Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) finally set a confirmation hearing for Eric Fanning, who President Barack Obama nominated months ago to be the secretary of the Army. Fanning will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which McCain chairs, on Thursday. If confirmed by the full Senate, he will make history as the first openly gay person to fill the post. Fanning has served in a number of senior positions at the Defense Department, and he had been filling in as acting Army secretary since he was nominated in September. But last week, the Pentagon announced Fanning was pulling...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's personality could be a hinderance to his campaign, fellow GOP presidential contender Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said on Sunday. During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Paul criticized Cruz's handling of disagreements with leadership -- referencing the time Cruz called Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a liar from the Senate floor. Paul said that unlike Cruz, he is able to keep his arguments with leadership to a professional level. "I've given 10-hour speeches, 13-hour speeches without calling anybody names, but talking about the history of our country, the importance of the Bill of Rights, the importance...

The president wants gun control by executive action. If the Senate Republicans would just grow a collective pair, this would be time to start hearings on ratifying the UN Small Arms Treaty (and reject it). GT

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump continues to lead in national polls among the many GOP contenders for president, but members of Utah's all-Republican congressional delegation said they believe voters will make a different choice. "It's a problem because he's both an asset and a tremendous liability," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said of the possibility the billionaire businessman and reality TV star could become the Republican nominee in 2016. Trump is attracting huge crowds, "telling people what they want to hear, and they're all mad at everybody here" in Washington, Hatch said. "But you still have to be responsible, no matter what...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared he would not entertain nominating any non-traditional Mainstream Republican candidates in the 2016 election cycle and cautioned voters they are to follow his example. The message was clear from one of the most powerful Republicans in the nation – the entirety of the GOP Machine is ready and willing to go to war with Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and any other Republican candidate who doesn’t conform to Mr. McConnell’s version of an “acceptable” Republican. “We will not nominate anybody for the United States Senate on the Republican side who’s not appealing to a general-election...

In his 2014 re-election, Mitch McConnell wasn't running on his personality, nor was he trying to make the case he was the most homespun Kentucky senator there ever was. On the campaign trail, everything McConnell said and did came down to one essential truth: a vote for Mitch McConnell was a vote for a Republican Senate majority. Now, however a volatile and unpredictable presidential cycle could throw that majority into jeopardy and all of the building blocks McConnell's been laying through his three-decade career could fall apart if a bombastic or unpredictable GOP presidential candidate -- Donald Trump? Ted Cruz?...

Sen. Lindsey Graham would work with Hillary Clinton on a range of issues if she became president in exchange for concessions on fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The South Carolina Senator, who is trailing in polls of the Republican presidential field, told TIME after a town hall meeting in Londonderry, N.H., that he would give a hypothetical President Clinton “political cover” on other issues if she fought ISIS. “If she’s willing to be more robust in terms of destroying ISIL, I’d give her political cover,” Graham said. “If she wanted to be more muscular in her foreign...

At this point in the campaigns we all pretty much know where our preferred candidates stand on issues that mean the most to us as individuals. You know whether you and your candidate are in sync. I have no problem saying I’m in sync with Ted Cruz on the issues. But for me it’s more than just the issues this time. My vote will be cast for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) 100% because of my absolute and utter loathing for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 47%. A protest vote. A protest against one of my own kind, supposedly. For awhile Rep....

The long awaited voice of reason for the 2016 election has finally weighed in. Mitch McConnell took time out from his busy schedule of cutting budget deals with the Democrats to caution everyone against going crazy next year and nominating a bunch of wacko birds who can’t possibly win. Let’s tune in to a short segment of the sage advice....

A Politico cover story perfectly encapsulates the bizarre, insular world of the D.C. political establishment. The article purports to take readers behind the scenes of the strategic machinations of the Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) campaign. Although Rubio’s staff clearly cooperated, and possibly instigated, the story, the only sensible conclusion one can draw is that the Rubio campaign is struggling to adjust to the big leagues of Presidential politics. It is a fairly basic rule of thumb that campaign staffs should always make political stories about the candidate, not themselves. Barely 100 words into the story, however, the reader introduced to...

Link only: http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ted-cruz-two-marco-rubio-one-scoring-their-first-debate

To hear the Rubio supporters tell it — unsurprisingly the same people who supported Romney and McCain and Cochran and McConnell and (insert list of Republican white beards here) — Ted Cruz opposed the Gang of Eight bill because there just wasn’t enough liberal policy in it. Yes, the likes of Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-C), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John S. McCain III (R-AZ), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) just couldn’t insert enough liberal, “open border” policy into the Gang of Eight bill, they needed Ted Cruz R-TX to show them...

State Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Evergreen, an attorney and decorated Air Force reservist, is preparing to launch a likely-to-be well-funded campaign in a crowded but mostly lackluster primary field of Republicans hoping to challenge U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, bringing star quality and credibility to an election his backers believe will turn on national security. "Republicans have been waiting for a first-tier quality candidate, and now they have one,” said former state Rep. Rob Witwer, who held the House seat Keyser won last year. “Jon brings gravitas, real world experience and a fresh perspective. Most importantly, he can win.” “I’m strongly considering...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) may not have had a Rick Perry moment in last night's CNN-moderated Republican presidential debate, but he may nonetheless have landed himself in hot water. The Associated Press reports that Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has ordered staffers to examine whether Cruz improperly revealed classified information during the Las Vegas face-off. The probe centers on Cruz's statements about counterterrorism surveillance under the Cruz-backed USA Freedom Act. Responding to criticism from rival Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Cruz said that investigators can examine "nearly 100%" of phone numbers in terror investigations under...

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Can I ask a question about Marco Rubio. They're mad at him in New Hampshire because he doesn't go there enough. They're mad at him in Iowa because he doesn't go there enough. They're mad at him in Washington D.C. --in the Senate-- because he doesn't show up for votes, he's not there enough. I saw a headline: "Marco Rubio spotted in the Capitol." I read these stories that the guy sits around on weekends and watches football games. Even [when I was] running for a lowly Congressional seat, I didn't watch a football game for two years....

A pair of leading GOP operatives who have tried to oust Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are quietly helping Ted Cruz's presidential campaign behind the scenes, strengthening Cruz's ties to the most rebellious parts of Washington. Leaders behind the Senate Conservatives Fund and the Madison Project, two of the main rabble-rousing outside groups that have been a thorn in the side of Senate leadership, are also helping organize donors and turn out voters for Cruz, group officials tell CNN. Cruz, who himself has been a McConnell nemesis in the past, has controversially raised money for the two groups, which backs...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says his Senate colleague Ted Cruz is the Republican presidential hopeful with whom he has the sharpest disagreement and singled out the Texan’s vote against the National Defense Authorization Act as the chief reason. During a discussion of this year’s 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls, Newsmax asked McCain which three he felt had the best records on national security and which three had the worst. “I don’t like to duck a question,” he replied, with a laugh, and restated his support for South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham....

Received this just now. The fight to take down the Washington elites is on in the Senate and I need people like Ron DeSantis to come and help me win it. That is why I’m throwing my support behind Ron to be Florida’s next Senator. Will you chip in and join me? Our fight for conservative principles is not an easy one, and in order for us to prevail the American people need to send us conservative reinforcements. That is why I am giving my endorsement for the open Senate seat in Florida to Ron DeSantis. As a veteran and...

John McCain was in a reflective, wisecracking mood Wednesday morning in Washington, but even in his most upbeat moments, he couldn’t find much kind to say about Senate colleague Ted Cruz. The GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee told reporters at a press breakfast that he wanted to “accentuate the positive” in the 2016 race. He tiptoed around real estate tycoon Donald Trump’s steely grip on the Republican presidential primary. When asked about the possibility of Trump becoming the party’s nominee, he emphasized that he’s a loyal Republican. McCain did point out that he had disagreements with Trump. But then, unbidden, he...

Faye Stewart, a county commissioner in Oregon, announced Thursday that he will seek the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The Lane County commissioner will try to win the May primary and oust Democratic incumbent Ron Wyden, who is heavily favored to win the general election. Republicans have not won a statewide race in Oregon since 2002. Stewart said he is running because "our citizens are broken, and they need help." He said the federal government has neglected the needs of Oregon counties while running up debt and mishandling natural resources. "We need all of Oregon strong and prosperous, not just...