Free Republic

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett “seems to have her tentacles into every issue and every topic” at the White House, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said Friday. The Utah congressman was discussing the rocky rollout of the ObamaCare insurance exchanges with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, who suggested that the botched website might have been the result of the administration hiring contractors close to the president's reelection campaign. Ingraham then said that “all roads lead back to” Jarrett, noting her involvement in “meetings as this thing was being formulated.” “She seems to have her tentacles into every issue and every...

In Easton, Md., an untold story of free African-Americans is being discovered through bits of glass, shards of pottery and oyster shells. Piece by piece, archaeologists and historians from two universities and the community are uncovering the history of The Hill, which they believe is the earliest settlement of free African-Americans in the United States, dating to 1790. Treme, in New Orleans, is recognized as the oldest free black community in the nation, dating to 1812. But researchers say that could change based on findings from the Easton dig. "It's not just a black story. It's an American story," said...

Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes and Republican Matt Bevin may become unlikely allies in trying to tear down Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the marquee Senate race of the upcoming cycle. Both are signaling plans to frame McConnell with similar themes, targeting his personality and "scorched earth" campaign style as much as his policy positions. The strategy reflects what his opponents believe to be his greatest vulnerability — McConnell's deep unpopularity among Kentucky voters of both parties. But it's also a strategy informed by the challenges Grimes and Bevin face in trying to defeat what many observers agree...

Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has raised $4.6 million since the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama's healthcare law is constitutional. Romney started raising funds immediately after the decision, and in a message to supporters Friday morning his campaign spokeswoman said he had raised $4.6 million from 47,000 donations. This morning, the Romney campaign had raised $4.3 million less than 24 hours since the court's ruling. "As of this morning, we have raised $4.3 million with 43,000 donations online," spokeswoman Andrea Saul said early Friday. "The Supreme Court may have found ObamaCare constitutional, but it remains just as disastrous for job...

The House Democrats pushing for a steep hike in the minimum wage could face an unlikely foe: their own leadership. Behind Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.), almost two dozen liberal Democrats endorsed legislation this week to raise the federal minimum wage immediately from $7.25 to $10 per hour, the first such increase in three years. The lawmakers think they’ve found a winning issue in an election cycle that’s featured the rise of the Occupy movement, criticism of Mitt Romney’s path to wealth and a class-centered fight over the Bush-era tax rates. But no Democratic leaders have endorsed the measure, and...

More than two-thirds of voters say the United States is declining, and a clear majority think the next generation will be worse off than this one, according to the results of a new poll commissioned by The Hill. A resounding 69 percent of respondents said the country is “in decline,” the survey found, while 57 percent predict today’s kids won’t live better lives than their parents. Additionally, 83 percent of voters indicated they’re either very or somewhat worried about the future of the nation, with 49 percent saying they’re “very worried.” The results suggest that Americans don’t view the country’s...

Obama's soft response to Tea Party draws liberal criticism By Alexander Bolton - 08/06/11 07:15 PM ET Liberals are growing frustrated with President Obama’s soft response to the Tea Party after fractious negotiations over the debt limit led to the loss of nation’s AAA credit rating on Friday. Republicans and Democrats have unleashed fusillades of attack against each other in the wake of the announcement but Obama has stayed quiet, frustrating his party’s base. “It’s hard to see how we avoid a Tea-Party recession if the president who has the biggest megaphone in the country is not willing to speak...

Obama is primarily responsible for the Tea Party movement, despite the fact that it is the nemesis of the President and the political establishment. The movement is predominantly composed of a small number of Libertarians and a large number of Conservatives. The Tea Party Conservatives are formerly Conservative Republicans who have given up the notion of having a moral government and are tired of funding an immoral government. They are disconnecting from the Republican establishment, which today seems more comfortable managing big government than ultimately reducing it. Herein lies their commonality with Libertarians. The Tea Party is thus at the...

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) suggested Thursday that she might not support John Boehner (R-Ohio) as the next Speaker. Bachmann, a prominent conservative lawmaker with ties to the grassroots Tea Party movement, said she would only support Boehner as the next Speaker if he were the only candidate available. "Right now, we don't know exactly who the candidates will be. It may be John Boehner," Bachmann said in a debate on Minnesota Public Radio. "If John Boehner's the only candidate running, I'll be voting for John Boehner. "I would look at all the candidates and weigh it accordingly," she added. Some...

On Wednesday The Hill reported on a new poll it has conducted of the 2010 midterms with initial focus on 12 districts held by freshmen Democrats and the news isn't good for those incumbent Dems scrutinized. On the other hand, the poll seems to show that it isn't pat that Republicans will necessarily run away with it all either. On Wednesday The Hill reported that in 11 of the initial 12 races polled, Republicans are leading Democrat incumbents. In the 12th, the candidates are tied. While this may seem good for the GOP the downside is that none of the...

Tea Party strategist predicts 'tremendous gains' for candidates By Jordy Yager - 09/26/10 12:25 PM ET The head of one of the most powerful U.S. Tea Party movements said on Sunday that candidates under the burgeoning party’s umbrella are going to make “tremendous gains” this November because they have “turned the political system on its head.” Longtime political consultant Sal Russo, a leading strategist within the Tea Party movement and the head of the Tea Party Express, told Bob Schieffer on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that his organizing group is so strong -- raising more than $5 million so far...

How bad can the civil war get? We may find out Tuesday in Delaware. Mike Castle should have walked to the GOP nomination — that is, until Sarah Palin and her merry Tea Party men decided to back Christine O’Donnell. To put this into perspective, Castle was all but a lock to win: a moderate Republican who would have won if not for the fact that by Tea Party standards Castle is a Das Kapital-reading, want-to-take-your-guns-away-and-tax-you-to-the-nines liberal. It almost makes you laugh, as a Democrat, how the GOP is engaged in a never-ending, brutal civil war over ideological purity. From...

The Hill conducted its annual survey of how congressmen feel about each other and the answers are instructive. The survey found that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D. Calif.) is the most partisan, unwelcoming, hard to work with politician in all of the House of Representatives. But the list of Republicans that congressional leftists love should serve as the list of those voters should fire in November and after. (And Illinoisan Judy Biggert seems to lead the pack) The Hill, however, did have an interesting point on why the extremist, left-wing, loud, hectoring, shrill Pelosi has been able to...

From the (S)hill. In my opinion Matt Drudge is the most important and influential single figure in American media. In terms of daily and ongoing influence he is more influential than The New York Times, the television networks, cable news or anyone else. Let me suggest here that Drudge's power may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing for Republicans and conservatives because in my view, it fosters delusions that can lead to defeat. Recently a Gallup poll, of course highlighted on Drudge, found that Obama's numbers had (then) turned more unfavorable than favorable. This has...

The reporter walked into his office expecting a normal day at work: cup of coffee, call some sources, the usual routine. But this wasn’t going to be an ordinary day at all. His editor had other ideas. Darker ideas. The editor wanted an article on the new Dan Brown novel called “The Lost Symbol”, about a conspiracy by Freemasons in Washington. The long-awaited book features Robert Langdon, the hero of Brown’s previous smash hits “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons,” on a dramatic quest in and around Washington’s most famous landmarks to find a secret hidden long ago...

Throughout 2007, presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have touted the lawmakers, celebrities and sports stars who are backing their campaigns. However, there are plenty more big fish out there. Endorsements do not sway many voters, but they do lead to free media time for White House hopefuls scrambling for attention. Whether it’s the Speaker of the House, Tiger Woods or a lawmaker from a key primary state, the campaigns want to boast that they have caught lightning in a bottle. The Hill reviewed the big names who have stayed on the sidelines, at least for now. Most...

The Hill set out to test Henry Kissinger’s maxim, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac," by investigating whether "Democrats, newly empowered, now have an edge on Republicans when it comes to dating prowess" and concludes that "Romantic opportunities have increased for Democrats": As one Democratic campaign strategist remarked, "Taking back the majority certainly has its perks. With the shift in power has come a shift in social standing for once-shunned Democratic operatives. It seems everyone from lowly interns to nerdy policy wonks have a full dance card so long as they have a ‘D’ behind their name."The strategist added that...

John Aravosis is yapping up a storm, and letting out details he doesn’t quite comprehend are (a) not common knowledge and (b) implicate him as working to orchestrate Foleygate in the media. It is important to note all the activity in July of 2006 regarding the non-salacious emails between Foley and a Page from Louisianna (aka, the LA Page). I have done numerous posts on these emails (the last one here with back referencing links). Reader TopSecretK9 as reminded me of this Aravosis comment when he admitted in October that he had the Foley Emails in July and mentioned he...

The Hill is a specialized publication, mostly for Members of Congress and those whose living depends on Congress. Still, an article in The Hill today (Wednesday) is typical of the media coverage of the Senate vote yesterday to require “reports” to Congress on the progress of the Iraq War. The title is “Needed: An Exit Strategy from Iraq.” It is written by Rep. Jane Harmon (D. Calif) and its lede includes these paragraphs. "There is now a strong bipartisan consensus that we need an exit strategy. But yet to emerge is the content of that strategy. "We have two overriding...

Senator Hillary Clinton was invited to address a major gathering of the Native American Nation two weeks ago in upper New York state. She spoke for almost an hour on her future plans for increasing every Native American's present standard of living, should she one day become the first female President. She referred to her career as a New York Senator, how she had signed "YES" for every Native American issue that came to her desk for approval. Although the Senator was vague on the details of her plan, she seemed most enthusiastic about her future ideas for helping her...