allegedly repressing women. “I never knew I was a girl until they stooped to tell me,” Young sang in the first verse of her song. “I never knew I was disturbed until they dropped three volumes...

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — David Letterman regrets the way he treated Monica Lewinsky throughout the years over her affair with then President Bill Clinton while she was a White House intern. With retiring ABC News’ Barbara Walters as his guest on his CBS show Wednesday night, “The Late Show” host said he started to feel bad about the role he played taking shots at Lewinsky after she penned a story for Vanity Fair opening up about the affair and the troubles she had finding a job. “Now I started to feel bad because myself and other people with shows like this...

Hillary Clinton touted the economic growth seen during the last two Democratic presidencies during a speech before the New America Foundation on Friday, and she warned that the U.S. risks falling behind global competitors if policymakers do not do more to revive the middle class by generating broad-based economic growth. Clinton, a former secretary of state who's eyeing a presidential bid in 2016, praised both President Obama and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, for their economic stewardship. And she contrasted their years in the White House with the tenure of former President George W. Bush, saying eight years of...

... On Friday, Republicans leaked what they said was a quote from Rhodes: "We must make sure that the talking points reflect all agency equities, including those of the State Department, and we don't want to undermine the FBI investigation." But it turns out that in the actual email, Rhodes did not mention the State Department. It read: "We need to resolve this in a way that respects all of the relevant equities, particularly the investigation." Republicans also provided what they said was a quote from an email written by State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland. The Republican version quotes Nuland...

It's Jew Vs. Jew as Battle Over Team Heats Up.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Sunday he expects Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling to put up a “long, protracted fight” to retain ownership of the team after being banned for life from the National Basketball Association because of racial comments. Garcetti, appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program, was asked about a potential boycott of Clippers games if Sterling balks and said, “I would certainly keep that arrow in my quiver.” Last week NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Sterling $2.5 million and imposed a lifetime ban after...

Former CBS News reporter Sharyl Attkisson has made the media rounds claiming that network management was not exactly happy she was covering stories critical of the Obama administration. When new Benghazi information was made public this week, CBS News covered the new details (with a disclosure that Ben Rhodes, the Obama administration official at the center of the controversy, is the brother of CBS News President David Rhodes). However, some conservative sites still claimed a serious conflict of interest, with the Heritage Network blog and the Washington Free Beacon picked up on the familial connection.

Opinions about Obamacare are improving even in congressional districts held by Republicans, according to a new poll. But opponents of the Affordable Care Act in those districts still outnumber those in favor of the law. The poll may draw fire from Republicans since it was conducted by a Democratic firm, Democracy Corps. The firm did not comment about how Republicans might view the results, and a representative said there would be a call to discuss the poll Monday afternoon. But attitudes about President Barack Obama’s signature health law are changing, according to the poll, which was shared in advance with...

Original Title:Here’s What CBS Had to Say in Response to Sharyl Attkisson’s Claims About Network’s Reporting Bias CBS News on Monday responded to its former employee Sharyl Attkisson’s claims that the network indirectly discouraged her from doing investigative reporting critical of the Obama administration. Attkisson reported extensively on Benghazi and the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal. The ex-CBS reporter later revealed that she didn’t run into the same roadblocks while reporting on issues that hurt former President George W. Bush. She blamed a lot of the bias problems on special and corporate interests. n response to Attkisson’s public comments, CBS...

(Screenshot: Comedy Central)As we mentioned, Stephen Colbert, heir to David Letterman's chair on "The Late Show," openly talks about his Catholic faith. It's a surprise to those who know the comedian only as the satirical conservative host of "The Colbert Report."In this April 2009 episode on Maundy Thursday, Colbert hosted Bart Ehrman, a prominent New Testament scholar and biblical critic.As Ehrman points out contradictions he's found in the Bible, notably in the crucifixion of Jesus, Colbert takes him to task in his usual acerbic tone. But under the caricature, Colbert presents the divinity of Christ in ways that leave...

The showdown between federal authorities and rancher Cliven Bundy, his family and supporters in Nevada is one of those rare topics from the libertarian-conservative news agenda that actually made its way into the establishment media. Between last Thursday and Monday, ABC, CBS and NBC gave the story a total of nearly 16 minutes of coverage on their morning and evening newscasts. Network journalists have consistently framed the case as one of a rancher failing to pay the requested fees for his use of government land. But they have failed to use the case to tell the larger story of how...

Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives have expressed bewilderment over CBS’s abandonment of the “American Heartland” by choosing Colbert to replace Letterman. Ed Driscoll has contrasted the pick with the Letterman and Leno succession battle. But the real lesson of that battle is that while Leno won on performance, beating Letterman in the ratings, Letterman won on image, retiring as an honored figure, despite his abusive behavior, while Leno was booed out the door Leno is no conservative, but he left with the baffled bewilderment familiar to many on the right of being the better man who is despised for his...

One month ago. long-time investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson left CBS amid rumors that she had grown frustrated with the network stifling her investigations. Thursday night on Bill O' Reilly's Fox News program she confirmed those rumors. "There is unprecedented, I believe, influence on the media, not just the news, but the images you see everywhere. By well-orchestrated and financed campaign of special interests, political interests and corporations. I think all of that comes into play." After introducing his guest, O'Reilly asked Attkisson about her investigation into the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal. The former CBS reporter asserted that she began...

... Instead of asking Congressman Cummings about this damaging new report surrounding the IRS scandal, Schieffer ignored the entire issue, and focused on ObamaCare and equal pay for women for the entirety of the interview. The CBS host even falsely claimed that the GOP did not support equal pay for women: “Marsha Blackburn says Republicans are actually for equal pay for women. But yet, it was blocked in the Senate by Republicans…What is going on here?” Given that Schieffer had the opportunity to interview the ranking Democrat on the committee leading the IRS investigation, it would have made sense to...