Free Republic

Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate Republican leader, said on Monday he would agree to a power-sharing agreement with Democrats, dropping demands that had held up the basic organization and daily work of the 50-50 chamber for days. Democrat Chuck Schumer, now the majority leader thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, and McConnell had been at odds over the Republican’s request that Democrats promise to protect the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance most legislation. Schumer has refused to guarantee the filibuster would stay. But in a statement, McConnell cited comments from moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin...

Fall is in the air. The leaves are changing colors, football season is in full swing and people in battleground states are being inundated by candidates and commercials. In Washington, the GOP is already breaking out the champagne. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is already measuring the drapes in the majority leader’s office. The anticipation is that the Republican Party will sweep the midterm elections. The common wisdom is that the GOP will gain seats in the House of Representatives and more importantly take control of the Senate. But not so fast. Right now there are 45 Republicans in the...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - Rival Palestinian leaders signed an agreement on a power-sharing government Thursday in Saudi-brokered talks in Mecca, with the militant Hamas group promising to "respect" peace deals with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the mainstream Fatah movement, and Khaled Mashaal, leader of Hamas, signed the accord at a ceremony hosted by Saudi King Abdullah in a palace overlooking the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine. The deal, reached on the second day of the marathon talks, sets out the principles of the coalition government, including a promise that it will "respect" previous peace deals with Israel, delegates said....

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Qatar's attempt to end a growing crisis in the Palestinian territories appeared to end in failure Tuesday after Hamas rejected the plan's key demands that it recognize Israel and renounce violence. Fatah faulted Hamas for the breakdown in negotiations — the latest setback to international efforts to establish a unity government and restore much-needed aid to the Palestinians. However, Palestinian Information Minister Youssef Rizka of Hamas said the U.S. was to blame for dismissing a separate Palestinian plan that would establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank but not explicitly recognize Israel. The document...

NORTHERN Ireland's biggest Protestant party overnight ruled out sharing power with its rival Catholic counterpart, dealing a serious blow to hopes the semi-autonomous government could be restored following disarmament by the IRA. There was "no prospect of an executive including Sinn Fein/IRA for the foreseeable future", Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said, referring to the now officially defunct Catholic paramilitary group and its political wing. "In keeping with our manifesto commitments, the DUP will not countenance an executive in Northern Ireland that is inclusive of those who are not committed to explicitly peaceful and democratic means," he...

There will be no political stability in Northern Ireland until that monstrous pile at Stormont is dismantled, razed and ploughed with salt. Stormont is a shrine to sectarianism, a theatre of bigotry, a monument to Britain's political ineptitude. It would make a good luxury hotel, except the receptionist would still find herself asking guests: "Catholic or Protestant?" On Good Friday 1998, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair promised what they knew they could not deliver: IRA disarmament and a stable power-sharing executive at Stormont. They were too intoxicated by flashlights, glamour and spin to think straight. They declared peace and left,...