Free Republic

The Senate's No. 2 Republican on Sunday refused to rule out a filibuster if President Barack Obama seeks a Supreme Court justice who decides cases based on "emotions or feelings or preconceived ideas." Sen. Jon Kyl made clear he would use the procedural delay if Obama follows through on his pledge to nominate someone who takes into account human suffering and employs empathy from the bench. The Arizona Republican acknowledged that his party likely does not have enough votes to sustain a filibuster, but he said nonetheless he would try to delay or derail the nomination if Obama ventures outside...

AP) Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl was named to the No. 2 Republican leadership post by his colleagues in the Senate Thursday, his office announced. Kyl ran unopposed for the minority whip post and was the unanimous choice of the Senate Republican Conference when they met to vote. He replaces Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, who announced last week that he plans to retire before the end of the year. The minority whip plays a major role in developing national Republican policies and is responsible for corralling votes from GOP senators to support those policies. "I am honored that my colleagues...

The issue of illegal immigration has been a red-hot topic in my hometown community of Newport Beach/Costa Mesa, Orange County, Southern California. Sincere and heart-felt arguments have been made on both sides of the issue. However, many of those who write letters to the local paper in support of illegal immigration make it sound like Costa Mesa is the only place in the nation whose people favor the enforcement of our immigration laws. They suggest that those elected officials supporting these laws are just a small local band guilty of meanness, bigotry, and racism. Nothing could be further from the...

FAIR Press Release: Former Mexican Foreign Minister Demands Open Border for Migrants In Exchange for Cooperation on Security at Congressional Hearing Members of U.S. Congress Offer No Reaction to Blackmail On Tuesday, four days after the bombings on the London transit system refocused Congress and the American public on the threat of global terrorism, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that "No border security is possible without Mexican cooperation" and that "there can be no cooperation [from the Mexican government] without some sort of immigration reform package." Castaneda, now a professor at New...

WASHINGTON - If there is a Supreme Court vacancy this summer, President Bush may look no farther than the Capitol for a member of Congress who can be confirmed quickly. Past presidents have done it, more than two dozen times. While admittedly long shots, GOP Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas are being talked up by some conservatives as possible nominees for the high court. Seen as most likely to step down is Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who at 80 is fighting cancer. Retirement also might be attractive option for Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, 75, and...

WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Jon Kyl issued the following statement: “Arizona’s economy added more than 8,400 new jobs last month and our unemployment rate has dropped below the national average to 5.1 percent. The facts show Arizona’s economy is strong and growing stronger, but John Kerry is traveling the nation on his pessimism and misery tour and talking about the Great Depression. Kerry voted against the President’s historic tax relief that is helping fuel Arizona’s economic recovery and his cynical rhetoric talking down our economy isn’t going to create any new jobs. “When President Bush signed the Healthy Forests legislation to...