Free Republic

Last September, I drew attention to some strange polling that I had come across in New Mexico. I was astonished to learn at the time that 53 percent of New Mexico voters supported Arizona's SB 1070. That included 39 percent of Hispanics in New Mexico. How can this be? Why would Hispanics support Arizona's "racist papers please" law in such large numbers? Progressive Democrats in the mainstream media have spent months telling America that the Republican Party is doomed in 2012 because "nativists" are alienating the fast growing Hispanic electorate. Fastforward to January 2010. New Mexico, the state where Hispanics...

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) this weekend called on Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. Lugar is the first GOP senator to call for increased gun control following the Tucson tragedy that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But Lugar, who supported the initial 10-year-long assault weapons ban when it passed in 1994, said he's not optimistic about the chances for passing gun control legislation this Congress. “I believe it should be, but I recognize the fact that the politics domestically in our country with regard to this are on...

The only thing less exciting than the Ole Miss Rebels this year was their performance on the football field. Ole Miss is recovering from one of its worst seasons in memory. The "Rebel Black Bears" under Houston Nutt have finished another losing season, 4-8. The only title the "Rebel Black Bear" can lay claim to is being the mascot for the worst team in the SEC West. Where to start? Ole Miss lost a humiliating season opener to Jacksonville State at home. The Rebels lost to Vanderbilt and were crushed by the greenest Tennessee team in years. The "Rebel Black...

Conservatives dominated the DREAM Wars of 2010. The DREAM Act amnesty was defeated on three separate occasions (once in September, twice in December) in the U.S. Senate. The larger push for "comprehensive immigration reform" was derailed in March when Sen. Lindsey Graham used the passage of Obamacare as an excuse to change his position on immigration. Republicans who have supported the DREAM Act in the past were cowed into submission by grassroots conservatives organizing through the Tea Party. Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah, who voted for the DREAM Act in December, was defeated in the Republican primary. Sen Arlen Specter,...

Progressives never let a tragedy go to waste. Although it is clear now that the Gabrielle Giffords shooter and 9/11 truther Jared Lee Loughner has no ties to the Tea Party, that hasn't stopped our friends on the Left from spreading a blood libel on the conservative movement. We stand accused of fostering a "climate of hate" in America that subtly influenced an unstable "conscious dreaming" psychopath into attempting to assassinate a Democratic congresswoman. Some leftwing commentators have even asserted that Sarah Palin has the blood of a 9-year-old child on her hands. The most laughable self described "progressive" spreading...

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour wants state lawmakers to help him build a Civil Rights museum in downtown Jackson, as he attempts to move past rhetorical slip-ups that have landed him in hot water when he talks about issues of race. Barbour, a two-term governor and potential GOP presidential candidate, made the appeal during his final state of the state address Tuesday evening, just a few weeks after he found himself on the defensive for comments that seemed to minimize the racial strife of southern segregation and the civil rights movement. “The civil rights struggle is an important part of our...

Congress should take up work on comprehensive immigration reform once the U.S. borders are secure, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday. McCain, a longtime proponent of comprehensive reform who had tacked right in his race for reelection last year, said that an immigration deal could be an area of compromise between Republicans and Democrats. "Once we get the border secured — and we can get the border secured — I would look forward to working on comprehensive immigration reform," the 2008 Republican presidential nominee said on NBC's "Today" show. The Arizona senator had in the past favored legislation that would...

We, the Tea Party movement in Indiana, dropped the ball in the 2010 Senate race. We allowed ourselves to be splintered while the GOP insiders were united behind Senator Dan Coats. Despite his record, Coats ran as a principled conservative, so we hold out hope that he was being honest about his change of heart. We wish him the best and hope he does well. That’s all we really can do, since we lost. Now, an even greater challenge is emerging, one where the stakes are even higher. Richard Lugar is running for re-election in 2012. His voting record is...

Arizona state politicians will introduce model legislation this week to encourage states to prevent children of illegal immigrants from being granted citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Lawmakers in at least 14 states have said they are committed to passing the legislation targeting birthright citizenship. Arizona's anti-illegal-immigrant bill, SB-1070, was also based on model legislation that could be easily copied by states, and at least seven states are likely to pass bills similar to the first Arizona immigration overhaul this year, according to one analysis by an immigrants rights group. Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce will unveil the bill Jan. 5...

When I was a Senate staffer more than a decade ago, Republicans hit on a tactic to advance school choice. They kept narrowing the eligibility standard to cover poorer and poorer families with children in only the most spectacularly failing schools, daring Democrats to vote against the most sympathetic possible group of students. I remember one liberal senator saying in exasperation, "Someday, you are going to make this impossible to oppose." . . .

Alarmed by the GOP’s alienation of Hispanic voters, a group of operatives and former elected officials has launched a bid to wrestle the party’s image back from illegal immigration foes – and it’s led by a Republican named Bush. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has teamed up with former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who served in former President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, and former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), a one-time supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, to restore the Republican Party’s standing with this fastest-growing segment of the electorate. The newly formed Hispanic Leadership Network marks the first major outreach effort...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a bold goal for the next decade: Overhaul the country's immigration system so that every worker in the United States is legal. "We are not going to deport 11 million people," Gingrich said Thursday as he kicked off his first forum on Latino issues. "There has to be some zone between deportation and amnesty." A possible presidential candidate, Gingrich stressed that his target of establishing an entirely legal work force is "not a call for amnesty." Rather, he said, it's about applying common sense to the immigration debacle. "Dos y dos son cuatro" (two...

Gutierrez, 56, is the most passionate, tireless, and nettlesome voice in Congress on immigration matters. He’s a constant presence at rallies and on TV, defending the undocumented and railing against xenophobia. It’s no surprise that a recent Pew Hispanic Center survey ranked him the second-most-important Latino leader in the country, after Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “He’s as close as the Latino community has to a Martin Luther King figure,” says Frank Sharry, founder of the pro-immigrant group America’s Voice. Yet Gutierrez’s tactics are controversial. While many admire his tenacity and credit him with keeping immigration reform alive, others, including...

With the incoming Congress looking for accomplishments, here's one the Republican majority should take up immediately: immigration reform. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Republicans are its natural champions. The GOP led the way in 1986 and 1996, when partial immigration reforms were enacted. And a Republican Senate, with the support of President George W. Bush, passed comprehensive reform in 2006, only to see it die in the House. . . . The best approach is a gradual and targeted legalization program that serves our economic needs. For skilled workers, employers should be in the driver's seat to identify who is most...

Former South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene has only the highest hopes for his political future despite his crushing defeat two weeks ago — he thinks he will be the next president. In an interview outside a Columbia, S.C. courthouse – where he was being tried for allegedly showing pornographic material to a college-aged girl – Greene said he would sue the Columbia Free-Times newspaper if he read an account of the legal proceedings. Instead Greene suggested the media focus on his presidential potential before claiming to be the "greatest person ever." “I’m the next president,” Greene said. “I’ll...

PROVIDENCE — Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee repeated a pledge yesterday to rescind an executive order on illegal immigration, but his office said he is discussing with State Police whether they should ask for immigration papers when there is reasonable suspicion that a person is in the United States illegally. The order signed by Governor Don Carcieri, a Republican. sparked outrage in the immigrant and minority communities in part because it instructed State Police to check the immigration status of suspects in the course of investigations. . . .

<p>For all y’all rich folks, enjoy that champagne, or whatever fancy ass Scotch you drink.</p> <p>And for y’all a bit lower on the economic scale, enjoy your Pabst Blue Ribbon, or whatever shitty ass beer you favor.</p> <p>You need to drink up.</p> <p>And quickly.</p> <p>And heavily.</p>

President Obama is keeping his ear to the ground. Recently, he invited a race-based coalition of bloggers, "Blogging While Brown," to meet with Corey Ealons, the White House director of "African-American Media," at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The White House meeting was about ""letting them know we are open and available for conversation -- a two-way conversation." I can't help but scratch my chin and wonder: would President Obama be willing to have a similar "two-way conversation" with an alliance of bloggers called "Blogging While White" and respond to the concerns of the White community? Maybe he could chat with the...

A teacher at Lumpkin County High School in North Georgia has been suspended after she let a group of White students in her AP History class dress up in Ku Klux Klan garb for a film project. The video the students were shooting was about the "history of racism." The students were escorted through the cafeteria during lunch and black and mixed race students were offended by their attire. A small tempest in a teacup about "racism" has followed in the wake. The NAACP has gotten involved and expressed their usual shock and outrage. The teacher has apologized for the...

In recent weeks, the liberal media has tarred and feathered the good people of Arizona before the eyes of the world. The United Nations has launched an official investigation. Cities like Los Angeles, CA, Richmond, VA and Columbus, OH have announced boycotts of the state. Liberal columnists have wailed about how the new law (which explicitly bans racial profiling) will result in racial profiling. President Obama and House Democrats have ganged up on Arizona with President Calderon of Mexico. A torrent of abuse against Arizona has streamed from the Left. We are told the new law is motivated by "white...