Free Republic

Here's another perspective on the Democrat-sponsored illegal invasion currently destroying America. Thoughtful concerned American citizens are witnessing an engineered cancer rotting the political integrity of our nation. That cancer is the wide open border of the current Democrat administration and its donors and cohorts in Congress. The strategy is the red carpet welcoming of millions, if not tens of millions, of unvetted, unvaccinated illegals. This scheme, a shadow insurrection really, is completely the work of Joseph Biden and those handling his policy decisions. Given this president's obvious and alarming mental decline, it's clear some political cabal is managing this invasion...

"The View" co-host Joy Behar appeared upset on Thursday that Americans didn't give Democrats a "supermajority" in the midterm elections and said that half of the country was "not paying attention to their own needs." After co-host Sara Haines praised Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan's concession speech after losing to Republican JD Vance in Ohio's Senate race, Behar said she didn't want to be a "Debbie Downer" but insisted Democrats should have enjoyed massive gains in Congress. "On the one had you have a party that tried to save health care, that tries to save your right to vote, that...

The Los Angeles Times’s editorial board announced on Thursday that it was endorsing Republican Lanhee Chen in California’s controller race, saying “California needs a fiscal watchdog.” The newspaper’s editorial board said they were endorsing Chen because they believe that the controller, who looks at how taxpayer money is being spent by government divisions and can audit government agencies, “should be as independent from the party in power as possible.”

Left-wing feminist groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Times Up, and Emily’s List have sent urgent notices to media outlets, warning them that Joe Biden’s female running mate is likely to be subjected to “sexist” and “racist” attacks. “A woman VP candidate, possibly a Black or Brown woman candidate, requires the same kind of internal consideration about systemic inequality as you undertook earlier this year,” the abortion rights supporters wrote to media heads, as NBC News reported. The coalition leaders include Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, NARAL President Ilyse Hogue, Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, Former Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile...

According to self-identified “pro-life” advocates, the fundamental divide between those who want to outlaw abortion and those who want to keep it legal comes down to one question: when does life begin? Anti-abortion advocacy pushes the view that life begins at conception; the name of their movement carefully centers the conceit that opposition to abortion rights is simply about wanting to save human lives. A new poll shows that’s a lie. The “pro-life” movement is fundamentally about misogyny. A Supermajority/PerryUndem survey released this week divides respondents by their position on abortion, and then tracks their answers to 10 questions on...

Thirty-four years ago, two researchers delved into California’s rapidly changing demographic and economic trends and saw “an emerging two-tier economy with Asians and better-educated non-Hispanic whites and blacks competing for the prestigious occupations while poorly educated Hispanics and blacks scramble for the lower status jobs…”

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown helped make his party even more powerful in California during the last eight years and now, less than a month before leaving office, he predicts that dominance will make it difficult for his successor to control Democrats’ hunger for spending and regulations. The leader of the most populous state has kept Democratic lawmakers in check by limiting spending on social programs in favor of saving it to protect against a future economic downtown. He sometimes butted heads with legislative leaders, warning spending too much now could hurt taxpayers or require budget cuts later. Democrats hold all...

12:20 a.m. Wednesday California Democrats have been denied their supermajority in the state Senate. Voters in an Orange County district on Tuesday elected former Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang in a recall election against a Democrat. Voters removed Democratic Sen. Josh Newman from office over his vote to raise gas taxes last year. That means Senate Democrats won't hold the two-thirds majority needed to pass tax and fee increases. Newman narrowly won the traditionally Republican district in the 2016 election, and both parties saw him as vulnerable. A Republican-backed effort to repeal the tax increase is likely to be on...

Democrats control both houses of the California State Legislature with 2/3 majorities, allowing them to pass any bills they wish, with no possibility of obstruction from the powerless GOP. As Democrats will when they feel empowered, they recently passed a major hike in gasoline taxes that will take over $5 billion a year more from the pockets of motorists. With the GOP powerless, what could possibly go wrong? ===== [snip] Caught by surprise, the California Dems reacted stupidly. ====== [snip] But trying to quash a recall election following a tax increase, and dragging three kids into court looks really bad...

Democrats reeling from a devastating election face a daunting task: the 2018 Senate map. It favors Republicans in a big way. The GOP will be defending just eight seats, while Democrats must fight for 23 — plus another two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. What’s worse is the fact that many of the seats they must defend are in states won by Republican Donald Trump. Midterm elections for sitting presidents are historically challenging. Democrats in the Senate are hoping to find some political momentum for 2018 given the difficult playing ground. Here are 10 Senate seats that could...

Rules: You have to laugh at the Democrats' current plight. They have almost no leverage to block anyone Donald Trump decides to select for judgeships or cabinet posts. They can't stop Republicans from repealing most of ObamaCare. And they only have themselves to blame. On CNN this week, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer was lamenting the fact that Democrats wouldn't be able to use the filibuster to stop Trump's nominees. There should, he said, be "60 votes because on such important positions there should be some degree of bipartisanship." And who, exactly, is to blame for this? Schumer's predecessor in...

Rules: You have to laugh at the Democrats' current plight. They have almost no leverage to block anyone Donald Trump decides to select for judgeships or cabinet posts. They can't stop Republicans from repealing most of ObamaCare. And they only have themselves to blame. On CNN this week, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer was lamenting the fact that Democrats wouldn't be able to use the filibuster to stop Trump's nominees. There should, he said, be "60 votes because on such important positions there should be some degree of bipartisanship." And who, exactly, is to blame for this? Schumer's predecessor in...

As Democrats strategize on how to stop conservative legislation from making its way to Donald Trump’s desk in the White House, Republicans have a little-known rule in their toolbox that would allow them to pass legislation, including a repeal of Obamacare, with a simple majority. Democrats were able to keep 48 seats in the Senate after Tuesday’s election, giving the party the power to filibuster legislation and effectively prevent conservative policies from being enacted. But Republicans can turn to a seldom-used Senate rule that would allow them to pass legislation by a simple majority vote—legislation that has a greater chance...

House Speaker Mike Madigan is the most powerful man in Illinois politics. He controls whether bills live or die. He controls the legislative map. He controls a property tax law firm that makes millions on the back of his influence. But on Nov. 8, Illinois voters proved he can be beaten. Madigan will no longer control a veto-proof supermajority in the Illinois House. The election results will likely change what was once the easiest and most obvious vote for House Democrats – Madigan for speaker – into one of the most contentious of the upcoming legislative session. Voters in five...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Republicans strengthened their grip on the Alabama Statehouse in a Tuesday election sweep that saw House Speaker Mike Hubbard win re-election despite his indictment on felony ethics charges. The GOP built upon the existing supermajority won in 2010 and increased their numbers in both chambers. Republicans will hold nearly 70 percent of the seats, a formidable number that will allow them to cut off filibusters and push through legislation if they stick together as a caucus. ...[snip]... Republican defeated several Democratic incumbents in the 105-member House of Representatives to boost their numbers from 66 to 72...

There have been a lot of abortion-related cases in the news lately, but last week I noticed this case from the Supreme Court of North Dakota that struck me as particularly noteworthy. The court upheld a state abortion law against a federal constitutional challenge by a 2-3 vote. That is, two justices in favor, three against, and the two won. (Original link, and more links, all via Howard Bashman.) Apparently North Dakota has a constitutional rule that requires a supermajority to invalidate a statute, and it applies that rule not only to state constitutional claims to federal constitutional claims. My...

<p>Remember how angry you were when the Legislature failed to pass a budget on time last summer? Maybe you were angry, too, about the late budget the summer before that. How about in 2001 or 1998 or 1997 or 1996 or 1995 or any of the 22 times in the last 28 years that the Legislature missed its constitutional deadline for passing a state budget?</p>

One Republican who is a maverick on this subject is conservative Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, who received 13.5% of the vote for governor in the Gray Davis recall election and plans to run next year for lieutenant governor. McClintock has long thought that the budget should be passed by a simple majority vote. "A perverse result of the supermajority requirement is that it does not constrain state spending," McClintock says. "What it does is bid up the cost of the budget with each additional vote. Every additional vote comes with louder calls for higher spending.

Conflict-of-Interest Budgeting Get rid of the 2/3 supermajority and get ready for more taxes... [Ray Haynes] 2/3/04 SCENARIO 1 “Assemblyman Smith, vote for this budget, and our union will write you a check for $15,000. Not to your campaign – to you personally. Buy a new car, get your wife a Louis Vuitton purse, get braces for your kids—we don’t care. Just vote for this budget and the money is yours. I know you don’t like the new taxes and spending, but I can make it worth your while.” SCENARIO 2 “I don’t care if there are taxes in this...

Prop 19 went down in smoke, but the world's fifth biggest economy passed three propositions that address its yearly budget crisis. One makes it better and two make it worse, according to Bond Buyer. First, California voters passed Prop 25 to allow the legislature to pass a state budget without a 2/3 supermajority. This was the main obstacle to passing a budget this year for over 100 days past due. Arkansas and Rhode Island are the only states that still require a supermajority to pass the budget, and Rhode Island is another fiscal disaster. Second, California voters passed Prop 26...