Free Republic

THE BRONX, NY — The city councilman who recently drew fire for his inflammatory remarks about gay people says he will run for Congress to give conservatives and moderates a voice in Washington. Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. said he will run to replace U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, who is not seeking re-election in 2020. The Bronx Democrat — who drew widespread criticism for saying the "homosexual community" controls most Council members — filed a form Wednesday establishing a federal campaign committee. He said he will formally announce his candidacy on Saturday.

Stray dogs turned bright blue by polluted Indian river (VIDEO, PHOTOS) Bright blue dogs are roaming the streets of Mumbai, India, after a river polluted with industrial waste reportedly dyed the animals fur. Several strays entered the Kasadi river in Navi Mumbai searching for food only to be transformed into smurf-like creatures, according to an animal rights group in the region. Arati Chauhan, who runs the Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell, posted images of the blue dogs online.

Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) will not run for re-election this year, a source close to the Congressman told Roll Call. The Blue Dog Democrat had decided against a bid in a redrawn 11th district, which was made substantially more Republican than his current district during GOP-led redistricting.

The Blue Dog Coalition of moderate lawmakers endorsed a bill put forward by House Republicans to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The endorsement puts them at odds with President Barack Obama, whose administration said it opposed such an amendment. "We do not need to amend the Constitution for only the 28th time in our nation’s history to do the job of restoring fiscal discipline," the Office of Management and Budget said on Tuesday. Speaker of the House John Boehner said he was "disappointed" in Obama for opposing the bill — which is certain to fail in the...

Arkansas Democrats face extinctionBy ALEX ISENSTADT | 7/26/11 4:42 AM EDT The last time Republicans had full control of the Arkansas congressional delegation, a battle-ravaged United States was picking up the pieces from the Civil War. Now, with the retirement of Democratic Rep. Mike Ross, the GOP is well positioned to once again sweep all four of the state’s House seats, giving the party domination in a state that has long been a Democratic power center in the South. Once home to prominent and long-serving Democratic figures like J. William Fulbright, Dale Bumpers and David Pryor and the launching pad...

President Obama will be returning to Washington this afternoon after fleeing the country with Republicans sitting pretty with historic gains on election day, and with the Democratic Party in turmoil. Obama might regret returning to America after his overseas trip resulted in failure. With the people demanding low taxes via voting booths and opinion polls, the President's Fiscal Responsibility Commission came out against tax hikes in any income bracket. One of their tax plans even involves lowering the income tax level further. The lame duck session of Congress is just one day away; it's make or break time for Obama....

Conservative Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.) said over the weekend that voted against his own party when he went to the ballot box to vote for president in 2008. Taylor told the Sun Herald of South Mississippi that he chose Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president over then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

National Republican tide cited as one reason A poll released Wednesday shows incumbent Congressman Mike McIntyre in a dead heat with challenger Ilario Pantano in the race for Southeastern North Carolina's seat in Congress. The poll of 450 registered voters in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District, taken last week, showed the Republican Pantano ahead of the Democrat McIntyre by 1 percentage point. Forty-six percent of respondents said they'd vote for Pantano, with 45 percent favoring McIntyre. Nine percent said they were undecided. The poll had a 4.7 percent margin of error. McIntyre, in his 14th year in the U.S. House...

Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, D-S.D., has lost her lead, for now, vs. the GOP nominee, state Rep. Kristi Noem, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Noem enjoys a 53%-41% edge over Sandlin, a leader of the Blue Dog Democrats who voted no on ObamaCare. Noem could be enjoying a typical post-primary victory bounce, but Sandlin has been polling well below 50%, a dangerous area for incumbents.

Conservative Democrats Balk at Jobless Benefits Plan Thursday, May 27, 2010 02:16 PM Democrats struggled Thursday to extend jobless benefits for people who have been out of work for long stretches as lawmakers worried about the growing budget deficit balked at a scaled down package. House leaders had scheduled a vote Thursday on a bill that would extend the benefits through November, but they ran into opposition from Republicans and some Democrats concerned about the cost of the overall bill. "They need to go back to the drawing board," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the conservative Blue...

Two new polls out from Rasmussen today suggest that even Democrats who voted against health care reform are in serious danger of losing their seats. The first shows that 54% of respondents favor repealing ObamaCare, essentially unchanged from last week. The second shows that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., now leads one of her potential Republican challengers, Secretary of State Chris Nelson, by only 44%-42%. In February, she led 45%-38%. Herseth Sandlin, co-chair of the Blue Dogs, a group of more moderate Democrats, voted against the health care bill both in November and in March, and was outspoken against the...

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly said the health care reform bill will save the average Hoosier family money and will reduce the federal deficit, a day after casting a decisive swing vote. Donnelly was among a group of Democratic holdouts, led by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who backed the bill only after President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning the use of federal funds to pay for abortion. Republicans attacked the order, and the bill, vowing to fight to repeal the measure. But Monday, Donnelly said he’d done what he thought was best for Hoosier families. Backed by a Congressional...

Bart Stupak’s surrender on ObamaCare likely signals the end of pro-life Democrats, as several commentators have noted. But Sunday’s votes also may mark the end of Democrats’ revival in the South and Midwest. The party made a concerted effort in 2006 and 2008 to recruit candidates that could win moderate or GOP-leaning districts. That’s a key reason why Democrats won such big congressional majorities. But after forging a big-tent caucus, Speaker Pelosi has not governed that way. Instead, she pushed Blue Dog and other moderate Democrats to vote as if they represented her San Francisco district.

BRIDGEPORT, Ohio -- As the nation's health care reform bill is about to come to a vote, Ohio Valley Voices were raised in support and in protest in front of Congressman Charlie Wilson's,D-Ohio, of Bridgeport, Ohio headquarters. Both sides gathered with signs, chants and messages. Ohio Valley PEACE scheduled what they call a “Brown Bag Lunch Vigil” with a message for the congressman. But the opposing group showed up also. In the end there were a lot of messages flying.

The most important member of Congress this month may be a man you've never heard of: Jason Altmire, a painfully earnest former hospital executive from near Pittsburgh. Why? Because as Jason Altmire goes, so goes the nation -- at least when it comes to the Democrats' quest for healthcare reform. Altmire, 41, is a centrist "Blue Dog" Democrat -- a fiscal conservative who opposes big spending and higher taxes. His Republican-leaning district voted for John McCain in 2008 even as it sent Altmire back to Congress for his second term. In November, Altmire was one of 39 Democrats who voted...

Here is an important message for Blue Dog Democrats from Samuel Adams. "If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -Samuel Adams Any bill costing trillions of dollars and significantly increasing government control over one sixth of the U.S. economy is a threat to our liberty. "The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."...

U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln's big news appears to be up on her webpage before her promised Twitter. Nonetheless, it is indeed about money. She raised more than $1 million in the fourth quarter, for a total of more than $7 million for the campaign cycle and she has more than $5 million on hand.

Americans for Limited Government (ALG) today released the voting records of some 90 Blue Dog and what it dubbed “so-called moderate” House Democrats on what ALG President Bill Wilson called “some of the most controversial votes of 2009.” “So-called Blue Dog ‘conservative’ Democrats in the House have long touted their caucus as being fiscally-responsible, but what emerges from an analysis of their voting records is a pack of lapdogs who have voted largely in lock-step with their more radical counterparts in House leadership,” said Wilson...

Isn’t it ironic that the more the nation turns “pro-life” and an ever-increasing majority recognizes how bad the monstrous health care plan is the more certain ‘conservative’ or ‘pro-life’ Democrats are caving in on these very issues? These are times that try men’s souls apparently. What sort of moral foundation of principles have you built for yourself when you so loudly declare something about your core beliefs and then so easily betray them exactly when support is building among the people you serve?!? Such historic crossroads as we face now certainly provide a test of all that. Senator Nelson from...

Republicans are trying to woo U.S. Rep. Chris Carney to switch parties, with Sen. John McCain among several GOP leaders making pitches to the Susquehanna County Democrat. Mr. McCain on Wednesday called Mr. Carney at his home in Dimock Twp. to ask whether he would consider joining the GOP, a Carney spokesman confirmed. The effort to persuade Mr. Carney was first reported by Politico, which quoted a GOP aide who said the party received "a nibble" from Mr. Carney. But Mr. Carney's spokesman, press secretary Joshua Drobnyk, rebutted that part of the report. Mr. Carney in a statement late Wednesday...