Free Republic

BOSTON — President Barack Obama summoned today's quarrelsome political leaders to emulate the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in the pursuit of compromise on Monday, and said a new institute that bears the longtime Massachusetts senator's name can be as much an antidote to political cynicism as the man once was. "What if we carried ourselves more like Ted Kennedy? What if we were to follow his example a little bit harder?" the president asked a crowd of family, former aides and political dignitaries of both parties under a tent in raw weather just outside the doors of the Edward...

It’s pretty obvious from the photographs that somebody beat the bejesus out of the soon-to-be-former senator from Nevada. And yet the national media has uncritically swallowed the cover story that “exercise equipment” was to blame for the loss of sight in the former majority leader’s right eye. Baloney. As far as I can tell, the piece of equipment allegedly behind the beatdown of Sen. Pat Geary has not been identified, but I can tell you from experience if the senator was using, say, a Soloflex machine this would be impossible: the weight straps simply come apart without any snapping...

The younger brother of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid was arrested Monday afternoon after allegedly driving under the influence and punching a Nevada state trooper during a traffic stop. Larry Reid, 73, was found sitting inside a Lexus SUV that had been driving in the median of Highway 95 near Searchlight, Nev. shortly after noon. According to KVVU, the arrest report for Reid said that the trooper asked him why he was driving in the median. Reid responded with what was described as "incoherent, slurred speech."

Lovers of vivid political language will miss Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who announced his retirement last week. Senator Reid is infamous for his searing, pointed comments about conservatives – and his regular “walk-backs” of those outbursts. But the loquacious Senator Schumer, who is widely expected to succeed Reid as Democratic leader, has developed his own brand of bombast that relies less on Reid’s personal taunts and more on sweeping indictments of his opponents’ purported political sins.

... Warren is best where she is: a valuable and influential senator who pressures the party from the left. No, it doesn’t come with a title, but it isn’t a small thing. In his eight years in the Senate, South Carolina’s former Sen. Jim DeMint was hugely powerful as an ideological leader, using his base in the conservative movement—and later, the Tea Party—to pull Republicans to the right during the 2012 presidential election. He enforced ideological discipline, and it worked. Warren doesn’t have to lead the Democrats—or run for president—to make the party more liberal. She can build power from...

The widow of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is preparing for the upcoming opening of the institute named after her late husband. Vicki Kennedy invited “Fox News Sunday” to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston days before President Obama visits to formally open it to the public. “He loved public service,” Vicki Kennedy said. “He believed in making a difference. And he wanted to inspire new generations to feel the same way.”

LAS VEGAS — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's decision to retire next year leaves no clear successor in his home state of Nevada, where a popular Republican governor appears reluctant to change jobs and the pending loss of Reid's clout in Washington is causing anxiety over who might replace him. As of Friday, the list of potential candidates came down to Gov. Brian Sandoval and everyone else. The political centrist who was easily re-elected last year is likely to face intense pressure from national Republicans and business interests to pick up where Reid leaves off on Capitol Hill. Sandoval didn't...

Well, theyÂ’re not horrible. But Democrats canÂ’t be too happy about their present chances of replacing outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid with another Democrat in the U.S. Senate could certainly be better than they are right now. Reid was no lock to win reelection even if he decided to run again in 2016. He polls as poorly today as he did in 2010, when the Nevada electorate appeared ready to jettison the Silver StateÂ’s longtime senator, but a majority of voters just couldnÂ’t bring themselves to pull the lever for Sharron Angle. At the yearÂ’s open, veteran Nevada...

Mitch McConnell reacted to Harry Reid's impending retirement. The Senate majority leader had kind words for his Democratic counterpart, who announced Friday he would be retiring in 2016. "Nothing has ever come easily to this son of Searchlight. Underestimated often, his distinctive grit and determined focus nevertheless saw him through many challenges," McConnell said in a statement. "They continue to make him a formidable opponent today."

Harry Reid endorsed Chuck Schumer to succeed him as Senate minority leader after he retires in 2016. [Snip] Reid predicted Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in Senate leadership, would win the post without opposition. He also suggested any competition — specifically Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, with whom he spoke on the phone with Friday morning — should stand down. Reid called Schumer "extremely smart" in the interview, adding that he would bring a "different style" to Senate leadership compared with Reid's soft-spoken nature.

Harry Reid is retiring. Whatever happens to his Senate seat in 2016, this is good news for Republicans and it is good news for America. Good riddance, Harry. Good bloody riddance. Today we will hear a lot about Reid’s “service” to the Senate and to the American people. Ha! “Service” indeed. The truth of the matter is that Harry Reid is a stone-cold killer who has damaged Washington considerably, who has elevated his own political preferences above the institution he was elected to protect, and who has made worse the partisan rancor that our self-described enlightened class claims to abhor....

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) delivered a pitch-perfect trolling lesson to the Senate on Wednesday, filing an amendment calling to defund "the purchase of stationary [sic] or electronic devices for the purpose of members of Congress or congressional staff communicating with foreign governments and undermining the role of the President as Head of State in international nuclear negotiations on behalf of the United States." In other words, Stabenow wants to defund Tom Cotton letters.

On the first of February, 2015, I wrote about a gun law reform bill introduced in the South Dakota House.   The bill included a number of reforms, including removing the restriction on the legal carry of concealed firearms by people who could legally own firearms.  The bill passed the House 44 to 23 on the 10th of February, 2015.   The bill looked like a shoo in to pass the Senate, with Republicans in the majority in the South Dakota Senate, with 27 Republicans and 8 Democrats. But there have been a number of Republicans who are not interested in...

For conservative activists, the first day of Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign was a time to gush. On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh called Cruz’s kickoff speech Monday “masterful” and “flat-out amazing.” Grass-roots pioneer Richard Viguerie called him a “top-tier movement conservative.” And the Tea Party Patriots hailed his entry, saying Cruz had “yielded to no one” in championing its values. Meanwhile, for Cruz’s Republican colleagues in the Senate, it was a time to equivocate. “I’m just holding off until I see what the field looks like,” said Daniel Coats (R-Ind.). “I’m going to support the nominee of the party,”...

But don't panic Jeff Atwater or Carlos Lopez-Cantera. Gov. Scott has told top fundraisers he's interested in running in 2018 - when Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson's third term ends - not 2016, when Scott will still be in the middle of his second term. As uncomfortable as Scott often seems in the political world, the U.S. Senate makes sense given that Scott initially seemed far more interested in federal issues than Florida issues. He started his political career with a committee attacking the Affordable Care Act and by the time he turned his attention to running for office in Florida...

It has been an Iranian tradition since 1979 to end Friday prayers with chants of “Death to America!” In a purely rational world, that would be all one needed to know that Iran is not a reliable negotiating partner. Alas, we do not live in such a world. But there’s more evidence. Iran, according to our State Department, has been the chief exporter of terrorism for the last three decades. It has worked closely with al-Qaeda, facilitating its attacks on America and our allies. Most of the September 11 hijackers traveled through Iran with the help of the Iranian government....

Former Senior White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer admits that one of President Obama’s angriest moments in the White House was after the Senate blocked his push for gun control. “I think one of the most angry I’ve seen him was after the Senate failed to pass background checks in 2013,” Pfeiffer explained in an interview with broadcaster Charlie Rose.

After two months in the majority, has Mitch McConnell finally hit a red line with Harry Reid? The confirmation of Loretta Lynch to replace Eric Holder as Attorney General has stalled for the last few weeks, and McConnell threatened to stall it indefinitely after Democrats blocked a human-trafficking bill. The Senate Majority Leader wants an end to Democratic obstructionism:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), has been stalled after Democrats accused Republicans of sneaking anti-abortion language into the bill. McConnell noted that Democrats on the Judiciary Committee...

Democratic senators would oppose a potential House bipartisan deal preventing cuts in physicians’ Medicare payments if it doesn’t finance a children’s health program for four years, senior Senate Democratic aides said Sunday. […] According to lobbyists and congressional aides, bargainers have discussed including money for the Children’s Health Insurance Program for two more years, costing around $5 billion. Its money is due to expire Oct. 1. […] The overall agreement—eliminating the Medicare reimbursement formula, slightly boosting those payments and adding money for children’s health—would cost roughly $200 billion over 10 years, aides and lobbyists say. …

Jon Voight supports Netanyahu in new ad, says Obama abandoning Israel so he can buddy up to her ENEMIES VIDEO Posted by The Right Scoop on Mar 15, 2015 in Foreign Policy By The Right Scoop Legendary actor Jon Voight has created a new ad with an urgent message to Israel, explaining that Obama wants Bibi Netanyahu to lose and is NO friend of Israel. He points out that Obama wants to control Israel because his agenda is to be friends with Israel’s enemies.