Free Republic

House lawmakers in both parties joined forces Wednesday to pass a sweeping budget deal that marks both a parting victory for outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and a valedictory gift for his likely replacement, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The final vote was 266 to 167, with 79 Republicans joining every Democrat in sealing passage. Ryan was among the supporters.

The unlikely election of Marco Rubio to the US Senate was an early TEA Party success story, and he really should have went on to bigger and better things. Sadly his slow, steady absorption into the corrupt Party establishment have made his name MUD in my eyes... You know, this is a guy I could have supported all the way to the top- always loved these Reaganite Cubans down in Florida, seem to agree with them on most everything- those who've escaped the Castro's island gulag are the kind of people who truly understand what America's all about. My own...

Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, author of the treasonous Corker – Cardin bill to facilitate President Obama’s nuclear weapons treaty with Islamist Iran, has made another inexplicable betrayal of American military superiority and indeed the future of America itself. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which Corker authored, requires the Administration transmit to Congress all documents related to the JCPOA —including side agreements—prior to a 60-day review period and subsequent vote. There’s no doubt that Obama has not complied with the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, indeed Senator Corker said “there’s no question that two of the...

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - We received this opinion piece by Card. Zen, published on his blog with the original title of "It seems that they are sure they have silenced me forever". The cardinal analyzes some facts related to ordination and some interpretations that emerged following the event. In both Italian and international press, it was hailed as something new and promising indicating much progress in the Vatican-China relations. For background on the ordination click here, or, the AsiaNews editorial. Having read the recent article by Gianni Valente on Vatican Insider (item 42718), I went on to do something odd,...

RINO Hugh Hewitt put the big question to Marco Rubio that conservatives are voraciously debating at the moment – does he support efforts to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment as it’s been understood for decades? RINO Rubio follows many other GOP candidates’ response which is that if we simply enforce the laws as they stand now, we don’t need to change birthright citizenship. But repealing it by repeal or statute is a terribly popular idea among the conservative base, and his numbers are slipping, so it may be an existential question for him. And he answered in the negative.

The windfall to Iran from the lifting of sanctions comes to $700 billion according to Israeli government sources cited by former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. Instead of blocking Iran’s path to nuclear weaponry, the deal, in fact, provides two paths. Under its terms, Iran could develop advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium at 20 times the current rate. By repeatedly exploiting the 24-day head start that the deal affords Iran before it has to let international inspectors visit a suspected site, the ayatollahs could cheat and make a bomb well within the deal’s 10-year time...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)80% released a statement Friday night attacking rival Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for a statement made during his campaign announcement speech 16 days ago. Rubio’s statement reads: Trump’s comments are not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive. Our next president needs to be someone who brings Americans together – not someone who continues to divide. Our broken immigration system is something that needs to be solved, and comments like this move us further from – not closer to – a solution. We need leaders who offer serious solutions to secure our border and fix our...

Sean Hannity tore apart GOP leadership for continuing their push to give President Barack Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) as the House looks to set up a vote as early as this week on the legislation. On his Wednesday program, Hannity said House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel are “selling out American sovereignty,” adding that the secrecy of the bill shows those two and the Obama administration doesn’t “care what we think.” “In spite of all the calls, I’m being told, going into Congress — like 30 to 1, they’re still pushing [TPA] anyway because they...

House majority leader Kevin McCarthy laid out the Republicans' game plan for trade votes this week. In short, the memo sent out late last night details the rule votes will be held today, Thursday, and final vote is slated for Friday. MEMORANDUM TO: House Republicans FROM: Kevin McCarthy DATE: June 10, 2015 SUBJECT: Trade Update As discussed at Conference this morning, the House is expected to consider three motions related to trade this week. Below is information on the process by which the House will proceed on these motions. Tomorrow, the House will begin with the trade preferences bill under...

Help! Even though it's early I've thrown my weight behind Ted Cruz already. Now I'm getting VERY nervous that I've been duped with his position on this trade bill. What is going on? Free Republic has alot of clout; somehow we have got to flush this out of him and either clarify it was a really bad frickin dream or throw him to the trash pile and get behind someone else. Anyone have clarity on this?

It has been said that politics makes strange bedfellows. Well, there is no finer example of that statement than the recent votes on the Trade Promotion Authority. Free trade has long been advanced by conservatives who understand the need to expand our markets beyond our borders. On the other side stands the democrats and the radical left who fear competition and doubt AmericaÂ’s exceptionalism. Yesterday, the Senate cleared the 60 vote hurdle to bring the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) up for a vote. I for one, welcome President Obama to the side of common sense solutions, to help solve the...

Securing the “fast track” authority to finalize a new trade deal, covering 40 percent of America’s exports, is a top priority for the Obama White House. The agreement, named the Trans-Pacific Partnership, would set new rules for America’s economic relations with Asia.

By abandoning virtually all its demands for serious restrictions on Iran's nuclear bomb program, the Obama administration has apparently achieved the semblance of a preliminary introduction to the beginning of a tentative framework for a possible hope of an eventual agreement with Iran. But even this hazy "achievement" may vanish like a mirage. It takes two to agree — and Iran has already publicly disputed and even mocked what President Obama says is the nature of that framework. Had Iran wholeheartedly agreed with everything the Obama administration said, that agreement would still have been worthless, since Iran has already blocked...

Iran and and six world powers have agreed on the outlines of an understanding that would open the path to a final phase of nuclear negotiations but are in a dispute over how much to make public, officials told The Associated Press Thursday. The officials spoke outside week-long talks that have busted through a March 31 deadline in an effort to formulate a general statement of what has been accomplished and documents setting down what the sides need to do by the end of June deadline for a deal. Swiss officials facilitating the negotiations set a news conference for later...

“Mitch McConnell has an unusual admonition for the new Republican majority as it takes over the Senate this week: Don’t be ‘scary.’”... Democrats are dubious of McConnell’s pledge to avert edge-of-the-cliff moments. They believe he will run into the same problems that have bedeviled House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) during the past four years — including the inability to corral rabble-rousers such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) to support an agenda that conservative critics will probably view as not bold enough in challenging Obama. Appeasing those far-right conservatives will lead to an agenda that Democrats hope to exploit in...

At least two protesters cornered Jesse Jackson at a McDonald’s in Ferguson, Mo., tearing into him for what they saw as a lack of leadership after Michael Brown’s death, according to video posted by Western Journalism. (Image via Western Journalism) “You’ve been marching all day long? We haven’t seen you marching all day long,” he said. “Are you going to pay the bond of those brothers that’s been locked up?” “Are you marching today with us, or are you just going to sit in the car?” the second protester demanded. “We ain’t seen you!” the first protester said. “When you...

I have wondered about Beck for a while, but loved his exposure of the communist network in the US. Since he left FOX...he seems to have changed...and the immediate disregard to the Bundy situation really made me sick. Beck didn't even give the guy the benefit of the doubt and touted the NYT version. I know he has risen to fame since 2001, ghost written several books, had rallies, etc....but to have a network, now? A base in NY....a major website (so buggy and full of cookies it puts me off). Does anyone else find this strange? And claims to...

en. Rand Paul on Tuesday argued that the Republican Party needs to get “beyond deportation” in order to break through to Hispanic voters. The Kentucky Republican and likely 2016 contender argued that before the GOP can make its case to the Latino community, which voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in 2012, the party needs to make clear it is open to a more welcoming approach to immigration. Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/rand-paul-gop-must-get-beyond-deportation-105241.html#ixzz2xeJfopZK

KFC diner told 'you can't have bacon in your burger here - we're now halal' A diner was left fuming after a KFC restaurant took his favourite meal off the menu because it breached their new halal regulations. Alan Phillips was told he would have to travel five miles to another branch if he wanted the Big Daddy, a chicken burger, topped with bacon, cheese and salad. The branch, in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is one of 86 KFC restaurants which is running trials of a scheme where they sell nothing other than halal meat. The company has taken the burger off...

Earlier today we wrote about how Cruz, Lee, Paul, Enzi, and Robertson were all standing together to strip the IMF legislation out of the aid package bill for Ukraine. As I said earlier, the IMF legislation would basically double the contribution of the US to the IMF fund while lessening America’s influence over how that money is spent. So what does McConnell do? Does he stand with the filibuster effort? No, pushes Republicans to vote for the bill, thus making sure to get Harry Reid his 60 votes to pass the bill to prevent the filibuster led by Cruz and...