Free Republic

Congressman Rahm Emanuel will resign his congressional seat on Friday in anticipation of joining President-elect Barack Obama's administration. Emanuel delivered the news in an automated call to constituents on Monday. "This is Congressman Rahm Emanuel. As you may have heard, President-elect Obama has asked me to be his new chief of staff and I have accepted this offer. Therefore, in the near future, I will be resigning from Congress. ... I also want you to know, it has been a privilege and an honor to serve as your representative for the last six years," he says in the taped call.

Obama was famous in the Illinois Senate for avoiding tough votes by voting “present.” This tactic, of course, is the last refuge of linguini-spined, unprincipled politicians. His voting record is at Project Vote Smart, and you can search the database by issue to check particular votes. Check out how many "NV" (No Vote) entries there are, compared to the "Y" or "N" votes. Here's one sample page. If this guy worked for a private company he would have been fired long ago for not getting his lazy ass into work to do his job. Could it be that he was...

Why is Alan Keyes a bad candidate? Let me count the ways . . .MY ESSAY berating the Illinois Republican party for enlisting Alan Keyes as their Senate candidate has generated a hefty pile of emails from Keyes's many cyber-fans. Since the letters all ask the same questions or make the same points, I thought a brief response was due. The missives fall into two categories. The first goes something like, "Hey Wise guy, we get the fact that you can't stand AMBASSADOR Keyes, but you didn't give us one single legitimate reason why it is a bad idea for...

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -- Da Bears or Da Senate. Most conversations involving fans of the Chicago Bears eventually revert to the 1986 Super Bowl championship and their ringleader, Coach Mike Ditka. "Iron Mike," as he is known, won more than 100 games for the Bears from 1982 to 1992 after a distinguished playing career with the Monsters of the Midway. Now 64, Ditka is making news outside the gridiron. It has been speculated that he may enter the political arena. The prize -- a U.S. Senate seat now up for grabs after incumbent Republican Peter Fitzgerald announced he would not seek...

Bush Aide Resigns to Explore Ill. Senate Run Friday, July 09, 2004 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The deputy director of President Bush's drug-control office resigned Friday to explore a run for the U.S. Senate in place of Jack Ryan (search), the Republican nominee who dropped out over sex club allegations. Andrea Grubb Barthwell (search), a Chicago-area physician, had been deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (search) in Washington since 2002, focusing on reducing demand for drugs. Federal law barred her from seeking the Republican nomination while she worked for the government. Michael Barnes, an attorney and Barthwell...

<p>A prominent Illinois anti-abortion group said Wednesday it might withdraw its backing of Jack Ryan in the Republican U.S. Senate primary after learning that a health-care firm for which he is a board member processes Medicaid claims for abortions in at least one state.</p>