Free Republic

It is expected – unless the vote fraud is even worse than usual this time – that the Republicans will win back both the US House and the US Senate in November 2022. This is not certain, and nobody should count their chickens before they’re hatched, though every poll points to it. Even so, it’s not too soon to talk about what the next GOP Congress needs to do. And this time, some of the absolute musts are unusual. First, a few ground rules: 1. Republican legislators have a tendency to say “if we don’t hold the executive branch, there’s...

Wow: The last big jobs report before Election Day brought unadulterated excellent news. Year-over-year wage growth above 3 percent for the first time in nearly a decade. Payrolls adding 250,000 new jobs, well above expectations. Unemployment unchanged at 3.7 percent, a 49-year low — and the rate would have dropped, except that more people returned to the labor force. That last is huge, for two reasons: l  First, it means Americans who had given up hope of finding work are back in the fight. That’s a major plus for society. l  Second, it suggests that the nation isn’t up against...

(AP) – The United States is pumping record amounts of oil, vaulting over Russia to become the world’s biggest producer of crude. The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that the U.S. produced more than 11.3 million barrels a day in August, a 4 percent increase over the old record set in July. Russia’s energy ministry estimates that country pumped 11.2 million barrels a day in August. OPEC reports Saudi Arabia pumped 10.4 million barrels a day It’s the first time since 1973 that the U.S. leads the world in oil production. in August including Texas, which accounts for about 40...

With unprecedented speed, the Trump administration has already implemented nearly two-thirds of the 334 agenda items called for by the Heritage Foundation, a pace faster than former President Reagan who embraced the conservative think tank’s legendary “Mandate for Leadership” blueprint. Trump... “is very active, very conservative, and very effective.”.....What’s more, he said, Trump hasn’t just focused on one agenda area, but he and his team has pushed through administrative moves on foreign policy, deregulation, immigration, tax reform and health care, moves often ignored by the media. “It is a huge volume that his administration has worked on and it is...

The primary season has started. The top three candidates have been identified. I would pose the following question to all conservatives in this country. WHERE ARE THE SOLIDLY CONSERVATIVE, DOWN-TICKET CANDIDATES?

Conservative lawmakers are officially rolling out a new group aimed at advancing a conservative agenda in the House of Representatives after they expressed discontent with the direction of the Republican Study Committee.“Our main hope is that we can represent the voids and valleys for our constituents back home,” Rep. Raúl Labrador of Idaho told The Daily Signal today. “With a small group that is nimble and able to work on issues that are of importance to our constituents, we can make a difference in Congress.”Called the House Freedom Caucus, the group serves as a conservative alternative to the Republican Study...

Conservatives who read the polls are already anticipating Republican gains in this November's Congressional elections, hoping for an anti-Obama tidal wave. They should temper their enthusiasm. Statistically, the opposition party almost always gains seats in midterm elections. But let us for the sake of the argument suppose that a repeat of the 1994 midterm elections is in the offing and that Republicans exceed their wildest expectations, and gain control of both houses. What will change? Will ObamaCare be repealed? Almost assuredly not. There is virtually zero chance that the Republicans will control both houses by the two-thirds majority necessary to...

In the wake of last Tuesday’s election, there’s a lot of soul-searching going on among conservatives. Where, many ask, did we go wrong? It’s not simply a matter of tactics. Some are wondering what, exactly, we believe and why. Enter “The Conservative’s Handbook.” Clearly, at such a pivotal time, the need for fact-based, reliable information on the issues couldn’t be greater. And that’s what Phil Valentine provides in “The Conservative’s Handbook: Defining the Right Positions on Issues from A to Z.” With so few students learning about civics in school anymore, Valentine, a popular radio host heard in more than...

Social conservatives seeking to ban abortion and same-sex marriage are worried that their agenda is increasingly being overshadowed by the war in Iraq, making it more difficult for their voices to be heard in Congress and the presidential campaign than at any time in more than a decade. A poll released Thursday by Diageo/ The Hotline indicated that Iraq was by far the single most important issues to voters, with 30 percent of all respondents -- 21 percent of Republicans, 38 percent of Democrats, and 32 percent of independents -- naming their opposition to the war as the most critical...

I was honored with a bust of Ronald Reagan last week at a dinner in Baltimore. When I was handed the small statue, it struck me how appropriate it was that Reagan was smiling. Ronald Reagan smiled almost all the time. The reason was this: Ronald Reagan believed he represented the long-term movement of freedom. He believed -- rightly -- that he was part of a movement that began 400 years ago this spring, when a people who believed that their rights came from God came to America and spent the next four centuries building the most creative, prosperous, innovative...

As a very political year approaches an end, and a new presidential election cycle looms, it’s a good time for conservatives to step back from partisan politics and reflect on their cause. What do conservatives believe? Here are 10 principles worth pondering. 1. God’s Law Governs Nations as Well as Men. The Ten Commandments should not only be enshrined in our courthouses, they should be engraved in our hearts and minds as guides to all behavior, public and private. As the Founders acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence, laws and policies that violate the natural law are abuses of government...

Our friends at National Review played Hamlet in an editorial this morning, pondering whether to be or not to be for the proven conservative candidates—Mike Pence of Indiana and John Shadegg of Arizona—who are running for the top two posts available to House Republicans, minority leader and minority whip. National Review argues that current Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and current Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri “deserve a hearing” in their bids to continue leading the GOP in the next Congress. HUMAN EVENTS says: We’ve heard enough already. If House Republicans maintain Boehner and Blunt as their leaders,...

After weeks of subtle jabs at fellow Republicans in Congress and the White House, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turned more blunt Tuesday in a tart letter to President Bush. Chiding the president for ignoring his plea for more leeway to toughen California's vehicle exhaust standards, Schwarzenegger complained about "the absence of a coherent federal policy" to stop global warming. At tightly staged events this week in San Diego, Glendale and Oakland, Schwarzenegger has all but severed his Republican ties while playing up the value of bipartisan harmony. He has also taken pains to widen his appeal beyond white Republican men, his...

On a train ride out of the Northeast corridor between Philly and D.C., I had one of those Jerry McGuire moments. ... You know, the kind of moment where some of the big picture ideas in life really crystallize. Unlike the character in the movie, I was thinking about the future of the conservative movement (not about the life of the uber sports marketing agent). The timing of my “mission statement” was tied to the tough week conservatives had just experienced in the U.S. Senate. We had a double setback of failing to produce a majority in support of a...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 - After a brutal political month, Republicans are scrambling both to reassure their conservative base and to send a broader message to the American public - that they are, in fact, confronting the real-world issues of soaring gas prices, Hurricane Katrina relief, Iraq and immigration, while the Democrats are consumed with partisan warfare. In a range of interviews on Friday, Republicans acknowledged the shock waves of the last few weeks, capped by the indictment of Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, which forced the reorganization of the Republican House leadership even as it struggled...

D.C. Circuit Judge Gets on Supreme Court Short List Tony Mauro John Roberts Jr., the newest judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, was hanging back. During a typical oral argument last week, colleague Harry Edwards fussed and fumed at the lawyers before him, while David Sentelle tossed out avuncular one-liners in his thick Southern drawl. But Roberts, the third judge on the panel, was quiet. When he did speak finally, he was barely audible, politely asking a question or two, but never tipping his hand. To anyone watching for the first time, Roberts barely made...

WASHINGTON - If constitutional interpretation were race-car driving, the US Supreme Court term that ended this week would be notable more for applying the brakes than hitting the accelerator. Two key areas of conservative jurisprudence hit speed bumps in major rulings - property rights and federalism, or states' rights. As a result, the so-called federalism revolution is suddenly looking a lot less revolutionary. Some analysts are questioning whether the "Rehnquist Court" under conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist might be better described as the "Stevens Court," in recognition of the behind-the-scenes role of Justice John Paul Stevens in assembling majorities supporting...

As the Supreme Court embraced moderation, the conservative agenda stalled. Solicitor General Paul Clement says he's noticed a new trend in the wardrobe of Supreme Court advocates. More and more men who argue before the Court are wearing bow ties, a tribute to the trademark neckwear of Justice John Paul Stevens -- and to his power. Midway through the ninth decade of his life, Stevens reached the peak of his career in the Supreme Court term that ended Monday. With a strong assist from Justice Anthony Kennedy, Stevens, 85, was able to assemble majorities and write opinions that read like...

As President Bush rounds the bend and heads into his second term, perhaps you're looking for a new motto to describe his presidency. Try this one: Livin' Large with George W. Bush. Amid the campaign-year debate over the merits and flaws of the U.S.'s 43rd president, perhaps the least discussed of his attributes is his most important. He is a gambler, and plays for high stakes. For better or for worse, don't look for that to change, because his history suggests the characteristic is embedded in his personality. "The guy does not think small," says Nicholas Calio, who handled relations...

I'd like to promote a concensus of agenda to leverage the recent marvelous victories the conservative reformation has won. I hope to encourage, on these issues and others you suggest, prioritizing, debate, refinement, strategy, sources of conservative thought pertaining to, representative-contacting campaigns -- in other words, a Plan to Get Things Done. Most of you are better at this sort of thing than I am so please join in a spirit of debate and constructive self-government! Here are some of the issues that come to mind immediately: repeal affirmative action quotas; defeat homosexual legitimacy agenda; restore honor for founders, founding...