Free Republic

Barack Obama is one heck of a community organizer - that is, if you count organizing a directory of Community College graduating students. This was Barack's sum total of TWO YEARS spent in the Illinois Senate. Here is a link to Mr. Obama's activity during the 90th General Assembly (1997-1998): http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/legisnet90/sponsor/OBAMA.html You can see from the link that Barack Obama sponsored (wrote and introduced) 31 bills over the two year period. Of these, 28 died on the vine - leaving only 3. The first, SB0574, provided that "a municipality may provide for a system of administrative adjudication of violations of...

Biden is the third most liberal Senator in the U.S. Congress, and a nearly 100% pro-abortion Senator.

Sen. Pat Roberts (KS) is now the eighth Republican senator to announce that they will not attend the GOP Convention in St. Paul, Minn., next month. Roberts spokeswoman told the Topeka Capital Journal today that Roberts will be campaigning that week, finishing up his 105 county statewide tour during the convention week. Four others who've announced they won't be attending are -- Ted Stevens (AK), Elizabeth Dole (NC), Gordon Smith (OR), and Susan Collins (ME). All are running for re-election and are in close races. (Collins may have the easiest race, but she's never been a close ally of McCain.)...

Authorities in Botetourt County this morning discovered the body of a well-known Democratic operative and U.S. Senate aide along U.S. 220, dead from an apparent gunshot wound. The body of Frederick W. Hutchins Jr., 26, of Roanoke was found shortly after 7 a.m. along southbound U.S. 220 by a Botetourt County deputy who had stopped to check on a vehicle parked on the highway's shoulder, according to the sheriff's office. Hutchins was an aide to U.S. Senator Jim Webb, D-Va. Hutchins had been shot in the head, and a gun was found beneath his body, Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said. The...

State Senator Derrick Shepherd has been released from the Jefferson Parish Jail after being arrested on charges of simple battery, theft and unauthorized entry of a dwelling. Thaise Ashford, 29, Shepherd's former girlfriend, reported the aggravated burglary early Saturday morning. She says he broke into her home, punched her in the stomach, stole her cell phone and $100 cash. Deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office secured a search warrant for Shepherd's home in Gretna. There, sheriffs say they found Shepherd on the sofa with a "young female on top of him performing what appeared to be a lap dance."...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn underwent tests Friday for what was described as an irregular heartbeat. His office told news outlets that the 60-year-old Oklahoma Republican was expected to return to work at the Senate over the weekend. An aide said Coburn was at a hospital for the tests for "common arrhythmia.'' He was not admitted to the hospital, the aide said. Coburn's office would not comment further. A physician, Coburn describes himself as a two-time cancer survivor. In 2003, just months before deciding to run for the Senate, he confirmed that he had undergone surgery and treatment for...

Jesse Helms and Me By Burt Prelutsky Although I very much regret that I never had the chance to meet Jesse Helms, we did have what you might call a peripheral connection. The first took place nearly 20 years ago, when I was serving the second of my two terms on the Board of the Writers Guild of America. Because the Board had the authority to mete out any sum less than $5,000 without putting it to a vote of the membership, groups and individuals were constantly showing up at our meetings and requesting $4,999. Often, they wanted it to...

I called and complained about gas prices. This is the claptrap I got back. Maria Cantwell United States Senator Voted to be 2nd dumbest politician in DC Dear Mr. kennyboy509 Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the high energy prices in Washington state. I appreciate hearing from you on this matter of utmost importance to families and businesses across our nation. As I'm sure you know, the last few months have seen the highest recorded average gasoline and diesel prices ever seen in Washington. With volatile oil prices over $135 per barrel, and gasoline and diesel pump...

Federal agents seized bank statements, tax records and correspondence, and found marijuana during a search at the home of state Sen. Ulysses Currie, according to court documents. The documents show agents found marijuana and "drug packaging materials" in a bag on a dresser and in other bags on the floor of a room in the house last week. * * * Currie, 70, is one of the most influential lawmakers in Maryland. The Democrat leads the budget-writing committee that steers state spending.

KENNER, La. — Senator John McCain marked the unofficial beginning of the general election with a speech here Tuesday in which he sought to distance himself from President Bush and to argue that he has stronger credentials as an independent agent of change than his all-but-certain Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama. “For all his fine words and all his promise, he has never taken the hard but right course of risking his own interests for yours, of standing against the partisan rancor on his side to stand up for our country,” Mr. McCain said of Mr. Obama in a prime-time...

BOSTON—State Sen. James Marzilli has been arrested on multiple charges in Lowell, including lewd and lascivious behavior and resisting arrest. Lowell Police said the Arlington Democrat was arrested at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday on Middle Street in the city's downtown area and was also charged with disorderly conduct, attempting to commit a crime and obstruction of justice. He was being booked by police and was scheduled to be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Wednesday. A spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said there was a female alleged victim, but offered few details. A call to Marzilli's home was not...

Aberdeen, SD, May 14, 2008 / 01:08 am (CNA).- Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota has withdrawn an invitation to a commencement speaker because of her views on legalized abortion.State Senator Nancy Turbak-Berry was scheduled to deliver the commencement address at the college on Saturday.  According to the Associated Press, she said she was told on Friday that she could not speak there because of her views on abortion.  She had accepted the invitation to speak in January.College officials reportedly said they had made an “administrative decision” to withdraw the invitation because her pro-abortion views were incompatible with Catholic...

March 31, 2008 Group Tied to Pakistani Terrorist to Parade in Binghamton, NY Instead of those plastic toy swords sold at normal parades, they will be selling replicas of the one used by Mohammed to behead infidels.... The city of Binghamton, New York granted a group with ties to Islamic terrorist Sheikh Mubarek Ali Gilani a permit to publicly celebrate Milad-un-Nabi, or Muhammed’s birthday, in the streets of Binghamton this Saturday. The Muslims of the Americas (MOA), the name used by Jamaat ul Fuqra, or “Community of the Impoverished,” was issued a permit for a public celebration that includes a...

WASHINGTON - Take that, Washington rumor-mongers. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving senator in history, defied a whisper campaign about his declining health by showing up Thursday, very much alive and able to vote, for a marathon session on the federal budget. "Yes!" Byrd shouted, defiant as ever, from a wheelchair on the Senate floor as the chamber opened a vote-o-rama expected to last late into the evening. It was a pushback that recalled the Monty Python sketch in which supposed victims of the plague are prematurely loaded, protesting, onto carts. "No!" Byrd shouted later, rejecting a subsequent...

Just received an e-mail from town Hall backing his fellow. I went to his web site, there is no platform link or e-mail link, only about (short bio) and donation link. I would love to support him financially, but I need to know he is an actual conservative..If anyone knows anything about him please let me know.

Neither am I, but the incumbent’s vulnerable, we’re desperate for seats, and Huck’s national profile is now sufficiently high that he could march home and put Pryor back on his heels quick-like. Brian Faughnan makes a compelling case, particularly re: Huck using four years in the Senate to pound the table about border enforcement and winning the war to shore up his conservative cred for another presidential run 2012. Even if you think it’d be insincere (as I do), we could do worse than having a media darling with preternatural communication skills on TV every other day arguing our position....

Democrat Senator Robert Byrd is President pro tempore of the U. S. Senate. As such he is 3d in line to be President of the United Sates in the event of the death, removal or incapacitation of the Prez, VP and Speaker of the House. He is 90 years old. This is incredible, rambling, off-topic video of him, a week ago, He seems drunk, stoned, crazy or senile, (or possibly a combination of all of the above) on the Senate floor, live on national (and international) TV! As a qualification for Democratic Senator from West Virginia, he is a fomer...

Hillary Clinton holds commanding leads over Barack Obama in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two of the three upcoming mega-states that will determine the fate of her White House ambitions. Clinton leads Obama 55% to 34% among likely Democratic primary voters in Ohio, and she's besting him 52% to 36% in Pennsylvania, according to Quinnipiac University polls released today. After losing eight contests to Obama in the span of four days, Clinton and her campaign are now looking to the remaining big states - Ohio, Texas and Pennsylvania - to halt the Illinois senator's political momentum. Ohio and Texas, along with Rhode...

I haven't heard this mentioned by anyone, but just sitting around thinking this week...let's assume McLame wins the presidency. He has to resign the Senate. His governor, Napilitano or whatever her name is, is a Democrat operative. She will most assuredly put a liberal in his stead. And unless McLame has HUGE coattails (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha) he is going to be dealing with a HEAVILY Democrat Senate. Maybe even filibuster proof. He for SURE will have two former SENATE colleagues (Hitlery and Hussein) whom he will have beaten to get the...

National Journal annually ranks Senators and Representatives for their liberal and conservative track records for the previous year. The non-partisan publication's credibility allows these rankings to carry considerable weight. This year, their choice may land them in the middle of a presidential election: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the most liberal senator in 2007, according to National Journal's 27th annual vote ratings. The insurgent presidential candidate shifted further to the left last year in the run-up to the primaries, after ranking as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., the...

Elba's Jimmy Holley expected to announce decision Jan. 10 MONTGOMERY - A veteran Democratic senator will switch to the Republican Party, but his move won't affect the Democrats' stranglehold on the Alabama Senate. Sen. Jimmy Holley of Elba is expected to announce his decision at a news conference in his hometown on Jan. 10. Neither Holley nor Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, who is chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, would officially confirm Holley's switch Wednesday. But Hubbard called it "the worst-kept secret in the state." Holley, 63, who has served in the Alabama Legislature for 30 years, joined the GOP...

Sorry for long title and caps. I am typing thru tears. My mom is dying of pancreatic cancer. She raised my son and I got thru to Red Cross & Hospice and they approved it. Military is denying it saying she is not loco parentis. On top of that nobody knows how to do the paper work. My son is her baby (30 Year Old Marine) and she is all she wants. Seems to be holding on for him. She just took a drastic turn for the worst yesterday. I need a congressman/senator anyone who I can call and try...

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the most prominent surviving member of the Kennedy family, has agreed to sell his memoirs for an advance of more than $8 million, people with knowledge of the negotiations say.

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee has launched a wide-ranging investigation into the financial dealings of six TV evangelists, including Joyce Meyer, the popular preacher who has built a $124-million-a-year empire headquartered in Fenton. On Monday, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Meyer to provide his staff with documents detailing the finances of the Joyce Meyer Ministries, including the religious group's compensation to Meyer, her husband and other family members, as well as an accounting of their housing allowances, gifts and credit card statements for the last several years.

Senator Tim Johnson, the South Dakota Democrat who spent most of this year recovering from a brain hemorrhage, is running for re-election next year. In a statement, Mr. Johnson, 61, said that he had planned to seek a third term before he became ill last December and remained committed to doing so. “I wanted to take this second chance at life and focus even harder on being the best advocate I can for the people of South Dakota,” he said. “Today, I am asking South Dakotans to give me the chance to give back to them by announcing that I...

THE SORDID saga of Larry Craig in the bathroom stall seems certain to continue, now that the Idaho Republican senator has reversed his decision to resign and said he will serve the remainder of his term. Mr. Craig's zigzags have only added to the circus atmosphere... All that said, this was Mr. Craig's call and he is entitled to make it. For the same reasons that we had qualms about the basis for his prosecution, we think demands that he leave or be ousted from the Senate are overblown and unwarranted. Mr. Craig's behavior in a Minneapolis airport restroom was...

Chafee quietly quits the GOP 01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 16, 2007 By Bruce Landis Journal Staff Writer PROVIDENCE — Lincoln D. Chafee, who lost his Senate seat in the wave of anti-Republican sentiment in last November’s election, said yesterday that he has left the party. Chafee said he disaffiliated with the party he had helped lead, and his father had led before him, because the national Republican Party has gone too far away from his stance on too many critical issues, from war to economics to the environment. “It’s not my party any more,” he said. Chafee’s departure...

A former New Orleans prostitute who will be featured in Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine appeared at his office Tuesday to accuse Sen. David Vitter of having a sexual relationship with her in 1999. Wendy Ellis told reporters that Vitter visited her two to three times a week for sexual relations between July and November 1999.

WASHINGTON - Chuck Hagel will announce Monday that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate and will not run for president next year, people close to the Nebraska Republican said Friday. Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel plans to leave the Senate after two terms as a Republican Party maverick, people close to him say.Hagel plans to announce that "he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008," said one person, who asked not to be named. Hagel has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Monday at the Omaha...

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig plans to announce his future plans Saturday following calls from Republicans urging him to resign after an arrest in connection to a police sex sting. Dan Whiting, Craig's spokesman, said there would be an announcement Saturday but would not say whether Craig will step down. Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter already appears to have settled on a successor: Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, according to several Republicans familiar with internal deliberations.

By the way, I listened to the tape of Senator Craig being interviewed by Officer Karsnia and I’ve got to tell you that in over a decade in Law Enforcement I’ve never been so ashamed…. Of an officer. This kid should be suspended for making a false arrest. There is absolutely no probable cause, not a lick of evidence outside this kid’s feelings, or enthusiasm for arrest stats. Unbelievable. Craig may be gay and might even visit rest rooms on occasions but this is a REALLY raw deal he got here. If I were this kid’s superior I stick him...

Pressure on Larry Craig continues to mount as the national Republican Party apparatus builds an intense behind-the-scenes effort to suggest and perhaps order a resignation from the embattled Idaho senator...

My Exclusive Interview With Senator Craig Boise, Idaho - Since reports of Sen. Larry Craig's (R-ID) arrest and guilty plea in connection with a gay sex sting, he has been in seclusion. Now Sen. Craig has agreed to discuss the incident exclusively with Scooter's Report: SR: Thank you for taking time out of your formally busy schedule to talk with us, Senator. Craig: You're welcome Scooter, it's my pleasure to set this story straight with the American public. SR: Okay, let's discuss what happened at the Minneapolis airport last June 11. Craig: Well, I was traveling and had the sudden...

Mike Rogers, who calls himself "the nation’s leading gay activist blogger" has just finished a nationally-broadcast interview on the Ed Schultz Radio Show in which he alleges that Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig has engaged in same-sex sexual activity. Senator Craig’s office flatly rejected the claims. "The Senator says this story is absolutely ridiculous – almost laughable," said press secretary Sid Smith. “It has no basis in fact.” Rogers said he has talked to three men unknown to each other who all reported in detail their sexual encounters with Craig over the last four years. The men were of legal...

A co-owner of the Crandall Canyon coal mine, where six men were trapped following a cave-in on Aug. 6, 2007, recently got into a combative debate with U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer -- over the carbon emissions from his mines. Robert Murray, vice president of Murray Energy Corp., testified before a Senate committee on June 28, 2007. "You people inside the Beltway, you Senators... don't have the foggiest idea what a person does to pack a lunch and go to work, or wear a hard hat," Murray said, angrily.

A new site sponsored by the National Republican Senatorial Committee shows MN Senatorial candidate Al Franken in a flip flop (hey, Kerry's got some competition). "March 3, 2007: 'I, I can't tell you, the awe I have for our troops.' "August 15, 2005: 'We can't afford to LOSE there...' "June 14, 2007: 'I think you make the President cut off the funding for the troops' "What?" (Replays the cuts, then): "Tell Al Franken to make up his mind. Playing politics with our troops in harm's way isn't funny. Frankly, it's dangerous." (Franken:): "I'm gonna be the truth teller in this...

Jay Leno and David Letterman never run out of material when they are making fun of politicians, especially when it involves sex and hypocrisy. After years of beating up on Bill Clinton for his sexual indiscretions, the late-night comedians are spending equal time chortling about Republicans who have been caught with their pants down. Their latest target is Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. Vitter is an easy target for those looking to play "pin the hypocrite tail on the elephant." He's a lector in his local Catholic Church and he has been associated with the Family Research Council, the...

Congress is grappling with a hot button issue - immigration legislation that would make a college education tens of thousands of dollars cheaper for illegal students than U.S. citizens. The controversy stems from the senate bill S.B. 2611, the so-called "DREAM Act," which would allow states to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Currently, that practice is banned under the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. It prohibits public colleges from favoring undocumented students by offering them in-state tuition rates, unless those same rates are extended to all U.S. citizens regardless of their state of residency....

John Barrasso, the well-known surgeon and state senator from Casper, will serve as Wyoming's next U.S. Senator.

For those of you having difficulty getting thru to your senator, here is the 800 # paid for by the Mexican Amnesty Activists: 800-882-2005 This will get you directly to your senator unlike the #'s available to the US Citizen. Press 1 when you hear a Spanish message, then Press 1 again to be transferred to your senior senator's office OR Press 2 when you hear a Spanish message, and you'll be transferred to your junior senator's office. You get through immediately and the call is paid for by the enemy!

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton is ready to propose a new federal plan that would offer high-quality preschool to every 4-year-old in America. The Democratic presidential candidate says the universal Pre-K plan would cost about ten billion dollars. Speaking on NBC's "Today Show," she said evidence shows such preschool programs save money in the long run -- and that students have fewer behavioral problems and stay in school longer. The New York senator says she'd pay for universal preschool by closing tax loopholes and eliminating Bush administration programs she disagrees with. The proposal would give federal funds to states...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) today made the following statement regarding immigration reformation legislation proposed this week in the Senate: “On Monday, Senators are being asked to start voting on a complex immigration reform bill that most members have not had a chance to read or review. There is no doubt we need to secure America’s borders and reform our broken immigration system, but this should not be done hastily by cramming through a largely unknown piece of legislation in a few days. “After reading several summaries of this bill, I have serious concerns and for that...

" We're going to tell the bigots to shut-up... "

UNRELENTING critic of George W. Bush and US presidential hopeful Barack Obama committed his own Bush-ism this week when he got swept up in the drama of a campaign speech. Senator Obama told an crowd of 500 people at a campaign fundraiser that 10,000 people had been killed in the Kansas tornado tragedy, according to the Associated Press.

Feeding the Mouth That Bites You By Doug Patton May 7, 2007 The Republican Party never learns. Time and again, apparently on the theory that real conservatives just can’t win against liberal Democrats, party bosses seem compelled to support wishy-washy, moderate-to-liberal Republicans over solid conservatives in primary elections across the country. In 2004, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (RINO-PA) was justifiably fighting for his political life. After years of betraying the principles of the Republican Party, which had kept him in power for decades, Specter was being challenged in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary by a conservative congressman named Pat Toomey. Toomey...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) this week criticized Gen. David Petraeus for not meeting with members of Congress during a recent visit to Washington, D.C., to report on the status of operations in Iraq, but not only did the commander of Multinational Force - Iraq meet with hundreds of lawmakers, he personally briefed Murtha himself. Murtha told MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Tuesday, "They bring Petraeus back - purely political move. Petraeus comes back here. He doesn't talk to any of us. He only talks to the news media and so forth trying to sell this program." But a senior...

Ex-Senator Injured in Chicago Mugging Sunday April 29, 2007 1:46 AM CHICAGO (AP) - Former U.S. senator and presidential candidate Carol Moseley Braun suffered a broken wrist when a mugger tried to steal her purse, authorities said Saturday. Braun, 59, was standing at her front door late Friday when an assailant came out of the bushes and tried to take her purse, said her spokesman, Kevin Lampe. When Braun resisted, the man pulled a knife and cut the strap of the purse. During the struggle, Braun fell, fracturing her left wrist. She was later treated and a released from a...

Ending an investigation that clouded the tenure of former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, federal prosecutors have decided not to file insider-trading charges against the Tennessee Republican for his sales of stock in a family-owned chain of hospitals. The U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York and Securities and Exchange Commission staff sent Frist letters last week signaling that they had closed their joint, 18-month investigation. The letters essentially cleared him of wrongdoing. Frist said in a statement that he "acted properly" and that his only reason for selling stock in his trust accounts was to "eliminate the...

4/10/2007 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNEWS) -- A South Carolina senator toured Iraq for two days, and then put on an Air Force desert camouflage uniform for a week and worked as a judge advocate for the Multinational Forces, Iraq. Sen. Lindsey Graham, also a Reserve colonel, visited the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing April 9 after getting a firsthand look at the 586th and 886th Expeditionary Security Forces in action at Camp Bucca with Sen. John McCain April 1 and 2. "The security detail at Camp Bucca is the most joint operation I've seen," Senator Graham said. "The challenges the Airmen...

Being in the minority in the Senate is not necessarily fatal. Ask Jim DeMint of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, a caucus of conservative senators that includes most of the Republican Conference. DeMint has managed to wage and win a handful of battles since the Republican reverses in the midterm elections, drawing on a disarming personality and keen political acumen, and fortified by unwavering conservative convictions. It all started with his crusade against pork in the lame-duck session of Congress late last year. DeMint, along with Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, set out to eliminate 10,000 earmarks from...