Free Republic

Why are so many Americans concerned about what this administration and Congress are doing? Those in the Democrat/Progressive Party would have us believe that people are not losing their freedom, and President Obama is not spending us into bankruptcy. If that’s correct, why are so many Americans taking to the streets to voice their concern? As we know, the purpose of legislation/bills is to create laws which the American people and American businesses are to abide by. More laws = less freedom and less free markets. Also, bills nearly always come with a price tag. Take, for example, HR 1388...

One month before Obama was elected as President of the United States the National Debt Clock, a digital counter near Times Square, ran out of space to track the national debt. This was after a Democratically controlled Congress had promised in 2006 during their first 100 hours in control they would drain the swamp, break the link between legislation and lobbyists and beyond that: "All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority." Today that same debt clock reads slightly over...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi all-but-predicted passage of a House health reform bill Saturday, following an emotional appeal from President Barack Obama to fellow Democrats, urging them to “answer the call of history” and vote yes. “Now’s the time to finish the job,” Obama said in the Rose Garden, following a 45-minute closed-door meeting with the House Democratic caucus on Capitol Hill. “I reminded them that opportunities like this come around maybe once in a generation,” Obama said. “This is their moment, this is our moment, to live up to the trust the American people have pledged in us.” Obama left...

Secret Ballot at Risk by: Heather Latham, January 16, 2009 Ernest Istook is a former Congressman from Oklahoma, a Distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Save Our Secret Ballot. On January 13, 2009, Istook spoke at the Conservative Bloggers Briefing about the mission of Save Our Secret Ballot. Istook started, “Intimidation and attempts to intimidate people is very real, and certainly, one of the areas which has a sad history is when it comes to union organizing tactics.” He explained that Congress is preparing to vote on a bill entitled “The...

High Hopes for Congress by: Daniel Allen, January 12, 2009 The Brookings Institution presented a study of the accomplishments of the 110th Congress last Thursday, part of a project called “Mending the Broken Branch.” The study includes expectations for the 111th Congress, which began its first session last week. Participants in the project emphasized that Congress and the public are hopeful about opportunities leaders of the 111th Congress will have to work across the aisle, crack down on corrupt and inappropriate practices, and begin to fix the problems of the “broken branch.” They also emphasize, however, that the repairs necessary...

The First Ten Senate Bills of the Eleventy-First Congress You may want to fix yourself a drink before I go through them. At the moment these are placeholders on Harry Reid's wishlist. Keep in mind that incoming Congresses usually pinch off a few bills that don't necessarily go anywhere. Also, the Democrats are going to have to bear down and set the details on these and that may give us some opportunity to tug things towards the center. S.1 -- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is the stimulus package. Democrats are halfheartedly trying to reach out to...

Harry Reid’s shamnesty stand: Senate Bill 9 will tear down the border “wall” By Michelle Malkin • January 8, 2009 11:08 PM Harry Reid has filed S. 9, the Democrats’ new shamnesty bill. Not much difference in principle between Reid’s bill and McCain-Kennedy-Bush. Disingenuous lip service to immigration enforcement? Check. Path to legalization? Check. There are a few new nuggets — most notably, open hostility to the Fence in Name Only on our southern border. Quoting from the bill: And I believe we would be wise to reconsider the effectiveness and cost of a wall along our southern border, which...

Barack Obama ran an exceptional campaign in so many ways. His greatest accomplishment, however, was a shrewd commandeering of the tax issue away from John McCain and the Republicans. (The implosion of the American financial landscape in September didn't hurt him either). If the 2008 election cycle were held in more "normal" times, and the words "tax cuts" were threshed out, you could expect to see a Republican at the spewing end. "Tax cuts," after all, historically flow with great abundance from the lips of those on the right - not unlike press conferences flow with great abundance from the...

Abstract: The runoff for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia is providing a stark example of how candidates in the 2008 election have been able to skirt campaign-finance limits -- without actually breaking the law. Federal campaign-finance law limits individuals to donating $2,300 to a candidate per election. Yet Republicans and Democrats are soliciting donations more than 10 times that amount for the Dec. 2 runoff in Georgia. GOP fund-raisers are asking people to give as much as $65,500 toward incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss's campaign, while Democrats are seeking donations up to $30,800 for challenger Jim Martin. So how are...