Free Republic

CTH held off reporting on this explosive story until we could see if a tell-tale consequence surfaced; perhaps it has. On Friday the National Security Council senior director for European and Russian affairs, Andrew Peek, was escorted from the White House grounds and is currently under a security investigation. There are few details about why Peek was physically removed and is under a very serious investigation; however, some of Andrew Peek’s professional background details tell a story. The connection to Gen. John Allen is a MASSIVE warning flare. Andrew Peek, the senior director for European and Russian affairs at the...

Peek went on to major in international politics at Princeton, study Persian, and pursue a master's in international relations at Harvard before heading to D.C. as a foreign policy researcher for the conservative Heritage Foundation. He then became a foreign policy adviser to Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican. When Smith lost his next election, Peek went on to work for another Republican senator, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, on Syria and Lebanon policy, helping to draft a bill expanding sanctions on Hezbollah. In 2008, he enlisted as a reserve officer in the Army and spent a year in Afghanistan at...

Nebraska voters have overwhelmingly elected Republican Ben Sasse to the U.S. Senate over Democrat David Domina. Sasse easily won election Tuesday, replacing Republican Mike Johanns, who didn't seek re-election. Sasse is president of Midland University in Fremont and previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services....

The victory notched by tea party Republicans in the Nebraska Senate race was modest, but they'll take it in a season that has yielded few bright spots so far. Ben Sasse won the GOP nomination for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Sasse was the closest thing to a tea party candidate in the three-man race, largely because he feuded last fall with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the epitome of establishment Republicanism. But Sasse is hardly the out-of-right-field firebrand that some tea partyers cherish. A college president with degrees from Harvard and Yale, he worked for...

In a major blow to former Republican state Treasurer Shane Osborn’s candidacy for Nebraska Senate, national conservative group FreedomWorks is withdrawing its endorsement and backing his main primary rival, Midland University President Ben Sasse, instead. At issue, FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a statement, is the unspoken support Osborn is believed to have from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “Both Osborn and Sasse are great people, and this was not a decision taken lightly. The question at the heart of this decision is, who would caucus with the Freedom Caucus, and who would fall in line with the...

GOP Senate candidate Ben Sasse announced Thursday he raised more than $850,000 in the first quarter of the year, significantly more than his main challenger in the race. Sasse made the announcement on Twitter. Another Republican candidate, Shane Osborn, announced earlier this week he raised more than $550,000 in the first quarter of this year. Osborn is a former state Treasurer and Navy pilot and his main rival is Sasse, who serves as president of Midland University. Last week, conservative group FreedomWorks withdrew its endorsement of Osborn and said it would support Sasse instead. They are among four GOP contenders...

Nashville, TN – Today, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham introduced the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The legislation currently has 33 cosponsors – but Senator Alexander is not one of them. Conservative Senate candidate Joe Carr called on Senator Alexander to change his stance and add himself as a co-sponsor. “I’m strongly pro-life and believe it’s imperative the Senate pass this important piece of legislation. When Senator Graham announced his co-sponsors and Senator Alexander’s name was missing, I was disappointed. I am hoping Senator Alexander will change his stance and add himself as a co-sponsor. This legislation is too...

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R) Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) Massachusetts Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D) Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R) Minnesota Senator Al Franken (DFL) South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns (R) South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D) Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) Kentucky...

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Today, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) endorsed Ben Sasse (R-NE) for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska. Ben Sasse is running in a multi-candidate primary to fill the open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE). SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins made the following statement: "Ben Sasse is a strong conservative with a proven record of solving difficult problems. He's an expert on health care policy and will help repeal Obamacare and enact free-market health care policies that lower costs and increase quality. There are other good candidates in this race, but Ben Sasse...

Chuck Hagel won confirmation Tuesday to become defense secretary over objections to his views on Middle East security and the administration’s handling of an attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya. On a 58 to 41 vote, the Senate confirmed the former GOP senator as four Republicans joined 54 Democrats in approving Hagel, ending a nearly two-month battle that included an unprecedented filibuster against the nominee. The four Republican senators voting in favor were Thad Cochran (Miss.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Rand Paul (Ky.). All 41 no votes came from Republicans. The vote marked a foreign...

Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johnanns has informed Republicans in his home state that he will retire at the end of his current Senate term, GOP sources tell NBC News. The first-term senator has informed Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman that he won't run for reelection in 2014, a Republican official said.

Nebraska's governor urged U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday to block TransCanada's planned Keystone oil pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast, saying it could hurt a regional water source. The State Department could issue a presidential permit for the $7 billion project, which would boost U.S. dependence on Canada's controversial oil sands. Momentum for Keystone picked up last week after the department said the project would have only limited impact on the environment. The State Department should deny the permit on the grounds that the line could put the Ogallala Aquifer at risk, the Midwestern state's governor, Dave Heineman,...

Senators demand explanation for Clinton’s remarksBy The Canadian Press Published: October 21, 2010 2:33 PM CALGARY — Two U.S. senators are demanding an explanation from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who last week suggested she was “inclined to” approve the controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. At a speaking engagement in San Francisco last Friday, Clinton was challenged on the State Department’s decision to approve Enbridge Inc.’s (TSX:ENB) Alberta Clipper pipeline, which ships oilsands crude to Wisconsin. Construction wrapped up on Alberta Clipper this spring. Clinton responded by saying a decision had yet to be made on another pipeline,...

The ACORN vote in the House is stunning news. Just 48 hours after Republican Leader John Boehner introduced the "Defund ACORN Act," the bill -- which most Republicans thought Democrats would do anything to block -- passed by a resounding 345-75 vote. It would never have made it to a vote had not the Democratic leadership decided to allow it, and the winning total included 172 Democrats. Yes, 172 House Democrats voted to totally cut off funding for an organization that has worked for years on behalf of Democrats nationwide. Couple that with the 83-7 Senate vote to cut off...

Oversight: As the Senate votes to de-fund Acorn, add pimping, tax evasion and human trafficking to voter fraud paid for with taxpayer dollars and you have an organized criminal enterprise. It's time to investigate.After Acorn workers were caught on tape in three cities allegedly abetting what they believed was a fraudulent-mortgage and sex-trafficking scheme, the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to strip the group of funding in the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. The amendment, offered by Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, passed by an 83-to-7 margin and marked the third time this year that Republicans have tried to block...

http://biggovernment.com/2009/09/14/johanns-amendment-would-defund-acorn/

Midlands lawmakers are back home listening to constituents this August, with health care expected to dominate the discussion. Here's a listing of scheduled events at which the public can tell hear from their elected representatives on the issue. NEBRASKA Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. Saturday, Aug. 15, 8:30-10 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Homestyle Café, 8807 Maple Street Advertising Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m., Town Hall Meeting, Millard North High School Auditorium 144th and Pacific Streets Saturday, Aug. 29, 8-9:30 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Vidlacks Café, 156th and Bob Boozer Drive Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2:15 p.m. MDT, Meet...

What was to have been a serious discussion Friday turned into a case of finger-pointing and accusations between a health care reform advocacy group and the staff of Republican Sen. Mike Johanns. Officials with Change That Works Nebraska accused members of Johanns’ staff of calling security guards to intimidate people set up outside a meeting to discuss health care — a charge Johanns’ office denies. The group’s director, Jane Kleeb, was invited by Johanns to participate in the round-table discussion on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus. Kleeb, in turn, gathered a group of teachers, veterans and others to...

Scott Kleeb listened Wednesday to the complex challenges of a health care system increasingly under duress. The Democratic Senate nominee sat down at lunch with seven Lincolnites who are engaged in health care policy to explore their views as he prepares his own legislative plan. Increasing health care demands, growing numbers of people without health insurance, rising costs, huge problems in Medicare and Medicaid funding, all complicated by an economy in distress. “We are unable to meet the demands out there,” said Steve Bray, executive director of the People’s Health Center.An estimated 30,000 Lincolnites do not have health insurance, Bray...

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has decided to resign from President Bush’s cabinet to return to Nebraska and enter the 2008 Senate race. Johanns, the former two-term Republican governor, began placing phone calls to a number of friends and supporters in the state Tuesday night to inform them of his decision. A formal announcement is expected in Nebraska next week after Johanns has submitted his resignation to the White House, according to a source close to Johanns. Johanns and his wife, Stephanie, went house-hunting over the weekend when he was in Lincoln to attend a Saturday event at which...