Free Republic

Republicans have started sounding the alarm about the presidential race now that John McCain is trailing Barack Obama by anywhere from two to 11 percentage points. The battleground states aren't looking much better, with Obama leading in the polling averages for even Florida, Virginia, and Missouri. Understandable that Republicans would be worried. But have they taken a look at the Senate races? For the last two years, your humble servant has been saying to anyone who will listen: The more Democratic next year's Senate, the more liberal the next two years' legislation will be no matter who wins the White...

In a huddle with reporters earlier this week in Washington, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) acknowledged that his party's chances of reaching the 60-seat plateau were "better than they were two weeks ago" -- the result of an across-the-board collapse in Republican numbers due to the economic crisis and handling of the bailout bill by Congress. (Yes, we know Democrats control the House and Senate. But, the American public overwhelmingly blamed President Bush and House Republicans for the initial failure of the "rescue" legislation.) And, respected non-partisan observers are also beginning to openly speculate about the possibility....

Senator Charles Schumer says he feels confident that the Dems will have a super majority - 60 senators - after this election. Let's not allow this to happen! A super majority can stop any judicial picks by John McCain, and IF (horrors) Barack Obama becomes president, his judicial picks would breeze right through. As an example, I just heard a tape on the radio where Senator McCain said that Justice Thomas was a good pick, and Senator Obama said he would not have picked him. Please support the Republicans in the senate race, even if they are not from your...

The Democratic Party announced this spring a major drive to elect a “filibuster-proof” 60-seat-majority Senate. According to the recent Democratic National Committee newsfeeds, the DNC is confident of picking up six seats and hopeful of getting nine. Will that make a Democratic-controlled Senate “filibuster-proof?”

According to Realclearpolitics, there is going to be a shift of five -- and perhaps six -- Senate seats to the Dems. I find this as alarming as an Obama presidency, because without a sustainable fillibuster in the Senate, there is nothing to stop a President Obama from running roughshod over the country. According to RCP, senate seats being flipped to the Dems include AK, CO, NH, NM, NC, and perhaps OR. I live in MA, where there is zero chance of defeating the traitor John Kerry. Ted Kennedy is dying, and I am sorry for that because no one...

Sauerberg backs down when forced to confront Durbin Wednesday, Oct 8, 2008 by Rich Miller * Way back in April, Republican US Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg laid out his battle plan against incumbent Democrat Dick Durbin… “You win by showing the people of Illinois who Dick Durbin really is,” [Sauerberg] said. “He is a divisive, partisan politician who has spent 37 years on the government dole.” * In that same interview, Sauerberg also revealed why he initially decided to run against Durbin… Sauerberg said he first considered running after Durbin compared the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners to atrocities...

You've read the quote. You've heard the rumors. Now, hear the audio of Mark Warner calling the NRA, people of faith, home schoolers and people who believe in the right to life "a threat to what it means to be an American." When this issue first surfaced in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, then gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner "angrily denied the claim" and called it "inaccurate." But the audio will tell you a different story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpicD6UIq8A

(October 18, 2004) North Carolina poll: Bush 50%, Kerry 47% [Actual Result: 56% to 44% for Bush]

Warner came to be Virginia’s governor by a path that was purposely political, including the decade he spent becoming a high-tech venture capitalist. Along the way, his four years at GW (1973 to 1977) were crucial in his political development. When he got to D.C. in 1973, Warner immediately started working in the office of Sen. Abe Ribicoff (D-Conn.). “I’ll always remember my first job on Capitol Hill. I would ride my bike every day—I had to be there at 7:15 to open the mail. Here I was, a freshman in college, I thought it was pretty cool.” From that...

The Tax Foundation has reviewed the 474 page Senate bailout bill and found a lot more pork and entirely unrelated spending in it than previously reported. The full list is below. I’d still like to know why, if we’re in the midst of such a crisis, our politicians are putting race track pork, disaster relief and “mental parity” spending into the bailout. All the more reason to just forget about this bailout, which the politicians themselves clearly aren’t taking seriously, and ride out these tough economic times. It’d be hard, no doubt, but we’d be the better for it. Energy...

Washington - While crafting a bill intended to rescue the U.S. economy this week, lawmakers couldn't stop themselves from adding billions of dollars in tax breaks that have little to do with restoring confidence in financial markets. Senators quietly tucked a number of earmarks into the tax package of the 451-page bill that was passed Wednesday night and is expected to be put to a vote in the House today: a $2 million tax benefit for makers of wooden arrows for children; a $100 million tax break to benefit auto racetrack owners; $192 million in rebates on excise taxes for...

Let me see if I have this right. We the People express our overwhelming disdain for a government manufactured, taxpayer-funded bailout of semi-coerced greed merchants on Wall Street and the Senate’s answer is to leave the offending legislation intact and entice weak politicians into voting for the package by adding sweetheart tax legislation to it. Can this possibly – in the most incredible of circumstances – be correct? Just as I finished setting up my new television I found myself clearing away the debris and dust from a bazooka shot that destroyed it. You see, I felt the destruction needed...

Insurers knocked by senator's warning Reid retracts statement; MetLife, Hartford say it doesn't apply to them By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch Last update: 4:46 p.m. EDT Oct. 2, 2008SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Insurers' shares tumbled Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a well-known company in the sector was close to bankruptcy. Reid didn't identify the insurer and the senator retracted the statement through his spokesman Jim Manley. "Senator Reid is not personally aware of any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy," Manley said in an email that was sent to MarketWatch. "He has no special knowledge about...

The piece of excrement that passed the Senate last night was another orgy in the mud for those sows on Capitol Hill. They are nothing but a bunch of crack-whores who simply cannot resist spending hundreds of millions of dollars of our money on ridiculous projects in a time of economic hardship. And the only unanswered question is what the hell do these projects have to do with bailing out the mortgage industry that the Democrats f'ed up in the first place. This bill is a made-to-order issue for McCain. He is not the president, so he had to...

Rep. Steve Latourette has an amendment to the Senate's bailout bill. He and his allies have just been briefing it on CSPAN. It preserves the good changes in the Senate bill while stripping away the egregious pork. Call your Representative as well as Speaker Pelosi and, most importantly, the Rules Committee. The amendment doesn't get consideration unless they say so. Tell them all to support the Latourette Amendment.Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise M. Slaughter New York James P. McGovern Massachusetts David Dreier California Alcee L. Hastings Florida( You gotta be kidding!?!) Lincoln Diaz-Balart Florida Doris O. Matsui California Doc Hastings Washington...

The Senate Finance Committee has published a summary of some of the additions to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. There are many provisions in the bill that will directly benefit millions of Americans -- what's called the "AMT patch," for instance, which will protect 20 million middle class Americans from seeing a tax increase in 2009. Or tax deductions for tuition, and for teacher expenses. Corporations will see extensions of popular tax cuts -- for research and development, or renewable energies. But there's also some other stuff. My colleague Z. Bryon Wolf points out that it bears mentioning that all...

Has anyone read the bill, or at least parts of it?

(C) in paragraph (4)(A)— (i) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘insured loan’’ the following: ‘‘and any payments made under this paragraph,’’; and (ii) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such actions may include making payments, which shall be accepted as payment in full of all indebtedness under the eligible mortgage, to any holder of an existing subordinate mortgage, in lieu of any future appreciation payments authorized under subparagraph (B).

Lawmakers and lobbyists who favor mental health parity legislation have said for months that the 110th Congress is the best chance in more than a decade to get a bill to the president’s desk. But the inclusion of the parity provisions in a financial bailout package is another in a series of high-risk gambles that could fell the parity legislation yet again, depending on whether the House clears the Senate’s new package this week. However, now that the mental health provisions have been added, at least one House member — key parity advocate Jim Ramstad , R-Minn. — is reconsidering...

DIVISION A--EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. (a) Short Title.--This division may be cited as the ``Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008''. (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this division is as follows: Sec..1..Short title and table of contents. Sec..2..Purposes. Sec..3..Definitions. TITLE I--TROUBLED ASSETS RELIEF PROGRAM Sec..101..Purchases of troubled assets. Sec..102..Insurance of troubled assets. Sec..103..Considerations. Sec..104..Financial Stability Oversight Board. Sec..105..Reports. Sec..106..Rights; management; sale of troubled assets; revenues and sale proceeds. Sec..107..Contracting procedures. Sec..108..Conflicts of interest. Sec..109..Foreclosure mitigation efforts. Sec..110..Assistance to homeowners. Sec..111..Executive compensation and corporate governance. Sec..112..Coordination with foreign authorities and central banks....

Mark Levin spoke with Congressman Scott Garrett (R-NJ) last night about the bailout bill (passed by the Senate last night, 74-25). While Garrett voted against the House version Monday, he says that fear is winning out over freedom: Senate Conservatives Fund: Bailouts are bankrupting our countryIf the bill that passed in the Senate last night is signed into law, Congress will have added $1.4 trillion dollars in bailouts to federal spending this year alone. On top of that, the bill is packed with pork. Here is the breakdown of that money, what is already law, plus what is in the...

You've got to love brutal honesty, especially when it comes from the financial media. The Senate's version of a bailout bill, which passed last night by a margin of 74-25, included "sweeteners" - or obscure tax breaks - including benefits for the manufacturer of wooden arrows used in children's toys and another for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Melissa Francis, co-host of CNBC's "The Call," and "Squawk on the Street" co-host Mark Haines called it all "crap" on their Oct. 1 special coverage of the vote on the network. Their description was similar to the one used...

Let’s boil this ‘new and improved’ bailout bill that just passed the Senate down to its bare bones. Then, if you’re moved to do so, it might just be time to pick up the phone and call your congressman, urging him to really ‘stand up for the American taxpayer’ (not to mention do what is right). Admittedly, the do what is right aspect of this whole thing would represent a complete aberration where any decision-making in Washington is concerned, but you may just sleep better tonight, having at least engaged in a personal effort to revive that archaic concept....

Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I have friends and colleagues whom I respect deeply who are on all sides of this bailout issue. One of them just spoke. We all to want do what is right for America, and I believe those who have crafted this plan had pure and noble motives. They want this country to succeed. They want prosperity. I just do not believe that this bill gets the job done. In fact, in the long term, I am convinced it will do more harm than good. We are the Nation that has been called the bastion of freedom,...

PIGGY POLS IN HOG HEAVEN WITH PORK-PACKED PACT By DAPHNE RETTER, Post Correspondent Last updated: 5:59 am October 2, 2008 Posted: 3:50 am October 2, 2008 WASHINGTON - Here, little piggies! Congressional deal-brookers yesterday slopped a mess of pork into the $700 billion financial rescue bill passed by the Senate last night - including a tax break for makers of kids' wooden arrows - in a bid to lure reluctant lawmakers into voting for the package Stuffed into the 451- page bill are more than $1.7 billion worth of targeted tax breaks to be doled out for a sty full...

A friend in the MSM whose entire newsroom was spammed by the DSCC sent me this: DSCC - Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Dear Friend, I know the DSCC has been asking a lot of you lately. And I want to thank you personally for all that you have done. I also know we have great Democratic Senate candidates this year. They are hitting their stride at just the right time. But your generous support has been the game changer. We exceeded our September fundraising goal by $204,875. Why is this important? Because you've enabled us to compete in more states...

We had Here's the quick list of the senators who voted NO on bailout/economic rescue. "Our gang of 15" Allard (R) Barasso (R) Brownback (R) Bunning (R) Cochran (R) Crapo (R) DeMint (R) Dole (R) Enzi (R) Inhofe (R) Roberts (R) Sessions (R) Shelby (R) Vitter (R) Wicker (R)

38% Yes 48% NO 14% Not sure 7,563 votes

Tonight the Senate passed the most fiscally reckless bill in history. We fought a tough fight and even won a few battles but the reality is the war is likely over. A fear mongering campaign by Bush, Paulson, CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg accompanied by a 777 point plunge on the Dow probably likely sealed the fate. The media blitz was the financial equivalent of Bush's "Mushroom Cloud" speech that suckered Congress into a needless war in Iraq. The US has wasted a trillion dollars in Iraq for nothing, and now the Bush Administration with cooperation from Congress is going to...

WASHINGTON - After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened. Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections. In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Both of Kansas' Republican senators say they'll oppose a revised plan to rescue the nation's financial industry. Sen. Pat Roberts said his decision reflects the will of thousands of Kansas voters who have contacted his office to say the $700 billion measure is unacceptable. "It’s important Congress act responsibly to shore up America’s confidence in the financial system. Unfortunately, this proposal is still flawed. It does not protect taxpayers, contains no meaningful oversight, may not solve the crisis and is seen by most Americans as rewarding greed," Roberts said. Roberts' challenger on the November ballot, Democrat Jim...

Alabama Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions said they will vote against the $700 billion bailout package in the Senate tonight because they said it would primarily help Wall Street. The legislation would allow the Treasury Department to buy troubled financial assets from banks so they can continue lending to U.S. businesses. “It’s way too much focused on the problems on Wall Street,” said Sessions, R-Ala. “I’m also worried that we’re executing a major intervention into the free market that will set a precedent that could be trouble.” The legislation is similar to a bill rejected by the House on...

Debate started, vote to be 8:45 eastern time

WASHINGTON - Sen. Jeff Sessions said he'll vote against the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry tonight because it was cobbled together too quickly without enough public input and leaves too many questions unanswered. ~snip~ Also Wednesday afternoon, the phones were ringing nonstop in the office of Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. Both senators' offices say calls from constituents are overwhelmingly urging them to vote against the legislation. Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate banking committee, did not participate in negotiations on the bailout and has called Paulson's proposal "fundamentally flawed." He will also vote "no" tonight.

NEITHER of our Senators are up for re-election this year. Reid (D-NV) is up in 2010, Ensign (R-NV) is up in 2012. Please take the time to call their offices and urge them to vote NO on the bailout bill! Specifically, please contact Sen. John Ensign and make sure he is voting NO. Not one Republican vote for this monstrosity! Senator John Ensign Washington D.C. Office 119 Russell Senate Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6244 Fax: (202) 228-2193 TDD: (202) 224-7638 Las Vegas Office 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8203 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 Phone: (702) 388-6605 Fax:...

Two Saturdays ago, it totaled just three pages — the White House's request for $700 billion to rescue tottering financial institutions by buying their devalued mortgage-related assets. After an intense weekend of negotiations, the draft of the bailout legislation before Congress had swelled to 42 pages. The following Friday, after almost a week of marathon talks between Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and key lawmakers in both parties, the working version was up to 102 pages. It went down to defeat Monday in the House, mostly at the hands of Republicans.

WASHINGTON - After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, speeding toward passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House where conservative opposition seemed to soften. Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners for the right and left, hoping to secure approval in the House by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe. The measure has not caused the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties' presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack...

Here is video of Sen. John McCain today urging the passage of a financial rescue bill to deal with what he calls the "greatest financial crisis of our time." . . . .(Watch Video)

What does this have to do with the Financial Crisis at hand

The following is a list of the Senators' voting status on the $700 billion bailout package that is expected to be voting on sometime tonight. Senators who will vote FOR the bailout package: Obama (D-IL), McCain (R-AZ), Bennett (R-UT), Voinovich (R-OH), Coleman (R-MN), Chambliss (R-GA), Lugar (R-IN) Senators who will vote AGAINST the bailout package: Bunning (R-KY), Shelby (R-AL), Sessions (R-AL), Vitter (R-LA), Roberts (R-KS) Please change this list as more Senators announce their positions.

Today Obama said there is a fire, and we've got to put it out. (Article posted in comments section of this post) Not every fire is conquered with the same method. Every cook knows not to throw water on a grease fire. A little snip of an article about different thype of fire extinguishers. I'm sure Freeper Firefighters could give better examples.The extinguisher's A designation means that it's rated to put out fires of ordinary combustibles such as wood and paper. The B designation means that it will extinguish blazes stemming from flammable liquids such as grease, oil and gasoline....

How would you advise your senators to vote today on the Bailout Bill? NO! Let 'er go down. We know it will be bad, but we'd rather eat dirt. YES! As distasteful as it is, we've gotta do it. Makes no difference, we're screwed anyway...

Washington DC - Today, Congressman Steve Pearce voted to protect taxpayers and opposed the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector. After the vote, Pearce released the following statement: "New Mexico taxpayers were not protected under this legislation. I strongly disapprove of putting taxpayers on the hook in order to bailout the Wall Street firms that got us in to this crisis. Those who made risky decisions should own up to them. "We still need solutions. This bill was not our only option. We now need to rewrite the bill to incorporate real taxpayer protections, market solutions instead of massive...

Senate vote Wed. at earliest on bailoutReuters - Sunday, September 28 10:14 pm WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation providing up to $700 billion (381.4 billion pound) to bail out the U.S. financial industry will be voted on in the U.S. Senate no earlier than Wednesday, sources close to the discussions said on Sunday. The House of Representatives will vote on the bill on Monday, said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. But the Senate faces more complex problems in passing legislation. Before bills get to the floor, leaders must determine whether any senator is considering procedural hurdles to...

Dick Morris is predicting that the Democrats will pass the Republican version of the bailout, which most will view more favorably, and McCain "comes out of the process as the hero who made it happen." Dick Morris says "This bold move by McCain is about to work. Big time." I know, I know. It's Dick Morris. But I hope he is right.

In her new campaign commercial, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu highlights the endorsement of St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain. In the commercial, Strain touts Landrieu’s leadership and what she has delivered to the parish post-Katrina. The fact that a prominent Republican in the only Republican majority parish in the state is not endorsing the Republican candidate is quite telling. Strain is not alone either, for other Republican elected officials on the Northshore are also endorsing Landrieu. For example, St. Tammany Parish Assessor Patricia Schwartz Core and St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis are both supporting Landrieu. What makes matters even...

I’ll be the first to admit it. I’ll laugh at myself on this one so that you guys don’t have to. John McCain wasn’t sacrificing anything by suspending his campaign. He was calling “Vegas Harry’s” bluff. Senator Reid opined that he could read minds when he offered up the following bit of “truthiness” regarding Senator McCain’s position on the bailout. “I got some good news in the last hour or so … it appears that Sen. McCain is going to come out for this,” Reid announced. It seems Reid had described McCain’s actual position about as accurately as Senator Joseph...

Congressional Republicans line up behind McCain call While congressional Democrats, including Harry Reid, urge McCain to not return to Washington, the GOP nominee's colleagues line up behind the move. In a coordinated move, the Republican congressional leadership has issued statements on McCain's decision. "I strongly support Sen. McCain’s proposal for a bipartisan leadership meeting of both Houses of Congress, including Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama," said House Minority Leader John Boehner. "Given that it is only a few months before a new president takes the oath of office, it is vital that the next president play an active role in...

A bipartisan group of senators who sought a compromise in the rancorous energy debate won't introduce their bill before lawmakers adjourn for the elections, several Senate aides said Thursday.Instead, the so-called Gang of 20 will offer a statement of principals outlining their agreement on a host of divisive issues, including expanded offshore drilling. They plan to offer legislation once the political season has ended, according to an aide to a Democrat involved in the discussions. The aide said that the election-year environment has poisoned the atmosphere and hampered the chances of passing a bill on such a controversial campaign topic....

Sneed hears the health of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, whose bravura in the face of a cancerous brain tumor resulted in a surprise appearance and speech at the Democratic National Convention, is sadly going downhill. • • Backshot: "He gave every ounce of courage to attend that convention, where an attack of kidney stones caused him to be delivered by ambulance," said a source. • • Update: "And although he still goes sailing every day at 2 p.m., he is getting weaker and weaker. He's a very ill man. It's been said he could have three weeks, three months or...