Free Republic

When Bob Corker's U.S. Senate campaign began flooding Tennessee's airwaves with a commercial two weeks ago, his opponents in the Republican primary cried foul. They zeroed in on this statement: "When was the last time an elected official actually made government smaller? Or controlled spending so property taxes were the lowest since the 1950s?" Corker claimed the campaigns of Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary were misrepresenting his record. They pointed out that Corker raised taxes 24 percent his first year in office. Corker did. However, that wasn't the claim. Instead, the ad stated that Corker controlled spending. Financial information provided...

<p>One Republican "moderate" has been conspicuously absent in the revolt against President Bush's tax cut: Pennsylvania's Sen. Arlen Specter. The reason is Pat Toomey.</p> <p>Mr. Specter, who's seeking a fifth term next year, must first face Mr. Toomey, a GOP congressmen from Allentown, Pa., in an April 2004 primary. What is more, the primary is closed, which means that only Republicans may participate. This helps not just Mr. Toomey but Senate Republicans in general, at least for the next 11 months.</p>

Biography: Ralph G. Neas began his public service career as Chief Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-MA) in 1973, then worked in the same capacity for Senator Dave Durenberger (R-MN). From 1981 through 1995, Ralph served as Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation's oldest and largest coalition. During that time, he directed the national campaigns that strengthened every major civil rights law, in a political climate not particularly hospitable to civil rights. Landmark laws enacted, with huge bipartisan majorities, included the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities...