Free Republic

Barrett served for 22 years in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. His platform is centered on "military readiness." Michigan GOP Congressional candidate Tom Barrett said he left the Army to run for Congress with goals to restore readiness in the military and stand up to President Joe Biden. "I retired from the army two years ago in large part because of the failure of leadership of Joe Biden and decided to run for Congress to stand up to Biden, and really bring about a course correction in our military," Barrett said on the "Just the...

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday endorsed and plans to campaign for Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the first time that the critic of former President Donald Trump who lost her GOP primary has crossed party lines to formally support a Democrat. Slotkin is competing against Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Their race is considered a toss-up by both sides and one of the Republicans’ chief targets in their campaign to win the House majority on Nov. 8.

Vulnerable Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) imploded during a television debate when a Michigan news anchor pressed her about the recent bombshell report revealing she resides in an apartment owned by a “lobbyist” and campaign donor, who is also registered — with his family — to vote at the same address and works for a company receiving tens of million in government funding. WDIV-TV held a television debate on Sunday between Slotkin and her Republican opponent state Sen. Tom Barrett. The anchor in charge of asking questions brought up the recent report that revealed Slotkin moved into a residence owned...

Michigan's Senate on Thursday approved a petition that repeals Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers, with another approval expected by the state’s lower chamber. Whitmer, a Democrat, cannot veto the petition. The Michigan Senate’s 20-15 vote came two days after the Board of State Canvassers certified the petition, which was started by a group called Unlock Michigan that gathered over 340,000 signatures. The board deadlocked 2-2 in April but voted 3-0 this time around. The petition took aim at the 1945 Emergency Powers Act that enabled Whitmer to impose harsh restrictions on state residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans on the...

We are each of us ultimately responsible only for ourselves and our own actions, yet the degree to which we may be held accountable for the misdeeds of others apparently varies by political party affiliation. On Wednesday, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published on its website what can only be described as a hit piece on Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson in which reporters Molly Beck and Patrick Marley highlighted the fact that Johnson is “taking fire from a liberal group for accepting more than $13,000 from a Washington state business owner who refused to hire Muslims and replied to emailed jokes...

MADISON — Yes, Virginia. The Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee does suck. The nearly all-virtual coronation of Joe Biden seems to be just about everywhere but Milwaukee — the host city for the Democratic Party’s national disappointment. Bernie isn’t there. Nancy isn’t there. Joe’s not there, although, that can be said of both Biden’s geographic and cognitive positions.Dems went all-in on the COVID WILL KILL US ALL!!! narrative, so they had no choice really but to ditch the troubled Wisconsin city that was supposed to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix thanks to the infusion of 50,000 convention Democrats.Nobody...

Michigan GOP state Sen. Tom Barrett claimed Tuesday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her staff "duped" him "into a cover-up" after the governor's office "adamantly denied" that Whitmer's husband had tried to use her position to convince a dock company to quickly get the family's boat on the water ahead of the Memorial Day weekend amid the coronavirus pandemic. Barrett, in an interview with Fox News, said that over the weekend he initially heard a story on Facebook about someone purportedly calling NorthShore Dock LLC, a company that reportedly stores the family's boat, and mentioning that he is married to...

Pollster Frank Luntz is trying to hawk his new poll on gun laws commissioned by the left-wing group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. He's trying to sell the concept that NRA members are just as interested in "common-sense gun policies" as anti-gun nuts and that legislators should take this into account when crafting future anti-gun legislation. The problem is that this poll is misleading in some important ways. The problem here is that the devil being in the details is glossed over by the poll. (Download .pdf of poll here) In an op ed penned by Luntz and Tom Barrett, gun...

MILWAUKEE, WI — Amid alarming homicide statistics and dwindling officer morale, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn could soon be getting a contract extension. While there were rumors circulating Thursday that the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission had all but decided a two-year contract extension for Flynn, a commission official said that’s not the case. Contract matters must be discussed and voted on in public. The commission could do just that at its next regularly scheduled meeting July 2. An agenda is slated for release early next week. Flynn’s contract is up in January. [CHIEF CONCERNS: Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) plans to sign two new laws on Wednesday that expand the rights of gun owners by removing a 48-hour waiting period for those looking to purchase a firearm and allowing off-duty or retired police officers to carry concealed weapons at public schools. This action will come one week after a suspected gunman shot and killed nine people in an African American church in South Carolina, yet again prompting a national discussion about gun laws in the U.S. Walker plans to sign the two pieces of legislation — Senate bills 35 and 70 — at a...

Long a local government watchdog and critic, conservative activist Orville Seymer is now asking the federal government to help him sort out his money troubles. Seymer -- a top official with Citizens for Responsible Government -- filed for bankruptcy last month, listing $147,126 in assets and more than $1 million in liabilities. He is seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which stops all legal actions and could allow him to write off many of his debts. Seymer is pinning much of the blame for his financial woes on City Hall, saying he has been targeted by city building inspectors for speaking...

With more than 289,000 ballots received as of Monday, Wisconsin has significantly increased its 2010 pre-election turnout, when Republican Scott Walker first claimed the governor's seat. This time, he's aiming for a second term that could set up a run for president in 2016.

Obama coming to Milwaukee for Laborfest By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel Aug. 27, 2014 A spokeswoman for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday that President Barack Obama will be in Milwaukee on Labor Day. No further details were available for Monday's visit, but multiple media sources said that Obama will be attending Laborfest at Maier Festival Park. A White House official later confirmed the president would visit the city for an event Monday. Obama was a frequent visitor to Milwaukee and Madison during the 2012 campaign, and was here in 2010 for Laborfest, speaking to a crowd of...

In his hunt for reelection, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is leading his Democratic opponent Mary Burke, according to a new poll released Monday. The Marquette Law School poll has the Republican governor ahead 47 to 41 percent among registered voters. The same poll has 54 percent of respondents saying the state is heading in the right direction, compared to 40 percent who say it is not. With the election still nine months away, Burke will have to play catch up to familiarize voters with her stance on issues; 70 percent of respondents say they have not heard enough about her...

In between bowls of chicken poodle soup and deciding to provide air cover for al-Qaeda in Syria, our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, found time to meet with mayors from our crumbling major cities. From Justin Sink of The Hill: *** "President Obama told a collection of big-city mayors Tuesday at the White House that he would continue to use executive actions to combat gun violence plaguing major cities. In the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and the mayors of 18 cities from across the nation, Obama discussed commonly applicable strategies to reduce youth violence. 'He also vowed to...

MILWAUKEE – Tom Barrett presides over a $1.42 billion budget and a “company” with some 8,300 employees, but with all that responsibility the Milwaukee mayor only ranks seventh on the list of top paid city employees with $145,635 annual earnings. Perhaps more striking, his estimated $2.86 million lifetime pension also ranks seventh among his Milwaukee peers, according to a new report by Taxpayers United of America. Those figures demonstrate how the public pension system is simply unsustainable, say members of that group. BIG MONEY: Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett stands to collect millions in from his public retirement pension. TUA estimates...

In Milwaukee, the homicide rate for black residents is 27.9 per 100,000 compared to 9.7 for Latinos and 1.7 per 100,000 white residents. Of known 2011 homicide suspects in Milwaukee, 93 percent are black, while 4 percent are white and Latino. The city itself is 40 percent black, 17 percent Latino, and 37 percent white, according to Census figures. {SNIP} Milwaukee is among the 20 most violent cities in America. The largest number of homicides in Milwaukee occurred in the 53206 Zip Code. {SNIP} In 2011, 17 of the 86 homicides in Milwaukee occurred in 53206. Between 2005-2009, there were...

Shortly after Barack Obama won reelection in November, New Jersey governor Chris Christie pointed out that Republicans’ cloudy political prospects had a bright silver lining. “One of the reasons you have 30 Republican governors in America, and why we’re the only organization to add Republican strength,” Christie said, “is because people see us getting things done.” Christie’s stance countered most of the elite postelection commentary, which gleefully pronounced the Republican Party’s political irrelevance. But the governor was right. Since Obama first took office in 2008, Republicans have picked up a net nine governorships, bringing their total to 30 states,...

State Senator Neal Kedzie says his son was attacked while trying to stop someone from stealing his Romney/Ryan yard sign. Whitewater Police tell NBC15 News this is an active investigation. Here is the statement released by Senator Neal Kedzie: Early on Friday morning, October 19th, my son Sean was awakened by noises outside his residence in Whitewater. As he went to see what the commotion was about, he noticed an individual removing a Romney/Ryan yard sign from his property. He yelled to the person that they were taking something not theirs and to return it immediately. The individual returned the...

Madison - Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett are locked in a dead-even race for governor, according to a poll released Wednesday by Marquette University Law School. The poll also showed Barrett leading his Democratic rivals in Tuesday's primary. The primary winner will face the Republican governor in the June 5 recall election.