Free Republic

After her son's failed presidential bid, 97-year-old Roberta McCain can let her guard down. BY JAMES RAINEY Reporting from Washington -- It had been more than a year in the making, this meeting between Roberta McCain and me. The smart guys who managed her son's presidential campaign got all queasy at the thought of Roberta, unfettered, in a journalist's thrall. I managed a few tantalizing phone calls with John McCain's outspoken mother, a column on my vain pursuit of an interview and a promise that the end of the presidential race would bring a chance for us to share some...

(snip) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, first of all, Neil, they should not be eligible for any benefits. That would be crazy. But the major point here is that President Obama, with great fanfare, announced the closure of Guantanamo Bay, the prison at Gitmo, as we know it, and then, nothing. In other words, they did what, you know, that everybody would like to see done at least around the world, et cetera, but then no addressing of the fundamental issues associated with it. What do you do with the detainees? What sort of system of trials do you...

Preventive detention will continue to have a place in the war on terror. BY LINDSEY GRAHAM and JOHN MCCAIN When President Barack Obama declassified and released legal memoranda from the Department of Justice, he opened the door to a drawn-out battle over the Bush administration's use of coercive interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists. We believe that any subsequent attempts to subject those who provided such legal advice to prosecutions are a mistake. They will have a chilling effect on the candor with which future government officials provide their best counsel. The country must move on from debates about the past,...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday reiterated the desire of Senate Democrats to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, dismissing any funding conflict with the House. Reid (D-Nev.) downplayed the significance of Monday’s decision by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) against including $80 million in a $94 billion supplemental spending bill to close the prison in Cuba. . . . . . But Reid distinguished the funding conflict from any disagreement over whether to close the prison, reminding reporters that 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain (R-Ariz.) has also expressed a desire to close the facility....

We have been hearing for years that Senator John McCain gives “straight talk” and his bus has been endlessly referred to as the “Straight Talk Express.” But endless repetition does not make something true. The fact that McCain makes short, blunt statements does not make him a straight-talker. . . . . . Confronted with his lie on Wednesday night’s debate, McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry. When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back...

HOUSTON - Former presidential candidate John McCain was in Houston tonight to receive a big award, but who presented it also got a lot of attention. McCain received the Holocaust Museum Houston's 2009 Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award. Two former prisoners of war held captive with McCain gave McCain the award. Col. Bud Day and Col. Leo Thorsness, both retired Air Force pilots, were captured in Vietnam and held as POWs with McCain. "The Moral Courage Award fits McCain like a tight glove because that's the kind of person he's always been," said Col. Day.

Many Arizona conservatives would like nothing more than to see Sen. John McCain knocked off in a Republican primary. But few of them think Chris Simcox, the controversial founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps who recently announced he would challenge McCain, is a serious threat to do it. Despite Simcox’s high-profile leadership on illegal immigration on the state’s southern border — a potent issue in the state’s Republican primary — party insiders say the 48-year-old former grade school teacher carries a heavy load of personal baggage and faces ample skepticism from rank-and-file Republican voters. “I’m very unhappy with Sen....

In the latest instance of a high-profile GOP member taking a passing swipe at the party's 2008 vice-presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Governor and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney jokingly dismissed Sarah Palin’s inclusion on TIME’s list of influential people in an interview broadcast Sunday. He asked, was “the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?” . . . . . Romney, who was appearing with House Minority Whip Eric Cantor as part of a party re-launch the two are organizing with other prominent Republicans under the banner of the National Council for a New America, was...

Link only, per FR copyright and excerpt rules

The campaign between Sen. John McCain and Chris Simcox is likely turn into a fight over who’s the real Republican. While Simcox has questioned McCain’s conservative credentials, turns out the activist has not exactly been a loyal member of the party from which he is now seeking a nod of approval.

It is unnecessary for me to tell any of you reading this that the left has a stranglehold over both Hollywood and the mainstream media. It is axiomatic in today’s news world . . . . . that the “news” is delivered to your doorstep with a leftward slant. What are less well understood, however, are the lengths to which the government has gone to protect the left’s monopoly during the last decade and the complicity of the news media in that endeavor. The recent confrontation between General Electric CEO Jeffery Immelt and an O’Reilly Factor producer at GE’s shareholder...

NEW YORK (AP) — John McCain will be the host of AMC cable network's Memorial Day weekend marathon of movies celebrating war heroes. The former prisoner of war and Republican presidential candidate will introduce movies like "Midway," "Patton," "The Longest Day," "Hamburger Hill," "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "Battle of the Bulge." McCain says the most interesting thing he's found about heroes is that "they're the last people to believe that they're really heroes."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to play a role in the National Council for a New America, a new effort led by House and Senate Republican leaders designed to find ways to make the party more appealing to independent voters. "I understand that Governor Palin is hopefully going to be involved as well," said Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) during a conference call this morning announcing the group's formation. Meg Stapleton, a spokeswoman for the Alaska governor, did not immediately return an email seeking to confirm Palin's involvement. If she does respond, we'll update the post.

Looking to rebrand a struggling Republican Party, a group of party heavyweights including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) are launching a new group that will hold town halls around the country and look to produce GOP ideas on issues like education and health care. Republicans will announce today the creation of the "National Council for a New America," a group led by congressional party leaders that includes Bush, McCain, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as its "national panel of experts." A letter announcing the group's creation does not specifically say...

The next question is on immigration reform and whether the president will reach out to Sen. John McCain, an advocate of immigration reform. President Obama says he would “love to partner” with McCain and others on what is going to be “a critical issue.”

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday closing the U.S.-Mexico border should be an option in combatting the H1N1, or swine flu strain that has hit Mexico City hard and shown up in Phoenix, San Diego and New York City. His comments comes as the World Health Organization raised the threat level that the Mexican swine flu could be become a global flu pandemic. McCain said U.S authorities are working hard to identify and contain the Mexican swine flu in the U.S. But the Arizona senator also said closing the border should be an option.

I am as sick to death of RINO apologists as I am the RINOs themselves. Too many real conservatives took a lot of flack here on FR during the last mid term and presidential election cycles for expecting Republicans to actually legislate like Republicans rather voting for every Obama-lite candidate with an “R” after their names who just might be electable. To too many, elections are about partisan score keeping and not about the direction and future of the country. Many conservatives received a lot of undeserved criticism because they refused to vote straight party line or choose the lesser...

(CNN) — Conservative host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he isn't sorry to see Arlen Specter leave the GOP — and that many Republicans wish the Pennsylvania senator would take a few others with him when he goes. "A lot of people say, 'Well, Specter, take [Sen. John] McCain with you. And his daughter [Meghan]. Take McCain and his daughter with you if you're gonna…" he told listeners, dissolving in laughter. "…..It's ultimately good. You're weeding out people who aren't really Republicans," he said.

We've been preparing for weeks to announce the "Big News"... IT'S HERE!!! Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has just announced his resignation from the presidency of MCDC in order to launch a full-scale campaign for U.S. Senate against John McCain!

On Wednesday, September 24, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., phoned Reid and told him, “Harry, I am suspending my campaign to come back and help negotiate a deal.” McCain explained that he was also calling upon Obama to suspend his campaign, and together they could convene a meeting at the Bush White House to help come to a deal on a bailout for Wall Street. Reid didn't think it was such a great idea... "They were on the verge of an agreement, and any such McCain stunt would cost us valuable time," writes Reid, also noting that McCain "had no standing...