Free Republic

Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Sunday said most House Democrats who broke with their party and voted for a GOP-backed health insurance bill did so to "insulate themselves against sound bites." Almost 40 House Democrats voted on Friday for a Republican-led bill to to allow everyone to keep their health insurance, regardless of that plan's quality, splitting with President Obama and their party leadership. Most hail from competitive House districts, and Clyburn says that's the reason they backed the bill. "What you saw with those 39 people, maybe nine people had real serious concerns. The fact of the...

The White House scrambled Friday to explain Vice President Biden's confusing statement that "we weren't told" of requests for more diplomatic security in Libya, claiming he was referring only to "himself" and President Obama. Biden, during Thursday's debate, had made the controversial statement in response to criticism from Paul Ryan about the protection of diplomatic posts in Libya in the run-up to the Sept. 11 terror attack. Moderator Martha Raddatz pressed him: "And they wanted more security there." But Biden responded: "Well, we weren't told they wanted more security there. We did not know they wanted more security again." Read...