Free Republic

**SNIP** A flyover state is the huge region between the coasts. As opposed to the eastern seaboard, northern post-industrial states and Pacific Ocean states. They’re overwhelmingly Republican, stanchly conservative, regressive right wing, evangelical Christian and working class, well, the loudest, most ill-informed of them are. The term wasn’t commonly used in a political manner until recently with the emergence of the Tea Party and the election of Obama. **SNIP** Since the inception of the term silent majority almost 50 years ago, and all of its iterations since, this block of voters was hardly a majority and never silent. This group...

Of all those whose predictions were dashed by this year’s presidential outcome (“Trump is headed toward a major loss” his Oct. 19 headline blared), few have been more exercised than the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne (“white identity politics and male self-assertion triumphed” he railed the day after). Yesterday, in a piece titled “America will soon be ruled by a minority,” he joined the chorus now condemning the “undemocratic” Electoral College—in the name of the Founders, no less, the very men who created it. Ever the good progressive, he fails to appreciate the role states were meant to play in ordering...

All: Thanks for responding. Paul, I agree with you, but there is a part of me that believes there might be something we can do. Dan, I agree with some of you your points, mainly the first, which is where I see my effort moving toward. Though, I am not sure how you measure the “corruptness” of the states verses the federal government. I consider the states nothing more than vassals of the federal government, some more than others. Lee, I am serious only to a point. In that I agree with Dan and I see this as first an...

Before the dust had even settled on Hillary Clinton’s defeat we were already hearing rumblings from liberals about the urgent need to do away with the electoral college. That’s a given, since she won the popular vote while still taking a beating in the EC. But not everyone thinks that a “simple” shift to the popular vote model is enough of a change. Some are mulling over doing away with that whole “States” part of “The United States of America.”When I first began reading Lawrence Samuel’s essay on this subject at the Washington Post I was almost certain that...

In the last week since Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in a stunning electoral blowout, there have been calls from many on the left to abolish America’s unique presidential election system.It still hasn’t been settled whether Trump or Clinton won the popular vote, but many Democrats are upset about the possibility that their candidate may have won more total votes, yet lost the election.Progressives are taking aim at the Electoral College and want to replace it with a national popular vote. This would both remove the indirect mediation of the electors’ votes, and more damagingly, eliminate the power of states...

NEW YORK (AP) -- For the combatants in America's long-running culture wars, the triumph of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans was stunning - sparking elation on one side, deep dismay on the other. Advocates of LGBT rights and abortion rights now fear setbacks instead of further gains. But the outcome emboldened the anti-abortion movement and breathed new life into the religious right's campaign for broad exemptions from same-sex marriage and other laws. Kelly Shackelford, head of First Liberty Institute, a legal group that specializes in religious freedom cases, said that, for his cause, the environment will transform from "brutal" under...

Thankfully, the 2016 election is over. The states have instructed the national government about the direction in which they want it to go, and their directive is as clear as it is resounding: Get the heck out of our business! Yes. It was the states that delivered the message on election night. If we look at the popular vote, no candidate got a majority. In fact, Clinton edged Trump by a slim margin on the popular vote (~0.16% of the vote), but only achieved a plurality (47.69% to Trump’s 47.45%). Moreover, a substantial amount of Clinton’s popular support was concentrated...

With two elections still too close to call, Democrats have lost power in three states, including traditionally blue Vermont. Going into Election Day, Republicans made up a historically large 31-18 majority of governors. (There's one independent, Alaska's Bill Walker.) In Missouri, Eric Greitens won a Democratic-held open seat to replace term-limited Jay Nixon. In Vermont, the normally blue state opted for a moderate Republican governor, Phil Scott, to replace Peter Shumlin, who chose not to run for re-election. And in New Hampshire, Republican Chris Sununu flipped the Democratic-held governorship that's currently held by Maggie Hassan, who's in a tight race...

The GOP successfully defended its majorities in most chambers, and also picked up chambers in Kentucky and Iowa, giving the party full control of those states. Democrats went into this election controlling the governorship, Senate and House in just seven states...Now, they control just four states. "In short, Republicans bested expectations," Republicans not only picked up the Kentucky House and the Iowa Senate, but unseated the top Democratic leaders in both... The Kentucky House was the last chamber controlled by Democrats in the South. Their gains in Iowa and Kentucky mean the GOP has won the trifecta in those states,...

Republicans, who have dominated control of legislatures since the 2010 mid-term election, held the majority in 67 of the country's 98 partisan legislative chambers, while Democrats had 31 going into the election. Nebraska's single chamber is nonpartisan. In Kentucky, Republicans took over the House of Representatives for the first time since 1921... That result leaves Republicans in control of all 30 legislative chambers in the U.S. South for the first time in history, Storey said. Republicans also wrested control of the Iowa Senate and the Minnesota Senate from Democrats, according to NCSL. Democrats hit their target in the New Mexico...

The Electoral College remains in place over two centuries after the framers of the Constitution empowered it to select presidents. Though occasionally maligned, this system of electing a chief executive has been incredibly successful for the American people. Many modern voters might be surprised to learn that when they step into a ballot box to select their candidate for president, they actually are casting a vote for fellow Americans called electors. These electors, appointed by the states, are pledged to support the presidential candidate the voters have supported. The Electoral College holds its vote the Monday after the second Wednesday...

A federal judge ordered Florida election officials to extend the state's voter registration deadline to October 18, in response to damage and disruption caused by Hurricane Matthew. The state's original deadline was October 11. Florida Democrats and the state's League of Women Voters asked the judge for the extension. Gov. Rick Scott initially refused to push back the deadline, saying late last week, "Everybody has had a lot of time to register."

Every US state has a motto. Some are interesting, like “Live Free of Die,” in New Hampshire, and some are sadly truthful, like, “Our Government is Vampiric” in Massachusetts. Just kidding. It’s more along the lines of “We’ll Tax You to Death,” or something like that. Anyway, some, like the motto for the 49th state, Alaska, are very upbeat and offer a sense of adventure. In Alaska, politicians tell us to look, “North, to The Future.” But, a shocking move by the federal government might inspire Alaskans to change their motto to, “Our Land Is Being Stolen By The Feds!”...

Maps by Center for Immigration Studies based on Census shows detailed information on immigrants (legal and illegal) at county level 1990-2014. The analysis focuses on adults. Adults directly affect job market, politics and potential voters, they reshape the culture. In 1990 immigrants were at least 20% of adultsin 44 counties, by 2014 they were 20% in 152 counties. In 1990, only 1 in 8 Americans lived in a county at least 20% adult immigrants, by 2014 nearly 1 in 3 Americans. Since 1990 immigrant share of adults more than quadrupled in 232 counties. By county In GA: Stewart <1 to...

With the prospect of a President Donald Trump or a President Hillary Clinton on the horizon, the growing trend toward the executive acting without the consent of Congress is troubling to all political stripes. Both parties claim to worry about a strong presidency, at least if the other party is in the White House. That trend has been exacerbated by President Obama, but it certainly didn’t start with him. With the exception of Calvin Coolidge, every president of the 20th and 21st centuries contributed to the problem. Many proposals to address the imperial presidency have been floated over the decades....

Fresh after Congress and the White House scored the largest transportation spending package in a decade, both presidential candidates this year are proposing billions in funding to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. While both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—and the parties they represent—agree the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, rail system, and ports are in need of repair, the new proposals invite familiar questions over how the spending would be paid for, and whether the federal government is the best provider to pay for it. Those questions, and the lack of a must-pass infrastructure initiative requiring Congress’ attention in 2017, mean that...

As I recall from Gibbon, the Western Roman Empire went out with more of a whimper than a bang. By the time of Alaric and his Visigoths in 410 AD, Rome was so corrupt and weak there was little to stand in his way. In broad strokes it is fair to say that Roman society declined simultaneously with government. Long before the fall, Roman republican citizenship was a precious possession, a jewel of unsurpassed value. As such it was held closely and kept in short supply, for among other privileges, the Roman citizen wasn’t taxed. He was exempt from the...

On Tuesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) formally announced the removal of the lesser prairie chicken from the endangered species protection list. They did not take this step voluntarily; FWS lost a court case last year which ordered the agency to remove the bird from the list. However, even as they complied with the court’s order, the FWS issued a threat that the agency’s land grab under the guise of conservation was not over. In the words of Director Dan Ashe, “Responding to this court ruling by removing the bird from the Federal List does not mean we are...

Utah lawmakers recently approved a resolution calling on Congress to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. Ratified in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote. Before the amendment’s ratification, senators were elected by state legislatures. The resolution, approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the state’s lieutenant governor for filing in March, was sponsored by state Sen. Alvin Jackson (R-Highland). ‘A Formal Check’ Todd Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University, says the Seventeenth Amendment removed a necessary safeguard against...

Yesterday we showed something strange: while oil prices have rebounded from multi-year recent lows, gasoline prices have not only rebounded but have done so with a vengeance, sending retail gasoline at the pump is now back to levels last seen just over a year ago, even as WTI (and Brent) is materially lower. As we concluded, "gas prices are unchanged while oil prices are 25% lower." Something did not add up, which prompted some readers to inquire if this was purely a function of higher gasoline taxes.  We don't know the answer, and assume it is a deep secret of America's...