Free Republic

For many opponents of same-sex marriage, the fight has just started. While supporters of marriage equality celebrate the supreme court’s historic decision in Obergefell v Hodges, advocates for traditional marriage have redoubled their efforts to influence policymakers. But the fight takes place in an unfamiliar political landscape, one where gay marriage has become the law of the land and one of the traditional benchmarks of the social conservative cause has been rendered meaningless. No matter how ardently Republican candidates for president in 2016 proclaim that they believe marriage is between one man and one woman, the supreme court has ruled...

Is this news? Nothing he told Stephen Moore in this account is strictly inconsistent with what he said a few months ago about reducing legal immigration as president. Walker was careful at the time to say that was something he wanted to look at, to see if current legal immigration levels are depressing wages and should be adjusted accordingly. He didn’t commit to anything, although he got plenty of excited buzz among the conservative voters he’s wooing for daring to raise the possibility. Even if he had committed to new limits, anything short of a total moratorium could, I suppose,...

Hillary Clinton is privately signaling to wealthy Jewish donors that — no matter the result of the Iranian nuclear negotiations — she will be a better friend to Israel than President Barack Obama. But, even as donors increasingly push Clinton on the subject in private, they have emerged with sometimes widely varying interpretations about whether she would support a prospective deal, according to interviews with more than 10 influential donors and fundraising operatives.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning New Hampshire voters that if the country elects a Republican president, the next administration will repeal President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. The Democratic presidential front-runner says she will offer continuity on the policies under Obama that have worked for the vast majority of Americans. And she says the federal budget was in order under her husband’s administration until it was “rudely interrupted” by Republicans. …

Many conservatives — and, indeed, many people — have been confused about what, exactly, Marco Rubio’s position is on immigration now that he’s said he regrets his support for the failed Gang of Eight bill. In an interview with New Hampshire’s local ABC station on Friday, Rubio made clear that he remains a supporter of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. “I do,” Rubio said, when asked if he supports a path to citizenship for those currently in the United States illegally. First, though, Rubio said lawmakers have to “prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under...

In a Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey released on Tuesday, Americans said they do not want gun control to be a “significant subject” in the 2016 elections, by a margin of 52 to 43. The survey was conducted from June 25 to June 29, just over a week after the heinous attack in Charleston by alleged gunman Dylann Roof. According to Suffolk University, in addition to not wanting to hear about gun control in 2016, a majority of Americans do not believe increasing gun control via expanded background checks will curb mass violence. Fifty-six percent of respondents said it would not,...

Jeb Bush said he believed that the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make a decision on marriage, adding that it is “crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate.” “Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision. I also believe that we should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments. In a country as diverse as ours, good people who have opposing views should be able to live...

It’s time to define the Democrats the way they’ve done to our people.Our readers don’t really need to see another column, post, or podcast about how the Supreme Court and the Obama administration has wrecked the America we used to know, and we’re past the time where we wallow in grief about how the country is lost. It’s not lost. The fight isn’t over until conservatives say it’s over. Are you really going to just sit there and let a bunch of high-school losers who found religion in campus cultural Marxism destroy the greatest society in world history? The Nazis,...

Liberals are pros when it comes to getting people out to vote, but a new survey shows Hillary Clinton will have major trouble turning out Democrats in 2016. From Real Clear Politics (bolding is mine): Americans want change and reforms, but “people don’t think any of this is going to happen,” Stan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, said during a reporter roundtable organized by the Christian Science Monitor. Their skepticism doesn’t turn on the idea of a Democratic nominee who would follow a two-term Democrat, President Obama. “It’s because the old political system is...

Many conservatives — and, indeed, many people — have been confused about what, exactly, Marco Rubio’s position is on immigration now that he’s said he regrets his support for the failed Gang of Eight bill. In an interview with New Hampshire’s local ABC station on Friday, Rubio made clear that he remains a supporter of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. “I do,” Rubio said, when asked if he supports a path to citizenship for those currently in the United States illegally. First, though, Rubio said lawmakers have to “prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under...

Washington (CNN) Sen. Elizabeth Warren isn't running for president -- but that's not stopping her from taking a swing at a leading likely Republican presidential candidate. The progressive senator from Massachusetts on Monday night knocked Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for calling for a Constitutional amendment that would allow states to ban gay marriage. "Well, Scott Walker, if you believe the next president's job is to encourage bigotry and to treat some families better than others, then I believe it is our job to make sure you aren't president," Warren said while speaking at a fundraiser for Connecticut's Democratic party.

At any other time, this statement would be wholly unremarkable. In the thick of a GOP presidential primary, though? Right after the the hottest hot-button social issue of ‘em all has gone nuclear? When Mike Huckabee’s vowing some sort of second American revolution in defiance of the Court’s ruling? Kinda newsy. “I believe that marriage, as the key to strong family life, is the most important institution in our society and should be between one man and one woman. People who disagree with the traditional definition of marriage have the right to change their state laws. That is the right...

Releases statement on King v. BurwellHOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision on King v. Burwell:“Today’s decision in King v. Burwell is judicial activism, plain and simple. For the second time in just a few years, a handful of unelected judges has rewritten the text of Obamacare in order to impose this failed law on millions of Americans. The first time, the Court ignored federal law and magically transformed a statutory ‘penalty’ into a ‘tax.’ Today, these robed Houdinis transmogrified a ‘federal exchange’ into an exchange ‘established by the State.’“As...

Sen. Chuck Schumer outlined a path Tuesday for Hillary Clinton to enact a carbon tax if the Democrats prevail in the 2016 elections. Schumer said that a Clinton presidency and the return of his party to the Senate majority in 2017 could pave the way for lawmakers to enact a carbon tax to help fund the government. The mere suggestion of a new fee on the emissions blamed for climate change, however, could become a political headache for Clinton and other Democrats, and it’s routinely dismissed by Republicans. Schumer also vowed that Democrats would successfully defend President Barack Obama’s landmark...

The leader of a leading organization representing gay, lesbian and transgender military service members says he's "cautiously optimistic" about comments made by Jeb Bush regarding transgender people serving in uniform. Campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday, the former Florida governor was asked by a reporter whether he would support allowing transgender people to serve in the military. "I’m sure there’s a role for everybody to play in the armed forces. I think it would depend on the specific role and whether it’s appropriate enough," he said. "The first priority for the military is to create an environment where the morale is...

The Supreme Court will soon announce its decision in King v. Burwell, a case that could have far-ranging impact on the Affordable Care Act. The system more commonly known as Obamacare pays subsidies to taxpayers below 400 percent of the poverty line to cover health-insurance premiums. The plaintiffs in King argue that the explicit language of the law forbids subsidy payments to those purchasing health insurance outside of a state exchange. States lack 'plan B' for loss of Obamacare aid CNBC Obama Readies His Veto Pen for a GOP Health Care Fix The Fiscal Times Post-King v. Burwell Advice for...

eb Bush capped his first official campaign swing through Iowa with an impassioned plea for comprehensive immigration reform, saying it will help the United States compete globally—and help Republicans defeat Democrats at the ballot box. It folded neatly into Bush's broader message framed implicitly by his argument for electability—that he, more than any other Republican candidate, has a proven record of passing conservative policy and winning large numbers of swing voters in a purple state.

Corporations, individuals and the federal government continue to rack up debt at a rate that is far faster than the overall rate of economic growth. We are literally drowning in red ink from sea to shining sea, and yet we just can’t help ourselves. Consumer credit has doubled since the year 2000. Student loan debt has doubled over the course of the past decade. Business debt has doubled since 2006. And of course the debt of the federal government has doubled since 2007. Anyone that believes that this is “sustainable” in any way, shape or form is crazy. We have...

“It will be as big or bigger than anybody else in this election, Democrat or Republican,” Hispanic outreach director Jose Mallea told BuzzFeed News. A laser focus on getting Latino voters to meet and get to know Jeb Bush and his family. Jeb Bush was loose before his campaign kickoff event Monday in Miami, joking around backstage and letting loose a dirty word in Spanish, a “colloquial street Miami thing,” said Jose Mallea, Bush’s hire for connecting with Hispanic voters. “I don’t want to repeat it, it was a curse word,” he said in a phone interview. That wasn’t all,...

RUSH: This is the Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN, chief political correspondent David Brody interviewing Marco Rubio late yesterday. Question: "Does your deep faith drive public policy decisions on social issues like traditional marriage." RUBIO: We are at the water's edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech, because today we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater. So what's the next step after that? after they're done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity,...