Free Republic

At the conclusion of the week-long hearing on “cap and trade” legislation in the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Friday, the Democrats’ headline witness was none other than Mr. Global Warming himself, former Vice President Al Gore. One member of the panel, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), took the opportunity to ask her fellow Tennessean a multi-million dollar question on behalf of “some of his former constituents.” Throughout Gore’s earlier testimony, he had questioned the integrity of scientists and studies that found the opposite conclusions of his personal view: there is no smoking gun either proving or disproving that the...

OUR OPINION: First months reveal a poised, disciplined, pragmatic politician President Barack Obama has run a fast race thus far. His first 100 days in office have been remarkably productive, particularly for someone who was serving in the Illinois state Senate only five years ago. A successful start augurs well for the rest of his tenure, but critics have reason to remain skeptical. Huge deficits, a seemingly limitless agenda and Washington's enduring partisan divide are just some of the challenges that could trip up this presidency. In truth, the 100-day test is an artificial political construct. It is too little...

A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues. There was Sen. John McCain's daughter and his campaign manager who last week demanded that their fellow Republicans embrace same-sex marriage. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman – the most devoted modernizer among the party's 2012 hopefuls – won approving words from New York Times columnist Frank Rich for his call to downplay divisive values issues. The party’s top elected leaders in...

This past election showed that Republicans in America are in trouble.  The culprit may simply be the public's fatigue with an eight year Republican administration (not to mention the fact that McCain ran a singularly inept campaign).  President Obama's startling ascendency, though, a career trajectory that took place despite the absence of any meaningful resume and the presence of some very eyebrow-raising associates, indicates that the Republican Party's problems run deeper than fatigue and campaign ineptitude. So let's start with a question:  When was the last time America had more registered Republicans than registered Democrats?  1955?  1928?  I don't know...

WASHINGTON - Campaigning before a church congregation on Chicago’s South Side one Sunday in July 2007, Barack Obama said an epidemic of big city violence was “sickening the soul of this nation.” Among the potential cures, he said, was permanently reinstating a ban on assault weapons. One-hundred days into his presidency, President Obama says it remains a goal. But it is one the White House has been forced to abandon.

Obama's 100 day mark is approaching rapidly. But don't you worry .. the lamestream media has already had their '100 day round-up' stories ready for months.

The Republican base is behaving like a guy who just got dumped by his wife.If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments. It's been a week now, and I still don't know what those "tea bag" protests were about. I saw signs protesting abortion, illegal immigrants, the bank bailout and that gay guy who's going to win "American Idol." But it wasn't tax day that made them crazy; it was election day. Because that's...

House Republicans are calling on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down or be fired in the wake of a controversial department memo that has sparked indignant battle cries from conservatives and some veterans. “Singling out political opponents for working against the ruling party is precisely the tactic of every tyrannical government from Red China to Venezuela," said Texas Rep. John Carter, a member of the party's elected leadership who has organized an hour of floor speeches Wednesday night to call for Napolitano's ouster. “The first step in the process is creating unfounded public suspicion of political opponents, followed...

A new Public Policy Polling survey has some interesting findings concerning Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R): While 76% of Republican voters have a favorable opinion of her, 21% say they would rather vote for President Obama if she became the Republican party presidential nominee in 2012. In a head-to-head match up, Obama would beat Palin, 53% to 41%. The survey also shows Obama beating Mike Huckabee, 49% to 42%, Newt Gingrich, 52% to 39%, and Mitt Romney, 50% to 39%.

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Millions of people jobless. Billions of dollars in bailouts. Trillions of dollars in U.S. debt. And yet, for the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is on the right track. In a sign that Barack Obama has inspired hopes for a brighter future in the first 100 days of his presidency, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows that 48 percent of Americans believe the United States is headed in the right direction — compared with 44 percent who disagree. The "right direction" number is up 8 points since February and a remarkable 31...