Free Republic

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller told a Fairbanks audience Monday that he would back an amendment to repeal the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitition.That’s the 1913 amendment that shifted the job of selecting U.S. senators from each state legislature  and required a popular vote in each state.The issue has garnered support from some Tea Party candidates across the country.The idea, apparently, is that if senators are selected by legislators, they would be less susceptible to special interests and more supportive of states’ rights.A Wall Street Journal law blog summarizes the argument this way:  “Nowadays, Senate candidates have to...

The 'undecided' Democrat Allen Boyd has now decided that he will vote yes: "U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, who voted against national health care last November, said today he will vote for the new bill when it comes to the House floor"....This is the Rep. that had half of the audience walk out when he had a Town Hall Meeting in November...

Here is a video report on Florida Democrat Rep. Allen Boyd's Town Hall Meeting held in Panama City last night, where about half his audience decided to walk out in frustration over what they said was his unwillingness to give any straight answers to questions. Boyd had postponed the Town Hall Meeting from August. He did vote against the Health Care Bill passed by the House of Representatives this past Saturday. . . . (VIDEO)

MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who’s managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996. But as he fended off gnats buzzing through the August humidity after a morning fending off angry constituents at a town hall meeting here, Boyd confided that the depth of the unease spurred by the health care debate had caught him by surprise. “People are scared,” Boyd said twice, trying to explain what would drive his constituents away from home and...

Here is video of Florida "Blue Dog Democrat" Rep. Allen Boyd at a Town Hall Meeting being told by a constituent, "If we let Pelosi, and people like that direct us, we are doomed." Another constituent said, "The Congress that we got today reminds me of a jackass running in the Kentucky Derby." Boyd seems to be getting the message. He told the crowd he will not support the current legislation being put forward by Democrats. He wants to see reform, but not the plan on the table. . . . . (Watch Video)

I approach the energy debate with the basic assumption that our current energy policy is not working. We are dangerously dependent on foreign sources of energy, and this dependence is expensive. One of the biggest misconceptions about the energy bill is that it would impose thousands of dollars in costs on the average household. This is simply not true.

A full out protest happened, all because people don’t approve of the way Congressman Allen Boyd is voting, especially for the American Clean Energy and Security Act. When asked if the congressman had read the bill, he said he has not personally read the entire thing, but that his staff has.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The son of U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd is facing alien smuggling charges in Arizona. The Democratic congressman, who is seeking a seventh term this November, said Tuesday that his 30-year-old son, John Boyd, was arrested Sunday on the human trafficking charges. In a statement from his office, Congressman Boyd said his son is a grown man and must face the consequences for his actions but has the support of the family. Boyd is being challenged by Panama City Republican Mark Mulligan in the Nov. 4 general election.

MIAMI - Rep. Mark Foley formally opened his campaign for Senate on Tuesday, filing papers to seek the seat now held by Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham. Foley, a five-term Republican, filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and paperwork establishing a fund-raising committee for his Senate campaign. Graham has said he does not "anticipate" running for re-election but has not ruled out another Senate race next year. Five Democrats have announced plans to run if Graham declines another term, but Foley was quick to focus on the three-term senator. "Floridians deserve a senator who will work...

If state lawmakers vote this week to scrap runoff elections in 2004, the Democratic race to replace Sen. Bob Graham will look a lot more attractive -- and a lot riskier -- to U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar. Hastings, one of at least five Democrats pondering a run if Graham gives up his Senate seat to pursue the presidency, believes his chances of winning his party's nomination improve dramatically if he needs only a plurality rather than a majority. As the only black in the race, Hastings figures he'll start with a strong base of black support. And he believes...

TALLAHASSEE -- U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, a North Florida Democrat, is organizing a campaign for the U.S. Senate on the premise that he is well-positioned to win a crowded party primary and then challenge any Republican statewide. Boyd has commissioned a poll that portrays a wide-open contest among Democrats who hope to replace U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., next year, and he has started lining up supporters before a campaign announcement.

TALLAHASSEE -- U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, a North Florida Democrat, is organizing a campaign for the U.S. Senate on the premise that he is well-positioned to win a crowded party primary and then challenge any Republican statewide. Boyd has commissioned a poll that portrays a wide-open contest among Democrats who hope to replace U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., next year, and he has started lining up supporters before a campaign announcement. "Sometime after July 4, he will probably make an announcement," said Barney Bishop, a Tallahassee lobbyist, political consultant and Boyd friend. Boyd, a congressman from tiny Monticello since 1996,...

TALLAHASSEE - A conservative North Florida Democrat is close to opening a campaign for next year's U.S. Senate race, adding geographical intrigue to a field of hopefuls that so far hails exclusively from the party's South Florida base. U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, a ''blue dog'' Democrat from the rural Panhandle district once represented by Vietnam war hero and one-time gubernatorial candidate Pete Peterson, said Thursday that he would decide by June whether to begin fundraising to replace U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. Graham is expected to formally announce his presidential campaign next month. Boyd would join Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas,...