Free Republic

In a reprehensible slap in the face to the oppressed people of Venezuela, far-left members of the Democratic Party are urging President Obama to resist bipartisan efforts to level sanctions against the authoritarian government of Nicholas Maduro. Based on comments by the Administration, apparently their sympathy for the Marxist regime is shared by the White House in a startling reversal of national doctrine of supporting freedom and liberty that has endured since the US was founded in 1776. John Conyers, Democratic Congressman from Michigan, penned a letter to Obama signed by he and 13 of his colleagues urging them to...

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has won the special election for Oakland mayor in a close contest over “moderate” Loren Taylor, giving “progressives” hope and defying efforts by Democrats to shift their party to the center. Lee, 78, defeated Taylor, 47, thanks to late-arriving postal ballots, after Taylor led on Election Night. She will take the helm of a city suffering from poor left-wing governance in the wake of a corruption scandal involving former mayor Sheng Thao, also a “progressive.” Oakland had recently begun to emerge from the shadows of San Francisco — its wealthier, glitzier neighbor across the Bay —...

Who needs elections when the leftist always wins? In Oakland, Loren Taylor, a moderate Democrat, was on track to win the mayor's election by about five points on election night, after the last one, far-left Sheng Thao, was thrown out by recall following corruption charges. Seems the crime, the taxes, the losses of the major league ball team, the airport hotels, and the In-N-Out Burger, the homeless takeover, as well as the economic ruin in all-blue city was enough for even Oakland's residents. But well, with extended counting, all of a sudden, we learn that actually, Oakland residents would like...

Former Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), who recently retired from the House of Representatives after 27 years on the Hill, has announced she is running for the freshly vacated Mayor of Oakland, California position. This comes on the heels of Oakland’s most recent mayor, Sheng Thao, who voters recalled in November 2024, facing an indictment filed on January 17, 2025, on federal bribery and fraud charges. Lee strongly denounced Thao, albeit not by name, after the indictment’s announcement. The allegations contained in the criminal indictment are devastating. There should be no tolerance whatsoever for secret pay to play schemes that erode...

MSNBC host Alex Witt and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) criticized former President Donald Trump for his visit to a Philadelphia-area McDonald’s where he served customers, stating that there was “no logic to it.” “He has gone to a McDonald’s,” Witt said. “He’s going to this McDonald’s, and he’s in the Philadelphia area. He’s going to work a fryer, apparently, before he goes to the Steelers versus Jets game. If you’re on his campaign, and I know you are certainly not, I’m not making any implication of that. But, what is the logic behind this — going to a McDonald’s?”

How involved were Secret Service staff with a Democratic congressman’s office to strip former President Donald Trump of his Secret Service detail, if at all? How involved were Secret Service staff with a Democratic congressman’s office to strip former President Donald Trump of his Secret Service detail, if at all? A U.S. Army veteran judge advocate and director of a nonprofit organization wants to know. James Fitzpatrick, director of the Center to Advance Security in America, filed Freedom of Information requests with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security inquiring about Department of Homeland Security Legislative Affairs’ and Secret Service’s staff...

Prominent academic and New York Times columnist John McWhorter has declared it would be a good thing somebody assassinated former President Donald Trump. In a new episode of “The Glenn Show” with Brown University economics professor Glenn Loury, McWhorter said, “I have taken a great deal of heat for saying, for implying, that I wish somebody would kill Donald Trump.”

Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who was recently blasted for using a disparaging term for Black people during a House hearing, is officially the largest self-funded candidate of a Senate primary race in U.S. history. Trone contributed $18.5 million of his own money to his Maryland Senate campaign, Fox News confirmed. And he brought in a total of over $40 million, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). No candidate running in a Senate primary has contributed this amount in recorded Senate primary history. "David Trone has been crystal clear that he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to...

Several prominent House Democrats are jostling to fend off Republican former baseball great Steve Garvey in the yearlong battle to fill the U.S. Senate seat once held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, with two slots on California’s November ballot at stake. In a state where a Republican hasn’t won a Senate race since 1988, Democrats are expected to easily hold the seat in November, a relief for the party as it seeks to defend a fragile Senate majority. But first-time candidate Garvey, a National League MVP and former star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, reordered...

Minimum wage is a topic that draws a lot of attention, especially in California, a state that has one of the highest minimum wages in the United States. In a debate Monday night, Rep. Barbara Lee defended her previous advocacy for a $50 minimum wage. “In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report that very recently $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by,” Lee said. “Another survey very recently: $104,000. For a family of one, barely enough to get by low income because of the...

Former U S Senator Barbara Boxer has chosen to turn her back on 2 Women, one of whom is a Woman of Color, and instead is endorsing a wealthy white man for a vacant U-S Senate seat. In endorsing Adam Schiff for the seat, Boxer ignored Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. All 3 candidates are liberal Democrats.

When arguing against a given minimum wage (e.g., $15/hour), late radio giant Rush Limbaugh would sometimes rhetorically ask: Why stop there? If that amount is good, wouldn’t a $50 minimum wage be even better? It’s unknown whether Limbaugh would’ve even suspected that a statist would make his “illustrating absurdity by being absurd” example a serious proposal within 10 years, but here we are: Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who’s running for the Golden State’s open Senate seat, made this very proposal in a Monday night debate with her rivals. “Just do the math!” she exclaimed, alluding to the supposed self-evident legitimacy...

The issue of diversity in California’s upcoming Senate race has taken a contentious turn. The suggestion that two White candidates, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, should step aside in favor of U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, a Black woman, has raised questions about genuine equality and the role of race in politics.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) gave his highly coveted endorsement to Lateefah Simon, who’s running for California's 12th Congressional District in 2024. Newsom and Simon have collaborated closely in the past, representing District 7 on Bay Area Rapid Transit's board of directors since 2016, where Newsom’s political roots lie. “Lateefah is a visionary," Newsom said in a statement to Politico. "But more than a visionary, she is a proven leader who effects the kind of change that makes her vision a reality.” “From working closely with Lateefah and watching her deliver real, progressive change in her community, I have come to...

Democrat Rep. Cori Bush introduced a resolution demanding what is estimated to be $14 trillion in federal reparations. Reps. Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman and Barbara Lee unveiled the resolution on Wednesday. Bush said black people ‘continue to live under slavery’ because of the black-white wealth gap. Rep. Bowman said, “Trauma lives in the black body.” “Research has shown this from generation to generation trauma lives in the body and lives in the blood vessels and lives in the DNA and the cells and the mind,” Bowman said, according to the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail reported: A number...

Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), assistant House Democratic leader, is throwing his weight behind Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in the California Senate race to replace Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.). “Barbara Lee is the voice Americans need now in the U.S. Senate,” Clyburn said in a statement. “She stands by what she believes in, and she doesn’t back down. In the House, she is an extremely accomplished legislator with a record of delivering historical achievement to end poverty, eradicate HIV and AIDS, and work for global peace and security,” he continued. “In the Senate, she will use all of her experiences to...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) edges Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in one of the first polls conducted in the race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who announced her retirement earlier this month. Schiff received 22 percent of support in the University of California, Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll, with Porter garnering 20 percent — a difference that is within the poll’s 2.5 percent margin of error. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who launched her campaign for the seat earlier this week, polled at 6 percent and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is rumored to be considering a bid, came in at...

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee on Tuesday formally launched her campaign for the Senate seat held by the retiring Dianne Feinstein, joining two fellow House Democrats in the race in the nation's most populous state. --Video from previous coverage. In a video posted on Twitter, Lee ran through a list of the personal and professional battles she has taken on in her life, including fighting to be her school's first Black cheerleader, championing protections for survivors of domestic violence and being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization for the use of military force after the Sept. 11,...

Rep. Barbara Lee on Wednesday told colleagues that she intends to run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, according to a person familiar with the conversation, revealing her plans to join a race that several House Democrats have shown interest in this week. Lee informed fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus of her thinking, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. Lee’s remarks did not amount to a formal announcement, said this person, who added that Lee is “getting her ducks in a row and figuring things out” and has spoken...