Free Republic

PRESIDENT OBAMA TAKES ON RUSH LIMBAUGH IN NEW MEDIA WAR WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package. One White House official confirmed the comment but said he was simply trying to make a larger point about bipartisan efforts. "There are big things...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bolstered by wide Democratic margins in both chambers of Congress, the new administration assumes power Tuesday with a broad public mandate to repair the feeble economy. But with such a free hand over current stimulus efforts comes great danger. Costing at the very least a hefty $825 billion, the plan's potential for taxpayer waste and special-interest-driven giveaways is enormous. We Republicans believe we can help mitigate those risks if we are given a meaningful place at the table. President-elect Barack Obama was correct to point out recently that no one party has a monopoly over sound ideas

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is slated to offer House Republicans his policy prescriptions for the ailing economy at a hearing next week to discuss the pending stimulus package. The former Massachusetts governor is scheduled to appear at a hearing next Thursday organized by party Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), where Republicans will outline their policy proposals for a massive economic stimulus bill that could exceed $800 billion. "Last week, President elect-Obama challenged the House Republicans to help him craft a stimulus bill. We are embracing this challenge and asking as many people as possible to help us create the...

The Talk Shows Sunday, December 21st, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Vice President Dick Cheney. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Kerry Kennedy, cousin of Caroline Kennedy; Reps. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y.; Peter King, R-N.Y., and Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.; Joel Klein, chancellor, New York City Department of Education.THIS WEEK (ABC): Vice President-elect Joe Biden. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Laura Tyson, former Clinton economic adviser; Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO.

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, has tapped California Rep. Kevin O. McCarthy as his top deputy, cementing an already fruitful partnership between two rising stars in the party. The selection gives Cantor a politically astute ally at the leadership table as he seeks to translate six years of potential into a real power base within the House GOP. The move, which will be announced Monday, also solidifies McCarthy as the next Eric Cantor. Many view this pair as the next face of the GOP in the House. They combined last year to help raise...

House Minority Leader John Boehner’s reelection on Wednesday to the top House Republican leadership post was the result of skillful political maneuvering before and after the Nov. 4 elections, Capitol Hill sources and an expert on Congress told CNSNews.com. Boehner’s work strengthening one-on-one relationships with members and offering key leadership positions to powerful members of the House’s conservative faction, Reps. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.), ensured that he would not face a serious challenge for his position...

Washington, Nov 19 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the new leadership team elected by House Republicans today. During House Republican Conference organizational meetings for the 111th Congress, Boehner was re-elected by his colleagues for the post of Republican Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. He issued the following statement: “The months ahead will present Republicans with an unprecedented opportunity to renew our drive for smaller, more accountable government and offer positive solutions to the challenges facing the American people. We have to seize this opportunity, and seize it together. I’m deeply honored my colleagues have placed...

REPUBLICANS, licking their wounds after this year's election losses, are casting about for a new face for the party. Will their gazes fall on Virginia's 7th District House member, Rep. Eric Cantor? Mr. Cantor won re-election to his seat handily on Nov. 4, with nearly 63 percent of the vote versus his opponent's 37 percent, a margin to which he has become accustomed. A congressman since 2001, he has served as chief deputy minority whip for Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., since his second term. On Thursday, Mr. Blunt announced he was stepping down from the position, and has endorsed Mr....

Cantoring on Could Eric Cantor be the next minority whip? REPUBLICANS, licking their wounds after this year's election losses, are casting about for a new face for the party. Will their gazes fall on Virginia's 7th District House member, Rep. Eric Cantor? Mr. Cantor won re-election to his seat handily on Nov. 4, with nearly 63 percent of the vote versus his opponent's 37 percent, a margin to which he has become accustomed. A congressman since 2001, he has served as chief deputy minority whip for Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., since his second term. On Thursday, Mr. Blunt announced he...

Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), who is poised to become minority whip, said Sunday that the House GOP wants to work with President-elect Barack Obama to fix the nation’s problems. “If you look at the roiling global financial situation, if you look at the fact that much of this country distrusts its government, if you look at the fact that we’re still fighting in two wars, I think that the Republicans in Congress will stand ready to work with this new president,” Cantor said on “Fox News Sunday.” The lawmaker, who will likely replace Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.) as minority whip...

The Talk Shows Sunday, November 9th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Obama transition chief transition chief John Podesta; Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind., and Eric Cantor, R-Va. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Valerie Jarrett, adviser in Obama's transition team; Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chief of staff to President-elect Obama.THIS WEEK (ABC): Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chief of staff to President-elect Obama.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Obama transition chief transition chief John Podesta; Sen. Harry Reid,...

WASHINGTON – Rep. Roy Blunt, the House of Representatives' second-ranking Republican, stepped down from his leadership post Thursday as the House GOP moved quickly to reposition itself as more conservative, unified and eager to fight Democrats. The Missouri congressman's resignation came a day after Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., the House's third-ranking Republican, quit his leadership job. Likely to replace them are two combative favorites of die-hard conservatives: Virginia's Rep. Eric Cantor, expected to replace Blunt, and Indiana's Rep. Mike Pence, who would take Putnam's place. Ohio Rep. John Boehner is expected to remain as the House minority leader, in charge...

The Republican Party has begun the search for new leadership and one of the rising stars is Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) will run for House minority whip in the next Congress, a source in his office told The Hill on Wednesday. Cantor, the Republicans' chief deputy whip, will challenge Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) for the position. The shake-up marks the beginning of a reshuffling of House Republican leadership after Tuesday night’s losses to Democrats in congressional districts throughout the country. Rep. Adam Putnam (Fla.) announced his retirement as head of the House Republican Conference. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, has announced he will seek Putnam’s position, the third-ranking in the GOP...

Grizzled Democratic Rep. Barney Frank slapped down pretty boy GOP Rep. Eric Cantor twice in two days on national TV this week. It was an amusing, if not so dead serious, display of superior intellect and integrity by Frank that also cut to the core of the differences between the two major parties in face of the current financial crisis, and going into the national election barely a month away. Appearing on Wolf Blitzer's Sunday morning "Late Edition" on CNN, the two squared off to discuss the impending $700 billion Wall Street bailout legislation that failed to pass the House...

Five Virginia House Republicans and one Democrat Monday voted against the $700 billion financial bailout measure. The five Virginia Republicans voting ‘no’ were Reps. J. Randy Forbes, Thelma Drake, Virgil Goode, Bob Goodlatte and Rob Wittman. The Democrat was Rep. Robert C. Scott, 3rd, who said it was “a bad deal for the American people.” Three Virginia House Republicans and two Democrats voted for the bailout. The bill failed 205 to 228. It would have authorized the federal government to buy a host of bad, mortgage-backed assets from Wall Street firms. The bill included an insurance plan called for by...

Cantor Hedges On Whether House GOP Will Accept Deal (The Politico) Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is still hedging his bets on whether House Republicans will back the bailout bill. Cantor, who has led House conservatives in drafting alternative principles on the bailout, said he wasn't sure there was a deal since he hasn't seen a bill. "We are not ready to say that a deal is done," Cantor said on CNN's Late Edition. At this point, it sounds like House Republicans are still looking for a way to oppose the plan, even though House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was a...

Held my tongue long enough - but I am ANGRY. I have seen a bazillon Dems paraded in news conferences and interviews over the past 24-30 hours - and I watch Fox. I've seen Gregg haphazardly by himself this morning, basically somewhat supporting the Dem premise that the Senate Dems and Repubs and the House Dems...Kinda balking on what, if anything, the Repubs in the House thought... He waltzed back out a few hours with McConnell a few hours later and was a little more gaurded with his poo-pooing of the House, but he *should* have said he misunderstood the...

The single-biggest mistake in the Paulson bank-rescue-plan marketing effort has been the failure to explain clearly how taxpayers are going to recoup $700 billion used to buy toxic assets at auction in order to unfreeze the banking system. In other words, folks don’t understand how taxpayers will be paid back, and may actually make profits, which will enable the new government debt to be erased after the Treasury bank-rescue is completed. Here’s the key point: Any loan package bought by the Treasury will be 100 percent taxpayer owned. Period. Let’s walk through this hypothetical for a moment. Through a market-driven...

The single-biggest mistake in the Paulson bank-rescue-plan marketing effort has been the failure to explain clearly how taxpayers are going to recoup $700 billion used to buy toxic assets at auction in order to unfreeze the banking system. In other words, folks don’t understand how taxpayers will be paid back, and may actually make profits, which will enable the new government debt to be erased after the Treasury bank-rescue is completed. Here’s the key point: Any loan package bought by the Treasury will be 100 percent taxpayer owned. Period. Let’s walk through this hypothetical for a moment. Through a market-driven...