Free Republic

It’s not enough to propose liberal ideas. Eventually, you must use force against your fellow citizens if they don’t embrace them. Coercion is at the heart of the liberal enterprise. Hence, President Obama has unveiled his latest plan to fundamentally transform the United States – mandatory voting. It comes on the heels of his unconstitutional order granting legal status to five million illegal immigrants. Coincidence? Ironically, it also landed the very same day that Hillary Clinton floated the idea that summer camps should be created for adults because we have a “fun deficit.” Perhaps they will get together and create...

Someone had to be the first to jump into the 2016 presidential race, and it seems only fitting that that someone was US Senator Ted Cruz, leapfrogging over his likely opponents to launch his campaign early with a Jesus-soaked speech at the world's largest fundamentalist college. Cruz is a long shot for the GOP nomination, partly because he lacks experience, and mostly because no one likes him. But tucked into his speech Monday, in between stories about sin and redemption and abolishing the IRS, Cruz offered one reason he actually thinks he can win. "Today, roughly half of born again...

There’s nothing that excites someone to vote like being forced to do it. But federal force is one of President Obama’s favorite things, so his recent announcement that mandatory voting might be a good idea is hardly a surprise. Normally, Americans have an aversion to being told what to do. Imagine if a president had proposed mandatory prayer for all Americans. Most previous presidents thought prayer was a good idea, so why not prayer for everybody — by mandate? Mandatory voting is just as unappealing. After all, part of the right to vote we hear so much about also includes...

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to Wisconsin’s voter ID law, which it had previously kept from going into effect before November’s elections. The court’s decision not to review a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the law was a victory for Gov. Scott Walker (R) and perhaps other states that have tightened voting procedures to require additional identification.

“Other countries have mandatory voting. Why not us?” — President Barack Obama On Wednesday, March 18, Barack Obama was speaking at a town-hall event in Cleveland, Ohio, when he openly endorsed mandatory voting laws. “It would be transformative if everybody voted,” President Obama said. “That would counteract [campaign] money more than anything. If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country.” President Obama continued, “Other countries have mandatory voting,” referencing nations such as Australia, which passed compulsory voting laws in 1924. Down Under, citizens will be fined and can even be jailed in certain situations...

San Francisco's board of supervisors is considering a proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in some city elections, showing how desperate the left wing of the city's left wing is to retain their ebbing power in City Hall. Clearly Supervisor John Avalos and ally Supervisor Eric Mar fear they need to register minors to win elections. Of course, I don't like the idea. I think only adults -- who presumably assume responsibilities -- should vote. Registering teenagers, who for the most part don't really understand money, is a recipe for folly. Avalos thinks the board of supervisors will...

Two victories this week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one seismic, the other minor though not insignificant. First, he won a solid re-election victory that affirmed his dire warning of the peril from a nuclear-armed Iran. Secondly, he persuaded an influential American liberal that his campaign warning that Israel's Arab citizens might swing the election against him was not a despicable, race-baiting tactic as alleged by other liberals. Netanyahu may never learn of this second vote of approval from liberal comedian Bill Maher, but it remains worth savoring for conservatives here in the U.S. (VIDEO-AT-LINK)It was heard on last...

(CNN)The president whose major policy achievement is mandatory health insurance thinks maybe voting should be mandatory, too. Asked how to offset the influence of big money in politics, President Barack Obama suggested it's time to make voting a requirement. "It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything," he said, adding it was the first time he had shared the idea publicly. The clout of millionaires and billionaires in campaign funding has been enormous, and many claim the uber wealthy have undue leverage in politics. Speaking of "big money in politics", I live...

I don’t know. And I don’t care. I recalled an old, make that VERY old joke. Students were asked “What is the difference between ‘Ignorance’ and ‘Apathy’?” The most common answer the questioners received was “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” I thought of this while I was listening to all of Barack Obama’s blather on Thursday suggesting that it would be an absolutely terrific idea if voting was made mandatory in the United States. And “blather” is a fairly accurate description which pleases all of Obama’s handlers, or if he prefers “communications specialists” who desperately want to change...

Forcing Americans to vote under threat of legal penalty would help to fundamentally transform America, President Obama told a town hall-style meeting in Cleveland yesterday.

President Obama, whose party was trounced in last year’s midterm election due to poor turnout among Democrats, endorsed the idea of mandatory voting Wednesday. “It would be transformative if everybody voted,” Mr. Obama said during a town-hall event in Cleveland. “That would counteract [campaign] money more than anything. If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country.” Mr. Obama raised the subject during a discussion of curbing the influence of campaign donations in U.S. elections. The president said he had never discussed the idea publicly before, but said Australia and some other countries have compulsory...

New York’s John F. Kennedy airport was bustling with Israelis this morning who were seeking to catch flights home. For many, their goal was to make it back in time to vote in the general elections being held today, Israel’s NRG reported on Tuesday. While for some their flight home today is just a coincidence, today’s elections are the main topic of discussion among the travelers in the terminal. Some of the travelers even joked that a debate could be held in the airport, with representatives from all parties, according to the report. One couple, David and Betty Gordon, told...

Police opened 51 investigations on Tuesday related to alleged voting fraud ranging from impersonation, stolen ballots and threats against ballot officials, and 23 suspects were being pursued. Several attempts to subvert the voting process were noted in the north – four voters who arrived at their designated voting stations in Nahariya, Kiryat Tiv'on and Kiryat Ata found that someone had already voted in their name. Local police began investigating each incident. Police said that one man claimed that someone else may have used his lost drivers license to vote in his name. A similar incident was reported in Afula where...

ixteen-year-olds can drive, work, pay taxes and be sentenced to life in prison. Now, some want the right to vote, too. On Tuesday, San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos will attempt to make that happen by introducing a measure that would extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds. Avalos and other supporters say it will encourage civic engagement among youths and instill in them lifelong voting habits at a time when turnout is low.

So I’m guessing this was supposed to be good news, right? In Oregon, you will now be registered to vote pretty much automatically whenever you have any interaction with the DMV. That’s the new initiative being signed into law by newly inducted Governor Kate Brown (the nation’s first openly bisexual Governor!) and considered to be her first signature piece of legislation. Sweeping first-in-the nation legislation making voter registration automatic in Oregon was signed into law on Monday by Governor Kate Brown, potentially adding 300,000 new voters to state rolls.The so-called Motor Voter legislation will use state Department of Motor...

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies bills itself as a nonpartisan think tank with a focus on racial issues that is distinctly above the fray. This is how it describes itself: Originally known as the Joint Center for Political Studies, the Joint Center brought together black intellectuals and professionals to provide training and technical assistance to newly elected black officials. Today, the Joint Center is recognized as one of the nation’s premier think tanks on a broad range of public policy issues of concern to African Americans and other communities of color. Sounds mainstream, right? So imagine my...

As the chart ... shows, Catholicism is the most common religious tradition in 17 states, while white evangelical Protestants are first in 15 states, mostly in the South. The religiously unaffiliated are the most common religious group in 13 states, mostly in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast. Three states are outliers: Utah, which is 56 percent Mormon, the largest percentage of one single religious tradition, and Iowa and North Dakota, where white mainline Protestants are the dominant religious tradition.

en. Rand Paul (R-KY) re-introduced the Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act of 2015 on Friday, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that would restore federal voting rights for non-violent, “low-level” ex-offenders. Sen. Paul explained, “A criminal record is currently one of the biggest impediments to voting in federal elections. The Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act will reform existing federal law and give low-level ex-offenders another opportunity to vote.” Non-violent, so-called "low-level" crimes include: Theft, trespassing, arson, and other forms of property offensesFraud, bribery, and other forms of “white collar” offensesDrug possessionPublic intoxicationProstitution Whether a crime...

Secretaries of state from Ohio and Kansas say that the documents—driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers—being provided to the illegal immigrants granted amnesty by President Obama open a “loophole” that will make it easy for these non-citizens to vote in our elections. Presidential Press Secretary Josh Earnest questioned the characterization of potential voting by these persons as a “loophole. I would say it would be more accurately described as a ‘feature’ of the President’s executive action regarding the ‘dreamers’ he is trying to aid.” Earnest also took issue with the premise that the “dreamers” being granted these privileges are “non-citizens....

Is it a requirement for all Christians to vote? The question is not merely whether Christians should “dirty their hands” by participating in politics. Are Christians actually required to participate in politics? Can you be an obedient Christian without voting? I am starting to believe that nothing else can save the Republic. Everyone comments that we are a sharply-divided nation, with really no clear majority for either the Republican or Democrat Party. However, what if 10 million new voters showed up and voted Republican? The nation would no longer be 50-50. The balance would tilt sharply to the GOP Every...