Free Republic

President Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination on May 3, 2016, when he crushed a final “Never Trump” effort to stop him in the Indiana primary. At the GOP Data Trust, a voter outreach organization based in Washington, the mood was bleak. It was clear Trump was heading for a blowout victory. When Trump had delivered his victory speech shortly after 9 p.m., Data Trust staffer Courtney Mullen invited her colleagues to attend an “end of the world” happy hour to mark Trump’s triumph, which the party establishment had watched in horror.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s frustrations with the White House have been building for months. Last Friday, they exploded. The normally laconic Texan unloaded on Johnny DeStefano, the head of the presidential personnel office, for torpedoing proposed nominees to senior State Department posts and for questioning his judgment. Tillerson also complained that the White House was leaking damaging information about him to the news media, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Above all, he made clear that he did not want DeStefano’s office to “have any role in staffing” and “expressed frustration that anybody would know better” than...

A Massachusetts college sophomore is under arrest for a string of vicious, totally random, “knockout game”-style attacks against three fellow students. Dillon Destefano walked up to three people he didn’t know and sucker-punched them in the face, reports CBS Boston. Police say the incidents occurred in the wee hours of Sunday, Feb. 2 at or near Endicott College, a small private school in a small New England town about 25 miles north of Boston. The victims were walking home. Two of Destefano’s alleged victims suffered major injuries. One student, a freshman baseball player, was hospitalized with a broken jaw and...

City and law enforcement leaders are calling on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to reject a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative they say would encourage racial profiling and undermine the city and state's power to police themselves. At a news conference today at City Hall, Mayor John DeStefano -- flanked by community leaders and the chief of police -- called the new federal initiative “dangerous and unconstitutional.” The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) plans to roll out its Secure Communities program in Connecticut this week. Local police departments already share arrest and fingerprint information with...

by John HillStand With Arizona The inmates are running the asylum. This Administration has served notice on every illegal alien invader across America: do not be afraid - you are above the law.Eleven illegal aliens who claimed ICE agents "violated their rights" in 2007 raids on their New Haven neighborhood have won a $350,000 settlement from the U.S. government, which also agreed to halt deportation proceedings against the plaintiffs, their attorneys said Tuesday. New Haven is American's most notorious "sanctuary city"- the first in the nation to offer identification cards to illegal immigrants, and critics including the mayor have contended...

The Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, John DeStefano, a Democrat, wants to let non-citizens vote in city elections. One might ask the good mayor if he also thinks it OK for non-citizens to run for city offices, too -- like for mayor. According to a news story in New Haven Register, Pat O'Neill, spokesman for the state GOP House Republicans, asked when told of DeStefano's proposal: "When are they going to extend voting rights to the dead?" One inconvenient little snag for Mr. DeStefano's expansion of the franchise is the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, which stipulates in Article...

You read that headline right. While the GOP candidates squabble about whether support for in-state tuition or a path to citizenship might as well be support for amnesty, the mayor of New Haven, Ct., comes right out with it. He supports amnesty — and not even stealthily. NBC Connecticut reports: New Haven Mayor John DeStefano plans to ask the state Legislature to allow illegal immigrants who live in the city to be able vote in municipal elections.DeStefano said on Tuesday that the proposal would build a more engaged community and follows the lead of other cities, the New Haven Independent...

Now, back to the topic at hand. From the Fox News article: New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, a Democrat, said on Tuesday that illegal immigrants pay taxes indirectly through rent and send their children to local schools — and therefore should be able to vote. The proposal would also lead to a more engaged community, he said. Only a liberal would think that this makes sense. An illegal immigrant should have the right to vote because pays taxes through their rent and sends their children to local schools. Where do we begin? Let’s start with the fact that they are...

by John HillStand With Arizona Just one day after announcing his intent to try and block the Federal "Secure Communities" program, the mayor of "Sanctuary City" New Haven, CT announced he would be asking the state legislature to grant illegal aliens in New Haven the right to vote in municipal elections. Mayor John DeStefano argues that illegal aliens who live in New Haven pay local taxes and their kids go to school in the city, and deserve the right to vote: DeStefano said he plans to lobby the state for a “resident voting rights” bill that would allow any...

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano plans to ask the state Legislature to allow illegal immigrants who live in the city to be able vote in municipal elections. DeStefano said on Tuesday that the proposal would build a more engaged community and follows the lead of other cities, the New Haven Register reports. The Register reports that 10,000 to 12,000 undocumented residents are believed to live in New Haven. Immigrants who are in the U.S. legally or illegally and cannot vote now would still be unable to vote in state or federal elections. DeStefano, a Democrat, said illegal immigrants pay taxes...

The debate will be available live on WNTH.com and on News Channel 8 at 8:00 p.m. (New London-WTNH, Oct. 9, 2006 Updated 5:00 PM) -- The race for governor turns up a notch tonight with the first of just two face-to-face debates between Republican Governor Jodi Rell and Democratic challenger John DeStefano. With a more than thirty percent lead in the last public opinion poll, Governor Jodi Rell has a lot to lose. She'll be making sure she makes no mistakes. For New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, it is just one of two chances he'll get to stand next to...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The secretary to Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and her City Hall telephone should not have been used to receive calls for a gubernatorial campaign event earlier this week, the mayor's spokesman said Thursday. An invitation was recently sent for a campaign event at DeStefano's home following his inauguration for a sixth term on New Year's Day. The invitations were paid for by "DeStefano for Connecticut" but did not indicate whether the event was tied to the inaugural ceremony or a gubernatorial campaign effort. DeStefano is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. The invitations directed those who...

When you’re packing for vacation this summer, I recommend you take along: "A Travel Guide to Heaven" by Anthony DeStefano. It is a solidly orthodox, fast-paced, and fun-to-read book. Now, I was skeptical about this little book when it first came out, and I said as much on “BreakPoint.” I was afraid it would pander to our inborn narcissism. But then I went back and looked at it again and realized that I was wrong. The book is solid, and DeStefano builds his case for the wonders of heaven, relying only on biblical passages and church tradition. Life on earth,...