Free Republic

A day after his campaign slashed staff and salaries to retrench ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Jeb Bush decried the toxic tone of the presidential race and suggesting that “demonizing” people isn’t what he signed up for in this campaign. Mr. Bush made the remarks at a town hall in South Carolina, where, according to a report by CNN, he seemed fired up about taking on the person who has overshadowed him during the campaign, Donald J. Trump, who is leading most Republican polls so far. “If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done,”...

Speaking to reporters ahead of a South Carolina town hall on Saturday, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dismissed claims that campaign cuts represent a crisis for his presidential bid. “Blah, blah, blah,” Bush told reporters, according to USA Today. “That’s my answer: Blah, blah, blah.”

Bernie Sanders, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, spoke at Liberty University today. You can read his speech here. It is useful, in that it exposes the extent of Sanders’s ignorance and radicalism. Any deconstruction of a speech this bad must be selective. I am far, far from being a perfect human being, but I am motivated by a vision, which exists in all of the great religions, in Christianity, in Judaism, in Islam and Buddhism, and other religions. And that vision is so beautifully and clearly stated in Matthew 7:12, and it states, “So in everything, do to...

Trump Has Succeeded in Convincing Conservatives to Discard their Principles Overnight by CHARLES C. W. COOKE. September 1, 2015. Since he jumped self-confidently into the political limelight, Donald Trump has been quite the upside-down man. Customarily, primary seasons permit each party’s voters to indulge in a rational process of elimination: First, they discover which candidate most closely agrees with them on policy, and then they ask themselves whether that person is capable of representing their ideas in public. This time around, however, this process has been disastrously inverted, a solid portion of the Republican party’s balloters having decided first who...

CNN)—Wedding bells are on the horizon for Bristol Palin and 2011 Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer. Meyer, 26, proposed to Palin, 24, Friday night at a Rascal Flatts concert, Palin said on her blog. "The lead singer, Gary LeVox, dedicated 'Bless the Broken Road' to us, and then Dakota got down on one knee and proposed!" she wrote. "It's amazing to see what happens when you place everything in life in God's hands." Meyer received the nation's highest military honor for braving enemy fire in 2009 to recover 36 American and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. He was the third...

Obama just said on live TV it's his job to "protect every embassy and consolute in the world". Puke. Except one, right? And then lie about it and keep secrets, don't allow witnesses to speak up and have a Sec of State that says "What difference does it make?" Now he's telegraphing all of our strategic moves for the rest of his term... Taking no questions... oops, yes taking a question on his "Executive Powers"... Says he can basically do what he wants.

Paul, according to CNN, also talked about making the Republican party “bigger” and much more inclusive, saying that unless Republicans “broaden their message” to reach more people, winning future elections is going to be a bit of a problem. “You go to a Republican event and it’s all white people—not because we’re excluding anybody, but because we just haven’t done a good enough job encouraging people to come into our party.”

Once again, the curmudgeonly Sarah Palin didn't let a holiday pass without reminding us that she has Facebook page. On Martin Luther King Day, she posted a response to President Obama's New Yorker interview where she called on him to honor MLK by not playing the race card. The president had said that his approval rating suffers because some people don't like the idea of having a black president. Now her post doesn't rival some of her other holiday harangues, such as her book "Good Tidings and Great Joys," a how-to-guide to fighting back against the War on Christmas, or...

Obama to speak on the NSA surveillance scandal from the Justice Department around 11 a.m. EST today.C-SPAN's description:The President delivers remarks at the Department of Justice presenting the outcomes of the Administration's review of U.S. signals intelligence programs. He is expected to focus on steps that increase oversight and transparency while leaving the framework of the surveillance programs in place. In addition, according to officials, the President will turn to Congress for guidance regarding the future of NSA data collection. The President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies recommended more than 40 suggested changes at the NSA in a...

I was on vacation for the last two weeks of December, and off the grid for most of that time. Upon my return, I found IÂ’d missed a bunch of dumb stories, along with some real news that will ultimately prove fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The final Obamacare delays of 2013, along with the December enrollment figures, are at home in the latter category. The revelation that my friend Matt Yglesias invented a fake baby to get AmazonÂ’s Mom discount was more typical of the former. ThereÂ’s actually wide agreement among my peers who cover national...

Rose Garden 11:33 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Everybody, have a seat. MS. BAKER: Hello. My name is Janice Baker. I have the privilege to say that I'm the first person in the state of Delaware to enroll for health insurance through the new marketplace. (Applause.) Like many consumers out there, it took me a number of frustrating attempts before I could apply for and select my plan. I kept trying because I needed access to the new health care options. I had applied to three private insurance companies only to be rejected due to preexisting health conditions. I am too...

For the past 3 1/2 years, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have made misstatements about what would happen to families, to seniors, to employers and to health care costs as a result of the historic law. In spite of their predictions being so wrong, the attacks continue. So it’s important to give a snapshot of what health benefits the law has already produced for Kansans. The ACA has already produced benefits for Kansans. In football terms, we’re early in the first quarter, and while our opponents want to declare “game over,” I’m confident that by the end of open...

Further to Charlotte’s post, in the age-old tradition, the nation’s “feminists” are singing “Stand By Your Dem.” Tamara Holder: Public service has nothing to do with bedroom service. 98.4367% of men cheat. I do know a few good men who don’t. Leave #Weiner alone. — Tamara Holder (@tamaraholder) July 23, 2013 Maybe Tamara’s angling for a spot on the ticket: Weiner-Holder ’16!...

Carter: World Religions Perpetuate Women's Plight BILL BARROW ATLANTA — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says religious leaders, including those in Christianity and Islam, share the blame for mistreatment of women across the world. The human rights activist said Friday religious authorities perpetuate misguided doctrines of male superiority, from the Catholic Church forbidding women from becoming priests to some African cultures mutilating the genitals of young girls. Carter said the doctrines, which he described as theologically indefensible, contribute to a political, social and economic structure where political leaders passively accept violence against women, a worldwide sex slave trade and inequality...

Barack Obama speaks at 9 p.m. EST. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) gives the GOP response after Obama speaks. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) gives the Tea Party Express response around 10 p.m.Sen. Paul's speech can be seen live on the Tea Party Express website.

President Obama addresses United Nations General Assembly Video at link

WORLD BANK BOSS: We're Headed For "Impending Catastrophe" -- "A Rerun Of Great Panic Of 2008" Henry Blodget Jun. 2, 2012, 9:51 AM The head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, is about to step down after a 5-year term. That means he can say what he really thinks. Here, via the Daily Mail, is what he really thinks about what's going on in Europe and the global financial markets: Financial markets face a rerun of the Great Panic of 2008. * It's ‘far from clear that eurozone leaders have steeled themselves’ for the looming catastrophe amid fears of a...

During the '08 Popularity Contest, many Conservatives tried to warn the country about the future Chairman Obama's collection of mutants that were his followers. There was Frank Marshall Davis, the commie who was his father figure. There was Jeremiah Wright, the Black Liberation theologian who couldn't decide who he hated more, "them Jews" or "Amerikkka". Calypso Louie Farrakhan, the afro-fascist extrodinaire who heads the New Black Panther Party, gave Obama two thumbs up, as did the freaks at the $oros-funded Moveon.Dork and the Con Artists Formerly Known As ACORN. Unfortunately, America didn't listen to the Conservative Movement. The Republican candidate,...

Someone has do do this...looking forward to comments from those that watch

As Rick Perry's record is beginning to be scrutinized, the budget mess in Texas has started to receive national attention. Apparently, there is a $31 billion deficit in the current fiscal year that will necessitate drastic cuts. It has also come to light that Perry, rather than making the necessary cuts in 2009, took Obama stimulus funds and used over $6 billion of the stimulus to plug his deficit. The deficit has now exploded, as they tend to do when not addressed early, and the stimulus money has dried up and blown away like a tumbleweed, leaving the state awash...