Free Republic

THE NEW YORK TIMES REDISCOVERS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ Iraq War-era partisan fights aside, the real problem now is that they're under ISIS' control. By Laurie Mylroie – 10.17.14 What a difference a decade makes! When it was first reported in May 2004 that Saddam-era chemical weapons shells had injured U.S. troops, the editors of the New York Times dismissed that, “Finding some residual weapons that had escaped a large-scale destruction program would be no great surprise and if the chemicals had degraded, no major threat.” Now, a major New York Times report on the issue has been...

What a difference a decade makes! When it was first reported in May 2004 that Saddam-era chemical weapons shells had injured U.S. troops, the editors of the New York Times dismissed that, “Finding some residual weapons that had escaped a large-scale destruction program would be no great surprise and if the chemicals had degraded, no major threat.” Now, a major New York Times report on the issue has been followed by an editorial warning of “A Deadly Legacy in Iraq”: some 5,000 chemical shells have been discovered over the years in Iraq by U.S. or U.S.-trained Iraqi forces. Many more...

New media accounts — including coverage by NRO’s Patrick Brennan — confirm what I repeatedly have written since the depths of Operation Iraqi Freedom: The late dictator Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass death, and the United States of America was correct to invade Iraq, find these toxins, and destroy them. Also vital: padlocking this Baathist general store for militant-Islamic terrorism. As I explained on July 17, 2006: While the liberal press gently sleeps, evidence continues to mount that Hussein had WMDs, though perhaps not in quantities that would bulge warehouses. “Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately...

There’s one man, some Republicans say, who kept the public from learning about the chemical shells littered around the Iraqi battlefield. He was Bush's most important political adviser. Starting in 2004, some members of the George W. Bush administration and Republican lawmakers began to find evidence of discarded chemical weapons in Iraq. But when the information was brought up with the White House, senior adviser Karl Rove told them to ‘let these sleeping dogs lie.’ The issue of Iraq’s WMD remnant was suddenly thrust back into the fore this week, with a blockbuster New York Times report accusing the Bush...

In a new op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Republican strategist Karl Rove warns the GOP that should they make big gains in the November midterm elections, they should focus on passing legislation rather than “score-settling” with President Barack Obama. Rove writes that he anticipates Obama to reject bills sent to him from a Republican Congress but that Obama ” deserves the chance to show he’s matured as a leader and has the energy to govern.” From the op-ed: Mr. Obama is not the only person who must decide how to proceed. Whatever path the president chooses, Republicans must settle...

Karl Rove recently tried to advise Republicans on how the party can more effectively take back the Senate in November. He made two main suggestions. One was that Republican candidates must “make the case for electing someone new who will be a check and balance in the Senate on Mr. Obama and his agenda, rather than returning a Democratic loyalist who toes his line.” Rove’s second suggestion was that the party should “offer a positive, optimistic conservative agenda to make independents who disapprove of Mr. Obama comfortable voting Republican.” Rove is right on both counts, especially about offering a positive...

Kansas Surprise: Orman Leads Roberts by 10 in NBC/Marist Poll BY CARRIE DANN Independent candidate Greg Orman is leading incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in Kansas by 10 points, while Democrats have a slim lead in North Carolina’s contest and both candidates are in a dead heat in Iowa’s Senate race, new NBC News/Marist polls find. The Kansas poll, which shows Roberts trailing 38 percent to Orman’s 48 percent, is full of bad news for the incumbent and for Republicans, who have suddenly seen Roberts’ sleepy re-election race turn into a very real pickup opportunity for Democrats if Orman decides...

Before you delete this email, we want to explain something. You’ve probably seen this a lot: Email: Chipped in to Defeat Harry Reid's Democrats? NO DONATION Deadline: 11:59 PM Suggested Support: $5.00 Let us explain… We rely on lots of grassroots conservatives to chip in $5 or more, while the other side is able to pressure Hollywood celebrities and limousine liberals to donate millions. In other words, we need your support or we just can’t keep up. If people donate, it adds up fast, but it only works if everyone does their part. And according to our records, you haven’t...

Just as a high stakes gambler in the wrong place at the wrong time might get "rolled" from time to time, Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson appears ripe to get "Roved" yet again based upon reports he's "donated $10 million to a Karl Rove-backed outfit boosting Republican Senate candidates and promised a similar amount to an allied group focused on House races."

But GOP candidates can't simply rely on attacking Democrats for having voted for ObamaCare or, in the case of nonincumbents, supporting it. They should draw attention to the law's pernicious effects on ordinary Americans. By humanizing ObamaCare's shortfalls through stories from ordinary people, Republicans will help explode the myth of liberal competence and compassion, keep this issue fresh through the fall and cause voters to hold Democrats accountable at the polls.

Dear Friend, The conservative principles you and I believe in are in danger. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are crisscrossing America raising millions of dollars from rich liberals. They now have $11 million more on hand. In 12 days we face a critical deadline: the June End of Quarter FEC Fundraising Deadline. We must end strong to stay close with Pelosi’s campaign machine. This is critical to increasing our majority in the House this November. (SNIP) The deadline is just days away. After the VA scandal, Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservatives, and the Obama Administration trading away 5 Taliban Terrorist...

Last year, American Crossroads, the super-PAC conceived of by Republican operative and fundraiser Karl Rove, hatched a plan: Inject itself into 2014 GOP primary races to protect incumbents from hard-line challengers in the mold of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock who could cost the party winnable seats in Congress. Immediately, conservatives howled with outrage over an establishment group targeting tea partiers—Mike Huckabee called it "fratricide." The plan never got off the ground, and American Crossroads itself has largely shied away from picking primary fights. But here's an exception: A brand-new Crossroads ad slams Matt Doheny, who's vying with Elise Stefanik...

For the Republicans, New York's 21st congressional district race has become a battle of attack ads. First, American Crossroads, a political action committee co-founded by Karl Rove came out with an ad against Matt Doheny. On Thursday, Doheny told WPTZ he would not release a negative ad against Stefanik and that he wanted to keep the campaign clean. However a few days later, Doheny released an attack ad against his opponent. Then, the super PAC which supports Stefanik released another attack ad against Doheny. -snip- When asked if she thinks American Crossroads’ support or the negative campaign ads against her...

American Crossroads, a Republican super PAC, has released another ad opposing Republican congressional candidate Matthew A. Doheny’s bid for Congress. The ad, “No Conservative,” reviews the “Mistakes” ad released by the PAC last week and calls Mr. Doheny a “perennial loser” for his unsuccessful campaigns for the 21st District seat seat held by Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh. Rep. Owens is not seeking re-election. Mr. Doheny is locked in a primary battle with fellow Republican Elise M. Stefanik. The primary election will be held June 24, and the candidates will face off in debates today and Thursday.

American Crossroads, a GOP establishment organization, has decided to shift its political focus almost entirely to the general election and will not be spending money in the likely runoff election to decide the Mississippi Senate nomination that was virtually deadlocked after Tuesday night. Founded by Karl Rove and other Republican strategists, Crossroads and its non-profit affiliate, Crossroads GPS, had not played an active role in supporting GOP Sen. Thad Cochran’s bid to thwart a primary challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel, but the group had been working behind the scenes to boost other pro-Cochran super PACs. "Other than Alaska, we...

Neel Kashkari swings an axe in his ubiquitous television commercial. But he hasn't found an axe big enough to cut into Tim Donnelly's lead among Republican voters. A new Hoover Institution "Golden State" poll shows that Kashkari is only pulling 5% of the vote, barely above the 4% margin of error, a distant third behind popular Democrat incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown at 36%, and Tea Party favorite Assemblyman Tim Donnelly with 12%. A large chunk of voters--35% overall--is still undecided. Kashkari will need to tap into those voters in the final few days of the race in order to finish...

Yesterday I noted that the tea party in big states and national elections faces a challenge both in money and support when facing competent, mainstream Republicans. To put it bluntly, there aren’t enough Republicans who think that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a sellout or that the shutdown was a good idea to sustain the tea party in its current form. I’ve suggested that it, in essence, disappears as a distinct subset of the right and, like most insurgent movements, will be soaked up by the larger political entity, in this case the GOP. But are there other things the...

More Republicans are pushing for an immigration overhaul.House Republican leaders are mum on a timetable for advancing immigration overhaul legislation and have so far been noncommittal on moving on the issue before the end of the 113th Congress. But a group of mayors and business leaders from across the political spectrum is determined to prove that momentum is growing for a rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws — even among conservatives. The coalition, Partnership for a New American Economy, on Wednesday held the first in a series of monthly conference calls moderated by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist...

GOP activist Karl Rove is being accused of gutter politics in a response by Hillary Clinton’s reps after remarks last week, reported by Page Six, that the former secretary of state may have brain damage from a blood clot she suffered in 2012. “From the moment this happened 17 months ago, the right has politicized her health,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement. “First they accused her of faking it. Now they’ve resorted to the other extreme — and are flat-out lying … All he wants to do is inject the issue into the echo chamber, and he’s...

Karl Rove denied Tuesday that he said Hillary Clinton had brain damage. "I didn't say she had brain damage, she had a serious health episode," he told FOX News, suggesting that her hospitalization in January 2013 for a blood clot could thwart her presidential ambitions.