Free Republic

On July 9, 2018, Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to fill the place on the U.S. Supreme Court vacated by Justice Kennedy, with the prospect of ensuring a Republican majority for another generation. However, in its actions over the last ten days, the Republican leadership has jeopardized its goals through its failure to respect the rules of crisis management: Recognize the crisis as a crisis Get out as much information as possible as soon as possible, particularly any negative information Avoid saying anything that has to be withdrawn Avoid doing anything that looks like a cover-up

WASHINGTON — Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has calendars from the summer of 1982 that he plans to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that do not show a party consistent with the description of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, according to someone working for his confirmation. The calendars do not disprove Dr. Blasey’s allegations, Judge Kavanaugh’s team acknowledged. He could have attended a party that he did not list. But his team will argue to the senators that the calendars provide no corroboration for her account of a small gathering at a house where he allegedly pinned her to...

The Federal Aviation Administration would be required to set new minimum requirements for seats on airplanes under legislation to be considered in the House this week, possibly giving passengers a break from ever-shrinking legroom and cramped quarters. The regulation of seat width and legroom is part of a five-year extension of federal aviation programs announced early Saturday by Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate committees that oversee the nation’s air travel. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to keep FAA programs running. The Senate will also need to take up the bill this week or both chambers...

The will-she-or-won’t-she brouhaha of Ford showing up will hang over the hearings like Damocles Sword. When Democrats have complete media attention, THE. SHOW.MUST.GO.ON! Nobody should hold their breath over the weekend waiting on Professor Christine Blasey Ford’s Big Tease about showing up for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings next week, because much more than their faces could turn blue. “Will she or won’t she?” has become the front page headline of the day.

If Senate Democrats sweep into power in November, they will likely probe the sexual misconduct allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to a Democrat in the chamber. "I am confident of that, and I think we'll also be investigating why the FBI stood down its background investigation when this came up in this particular background," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Thursday during a interview with CNN. He also acknowledged that such an effort would happen even if Kavanaugh has already been appointed to the court.

Congress is accustomed to conditional spending and conditional adjournments. It is not as accustomed to conditional witnesses. Nevertheless, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has made her testimony on allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh conditional on the FBI launching an investigation into whether he tried to rape her in high school. The new condition conflicts with assurances from Ford’s counsel that she was prepared to state her allegations under oath before the committee if it delayed its scheduled vote on Kavanaugh. Ford’s demand is, to put it simply, out of line – with her prior statements, and with congressional precedent....

Clinton says Trump supporters don't "fully appreciate what is potential under this presidency." Hillary Clinton predicted Tuesday that President Donald Trump will "wholesale fire people" in the White House and become increasingly unaccountable, if Democrats don't check his power by winning a majority of seats in the House or Senate in the November midterm elections. Clinton made the remarks during the former secretary of state's appearance on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show." "What I worry about, Rachel, is that after this election this president is going to wholesale fire people," Clinton said. " ... And if we [Democrats] don’t have...

Plans for Interstate 14 have been expanded, and the Texas Department of Transportation will have a say in how a portion of the project is executed. Rep. Brian Babin of Beaumont, who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently submitted a bill that would extend I-14 to Mississippi and effectively would bring two brand new interstates to West Texas. Under the already-approved plan known as Ports to Forts, I-14’s western terminus would be at I-10 and U.S. Route 190, near Iraan. US 190 would be converted to I-14 to Brady, and the project would continue eastward. The Midland-Odessa...

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) called for the vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court to be postponed until the woman accusing him of sexual assault be allowed to speak with senators on the Judiciary Committee. Corker, who doesn't sit on the committee, told Politico on Sunday that the panel should wait until Christine Blasey Ford can meet with senators. "I think that would be best for all involved, including the nominee,” Corker said of postponing the vote. If Ford wants her side of the story to be heard, Corker said, “she should do so promptly.” Corker’s remarks echo...

Republican lawmakers have made it clear they have no intention of repealing Obamacare in the current Congress. Republicans in the nation’s top lawmaking body have never really wanted to get rid of Obamacare. They would prefer to present the program, which David Horowitz correctly describes as “the greatest assault on individual freedom and individual choice in our lifetimes,” as a villain and whip up sentiment against it and run against it every election. They view Obamacare as good for the business of politics. They may chip away at it from time to time or tinker with it at the margins,...

President Trump and congressional leaders have agreed to a border wall funding showdown after the upcoming November midterm elections and if he plays his cards right, it could result in $5 billion, more than twice what the White House initially sought. While appropriations bills are moving at the fastest pace in over 20 years, with many expected to be approved by Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, Homeland Security funding for the wall is likely to be delayed, said officials. Plans are already underway to approve temporary, “stopgap,” funding that will cover Homeland until its new spending is...

A surefire ideological Kool-Aid test? Those who think Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was wounded during his hearings have heavily imbibed. Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee set out to prove that Kavanaugh is a mendacious political hack with the strategy of acting like mendacious political hacks. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., offered to sacrifice his political career in a move obviously calculated to serve his political career -- boldly releasing "confidential" committee documents that had already been released and that did nothing to prove Kavanaugh's unfitness. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., hinted darkly at the malignant influence of the Federalist Society...

George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign policy aide, told Politico Wednesday that he is willing to testify before Congress. "I don't have an issue as long as my lawyers are fine," he said. Papadopoulos' overseas activities were the initial trigger for the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. When the FBI cited Papadopoulos' involvement with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer when it opened the probe in Aug. 2016. Papadopoulos reportedly told Downer he had been informed Russians had obtained thousands of Hillary Clinton's emails by Joseph Mifsud, a professor with ties to the country. Whether Papadopoulos shared this...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) mockingly said in a speech last weekend that she threatens Trump supporters all the time, defending her comments in June that said people should confront members of President Trump's administration. Waters said she was not threatening Trump supporters or constituents when she called on people to confront Trump Cabinet members and supporters in June — and said Trump was wrong to accuse her of doing so at the time. "I did not threaten [Trump] constituents and supporters. I do that all the time, but I didn't do that that time," Waters said to laughter from...

Rep. Ron DeSantis, a conservative Republican running for governor of Florida, has resigned from the House to focus on his campaign, he told House Speaker Paul Ryan in a letter delivered Monday. DeSantis, 39, has represented Florida’s 6th Congressional District since 2013. He faces Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a Democrat, in a closely watched race this November. “As the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress,” DeSantis wrote. “Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a...

Illinois Democrat Sean Casten, who found himself in hot water after his belief that President Donald Trump has a "tremendous amount in common" with terrorist Osama bin Laden was revealed by the Free Beacon, has also told voters there are "Nazis" in the White House. Casten, the Democratic nominee in Illinois' sixth district, responded to the initial report by saying he regretted the bin Laden comparison and his words were "poorly chosen," but new video obtained by the Free Beacon indicates this type of language was used often by him on the campaign trail. On two separate instances during his...

President Donald Trump is endorsing Minnesota congressional candidate Dave Hughes. Dave Hughes is running for Congress in the Great State of Minnesota. He will help us accomplish our America First policies, is strong on Crime, the Border, our 2nd Amendment, Trade, Military and Vets. Running against Pelosi Liberal Puppet Petterson. Dave has my Total Endorsement! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2018 Trump tweeted Saturday that Hughes "will help us accomplish our America First policies." KSTP 2018 Election Page Hughes is trying to unseat 14-term Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District.....

Democrats like to pillory President Trump for destroying American institutions and breaking the norms of conduct. Yet, during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats blatantly and flippantly violated Senate norms, rules, and traditions — and inflicted in the process considerable damage on the institution. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) interrupted the very first sentence of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s opening statement. Protestors constantly interrupted questions asked by senators of both parties, as well as Judge Kavanaugh’s answers; they were challenged only by Republican senators. But even in this chaotic atmosphere, Sen. Cory Booker’s decision to...

Nancy Pelosi stopped caring about what people think of her a long time ago, so she has no qualms about eating ice cream for breakfast with a stranger. Dark chocolate, two scoops, waffle cone. It’s a freezing January morning in Baltimore’s Little Italy, where Pelosi grew up in the 1950s. “You know what’s good about ice cream in this weather?” she says. “It doesn’t melt down your arm while you’re eating it.” We are sitting in an Italian café on Albemarle Street, alone save for the staff and Pelosi’s security detail, to whom she has offered coffee. The Trump era...

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton is jumping into the 2018 midterm elections with both feet and promising to lead the “Resist” movement by spreading money around to protest candidates. In a new memo to Resist supporters and those of her “Onward Together” campaign, which foreshadows a third bid for the presidency, Clinton to expand her efforts.