Free Republic

As the Republican base fragments and Christian conservatives consider a “fast” from politics, the polling data point to a mid-term Republican thumping. Less than two weeks from now, Republicans will begin their post-mortem soul searching. And as the corpses of their House and Senate majorities grow cold, so should Karl Rove’s 2006 campaign strategy.

Germany called on Israel to refrain from publishing construction tenders in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem saying it sends a "devastating message" for peace efforts. "The Israeli government must be aware that the continuous announcements of new settlements convey a devastating message with a view to the current efforts and resumption of peace negotiations," government spokesman Georg Streiter told reporters. "We strongly urge the Israeli government to refrain from inviting tenders for housing units," Streiter added. Israel's housing and construction ministry said Sunday it would publish tenders for the construction of more than 1,000 housing units to meet natural growth needs...

ormer Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) offered a stunningly candid rebuke to Newt Gingrich on Tuesday, calling him a "bad person" and accusing him of demonizing his political opponents. "When he puts on his political helmet, he is a terrible person," Scarborough said on his "Morning Joe" show on MSNBC. "He may be a nice person at home, [but] people that don't know Newt at home need to know this." Scarborough ticked off a list of comments Gingrich has made about his opponents before singling out Gingrich's comparison of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (D) to Joseph Stalin. "I...