Free Republic

Sarah Palin boldly, clearly and sharply articulated the stakes in the 2012 election on Saturday when she addressed a "Patriots in the Park" Tea Party event. The event took place in Michigan and was sponsored by the Michigan branch of Americans for Prosperity and the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus. “2012 is a race between the party of big government and the party of big freedom,” Palin said, contrasting the Republican party's vision with that of President Barack Obama's. In reference to Obama and his policies, Palin said there was something “wrong with someone” who would want to fundamentally transform...

Economists say the sales and profit gains of early this year are disappearing, and they are increasingly pessimistic about short-term growth. They also are gloomy because of the potential impact in the U.S. from Europe's financial crisis, the possible expiration of the Bush tax cuts in December, and the prospect of major cuts in federal spending. A survey by the National Association for Business Economics released Monday also found less evidence of hiring, confirming the trend in recent monthly jobs reports from the government. In the quarterly survey of 67 economists who work for companies or industry trade groups, 22...

When Republicans controlled Congress and Bill Clinton sat as president of the United States, one of the signature bills of the era was passed: welfare reform. No longer could someone just sit around and collect checks. Someone receiving government assistance was required to work. The bill was touted as "the end of welfare as we know it." Guess what? It's back, and it's back because Barack Obama would rather have people sit around than work. As noted in The Daily Caller: The Department and Health and Human Services announced the agency will issue waivers for the federal work requirement of...

Obama needed a filet mignon in the June employment report. But instead he got a rubber chicken. Only 80,000 new jobs were created last month, way below Wall Street expectations. It’s the fourth consecutive monthly disappointment. For a few months last winter, jobs were rising at an average of 225,000 a month. But that has sloped way down to only 75,000. The unemployment rate continues at 8.2 percent, which is the forty-first straight month above 8 percent. The U6 unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers, is just under 15 percent. As voters finalize their election impressions this summer, all of...

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Well-known liberal actor Brad Pitt, who once famously declared that he would not marry his partner Angelina Jolie until gay couples had the same rights, might be a little upset with his mom’s decision to speak out on her political and social beliefs this week. In a letter to the Springfield News-Leader Pitt’s mother Jane Pitt voiced her support for Mitt Romney, a man “who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality.”

Those contemptuous epithets and more were hurled by Republicans and conservatives at Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. moments after he single-handedly saved Obamacare, joining liberals on the bench to break a 4-4 tie. The Supreme Court has abandoned us,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared. “Simply disappointing,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott moaned. “Activist court,” Rep. Michele Bachmann cried. Even Ari Fleischer, the former spokesman for George W. Bush, who appointed Chief Justice Roberts to the court, joined in. “I miss Justice Harriet Miers,” he whined. But they all miss the point, and, more, by looking purely at the...

The Supreme Court did not save us from ourselves, at least not entirely. That is still up to us, the people. When the American people elected Barack Obama and large Democrat majorities, the die was cast. ObamaCare was coming. Popular or not, constitutional or not, affordable or not, it didn't matter. They were going to pass it, and then the rest of us could find out what they put in it. After the Democrats shoved the 2700 pages of ObamaCare down our throats -- and we did find out how expensive, controlling, and coercive the legislation was -- a majority...

Chief Justice John G. Roberts is an evil genius. The ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act is, on its face, a win for President Obama both because the media are saying it is and because it is the signature piece of legislation of his first term. But it may turn out to be a pyrrhic victory, as Roberts accomplished numerous, subtle victories for conservative Republicans. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/john-roberts-evil-genius-article-1.1103982#ixzz1z7DsG4zU

ROMNEY's statement

President Barack Obama called on Americans to celebrate evolving attitudes toward the homosexual community as he proclaimed June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. "This June, let's take some time to celebrate teachers and students who take a stand against bullying, openly gay and lesbian servicemembers, ... families and friends who have seen their own attitudes evolve," he urged. Obama made the proclamation Friday and expressed again his evolved personal belief in "marriage equality for same-sex couples" "because we must treat others the way we want to be treated." He cited the Golden Rule when he first revealed...

Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush and is now a lawyer in private practice, is the favorite of many conservatives. Clement argued last month for the Supreme Court to strike down Obama's 2010 healthcare law, and he is defending laws that ban same-sex marriage and that target illegal immigrants. Clement, 45, would be "at the top of any short list right now," said Curt Levey, executive director of the Committee for Justice, a group that advocates for conservative nominees. Asked about Clement, Mary Ann Glendon, a co-chairwoman of Romney's Justice Advisory Committee, voiced...

Source link. Click at your own risk. You spoke too soon, Rand Paul. It sounds like the President's views on marriage just got even gayer. Somewhat buried in CNN's story on Barack Obama's fundraiser in New York is this little tidbit about his administration's plans for marriage equality— He also outlined goals he hopes to accomplish under a second term, including the repeal of the Defense Of Marriage Act, which the administration has already stopped defending. This is the first time Obama has said that he wil actively work to repeal the law. At the fundraiser, hosted by openly gay...

The most striking thing about President Obama's flip-flop evolution reversal on gay marriage was how weakly the likely Republican standard bearer, Mitt Romney, has gone after him for it. Shortly after the Obama's change of heart went public Romney addresed it at press conference in Oklahoma. Watch here as he gives a mostly tempered response when asked about his views on gay marriage. Not only did Romney answer that question with no passion but he repeatedly called his position on the issue "his preference". At first glance it seems hard to understand why his campaign would not capitalize on this...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is laying groundwork to make the majority-conservative Supreme Court a campaign issue this fall, taking a political page from Republicans who have long railed against liberal judges who don't vote their way. The emerging Democratic strategy to paint the court as extreme was little noted in this week's hubbub over Obama's assertion that overturning his health care law would be "unprecedented." His statement Monday wasn't completely accurate, and the White House backtracked. But Obama was making a political case, not a legal one, and he appears ready to keep making it if the high...

As the nation faces a crucial election in a little over six months, the Republican Party appears to be caving in on a social issue that many conservatives consider of major import: same-sex marriage. What the GOP felt strongly enough about some 16 years ago to lead the fight for passage of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), many members are beginning to consider an issue open to compromise. Not only do many Republican House and Senate members consider “gay” marriage a “dead issue,” according to Politico.com, but Republican leadership has “evolved” to the point that it has quietly...

Republicans have in recent weeks waged an all-out blitz against President Barack Obama over the issue of gas prices, but the political benefit could prove fleeting, if and when fuel prices decline. The steady rise in gas prices this spring provides Republicans with their most immediate example of the pocketbook fleecing suffered by voters, prompting the party to pounce. While some indicators point toward a tentative economic recovery -- which could be to the president’s political benefit -- the lost income associated with higher gas prices has led the GOP’s presidential contenders and leaders in Congress to complain that it’s...

Gasoline prices could soar as high as $7 a gallon this summer thanks to supply threats stemming from Middle East unrest as well as OPEC policy, says real estate mogul Donald Trump. Iran has already cut off supply to France and to the U.K. to protest sanctions from the west, who accuse Tehran of developing a nuclear weapons program. U.S. military officials have said they feel they can ration with Iran, although fears are growing that Israel may consider a unilateral strike on Iran anyway, which is sending crude oil skyrocketing.

Nationally, gas prices are $3.53 a gallon, up 25 cents since Jan. 1, and likely headed to $4.25 a gallon by late April. Republicans have demanded more oil production at home, as well as building the Keystone XL pipeline across the middle of the U.S. to allow oil from Canada to reach Texas refineries. Obama rejected the plan, but one of his spokesmen, Robert Gibbs, said the president is looking to increase domestic energy production. "Just on Friday, the Department of Interior issued permits that will expand our exploration in the Arctic. The president has increased our fuel efficiency and...

ON JANUARY 1 2012, THE GOVERNMENT IS REQUIRING EVERYONE TO HAVE DIRECT DEPOSIT FOR SS CHECKS. WONDER WHY? 1% tax on all bank transactions HR4646 Watch for this AFTER November elections; remember this BEFORE you VOTE in case you think Obama's looking out for your best interest.

[BIG snip] Santorum's ad and his Op-Ed, meant to mock Gingrich, in reality can only distinctly not help Santorum's struggling campaign. Gingrich will surely make the inevitable -- and correct -- connection between Santorum's ad and a serious attack on the Reagan space legacy -- and the dreams of America itself. "We'll continue our quest in space…. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue," said President Reagan that tragic January night. Well, no they won't. Not if Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have anything to say about it. "I promise," says Santorum. Worse, whether Santorum's staff understands it...