Free Republic

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...

PHOTO OF THE DAY Sen. Hillary Clinton listens to witnesses at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on military death benefits on Tuesday. Photo by Pedro Sa Da Bandeira.

The new national counterterrorism center established by President Bush under an executive order is to begin operations in early December, at about the same time that Congress may be debating whether to approve a law that would create a different version of the same agency. The center would be the "primary organization in the United States government for analyzing and integrating" all intelligence "pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism, excepting purely domestic counterterrorism information." The center's director is to supervise correlation of the terrorism intelligence and produce reports to be sent to the president and other senior officials. It would operate...

Scores of soon-to-be-unemployed Democrats fear that their party’s electoral defeat could hinder their ability to find work on K Street, a traditional safe haven and source of employment for Capitol Hill staff. At a time when many Democrats are anxious about their ability to earn a living, some even fear that a conspiracy to blacklist aides to certain Democrats, such as Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), could be afoot. Daschle, who is reviled by many congressional Republicans for his efforts to stop GOP initiatives and judicial nominees in the Senate, was defeated in this month’s election by former Rep....