Free Republic

The nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was just defeated on a cloture vote 52-33. Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D., Ark.), and Sen. Scott Brown (R., Mass.) all voted against cloture.

Just wondering.

Reuters makes it sounds like Sen. Scott Brown is guilty of robbery: Republican Scott Brown's formal arrival in the U.S. Senate on Thursday robbed Democrats of their crucial 60-vote supermajority and set the stage for a bitter November election fight for control of the 100-member chamber.

Republican Scott Brown became the junior senator from Massachusetts today, a week earlier than expected, and two weeks after his upset victory in the Bay State’s January 19 special election. Brown’s swearing-in marks the official end of the Democrats’ super majority by giving the GOP 41 votes in the 100-member Senate — enough to sustain a filibuster. At the Capitol, Brown was joined by his wife, Gail, and sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on the Senate floor, using bibles beloved by his two daughters, Ayla and Arianna, who were not able to attend the ceremony. Biden joked that...

A triumphant Scott Brown arrived to a rock star’s welcome outside the Russell Senate Office Building today to begin the whirlwind swearing-in process. “Hold on. Let me get my certification papers,” said the U.S. Senator-elect as he pulled up in a Cadillac Escalade. He had to leave his trusty old GMC Canyon pickup at home for the flight to the Capitol. “I’m happy to be here,” he told the press swarming around his vehicle. Brown then pulled his certification papers out of the back. When asked what his top priority would be after being sworn in today at 5 p.m.,...

At the beginning there was the desk. Actually 48 desks that New York cabinet maker Thomas Constantine made for the Senate Chamber at newly reconstructed Capitol building in 1819... n 100 years the space for books was doubled and ventilation was added to the work space as you can see from the second and third image of the evolution of the Senator’s desk. The things really got out of control at the beginning of the twentieth century. The tiny red mahogany desks were the Senate primary working space until the first Senate office building opened in 1909...There was also more...

Sen.-elect Scott Brown is expected to be sworn in as the "41st vote" on health care on Thursday, heading down to Washington, D.C., after Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the certification of election to make him the next U.S. senator. !!!!!!!

In a brief procedure, Governor Deval Patrick and the Governor's Council this morning certified the upset election of Scott P. Brown, clearing the way for the Republican to take the oath of office this evening in Washington. Prior to the vote by the council, Councilor Michael J. Callahan offered a brief prayer for Brown and then councilors voted 6-0 to certify the results from last month's special election. Patrick said as he slammed down a gavel and said, "motion carried. Done.'' Patrick and Secretary of State William Galvin then formally signed paperwork that will be sent to Washington, confirming that...

Interim U.S. Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr. announced tonight he will give his final address to the Senate tomorrow afternoon clearing the way for Sen.-elect Scott Brown to take his seat. Kirk’s staff announced the senator will “deliver his final speech on the floor of the United States Senate” at 3:45 p.m.

The final vote totals aren’t in yet, but folks you have to understand in Illinois it’s par for the course. By the way, where are some of those uncounted votes sitting? In a warehouse on the west side of Chicago, according to Cook County Clerk David Orr and, of course, absentee ballots haven’t been counted yet. Remember the City of Chicago’s motto is “vote early and vote often” and even the dead are invited to cast a ballot. However, most stunning is U.S Rep. Mark Kirk’s margin of victory in the Illinois GOP primary for the U.S. Senate. It would...

Reno, NV - Sharron Angle (R-NV), a former state legislator who leads Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) in the latest polls conducted by Mason-Dixon and Rasmussen, continued strong showings in GOP straw polling being conducted throughout the state by sweeping 100% of the vote in Storey County.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank says he missed this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” spoof of him drooling over a scantily clad “Scott Brown,” but he does want to meet with the GOP’s new golden boy. The Newton Democrat said he was at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last week and missed SNL. At Logan International Airport yesterday, a state police trooper who saw the show told Frank he thought “it was pretty funny.”

My friend, Orthodox Rabbi, California-based writer, blogger, and fellow political conservative, Rabbi Dov Fischer, has the disturbing scoop on Ms. Fiorina. He is the head rabbi of Young Israel of Orange County, a Modern Orthodox synagogue, of whose Detroit branch both my grandfathers were co-founders. Rabbi Dov notes a very recent video, posted below, in which Ms. Fiorina details her very friendly, “working” relationship with shakedown artist, anti-Semite, and racist Jesse Jackson, when she welcomed him to his shakedown stop at Hewlett-Packard while she was CEO. Anyone who describes Jackson with the word “gracious,” as she did, is simply brain...

John Arrington, Illinois Republican for U.S. Senate: WHY I AM PRO-FAMILY: In His Own Words EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final installment in a series titled "In Their Own Words". The series is for informational purposes only and is not an endorsement of any particular candidate. RFFM.org would like to thank those who participated. Some candidates promised to submit personal essays and did not, while others refused to participate. RFFM.org is a pro-family website/blog, subsequently, liberal candidates like Mark Kirk were not invited to share their opinions. RFFM.org also believes money and influence should not determine a candidate's viability. There...

Joseph P. Kennedy II said today he regrets not seeking the U.S. Senate seat vacated by his uncle, but the former congressman has no plans to run against U.S. Sen.-elect Scott Brown in 2012. Kennedy, who was in Brighton today delivering heating oil for his nonprofit Citizens Energy, was asked whether Brown’s victory made him regret his decision not to run to succeed his uncle, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

If Scott Brown has kept President Obama up at night, there could be more sleepless nights at the White House thanks to a new poll that ranks the senator-elect as presidential timber. A Newsmax/Zogby poll shows the Massachusetts Republican within striking range of Obama in a hypothetical presidential matchup. The poll shows the pair statistically deadlocked if the presidential election were held today.

...Decades spent eclipsed by Kennedy were not easy for Kerry. “ ‘John Kerry doesn’t get anything done. John Kerry lives in the shadow of Ted Kennedy. John Kerry doesn’t deliver. Blah, blah, blah,’ ” Kerry told the Herald in an October 2008 interview. “I’m sort of tired of that, actually. I’m going to fight back a little harder to make sure people understand that that’s an insult to my staff when people say that.” On Capitol Hill this week, Kerry’s office was filled with reporters and cameras, but they were following the newly elected Brown.

There are two ways to look at Republican Scott Brown's pivotal victory in the Senate race to represent Massachusetts. -- The voters looked at runaway spending in Washington and the corrupt deals cut to grease the support of key Democratic senators, government workers and Big Labor for Obamacare, and said: Enough. -- Fickle voters in a state that gave Obama 62 percent of the vote in November 2008 turned around and handed victory to a Republican, who pledged to block President Obama's health care package, because they voted in a knee-jerk response to this question: Whom do I hate the...

A day after Scott Brown captured victory in a hard-fought U.S. Senate race by declaring he drives a pickup truck and lives in Wrentham, his hometown yesterday celebrated the native son who shot onto the national stage by being the guy next door. “He is the guy next door,” said Hannah Illes, Brown’s neighbor in a cul-de-sac near Lake Archer. “He really drives a truck. That poor truck. What you see is what you get with Scott.” Illes and her boyfriend, Rob Penchuk, 50, who has lived next to Brown for 20 years, said the state’s next U.S. senator is...

California Republicans say Scott Brown's win in the Massachusetts special Senate election portends a conservative wave in November's midterm elections, and electoral doom for incumbent U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. But Democrats cite big differences between the Bay State and the Golden State, and Boxer's challengers have a much tougher row to hoe than Brown did. California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring asked Tuesday whether Democrats "will finally start listening to the American people, who want taxes lowered, the debt retired, and government out of the way; or if they will continue to let the most radical elements of their...

RUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life I am proud of Massachusetts, as I paraphrase Michelle (My Belle) Obama. For the first time in my life I am proud of Massachusetts. I seem to remember some hack saying you never want to waste a crisis. Some hack in the White House said that. I think his name was Rahm Emanuel. That's exactly right. Well, they are in a crisis right now, and turnaround is fair play. So let me say, ladies and gentlemen, you never want to waste a crisis, especially when it's the libs experiencing...

Reid is complaining that Republicans have not wanted to work with Dems, reads off a list of all the spending they have doen and promises to get HC done. McConnell up now.

“We have just witnessed a wicked political pivot across our country.” – Sarah Palin

Call it a teaching moment. The voters of Massachusetts schooled President Barack Hussein Obama today when they elected Republican Scott Brown to fill the United States Senate seat which had been held by the late Edward M. Kennedy for forty-seven years prior to his death in August 2009.

Obama is not the Messiah. He's more like the hula hoop; a flash in the pan. He has been revealed to the American center as too far out on the left wing. Force him back to the middle or suffer the consequences in November.

U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes announced Monday that he will no longer request federal money to finance projects in New Hampshire that benefit businesses, hospitals, police departments and colleges. Hodes, a Democrat, said the appropriations process also known as earmarking is broken because many lawmakers abuse the system. He cited the poor economy and federal deficit as other reasons behind his newly adopted stance. But Hodes denied that he is forgoing earmarking because he is running for U.S. Senate and stepping away from the controversial issue could benefit him politically, as the state Republican Party immediately claimed. “There’s nothing I can...

SPECIAL REPORT RFFM.org has learned U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's first name and middle initial is really James T. That's right. The congressman from Illinois' 10th U.S. Congressional District is actually James T. Kirk, the Captain of the starship Enterprise. Captain Kirk is not really in the Navy Reserves, he's a member of the United Federation of Planets, as well as a member of Congress. There has been much speculation why Kirk has not been participating in any U.S. Senate debates which led to this RFFM.org special investigation. In reality, Kirk is on a dual mission. He's not only seeking the...

Per the CNN Political Ticker Blog, Scott Brown, in Boston and "still campaigning like he is 30 points down" said if he wins tomorrow...HE WILL be in DC by Friday.

A victory by Republican Scott Brown Tuesday in Massachusetts could quickly turn into a legal battle over the man he would replace – Sen. Paul Kirk – with the future of health reform in the Senate hanging in the balance. Conservative commentator Fred Barnes is arguing that Kirk will lose his vote in the Senate after Tuesday's special election, no matter who wins, signaling a possible GOP line of attack against health reform if it passes with Kirk’s vote. GOP elected officials haven't embraced that argument, and two academic election law experts contacted by POLITICO refuted the notion that Kirk...

The problem with that Massachusetts Democratic rally is that, aside from the weirder moments (Barney Frank: "Martha Coakley is not Barack Obama in drag"), they sound like they're preaching to the converted - which is what got 'em into this mess in the first place. For example: U.S. Rep. Edward Markey had harsh words for Brown. “Independent Republican? That’s an oxy-moron,” he said. “We’re all waiting for Wednesday morning when we have Martha Coakley joining us down there. Scott Brown. He’s a lot like George Bush. He says he’s a uniter, not a divider. Well, congratulations, Scott Brown, you have...

Kathleen Thomas, Illinois Republican for U.S. Senate: WHY I AM PRO-FAMILY: In Her Own Words RFFM.ORG EXCLUSIVE OP-ED by Kathleen Thomas Let me first explain that I believe the family is the foundation of society. I also believe that the traditional family is being attacked on all sides. As a mother, a grandmother and American this is of great concern to me. I unashamedly say that marriage is strictly between a man and a woman and that laws should not distort this fact. I believe in human dignity and in treating others with respect. All Americans are entitled to the...

WORCESTER — Ms. Coakley says it will be hard to follow in Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's footsteps. Fighting discrimination, "fighting for the guy who doesn't have a voice anywhere else." Ms. Coakley takes a shot at Mr. Brown: "Just because you drive around in a truck, doesn't mean you're going in the right direction," she says. Ms. Coakley thanks the crowd, and is joining Mr. Clinton to go out and meet the crowd. The rally is over. Thanks for joining us on telegram.com

Amid a hard-fought Senate race, Democratic candidate Martha Coakley tried to rev up union support yesterday by pledging to support organizing efforts of FedEx carrier workers across the country. Appearing at a Watertown rally with more than 100 Teamsters, Coakley promised to “level the playing field” for some FedEx workers now banned from unionizing under the federal Railway Labor Act.

A fresh poll in Massachusetts shows that Republican Scott Brown has taken a 4-point lead in his race against Democrat Martha Coakley in the bid for election to the U.S. Senate. Look a bit deeper and we find that 'the Coakley fallacy' was doomed from the start. True enough that Coakley runs in a true-blue Democrat state. And true enough that she is running to replace the seat vacated by Ted Kennedy, who was known as the 'lion of the Senate' who forcefully rang the bell for liberal causes. But this year is different. Very different. Brown perceptively based his...

Breaking news 1:40 PM Obama to campaign for Coakley Sunday President Obama plans to visit the state Sunday to campaign for Senate candidate Martha Coakley, according to a senior Democratic official.

The challenges currently facing the United States are daunting. Security concerns, a massive deficit, lack of jobs, spiraling taxes, illegal immigration and health-care costs are just a few. Massachusetts doesn't need to elect yet another person who will toe the Democratic Party line and kowtow to leadership. Massachusetts needs a senator who will challenge the status quo, is strong enough to take a stand on controversial issues, and will put Bay State residents first when making decisions. In the race to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy in the U.S. Senate, Republican Scott Brown is the...

There are two parts to this story, both equally devastating to the Democrats and spectacular for the Republicans. And is has to do with North Dakota. The first part came last Tuesday, when Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) stunned the political world by announcing he would not seek a fourth term. Today part two is expected at 7 pm Eastern time today, when Gov. John Hoeven (R), who is in his third term and yet remains extraordinarily popular, is likely to announce he is a candidate to succeed Dorgan. The news has been confirmed by several sources, including the Bismarck Tribune,...

Scott Brown was with Pats fans today and you can support Scott by texting BROWN to 68398.

It looks like the fix is in on national health-care reform - and it all may unfold on Beacon Hill. At a business forum in Boston today, interim Sen. Paul Kirk predicted that Congress would pass a health-care reform bill this month. “We want to get this resolved before President Obama’s State of the Union address in early to mid-February,” Kirk told reporters at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast. The longtime aide and confidant of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was handpicked by Gov. Deval Patrick after a controversial legal change to hold Kennedy’s seat, vowed...

Scott Brown on Hannity tonight (01/08/2009)

BOSTON—Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Scott Brown has been narrowing the money gap with Democratic rival Martha Coakley in the race to fill the late Edward Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat. During the most recent reporting period, Brown collected about $750,000 to Coakley's $1 million. Although she's raised more than $5.2 million overall, Coakley had just $937,383 in cash going into the final stretch compared to Brown's $367,150.

You may be a Scott Brown voter if: ...You’re in a union, and you’re going to have to pay a 40 percent tax on your “Cadillac” health-care plan if Martha Coakley gets a chance to vote for Obama’s health-care rationing bill. ...You’d like to send a message to the limousine liberals who are driving this state and this country off a cliff.

CNN got a little egg on their face yesterday after they showed a picture of the wrong Blumenthal in covering Sen. Chris Dodd's retirement announcement. From TVNewser During a report today about future Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, CNN's "American Morning" accidentally used b-roll of political journalist and former Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal. 15 minutes later, John Roberts admitted the mix-up and said, "Our apologies to all, and in the immortal words of Monty Python, 'Those responsible for this egregious error have been sacked.' No, they haven't really, but they know they made a mistake." Despite the slip-up I will give...

North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy will not run for Senate, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee source tells RealClearPolitics.

Republicans look like they’ve landed their top recruit in the North Dakota Senate race: Popular Gov. John Hoeven is letting his political allies know that he’s preparing to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says he will seek to succeed fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd in the U.S. Senate. Blumenthal tells The Associated Press that he will announce his candidacy at noon Wednesday at Democratic headquarters in Hartford.

“Although I still have a passion for public service and enjoy my work in the Senate, I have other interests and I have other things I would like to pursue outside of public life. I have written two books and have an invitation from a publisher to write two more books. I would like to do some teaching and would also like to work on energy policy in the private sector. “So, over this holiday season, I have come to the conclusion, with the support of my family, that I will not be seeking another term in the U.S. Senate...

Cambridge funny man and Hollywood star Lenny Clarke has endorsed Scott Brown. Watch the video.

In the video below, Senator Max Baucus is making a weird rant on the Senate Floor. The Montana Senator is slurring his words and it seems as if he his having problems standing up strait. Lets face it the guy is either "sh*t-faced," honoring the late Senator Ted Kennedy with an Imitation of being drunk, or maybe looking for an excuse for when he faces the voters of Montana and they ask why he voted for such an awful bill. "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time."

Merry Christmas, Scott Brown, and boy have the Democrats in Congress handed you the perfect gift - health-care “reform.” Between now and election day, Jan. 19, there is no other issue. This is what the Senate fight is all about. If the voter likes his or her health care - or at least doesn’t believe that the federal government is going to improve it - then they should vote for you, Scott Brown.