Free Republic

Greg Nash Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday cut the legs out from a bipartisan effort to keep suspected terrorists from buying guns. In doing so, McConnell, a master of the Senate’s arcane rules, provided cover for vulnerable Republicans who wanted to be seen as supporting the effort, but did not want to cross the National Rifle Association. “The scenario that Sen. McConnell set up was textbook McConnell,” said Brian Darling, a former Senate Republican aide. McConnell had promised a vote this week to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on her bipartisan measure barring people on two key...

More than two dozen House Democrats staged a "sit-in" on the House floor Wednesday in protest of GOP leadership's refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre. Led by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and more than 40 Democrats walked into the chamber just before noon and pledged to “occupy” the House floor until GOP leadership allowed a vote. Democrats have tried numerous times over the past week to force a vote on a so-called "no fly, no buy" bill, which would bar terror suspects on the “no-fly" list from purchasing...

Senators on Tuesday rolled out a bipartisan bill aimed at stopping suspected terrorists from buying a gun, as lawmakers try to overcome a stalemate on the issue. "Essentially we believe that if you are too dangerous to fly on an airplane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters. The legislation would allow the attorney general to block the sale of a gun if an individual is on the "no-fly" list or the so-called "selectee" list, which requires additional screening at an airport. Collins said the two lists affect approximately 109,000 people, most...

(CNSNews.com) - Following the Senate rejection of a series of new gun control measures on Monday, Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D- Nev.) told fellow senators “the NRA doesn’t care about you” adding that the National Rifle Association doesn’t care for the constituents of lawmakers and “it doesn’t care about the constitutional rights of the followers.” “Here’s a little secret for my Republican colleagues,” Reid said on the floor of the Senate Tuesday morning, “The NRA doesn’t care about you. It doesn’t care about your constituents, it doesn’t care about the constitutional rights of the followers.”“The NRA and its leadership...

Sen. Marco Rubio is coming under heavy pressure inside and outside the Beltway to change his mind and run for reelection to the Senate.For Senate GOP leaders, the move is a political no-brainer. ADVERTISEMENT Rubio is a known quantity and an able fundraiser, and they believe he represents their best shot at keeping Florida’s Senate seat in the Republican column.For Rubio the question is tougher.Running for the Senate would amount to a significant political u-turn. He’s repeatedly railed against the ineffectiveness of the upper chamber and brushed aside questions about his lax attendance record.He could also be risking his...

Cameron Lancaster Senate Republicans blocked a slate of President Obama's lower court nominees Tuesday. Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono (Hawaii),Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) asked for consent four times to bring up a total of 11 judicial nominations Tuesday, arguing that the pace of confirmation votes has created a backlog. "The judicial confirmation process has been at a crawl for years. Now it has come to a functional standstill," said Schumer, who is expected to be the next Senate Democratic leader. The Senate's top Republicans teamed up to block the Democratic efforts. Majority LeaderMitch McConnell objected to requests...

Sen. Barbara Boxer, who once dressed down a Army brigadier general who called her "ma'am," tried to shame a Catholic priest for not agreeing with Pope Francis on matters of climate change, which fall outside the magisterial authority of the Church. Watch the exchange here: 5 minute video: Unhinged: Senator Boxer ridicules 'philosopher', assails Catholic priest at Senate climate hearing The "Rev. Nelson" Boxer was referring to is a Methodist minister (and not a scientist!) who is ideologically aligned with herself on the issue of climate change. First, some basic Catholicism: the pope is not infallible unless he is...

Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he wishes he could stay in the Senate “'til I drop dead," even though he is not seeking reelection in November. "Well, I wish I could stay here 'til I drop dead, but I want to be remembered for my first 34 years, not my last six," Reid said in an interview with The Takeaway podcast . "I want everyone within the sound of my voice here today to understand what a joy it's been, an honor for me to serve in the Senate." The Nevada senator reflected on his unpopularity among some...

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee acted Wednesday to subpoena EPA administrator Gina McCarthy after the agency refused to provide witnesses to a field hearing on the EPA-caused Gold King Mine spill. Chairman John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, and vice chairman Jon Tester, Montana Democrat, said they had agreed to issue the subpoena ordering Ms. McCarthy or assistant administrator Mathy Stanislaus to testify at the April 22 hearing in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Barrasso said the subpoena would be served on the EPA later Wednesday. Committee members blasted the EPA for its lack of cooperation in aiding the panel in its oversight role...

If there is one thing that is bipartisan in Washington, it is brazen hypocrisy. Currently there is much indignation being expressed by Democrats because the Republican-controlled Senate refuses to hold confirmation hearings on President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Democrats complain, and the media echo their complaint, that it is the Senate's duty to provide "advice and consent" on the President's appointment of various federal officials. Therefore, according to this claim, the Senate is neglecting its Constitutional duty by refusing even to hold hearings to determine...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is facing what may be the toughest reelection of his Senate career in an unpredictable presidential year, when many voters are angry with Washington. Early polls show McCain tied with his Democratic challenger, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), at around 40 percent despite having nearly 100-percent name recognition in the state he has represented in either the Senate or House since 1983. “The basic problem for John McCain is the same kind of thing that faces a lot of incumbents right now. He’s been there a long time. People are leery of Washington. They don’t like Washington,”...

GOP presidential hopeful Marco Rubio on Monday said a controversial immigration reform bill he helped negotiate in 2013 was never meant to pass the Congress. As a member of the so-called "Gang of 8," the Florida senator negotiated an immigration compromise between Republicans and Democrats. But the bill never made it past conservatives in the House who complained it provided a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Rubio has taken criticism from fellow GOP presidential candidates for his role in the immigration package. On Monday, he suggested the bill was for show and he never expected House Republicans to go...

Top Senate Democrats introduced legislation Thursday that would grant government-funded lawyers to illegal immigrants who are part of the surge of Central Americans that have overwhelmed the border and stretched the immigration courts. Though unlikely to advance in the GOP-controlled Congress, the legislation is an important marker for both the presidential campaign and for the ongoing debate over how the U.S. treats the illegal immigrants -- and particularly the unaccompanied children -- that have skyrocketed in recent years. Sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, the bill would allow illegal immigrants to delay their court dates until the government has...

Minnesota jurist Wilhelmina Marie Wright's written accusation that President Reagan tolerated racism did not hinder her ascent to the federal bench. The Senate voted 58-36 on Tuesday evening to confirm President Barack Obama's nominee to U.S. District Court in Minnesota. While a student at Harvard Law School in 1989, Wright wrote an article published in the prestigious UCLA Law Review that accused Reagan and his administration of "bigotry" and implied that property rights undergird American racism.Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, Wright, an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, renounced the style but not the substance of...

MADISON, Wis. - Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold spent part of his first interview of the election year defending President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran - a deal most Americans are leery about, to say the least. The Democrat, who is running against U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson to reclaim the seat he lost in the 2010 Republican revolution, said it's only right to talk about the "great things the president has done." "He has accomplished some foreign policy goals we have had for a very long time," Feingold told Sherwin Hughes, host of "The Forum," Friday on Milwaukee's 860 AM,...

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic challenger Russ Feingold agree on very little. But one thing is likely to be true of both by the time their rematch race reaches its election day finish in November: Neither guy is going to be very popular with voters. "Historically, rematches between candidates are often pretty negative affairs," said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School poll. The Johnson-Feingold race is shaping up as one of the more important Senate contests in the country and outside groups are already spending millions of dollars on the campaign. What does that mean? Expect...

In a headline today NJ.com asks the question, "How has Menendez Indictment Affected His Senate Duties?" The story details how Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is acting if nothing is wrong, and quotesNLPC Chairman (not executive director) Ken Boehm: A leading Menendez critic said he had no problem with the senator's efforts to carry on as if he did not face criminal charges. "Defendants can act anyway they want," said Ken Boehm, executive director of the National Legal and Policy Center, a Falls Church, Va.-based watchdog group. "I take almost an attitude of, 'It's a free country, he's a free...

Sen. Mitch McConnell gives the Republican Party's Weekly Remarks Hello, I'm Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. I'm proud to represent Kentucky in the United States Senate. I'm also honored to have served this past year as leader of the Senate's new Republican majority. When you voted for this new majority last November, the Senate was a mess. Some thought the Senate could never be cured of its dysfunction and its gridlock. But the new majority you elected didn't agree. We believed the Senate could be restored to a place of high purpose again, and we've made great strides over the...

Capitol Hill Republicans are aiming to take the air out of President Obama's push for a global climate deal at next week's international summit in Paris, warning they will block vital funding if he tries to circumvent Congress. Obama and other world leaders are charging ahead with the two-week U.N. conference starting Monday, under heightened security in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. At a press conference alongside French President Francois Hollande, Obama cast the climate summit as a global statement of solidarity. "What a powerful rebuke to the terrorists it will be when the world stands as one...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he will push a short-term spending bill that funds the government through Dec. 11 and redirects Planned Parenthood funding to other health centers amid controversy over the organization’s abortion practice. Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, set up a procedural vote on the measure for Thursday, or after Congress hears from Pope Francis in a joint session, although Democrats will likely block the GOP bid. “I know Democrats have already blocked virtually every bill to fund the government this year, but I’m asking them to allow the Senate to fund the government now,” Mr. McConnell...