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Nancy Pelosi managed to gather enough votes to pass the almost 2000 page House health care reform bill (H.R.3962) by allowing the Stupak Amendment. Many blue dog Democrats would not vote for Pelosicare because because it covered abortion with health care reform funds. According to the New York Times: To save the health care bill she (Pelosi) had to give in to abortion opponents in her party and allow them to propose tight restrictions barring any insurance plan that is purchased with government subsidies from covering abortions. How tight are these restrictions? Here is a screen shot from a pdf...

Earlier this month, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stirred up a tempest when they announced that they could overcome their political differences and agree on the critical need for a national policy that addresses the threat of climate change and moves the United States toward energy independence. Since the publication of their opinion piece, “Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation)” in the New York Times, pundits and policy experts alike have declared the Senators’ announcement a “game-changer” and possible tipping point that could lead to the passage of a bipartisan climate change bill — maybe even...

New York Republicans got a rock in their trick-or-treat bags over the Halloween weekend, as Dede Scozzafava ripped off her million-dollar Republican mask and revealed herself to be a Democrat. It was never a very good disguise, but every previous attempt to peer beneath it was punished with stern lectures from Newt Gingrich and the rest of the party establishment. The bags of contributor money Republicans handed to the Scozzafava campaign would have been more usefully spent hiring detectives to trail ACORN operatives, and keep Democrat voter fraud down to manageable levels. The Scozzafava campaign is the latest dreadful mistake...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- There is a "political rebellion" going on in America that the Republican Party is hoping to speak for, the U.S. House minority leader says. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, speaking Sunday on CNN's "State of Union," said an incident in which a GOP-endorsed New York congressional candidate withdrew from an election under pressure from Republican conservatives showed that "we're in the middle of a political rebellion going on in America." Boehner said, "This rebellion are by people who really have not been actively involved in the political process. And they don't really care whether you're...

NOVEMBER 2, 2009 GOP Set to Propose Its Own Health Bill By GREG HITT WASHINGTON -- Republicans are preparing an alternative health-care bill to Democratic legislation, House Republican Leader John Boehner said, marking a shift in strategy as the full House is set to begin debate on the issue this week. Mr. Boehner said Sunday the Republican bill would extend health-insurance coverage to "millions" of Americans but wouldn't try to match the scope of the House Democratic bill unveiled last week. The Democratic legislation, if passed, is estimated to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans now without insurance....

Newt answering questions about NY23. Defending the Scozzafava. Says that Hoffman is outside the district. Claims that Scozzafava is a solid fiscal conservative but social liberal. Claims all of Hoffman's money is coming outside the district. Make a point that it was the local GOP that nominated Scozzafava and that they know more than outsiders what is right for the district.

The Family Research Council is blasting House Republican leaders who have endorsed a GOP congressional candidate in New York who supports abortion, same-sex "marriage," and President Obama's economic "stimulus" program. Dede Scozzafava (R-New York)The November 3 special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District features Republican abortion and same-sex marriage advocate Dede Scozzafava, Democrat Bill Owens, and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Hoffman has won endorsements from former Republican presidential candidates Gary Bauer and Fred Thompson, as well as from conservative groups like the Club for Growth, Concerned Women for America, and the Family Research Council. Meanwhile, The Hill reports...

Thomas Lifson What on earth was Michael Steele thinking? With Democrat vote maximizing ACORN on the rocks, he offers praise and excuses. ACORN president Bertha Lewis gave a National Press Club speech portraying ACORN as a victim that provoked even liberal Dana Milbank to scoff. But somehow, the GOP's chairman sees ACORN through rose-colored lenses. Matthew Vadum of the American Spectator writes: In a video of Steele from a Sept. 21 speech that surfaced on a left-wing website the day of Lewis's speech, Steele praises Lewis. "The current head of the organization, she's done a phenomenal job getting out in...

If you have given to the NRCC, RNC, or Newt Gingrich under the impression that they are using the money to support conservatism, you might want to ask for your money back. As I mentioned in my column post on the NY23 special election, the NRCC is using conservatives’ money to back a radical leftist and attack a bona fide, viable conservative candidate for Congress in a safe Republican district. Gingrich has endorsed the radical leftist. Now comes word from CQ that the Republican National Committee has made a “six-figure transfer” of funds to the NRCC to support Scozzafava: The...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The first primary contest of the 2012 election cycle is more than two years away, but some Republicans are already voting … sort of. The National Republican Senatorial Committee — which assists GOP Senate candidates — e-mailed a "Proxy Ballot" to some supporters on Monday asking them which Republican leader is their top choice for the Republican presidential nomination. The survey also asks Republicans to rank the importance of issues like health care, abortion rights and taxes.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is working behind the scenes to help Democrats craft a new version of former President Bush's immigration reform bill. Graham also supported the Bush/Kennedy/McCain bill back in 2007. As The Wall Street Journal reports: Wes Hickman, a spokesman for Mr. Graham, said in a statement that "Senator Graham is ready and willing to play a key role in immigration reform. He intends to work with many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle." The new bill will most likely be introduced in September by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Graham has been working with...

Meg Whitman, an early front-runner in the race for the 2010 Republican nomination for California governor, told a lunchtime crowd Friday in Ventura that she can be the candidate to rescue the California Republican Party from irrelevance and the state itself from near bankruptcy. “In business terms, we would say the Republican Party is losing share at an alarming rate,” said Whitman, a veteran executive who was CEO of eBay for 10 years. Republicans make up just 31 percent of the state’s registered voters, trailing Democrats by 14 percentage points, she said. “We’re going to have to include groups that...

Mayor Bloomberg said Tuesday he never thought he was on the short list to be Republican Sen. John McCain's running mate last year -- even though a new book claims he was one of the six finalists for the coveted slot. McCain's staff took Bloomberg's chances seriously, the book claims -- especially when they were told to set up a short podium for the still-secret vice-presidential candidate. "When I told them to lower it for someone who was 5-7, they thought it was Bloomberg," McCain aide Davis White says in "The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary...

Sen. John Ensign's (R-Nev.) parents gave the family of the woman with whom he had an affair gifts totaling $96,000 after they learned of their son's affair, an attorney for the Nevada senator said Thursday. Ensign's parents gave the gifts to Doug and Cindy Hampton and two of their children, in the form of a single check. The gifts were limited to $12,000 per person at most, in order to avoid taxes on gifts, given by each of Ensign's parents. After the senator told his parents about the affair, his parents decided to make the gifts out of concern for...

Almost everybody cheers for the underdog -- maybe not those born to upper-class standing with great advantages, but those of us who weren't always want the little guy to be victorious. We want hard work and extra effort to be rewarded. Standing at the front of the East Room of the White House Tuesday morning were two Americans who clearly had started life as underdogs. One is now our president, son of a Kenyan. The other is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who is about to sit on the highest court in the land. Both were born without privilege....

The NRSC sure knows how to pick ‘em. Fresh off of their beclowning via the Specter Switch, they rushed to endorse Charlie Crist over Marco Rubio, citing “winnability”, and general crossover appeal. Well, now they get to see exactly what they endorsed: a squish that would’ve gone along with Specter and the Maine Sisters in voting for Porkulus: Speaking to a politically mixed crowd in Daytona Beach, Crist emphasized his support for the bill as practical and pragmatic, though it would have meant crossing party lines. Only three Republican senators backed the stimulus bill, and Martinez wasn’t one of them....

John Stuart Mills famously called the English conservatives of his day “necessarily the stupidest party.” Now, I know that a lot of people would take exception, and some would take umbrage, at the notion that John McCain (current “standard bearer”) and the current Republican administration (and/or party leadership) represent anything like conservatism, regardless of how stupid they have been. But relatively speaking, in comparison with the other national party, and according to their own claims, they are the conservative party and true to form, they seem hell-bent on making sure they don’t challenge the “stupid” appellation.

I cannot remember who first called the Republican Party the "stupid party," but recent events show that our party has earned this name. The very issues with which the Democrats are attacking the Republicans in the current campaign are issues on which Democrats are especially vulnerable. However, the stupid party seems not to have noticed. First, look at Social Security. Obviously, Social Security must be reformed, the sooner the better. But when President Bush asked Congress to reform it, and permit private accounts to be included in Social Security, Congress (which was controlled by the stupid party at the time)...

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) said Thursday that former Treasurer Chris Ward apparently funneled several hundred thousand dollars to his personal and business bank accounts from the committee’s funds. The transfers caused the committee to severely over-report its cash-on-hand totals in recent financial reports. In an update on its internal review of the accounting irregularities that were revealed in late January, the NRCC said the funneling dates back to 2004 and that its cash on hand in its most recent financial report is actually $740,000 less than it initially reported. The NRCC also says Ward, who was the committee’s...

Assuming there is no shocking revelation or health issue, the GOP nomination is over. Conservatives need to start practicing the phrase "Nominee presumptive John McCa....." Sorry, I can't say it. Not yet. But it's true. When the campaign comes here to Massachusetts on February 5th, I'll proudly cast my vote for any option on the GOP ballot other than You-Know-Who. But it will be a futile gesture. Mr. "1/3rd Of The GOP Primary Vote" is going to be the nominee. He's going to win the big, left-leaning states on Tuesday. Huckabee will stay in and deny Romney a one-on-one contest...

It isn't much of one, but he'll take what he can get tonight. It comes from Tom Bevan at the RCP blog: Giuliani dropping out helps McCain, right? Well, not so fast. According to the exit polls, 49% of those who voted for Rudy today picked Mitt Romney as their 2nd choice while 44% picked McCain. And, interestingly, those who voted for Huckabee overwhelmingly picked McCain as their top 2nd choice over Mitt Romney, 54% to 32%. If that pattern holds outside Florida, having Rudy out and Huck still in could actually give Romney an unexpected boost going into February...

Now that the Sunshine has set, two old friends come to an understanding. McCain topper Rick Davis quietly negotiated the agreement. HALPERIN’S TAKE: 10 things Giuliani could have done differently. Giuliani, in Florida concession speech, talked about his effort in the past tense, but said nothing explicit about dropping out — or The Deal.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will vote as early as Friday on legislation that would pay $50 billion for the war in Iraq but require that President Bush start bringing troops home.

The S.S. GOP is sinking fast, and it looks like Skipper Bush is going down with his ship. That's only fair — after all, he's the one who torpedoed his own ship with the immigration-reform-bill warhead. Not fair is the fact that he's taking his party down with him. I can understand his stubbornness in sticking with this insane program that doesn't do a damned thing to plug the leaking borders that are allowing the United States to be flooded with all manner and shapes of illegal aliens, some of them terrorists who want to kill large numbers of Americans...

WASHINGTON, June 6 — It is no secret that campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors. Rarely, though, are the tradeoffs quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road. The road, a stretch of pavement near Fort Myers, Fla., that touches five golf clubs on its way to the Gulf of Mexico, is the target of a $10 million earmark that appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska. Mr. Young, who last year steered more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80 people on...

Do you think the Republicans or the Democrats are winning the race to prove they are the dumbest and most incompetent political party? The Republicans were clearly winning the race until January 2007. They threw away their majorities in both houses of Congress, by not only failing to have a realistic postwar strategy in Iraq but by such things as greatly expanding government and federal spending when they had promised the voters the opposite. The Democrats won the congressional elections by promising they would have a clear and coherent plan to end the stalemate in Iraq and to be "fiscally...

County GOP might put gay candidate on ballot Party could attract new supporters with City Council pick Monday, May 7, 2007 By Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Republicans who alienated gay voters with the 2004 same-sex marriage ban in Ohio now view them as potential allies in their fight to regain a foothold at City Hall. Franklin County GOP leaders are considering an openly gay candidate to join this fall's City Council slate, a move they hope might peel away support from one of the Democrats' most loyal voting blocs. Brad Sinnott, chairman of the Republicans' county central committee, acknowledged...

bill introduced to the US House of Representatives would require ISPs to record all users' surfing activity, IM conversations and email traffic indefinitely. The bill, dubbed the Safety Act by sponsor Lamar Smith, a republican congressman from Texas, would impose fines and a prison term of one year on ISPs which failed to keep full records....

All Internet service providers would need to track their customers' online activities to aid police in future investigations under legislation introduced Tuesday as part of a Republican "law and order agenda." Employees of any Internet provider who fail to store that information face fines and prison terms of up to one year, the bill says. The U.S. Justice Department could order the companies to store those records forever....

For the third time in 36 years, the Republican National Committee will accept a shared leadership arrangement with a U.S. senator as party general chairman and an RNC member as the full-time chairman. Meeting in Washington D.C., the 167-member RNC today made official the White House’s choice of Florida Sen. Mel Martinez as general chairman of the party and Kentucky Republican National Committeeman Mike Duncan as full-time chairman. But it won’t be with enthusiasm that the RNC gives its approval to the Martinez-Duncan team. As one committee member arriving in Washington for the RNC winter meeting told me, “We’re like...