Free Republic

On the heels of Texas Republican Louie Gohmert’s announcement Sunday that he’s officially a candidate for Speaker of the House, conservative activists have launched a website aimed at getting present Speaker John Boehner voted out. The FreedomWorks website explains its position under the title “Speaker Boehner Has Got to Go”: It’s time for a new Speaker of the House. John Boehner has been Speaker of the House for four years. And in those four years he has betrayed conservatives and cut backroom deals to give President Obama exactly what he wants. We can’t accept a Speaker of the House who...

For several weeks now, the mainstream Jurassic media has been up to their old psychological warfare tricks, and naturally, the Republican establishment is falling for it hard. They always do, and this includes “the architect,” Karl Rove. This time it’s the media’s attempt to get Jeb Bush the Republican nomination for President in 2016. Articles that fawn over Jeb, either from a formidability standpoint or in the vein that he’s a “reasonable” conservative are everywhere. There has also been a release of meaningless polls touting Jeb’s strength atop the potential Republican field. These have all surfaced from many of the...

It is truly amazing is how hostile the leadership of the Republican Party is to the people who actually make up the Republican Party. I can tell you first hand that the establishment GOP types dislike the libertarian/conservative coalition aka The Tea Party at least as much as the Democrats do. Probably more. Why? Because the libertarian/conservative coalition is a real threat to their power. Do you honestly think that the GOP as it is currently constituted wants to reduce the size of government? Not a chance. A d this is why the party has been moving since 2012 to...

Speaking to the National Rifle Association’s recent annual conference, NRA executive vice president and CEO Wayne LaPierre, in describing America, said, “Almost everywhere you look, something has gone wrong. You feel it in your heart, you know it in your gut. Something has gone wrong. The core values we believe in, the things we care about most, are changing. Eroding. Our right to speak. Our right to gather. Our right to privacy. The freedom to work, and practice our religion, and raise and protect our families the way we see fit.” He went on to say this: "There are terrorists...

The attacks have begun. The Republican establishment in the U.S.A. has now actually started the shooting war in the 2014 primary elections they have been threatening against conservative candidates for Congress. “Hopefully we’ll go into eight to 10 races and beat the snot out of them,” said former Rep. Steve LaTourette of Ohio. His new political group, Defending Main Street, plans to raise $8 million to defeat tea-party candidates and elect moderate Republicans instead. “We’re going to be very aggressive and we’re going to get in their faces.” LaTourette was a close ally of moderate Republican Speaker John Boehner in...

It behooves all Americans to stand up for what they believe in, and this intestinal fortitude is expected from our elected officials. Alas though, many of those lack any backbone at all and are quite happy to "go along to get along." Normally, we pick some clinically insane progressive liberal to be our Jerk of the Week, but to be fair, we should pick out all those, no matter where they claim to lie on the political spectrum, who are willing to let our rights and liberties be eroded over time. Our choice for Jerk of the Week honors is...

Driven on the Intercounty Connector lately? No? You’re not alone. Many haven’t. The 18.8-mile highway—the first stretch of which opened two and a half years ago after great hype and amid great controversy—is the road less traveled. Traffic counts are well below early projections, and revenue from tolls—needed to pay off the bonds that were sold to build the road—is far less than originally anticipated. The initial estimated cost of $1 billion has ballooned to $2.4 billion—or as much as $4 billion if you include interest payments. Consequently, all tolls on Maryland highways, bridges and tunnels have been raised in...

This book purports to explain how Washington really works. In a sense it does – though only by omission.The book is a chronicle of the most noticeable people in DC – the most “important” politicians, lobbyists, reporters, consultants, etc. From this viewpoint, you get great insight into what these people are doing. Unfortunately, you therefore get absolutely no insight into anything else.For example, 10% of the book is devoted to Tim Russert’s funeral. This sort of event is extremely important to these people. A few pages are devoted to David Axelrod shaving his mustache. Also an incredibly important event, apparently....

Sarah Palin reared her head in American airspace this weekend. As the country’s media, entertainment and political elite gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual roast that is the White House Correspondents Dinner, Palin could not resist lobbing darts from afar. “Yuk it up media and pols,” she tweeted. “While America is buried in taxes and a fight for our rights, the permanent political class in DC dresses up and has a prom to make fun of themselves. No need for that, we get the real joke.” She panned the event again in a second tweet: “That #WHCD was pathetic....

WASHINGTON - Interstate 270 is considered one of the most choked roads in the Washington region, but solutions for the gridlock are few and far between. Figures from the Maryland Department of Transportation show about 114,000 cars use I-270 daily, and that number is expected to jump to 200,000 in the next 10 to 15 years. "Everyone who is familiar with 270 knows it is jammed up in the morning rush hour and evening rush hour," says Gus Bauman, who studies transportation and funding and who chaired a Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding. One proposal to ease congestion...

nspired by concerns of unemployment, the economy, Benghazi, and matters of foreign policy; organizers are promoting a “Massive Anti-Obama Rally @ Obama’s Inauguration Day.” Their goal? 500,000+ protesters armed with signs identifying the reason for their participation in the rally. The invitation expresses the following: “If you are unsatisfied with President Barack Obama’s reelection win and you further feel that he will ultimately destabilize America completely, then let us join together with bold Anti-Obama signs clearly stating our main grievances…

We've been right about the academia elites, the Jurassic media, the elitistconservative pundits, the establishment, the "obama foam" class, and Occupy and union thugs, too. This includes anybody who makes his living from government -- and the reporting thereof.

State transportation officials should study dedicated travel lanes for vans, carpools and buses on a congested seven-mile stretch of the Capital Beltway that includes the American Legion Bridge, Montgomery and Fairfax leaders urged Tuesday. HOT lanes for toll payers and high-occupancy vehicles are planned for the Beltway in Virginia from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road, and set to open later this year. But Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner and Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova pointed out a seven-mile gap in dedicated high-occupancy travel lanes between the northern terminus of the planned...

Representative Mike Kelly, speaking on the House floor today, managed something very rare in the history of the institution – he got a standing ovation. Applause is usually forbidden in the house, but Kelly‘s blistering attack on regulatory red tape and Washington’s culture of control was apparently so powerful that several of his fellow house members couldn’t resist showing their support, clapping, standing up and shouting “USA! USA! USA!” Would you applaud this way? See Kelly’s speech below and decide for yourself:

.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented a Who's Who of big banks and other companies at the center of alleged foreclosure fraud, a Reuters inquiry shows. The firm, Covington & Burling, is one of Washington's biggest white shoe law firms. Law professors and other federal ethics experts said that federal conflict of interest rules required Holder and Breuer to recuse themselves from any Justice Department decisions relating to law firm clients they personally had done work for.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Newt Gingrich has taken heat on the campaign trail from conservatives for filming a 2008 commercial on climate change with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. But that was hardly the first time the Republican presidential candidate and former House speaker collaborated with Pelosi. Gingrich co-sponsored 418 bills in Congress with Pelosi during the 12 years they served together in the House, according to the Library of Congress’s THOMAS database. Gingrich was in Congress from 1979 to 1999. Pelosi has served since 1987. As a matter of comparison, House Speaker John Boehner, who has served in Congress...

Newt Gingrich is winning over Republicans. Over the past few months, the former House speaker has charmed primary voters one debate at a time. The once underdog — dismissed as a has-been when he first announced his run and the laughingstock of the race after he accumulated $1 million in debt this summer and was abandoned by almost his entire political team — has compellingly mixed historical insight, warmth toward his fellow GOP candidates, and rancor toward the media into a formula that has propelled him to the top of the polls. But is Gingrich the savior the GOP has...

People have been asking me all week if conservatives will stick with Herman Cain, but I think he's got a bigger problem than the conservative vote. A lot more women than conservatives vote, and the women I've talked to are finished with him. There's a new CBS poll which says that 38 percent of female Republican primary voters are "less likely to back him" now that more accusers have come forward. Among all registered voters, CBS reports that Cain has lost support among women since last month—from 28 percent in October to 15 percent now. My sense is that 15...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney continues to hold the pole position for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in the latest National Journal Political Insiders Poll. But the surprise runner-up to Romney was the two-term Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who moved up from fifth place when the last ranking of the potential GOP White House contenders was conducted a year ago. Romney's assets and liabilities are well known and haven't changed much since last January. He has a national network of political and financial supporters left over from his unsuccessful run for the 2008 Republican nomination, a command of economic issues...

I recently asked two liberal friends "Who killed Chandra Levy?" I was referring, of course, to the 24-year-old congressional intern who went missing in DC in the summer of 2001 after a morning jog. (A dog-walker discovered her remains over a year later.)