Free Republic

There are few elected officials in the United States that are further to the left than Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Although technically listed as an Independent, he caucuses with the Democrats and his failure to register as one of them is due to the fact that even they are not socialist enough for him. That said, unlike sycophantic and pandering Democrats, he is true to his beliefs (misguided as they may be) and takes his stance based on his desire to help people live a better life. Due to this honesty and transparency, even this right of center news outlet...

Sanders blasts U.S Corporations for Dodging Taxes BURLINGTON, Vt., April 9 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the Senate Budget Committee ranking member, today issued the following statement on new data showing the extent to which some American companies are avoiding taxes: “I applaud Citizens for Tax Justice for releasing new data today revealing the unfairness of our tax system and the fact that a number of the biggest and most-well known corporations in America continue to pay little or nothing in taxes. At a time when we have massive wealth and income inequality, and when corporate profits are soaring, it...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has become the latest high-profile progressive to endorse Cook County Commissioner Chuy García's challenge to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D). “I am going to Chicago to support Chuy García and [City Council candidate] Susan Sadlowski Garza. I support them because we need a political revolution in this country and we need the kind of working-class coalitions that Chuy and Susan are pulling together,” Sanders said in a statement.

In a move that stunned the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, liberal former Vermont governor Howard Dean agreed that the U.S. should now walk away from the nuclear negotiation table with Iran. Talks in Lausanne, Switzerland over the Islamic theocracy’s nuclear program extended past Tuesday night’s deadline, with negotiators stuck on what to do with the uranium already enriched and the time it would take for Iran to convert an approved nuclear energy program into one capable of producing weapons. While these details remain unresolved, Iranian negotiators are still demanding an immediate end to international sanctions on their country. “I...

There are few places in the nation where a democratic socialist independent who’s mulling a presidential run would have more rock-star status than the Bay Area. Yet U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is convinced that his populist message can resonate far beyond places like Berkeley and Brooklyn. “If you go to almost any state in this country, including the most conservative, and you ask them if it makes sense to give tax breaks to billionaires while making cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and education, they will say ‘no,’” Sanders said in an interview Monday afternoon in San Francisco. He said...

Washington (CNN)Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley took a major shot at Hillary Clinton on Sunday, saying the country needs a "new perspective" and "new leadership" in the 2016 election. "Let's be honest here," O'Malley said. "The presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families." The Democrat's comments, in an appearance on ABC's "This Week," are another signal that he's likely to challenge Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. He's focusing in recent weeks on issues like income inequality and wage stagnation -- which liberal darling Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has made her...

Documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation indicate that the wife of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders may have been able to use her clout to get away with loan fraud, nearly bankrupting the small college she was president of and collecting a sizable severance package in the process.These revelations come amid growing speculation that Sen. Sanders, a self-described socialist who has blasted the U.S. government asan oligarchy run by billionaires and railed against the golden parachutes received by top corporate executives, will contend for the Democratic presidential nomination.Jane Sanders was the president of tiny Burlington College in Burlington, Vermont for seven years,...

As lawmakers in Vermont consider a tax to help end obesity, a study by economists at George Mason University finds raising taxes on “unhealthy” foods hurts the poor financially and does nothing to lower consumption. As the midsession break comes to and end, all eyes are focused on the ever-growing hole in the Vermont state budget, which has reached $130 million.One of the more unusual solutions to the state’s budget crisis is a proposed 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks.Sponsored by state Rep. Alison Clarkson, D-Woodstock, H.235 aims to raise about $34 million by taxing beverages like soda, fruit juice, teas and sports drinks.While the tax would help fund Vermont’s obese budget,...

Scott Walker and Jeb Bush head a crowded field of prospective Republican presidential candidates in the latest national poll released Thursday. Walker, the Wisconsin governor, polls at 18 percent, and Bush, the former Florida governor, is at 16 percent. The poll, conducted by Quinnipiac University, has New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 8 percent each; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 7 percent; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 6 percent each; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 5 percent; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 2 percent; and South Carolina Sen....

Currently, 61 members of Congress have confirmed they will not attend the speech. Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) California Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) — “I am disappointed Speaker Boehner chose to irresponsibly interject politics into what has long been a strong and bipartisan relationship between the United States and Israel. As President Obama has noted, it is inappropriate for a Head of State to address Congress just two weeks ahead of their election. I agree that Congress should not be used as a prop in Israeli election campaigns,...

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Monday that President Obama is "very interested" in the idea of raising taxes through unitlateral executive action. "The president certainly has not indicated any reticence in using his executive authority to try and advance an agenda that benefits middle class Americans," Earnest said in response to a question about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) calling on Obama to raise more than $100 billion in taxes through IRS executive action. "Now I don't want to leave you with the impression that there is some imminent announcement, there is not, at least that I know...

A bill  pushed by Everytown for Gun Sense, a Mike Bloomberg funded operation, has floundered against intense grassroots opposition in Vermont. Vermont has some of the least infringements on second amendment rights in the country.  Vermont always had constitutional carry, with no permit required, for its entire history.  Vermont has always had one of the lowest crime rates in the country.   From burlingtonfreepress.com, a Gannet company: Supporters of the bill faced strong headwinds, including the opposition of Gov. Peter Shumlin and pushback from Vermont's hunters and police chiefs. The most controversial provision would have required almost all private gun...

Socialists, Democrats, Communists and liberals rely on people being kept in the dark about their policies. Things are so much easier for them that way. When the media never asks inconvenient questions, any chance of the truth getting out is generally non-existent. But when the bottom publically falls out of one of their fake “benefits” it becomes impossible for these people to keep us in the dark. When the Berlin Wall was coming down the Communists were still telling people to go back to work at their useless factories where they were making useless commodities no one wanted; but the...

A full list of the Democrats who have confirmed they're missing the speech follows: SENATE - 4 members Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) HOUSE - 26 members Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.) Rep. Andre Carson (Ind.) Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.) Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.) Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.) Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.) Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Ill.) Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.) Rep. John Lewis (Ga.)...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — An investigation into fraudulent applications for Vermont’s driver’s privilege cards has spread to multiple states and Department of Motor Vehicle branches, according to the department’s chief investigator. When the Department of Motor Vehicles first reported receiving a rash of driver’s license applications from out-of-state illegal immigrants, it appeared the problem might be limited to a single license branch and involve one other state.

Kansas appears on the verge of becoming among the most welcoming states to people who want to pack heat. A bill promising Kansans the ability to carry concealed firearms — without taking safety training or weathering the background checks required in most of the country — won initial approval in the state Senate on Wednesday. The change, expected to pass Thursday to a likely receptive House, would make Kansas a “constitutional carry” state. That would mean citizens would not need a permit to carry a hidden gun. The bill would maintain the current permit process for people who want to...

When you think of the downstream effects of the Obama administration’s EPA regulations, the first states which come to mind tend to be in coal country and what remains of the rust belt and manufacturing centers. That’s all true enough, but it seems that when the government puts its thumb on the scale, the ripples can be felt in ever widening circles. This includes what might be one of the last states you’d think of… Vermont. Vermont will lose 3.4 percent of its manufacturing jobs by 2023 due to Obama administration climate regulations, according to a report on the...

Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber billed the State of Vermont for hours that “were impossible for him to accomplish ... for one of the invoices, which is September, and this is just an example, he billed out 500 hours a month for his research assistants. Well, the auditor found that he only had one research assistant. So, if you do that math ... the auditor even criticized the Democrat administration up here for this. The people who were supposed to be overseeing this contract did not demand any details at all from Professor Gruber. They just said — they just asked...

Leading Democrats in Vermont are close to scrapping a proposed background check requirement for all private gun sales in Vermont. The requirement is supported by Michael Bloomberg and has come under added scrutiny after his gun control group–Everytown for Gun Safety–was forced to apologize to Crossfire Arms in Mount Holly for listing the gun store as an “unlicensed” Vermont gun seller.

Complete Headline: Where’s the Money? Vermont Auditor Reports Jonathan Gruber Overbilled State by At Least $48,000, Calls in Attorney General In a 54-page memo, Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer confirms that embattled Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber overbilled the state in invoices he submitted for work Gruber claims was performed by research assistants. “The evidence suggests that Dr. Gruber overstated the hours worked by the RA, but we have insufficient documentation to say any more about his inconsistencies and questionable billing practices. I have referred the matter to the Attorney General for his consideration, which is standard procedure in such circumstances,”...