Free Republic

Dinners were served in the basement. Ambassadors, generals with many stars, senior White House officials and closely read columnists — all would walk past the yellowing kitchen, which looked as if it hadn’t been updated since the Ford administration, and down a narrow flight of stairs into the dimly lighted dining room. Guests were arrayed around the table according to rank, with the most important ones squeezed in the center. Although the Old World meals could be quite elaborate — venison paté, duck in bitter orange — they were prepared and served entirely by the host, a stickler for protocol...

The well-known definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. House Republicans appear to be insane. When then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) stepped down in 2006, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was elected to replace him. Boehner went on to lead Republicans with a bland, lame, uninspiring legislative agenda. Voters, led by conservatives who sat on their hands, rewarded him by kicking Republicans out of the majority in November of that year, hoping Republicans would wake up and change their evil ways before the White House was on the line. They didn’t. Learning...

About the only consolation Republicans can take from the presidential race right about now is that the Democrats are even more screwed up than they are. Some consolation. But that might be the only glint of optimism for Republicans, as the mutiny by conservatives against the party's all-but-crowned presidential nominee is far wider and far deeper than many would care to admit. Let's face it, John McCain has gone out of his way to poke conservatives in the eyes for years, and conservative leaders who are now in open revolt command an awful lot of influence over millions of grassroots...

It's all but settled. John McCain will be the Republican Party nominee for president in 2008. That has caused much anguish among many conservatives who knew Ronald Reagan - who was a friend of theirs. And Senator, you're no Ronald Reagan, or words to that effect. Nevertheless, conservative realists recognize that despite all the chinks in the right side of his armor, John McCain still is far more conservative than either Hillary or B.O. But when President Bush declared that John McCain was a "true conservative" this week - which was kinda like Joan Crawford declaring that Britney Spears was...

Personally, one of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes is this: "If you analyze it, I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom - and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is. I think that libertarianism and conservatism are traveling the same path." With the limited-government philosophy in mind, people coming across libertarianism for the first time often ask what the difference is between the two. The cynical answer, especially when you look at the...

For today's lesson in "How to Lose a War," let's consider the case of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in World War II and compare it to the case of Nawab Buntangyar in what some consider to be World War III today. But first, consider this all-too-common report in the New York Times this week out of Nad Ali, Afghanistan: "A suicide bomber wrapped in explosives walked into a crowded government building.and blew himself up, killing at least seven people, four of them police officers. Six people were wounded." OK, back to the lesson. Admiral Yamamoto commanded the Japanese Navy and...

The Worst Terror Organization in the World! "Asked which they worried about more, receiving anthrax in the mail or receiving an IRS audit notice, half of Americans feared the IRS more, while 32 percent said anthrax." ******************************************************* Recent poll results from Andres McKenna Research, "Asides,” 12/6/01

When it comes to the GOP presidential race, I am decidedly undecided. As a philosophical libertarian and longtime fan of the congressman, I’m rooting for Ron Paul. However, I’m realistic enough to know that lightning would have to strike not once, not twice, but probably in the neighborhood of five times before he’d have a real shot at the nomination. Like many conservatives, I have reservations about the remaining field of candidates for one reason or another, which is why I’m intrigued and open to learning more about Fred Thompson. And what I’ve learned so far is that some people...

If nothing else, this year's State of the Union speech, known inside the beltway as SOTU, served as a reminder to many conservatives why they are so darned displeased with much of President Bush's domestic agenda, but also why they had absolutely no choice but assure his re-election over Sen. John F. Kerry in 2004. Fear is a powerful motivator. And unhappy conservatives in 2004 harbored a double-dose it as they trudged to the ballot box. Fear that John Kerry would be in charge of the war on terrorists. And fear that John Kerry would get to appoint Supreme Court...

____________________________ MUTH'S TRUTHS by Chuck Muth March 13, 2005 _____________________________ "FORGET THE NEO-CONS, BEWARE THE EX-CONS" So I'm listening to talk radio recently during the hellish commute to our nation's capital, and I hear caller after caller start out by saying, "I'm a conservative, except..." The issue was over a proposed new government-mandated smoking ban in bars and restaurants. And the callers - so-called "conservatives" - were all for it. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying smoking is good. And I'm not saying smoking isn't offensive to a lot of people, especially while dining. What I AM saying...

March 13, 2005"FORGET THE NEO-CONS, BEWARE THE EX-CONS"So I'm listening to talk radio recently during the hellish commute to our nation's capital, and I hear caller after caller start out by saying, "I'm a conservative, except..."  The issue was over a proposed new government-mandated smoking ban in bars and restaurants.  And the callers - so-called "conservatives" - were all for it. Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying smoking is good.  And I'm not saying smoking isn't offensive to a lot of people, especially while dining.  What I AM saying is that the proper, consistent conservative position is that the...

 TONIGHT on RADIO FRAlways Right w/ Chuck Muth 8pm ETGuest: Karen Bailey, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Center for Individual FreedomOur special guest this week will be Karen Bailey, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Center for Individual Freedom, to give us an assessment of the status of freedom now that Congress is mercifully going home for the Christmas holidays (do we still have the freedom to call it Christmas?).On Fire w/ Tom Adkins 10pm ETTOMORROW:The Daly Report with Kay Daly 8pm ETSen Zell Miller D-GAChatListen LiveRadio Free Republic

Anti-war kooks in general, and Democrat presidential candidates in particular, continue to hammer the President for his pre-emption policy of "do it to them before they do it to us." But if you thought Democrats went nuts over comparisons of President Bush's tax cuts to JFK, you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait'll they hear who originated the doctrine of pre-emptive defense. First, let's get everybody on record here. Earlier this year, an online left-wing organization called MoveOn.org hosted a "virtual" Democrat presidential primary in which Howard Dean came out on top. In competing for votes from the MoveOn members, Dean...

Tonight on RFR: 8pm EasternAlways Right with Chuck Muth Unbeknownst to most Americans, earlier this year President Bush establisheda presidential commission to study the need for various reforms to ourpostal system, especially in light of the growing use of email as well asthe fact that, despite rate increase after rate increase, the post officestill loses money hand over fist. The commission will release its formalrecommendations on July 31st. To discuss the good, the bad and the ugly ofthe USPS, our guest on "Always Right" this week will be Rick Merritt ofPostalWatch.org. 10pm EasternThe Common Conservative with Tom Adkins Topic:...

Tonight on Radio Free Republic: Chuck Muth 8pm Eastern"Always Right" This Week on "Always Right"Join us for a 60-minute interview with someone who REALLY knows theins-and-outs of this prescription drug debate, especially the area of"re-importation." My guest this week is Grace-Marie Turner of the GalenInstitute and I'll ask her many of the questions that you all have forwardedme over the past week.Tom Adkins 10pm Eastern"The Common Conservative"**The URANIUM FIASCO**How did it happen? SPECIAL GUEST: Ed Turzanski, National security analyst at the CENTER FOR TERRORISM & COUNTERTERRORISMWho???Mr. Turzansky is one of those people you never read about, never know about,=...

Tonight on Radio FreeRepublic! "Always Right" with Chuck Muth 8:00 (edt - rerun at 11pm) Chuck will be interviewing Mark Montini from CampaignSecrets.com! Mark will be discussing the inside track of how successful campaigns are run and the strategies that put people into the House, Senate and White House! "The Common Conservative" with Tom Adkins! 10:00pm (est - rerun at midnight) Tom will have his periodic Week in Review Show including commentary on the weeks news headlines and regular features "Bitch Slap" and "Jackass" of the Week plus Congressional Update! Click HERE to listen LIVE while you FReep! HIFI...

Action Alert Tell Bureaucrats to Stop Harassing Parents! Help Save Parental Choice in MA! ISSUE: Our friend Chuck Muth (ChuckMuth.com) has just alerted us of an INSANE situation up in Waltham, Massachusetts. This one's so ridiculous, it makes our blood boil just to think of it. Take a look at his message: Kim and George Bryant have been home-schooling their two kids, George (15) and Nyssa (13), much to the chagrin of the Waltham Public School (WPS) system. The Bryants thus far have refused to force their children to take a government-mandated standardized test to assess their education level. The...

<p>Baltimore-born Chuck Muth, a longtime libertarian-conservative activist, is returning to Washington as the new executive director of the American Conservative Union. He will bring with him his wife, Gia, daughter Kristen and three dogs — including his black Labrador named Reagan.</p>