Free Republic

Governor Dean Delivers Democratic Radio Address Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, delivered the Democratic radio address this week. He highlighted the fact that while all of the Republican presidential candidates support borrowing $196 billion for the war in Iraq they all oppose spending $7 billion next year for the bipartisan plan to provide children health care. Chairman Dean called on Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in overriding the President's veto of the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), especially after Democratic leaders recrafted the bill in response to Republican concerns. Dean also drew a clear contrast...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mayor Jerry Brown, who was twice elected California governor and ran for president three times, ended one of the longest bachelor streaks in American politics Saturday, marrying longtime girlfriend Anne Gust. It was the first marriage for Gust, 47, a former Gap executive, as well as for Brown, 67, who plans to run for state attorney general next year. "How fortunate you are to have found each other," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who officiated at the ceremony. "What a treasure it is to have a companion for life." The couple, who have known each other for 15...

Former Gov. Gray Davis now admits he was unprepared for the 2000-01 energy crisis that sent electricity bills soaring, brought rolling blackouts and ultimately helped bring an early end to his political career. Davis, recalled by voters in an unprecedented move, was replaced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2003, a year after Davis had won a second term. The former Democratic governor said he erred by buying power at inflated rates during the height of the crisis, but said he acted because he "wasn't willing to risk" sustained blackouts. "Did it turn out to be a mistake? Yes," Davis...

CHICAGO (AP) - Prosecutors unveiled their sweeping racketeering case against former Gov. George Ryan on Tuesday, saying he got free Caribbean vacations, cash for family members' businesses and a host of other perks through ties to corrupt state landlords and lobbyists. The government's preview of the evidence they plan to present at Ryan's trial portrays the former governor as intimately involved in even minor details of alleged corruption, from doling out coveted low-digit license plates to holding luncheons for state employees who raised money for his campaign fund. The document is something prosecutors often file in conspiracy cases and most...