Free Republic

Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said Monday on CNN’s “OutFront” that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had “backbone” for advancing foreign aid funding in separate bills, which did not include border security funding as many in his caucus preferred. Buck said, “I think Mike Johnson’s on the right side of history. And I think that Republicans and Democrats will rally around someone who is showing leadership on Capitol Hill. It is a rare commodity on Capitol Hill. Mike has the backbone to move forward with very important and controversial legislation. The vote should be to vote for or against this package,...

Many leading Republicans and conservatives want someone other than Donald Trump to run for President in 2024. But this judgment requires an assessment of Trump’s vices and virtues in the context of our current political and cultural circumstances, as well as an assessment of other prospective Republican presidential candidates. Tom Klingenstein, Chairman of the Claremont Institute, explains Trump's Virtues.

It appears that Republican leaders finally enjoy winning. The ironic part is that President Trump taught them how to win, and how to use gumption. The last few weeks have been historic during the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Democrats could not find a credible reason to disqualify him from becoming an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Instead of accepting their fate, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Diane Feinstein (D-CA) promoted a leaked letter accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault against Christine Ford in 1982 when he was 17 years old, and she was 15...

Lefty media (both overt and covert), which has been back on its heels lately thanks to Hillary’s impending arrest and prosecution, is already buzzing about the line quoted above, uttered today by Bush in Iowa. Skip to 9:40 of the clip below for the question and his answer in full. On the one hand, I’m reluctant to clobber a guy for a poorly worded soundbite when, as here, it’s in service to a sound point, that Obama and Hillary wasted the security improvements in Iraq circa 2009 by bringing everyone home and then standing around while Maliki fostered sectarian war....

But the person who really summoned the forces on Thursday was by far Carly Fiorina, who appeared in the earlier debate for also-rans. She was so good her ghost hung over the second debate. She was even cited at the top of the overcard debate by Megyn Kelly and later they replayed Fiorina’s forceful response on Iran for comment from the top ten. Watching that replay, she easily looked more impressive than any of them. After the five o’clock debate, Fiorina trucked over to MSNBC (talking about going anywhere, anytime) to appear on Hardball with Chris Matthews, then proceeded to...

[Fr. Z's comments in brackets and italics.]Bolded sections are from the document, Fr. Z's emphasis.The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a statement about the wave of terror washing across Syria and Iraq. The statement was in French. HERE Here is an English translation: The whole world has witnessed with incredulity what is now called the “Restoration of the Caliphate,” which had been abolished on October 29,1923 by Kamal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey. Opposition to this “restoration” by the majority of religious institutions and Muslim politicians has not prevented the “Islamic State” jihadists from committing and continuing to commit...

It is becoming increasingly more obvious that Obamacare is a failure. The Oregon Obamacare exchange was forced to shut down after not signing up a single person, and a majority of young people want nothing to do with the law. So it seem to be a safe assumption that Republicans would continue their push for a repeal of the law, something they have voted on numerous times before. It would fit well with the anti-Obamacare message they are running on for the 2014 midterms. But inexplicably, many Republicans are now backing away from repeal, claiming that the law is here...

It's taken a long time - too long for my tastes - but it seems that Israel's Prime Minister might just be starting to discover that he has a backbone and that he can use it after all. Israel's Channel 2 is reporting that the Prime Minister has informed the United States that Israel will not release 'Israeli Arab' terrorists as a gesture to the 'Palestinians,' but that it will release them in exchange for Jonathan Pollard. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel would not release any Israeli-Arab prisoners in the fourth...

Earlier in the day, Boehner reiterated what he’s said before on immigration reform: “I'll make clear we have no intention ever of going to conference on the Senate bill."Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) chided Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for his refusal to negotiate with the Senate on immigration reform. “I'm stunned,” Reid said in an interview Wednesday with Fusion, a joint venture by ABC News and Univision. “How could anybody in good conscience tell one group he's trying to do immigration reform, and a few minutes later, say 'I'm not going to do anything about a conference?' " Earlier...

Audible gasps, shock, outrage and support for a congressional investigation were the responses by law-enforcement officers, elected officials and attorneys to a presentation by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse of evidence that Barack Obama’s birth certificate is fraudulent. Arpaio’s lead investigator, Mike Zullo, made a public presentation Saturday at the annual convention of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association in St. Charles, Mo., then held a closed-door session for police officers, elected officials and others. “Sheriff Arpaio wants this in Congress. That’s where we intend to take it,” Zullo said in an interview with Carl Gallups of PPSimmons...

A growing number of Republican state leaders are revolting against the major Medicaid expansion called for under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, threatening to undermine one of the law's most fundamental goals: insuring millions of poor Americans. The Supreme Court opened the door Thursday, June 28, when it announced that although the rest of the law is constitutional, the federal government cannot punish states that refuse to adopt the measure's more generous eligibility rules for Medicaid. The Republican governors of four states -- Florida, Iowa, Louisiana and South Carolina -- have declared that they want to opt out of...

Balance the GOP presidential ticket? Nah! That's Democrat stuff. Mitt Romney has the chance to a make a powerful statement with his V.P. choice. Governor Scott Walker -- a boring white guy's white guy -- is about to make a very powerful statement in Wisconsin. A thumbs-up by Wisconsin voters for Walker in next Tuesday's recall election would be a huge victory for bold governmental reform. A Walker victory establishes that Republicans can enact significant reforms and survive onslaughts by public-sector labor unions, the left, and the dependent classes. For conservative reformers, a Walker recall win is the modern equivalent...

Gail Harville supports GOP presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann because she wants a candidate who can debate President Obama “and beat him.” Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., talks during the book-signing event for her book "Core of Conviction" Saturday in Aiken, S.C. Advertisement No, that’s not enough, said her husband, Bill, adding, “someone who will shred him!” The North Augusta couple were among about four dozen fans, activists and skeptics who turned out for the Minnesota congresswoman’s book signing at Books-A-Million in Aiken on Saturday morning. A handful hoped to see a ticket that combines Bachmann and former House...

Back when men were men and true American patriots ran the show...How To Restore Order and Carry Out The Will Of The People

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) backed the plan for GM and Chrysler put forth yesterday by President Obama, the candidate Romney may face in the 2012 presidential election. "I think a lot of people expected the president just to cave, write a check, and just hope for the better," Romney said Tuesday morning on CNN. "I think he's expressing some backbone on this." Romney grew up in Michigan, where his father was governor and, at one time, chairman of a now-defunct auto company. The former 2008 presidential candidate, though, was also sure to tout his own calls for bankruptcy...

WHO: All media WHAT: Iraqi Army Noncommissioned Officer Symposium, hosted by Command Sergeant Major Adel, Sergeant Major of the Iraqi Army. Command Sergeant Major Adel, Command Sergeant Major Marvin Hill, and Command Sergeant Major Joseph Allen will be available for interviews. WHEN: Oct. 21, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. WHERE: Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory WHY: This symposium is designed to enhance the professionalism and competence of the senior enlisted soldiers in the Iraqi Army as a step toward Iraqi Security Force self-reliance. NOTE: Media desiring to attend should contact Major Tribus via e-mail at brian.tribus@iraq.centcom.milThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it...

RICHMOND(AP)— What little remained of bipartisanship in the House of Delegates lay in shambles yesterday after a rare procedural move by Republicans triggered a fierce floor dispute. The extraordinary partisan rancor arose over a delegate's routine request to withdraw a bill he sponsored and left in doubt whether the House Republican majority and the Democrats can cooperate effectively in the remaining 43 days of the 2008 General Assembly. "It was not a good day for the commonwealth," House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong said after lambasting the Republicans as bullies and tyrants. "They put a bill in, then they're too...

Victims of chronic back pain were offered fresh hope with news of successful 'spinal transplant' surgery. Spinal discs from accident victims were transplanted into patients with disc degeneration in the cervical spine, the area nearest the neck. All reported improvements in their mobility and a reduction in symptoms such as weakness of the legs and bladder. A report in The Lancet says the pioneering treatment, carried out in China, offers hope for thousands of sufferers of severe disc problems, particularly young people. They often cannot be helped by existing treatments such as spinal fusion - which surgically joins bones in...

Reno & Gonzales, Apples & Oranges Posted by Andrew Cohen (CBS)Lawyer Andrew Cohen analyzes legal affairs for CBS News and CBSNews.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is so much disinformation and misinformation floating around cyberspace these days about the firing of eight federal prosecutors that you would almost think people on one side of the debate and the other are writing about and analyzing two completely different stories. Over and over again, supporters of the White House, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, seem to want to compare the current controversy with, especially, the decision by President Bill Clinton in 1993 to dismiss all...