Free Republic

A public university in Colorado offered course credit to students to volunteer on President Obama’s reelection campaign, Campus Reform learned on Tuesday. The offer, which has since been retracted, appears to have violated the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act, section 1-45-117, which bans the use of public resources for “campaigns involving the nomination, retention, or election of any person to any public office.” Adams State University posted the opportunity late last week on its website stating: “The Obama Campaign Internship (GOVT 279 Presidential Election Internship) will be a 12 week long organizing internship for the Obama Campaign.” No similar offer...

The White House is telling Congress that President Obama has the legal authority to continue American participation in the NATO-led air war in Libya, even though lawmakers have not authorized it. In a broader package of materials the Obama administration is sending to Congress on Wednesday defending its Libya policy, the White House, for the first time, offers lawmakers and the public an argument for why Mr. Obama has not been violating the War Powers Resolution since May 20. On that day, the Vietnam-era law’s 60-day deadline for terminating unauthorized hostilities appeared to pass. But the White House argued that...

New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner maintained Thursday that he does not plan to resign his seat, despite growing calls from members of his own party for the seven-term congressman to step down in the wake of his admission that he conducted inappropriate online communications with at least six women. “I’m not,” Weiner told a reporter for the New York Post on Thursday when asked if he planned to resign. “I’m going to get back to work as best I can.” Weiner said that he is working on making amends with his wife, senior State Department aide Huma Abedin, who...

Politics: Rahm Emanuel thought he was above the law, but an Illinois court says he can't run for mayor of a city he doesn't live in. At least he can vote for someone else. It's been said that through redistricting and gerrymandering we no longer live in an era where voters choose their leaders, but one in which leaders choose their voters. Sometimes you can even pick the state you want to be senator from, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did in New York. At least she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, made an effort to meet...

The Washington Employment Security Department has released to Red County the email sent by a WorkSource employee who used government resources to organize support for Sen. Patty Murray’s campaign. In the email, WorkSource employee Sally Garcia asks veterans to contact Kerala Hise, either by telephone or at a pattymurray.com address, to get involved in a ‘”walk and knock” to remind people to vote” for Murray’s re-election. Garcia’s email also suggested that recipients “[t]ake a look at the attachments I”—Garcia—“have included.” Employment Security unequivocally stated that no attachments were sent with the message but that Garcia did send a file to...

Longtime Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has awarded thousands of dollars in college scholarships to four relatives and a top aide's two children since 2005, using foundation funds set aside for black lawmakers' causes. The recipients were ineligible under anti-nepotism rules of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which provided the money. And all of the awards violated a foundation requirement that scholarship winners live or study in a caucus member's district. Johnson, a Democrat, denied any favoritism when asked about the scholarships last week. Two days later, she acknowledged in a statement released by her office that she had violated...