Free Republic

Picture this: A rotund, theatrical politician from Harlem and a wiry, introverted policy-wonk from Shreveport sitting elbow to elbow on the House floor, shuffling between each other's offices, passing paper between staffs. Two men from opposite ends of the political spectrum, they are joined in secrecy on a project that just about everyone else in Washington considers doomed to failure. Charlie Rangel and Jim McCrery are on a mission to rescue Social Security from bankruptcy. Conventional Washington wisdom long ago wrote the death notice on Social Security reform. What Republican would want to touch a project that blew up in...

(CNSNews.com) - Democrats are marching in lockstep against President Bush's Social Security reform plan, with many rejecting even the suggestion that Social Security faces a looming crisis. And now the fight is getting personal. A liberal advocacy group is questioning a Republican lawmaker's integrity for supporting personal retirement accounts when he has received campaign contributions from the securities and banking industries. The Campaign for America's Future, a George Soros-funded disseminator of the liberal agenda, is running advertisements in Rep. Jim McCrery's Louisiana district, highlighting his "corrupting ties to Wall Street." McCrery, a Republican, chairs the House subcommittee on Social Security,...

<p>Posted on March 3, 2004 Phone calls from President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney failed to change his mind, but U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery couldn't say no to his wife, Johnette, who convinced him to seek a ninth term in Congress.</p>

Politicsla.com has confirmed that 4th District Congressman Jim McCrery will definitely run for re-election. He will make a formal announcement tomorrow (Tuesday) in Shreveport at Savoie's The Catering Place at 10:00 am. Insiders are telling Politicsla.com that McCrery hard-bargined the Republican leadership in Washington for more perks and future committee assignments after the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee did a full court press for McCrery to stay. He will announce tomorrow that he will move his wife and two children to Washington in the near future. More details to follow in Jim Brown's regular column on Thursday.Get it first by reading...

<p>WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana will not retire for another year, but colleagues, friends and political observers already feel the upcoming loss.</p> <p>And, perhaps, Democrats feel it more.</p> <p>"With Sen. Breaux's retirement, the Senate loses one of (its) most respected legislators, and I lose one of my most valued colleagues," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "I've come to rely on his counsel and cherish his friendship."</p>