Free Republic

Trump Is Not A Liberal or Conservative, He’s A Pragmatist by Mychal Massie January 19, 2016 We recently enjoyed a belated holiday dinner with friends at the home of other friends. The dinner conversation was jocund, ranging from discussions about antique glass and china to theology and politics. At one point reference was made to Donald Trump being a conservative to which I responded that Trump is not a conservative. I said that I neither view nor do I believe Trump views himself as a conservative. I stated it was my opinion that Trump is a pragmatist. He sees a...

WASHINGTON — In the Middle East crisis, as on other issues, there are two Barack Obamas: the transformative historical figure and the pragmatic American president. Three months after a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself aflame and ignited a political firestorm across the Arab world, the president is trumping the trailblazer. With the spread of antigovernment protests from North Africa to the strategic, oil-rich Persian Gulf, President Obama has adopted a policy of restraint. He has concluded that his administration must shape its response country by country, aides say, recognizing a stark reality that American national security interests weigh as heavily...

AFTER immigrating to New York City from China...Z. Y. Tung and his wife worked hard — he as a bank manager, she as a...secretary — lived frugally and saved every penny they could for the next generation. Until five years ago, when his wife, Wen Mei Hu, racked by bone-marrow cancer, had to be put in a nursing home, where the bills ran past $100,000 a year, threatening to quickly drain the couple’s life savings of $500,000. The nursing home told him: If he signed a document essentially refusing to support his wife of several decades, Medicaid, the federal insurance...

It's November 3, 2010. You think you are waking up to a sunny California morning only to realize it's a dark, dark day. Jerry Brown is governor, Gavin Newsom is lieutenant governor, Kamala Harris is attorney general, and the rest of the Democrat ticket has prevailed. California is going to be controlled by San Francisco politics. Got your attention now? Tea Party folks have brought a refreshing candor to the conservative scene, demanding from conservative candidates a return to conservative principles. But we don't live in a perfect world. And in California, we live in a deeply skewed political landscape...

This posting is applicable primarily to people living in/near my district, but certainly Missouri as a whole. I will note measures and offices as well as particular candidates of interest. Links will be available to allow you to do your own research – an educated voter is a smart voter – and though you’re free to ignore or disagree with some of my assessments and opinions, I’ll mention some of my own thoughts. Republicans, conservatives and libertarians vote on November 2nd, all others vote on November 3rd. :) Just kidding, seriously. That said, I have a funny feeling quite a...

...On the other hand, sometimes you need a few "wets" to gain a majority and advance your own ideas. Ask Nancy Pelosi, who rode the victories of Rahm Emanuel's hand-picked Blue Dog Democrats to the House Speakership in 2006 and then used them to pass 40 years of liberal dreams in this Congress...

If you could boil down the public's lament with Washington, it might be: "What happened to the adults?" Not the adults of the Clark Clifford variety, the Washington fixtures who alternate between serving administrations and commenting on them sagely for PBS. But political leaders who make tough choices, take on problems directly and combine principle with pragmatism in a manner consistent with true statesmanship. President Obama promised to be this kind of leader. He has instead proved -- with a few exceptions -- to be the servant of a limited political faction. He has exacerbated the nation's fiscal crisis without...

'I am not an ideologue," President Obama insisted at his truly refreshing confab with the Republican caucus last Friday. When he heard some incredulous murmurs and chuckles from the audience in response to the idea that the most sincerely ideological president in a generation is no ideologue, he added a somewhat plaintive, "I'm not." The president's defensiveness isn't surprising. He holds his self-definition as a pragmatist dear -- and not just because it polls well. It's clear from interviews that he's fond of the notion that he is above ideological squabbles and is a clear-eyed appraiser of facts and adjudicator...

HE: One focus of your book is countering the predictable demonization of conservative politicians by the left-wing establishment. Horowitz: To solve it, take away the target. My advice to Republicans is, You have to go over the heads of the media, because the media hate us. You have to do something that in one stroke makes it difficult for them to say, "These people don't care about black people, they don't care about Hispanics, they don't care about poor people." In their minds, we won't spend a dime on them, so you have to spend money, too. That's important. It...

So, Microsoft submits 20000 lines of code to the Linux kernel, all licensed under the GPL. Microsoft, who considers Linux a great threat, and once called the GPL a "cancer". Opinions on this one are flying all around us, but what does Linus Torvalds, Linux' benevolent dictator, think about all this?

Lindsey Graham gets combative over GOP future Posted: 10:45 AM ET From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby (CNN) – A combative Lindsey Graham got into a sharp back-and-forth with some audience members at the South Carolina GOP convention on Saturday as he made the case for an open-tent Republican party. According to The State newspaper and video posted on YouTube, the South Carolina senator told the convention he wants to build a party that can compete in Pennsylvania and Connecticut as well as in his home state. “You’re a hypocrite!,” one man in the audience yelled. “I’m a winner, pal,”...

Yeah, I know. Said some similar things about Bush in 2000. But at least he was pro-life, pro-family, etc, and thank God we supported him over the idiot All Green Gore. Said similar things about McCain in 2008. But when asked the question "when does human life begin?," and he unabashedly stated, "At conception, of course," I had to take notice. Then when he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, I decided to support her. I voted for Sarah (and the white haired old geezer that came along with the package). But Romney is a NO go. And I...

WASHINGTON -- If Barack Obama's presidential campaign was smooth and deep like the rivers, his first few weeks in Washington have been turbulent and shallow like the rapids. It began with the quick end of the Richardson nomination, revealing a vetting process with the thoroughness of a subprime loan application. Then came an inaugural address so flat that both supporters and detractors wondered if the flatness was intentional -- a subtle game of strategic mediocrity. Then the broad violation of an overbroad lobbying ban, which made no distinction between lobbying for the Iranian regime and lobbying against teenage smoking. Then...

Once Again, ItÂ’s About Associations and Judgment by Frank Salvato July 3, 2008 There has been much ado about Barack ObamaÂ’s associations and the judgment used in maintaining and entering into those associations. ObamaÂ’s associations with Jeremiah Wright, Williams Ayers, Frank Marshall Davis, the Progressive-Left activist group ACORN and his ideological association with Saul Alinsky are all perfect examples of his judgment, his willingness to associate with radical and troubled individuals and organizations. Is it fair to judge Barack Obama by his associations and the judgment used in acquiring and maintaining those associations? Sorry Mr. Colmes, all is fair...

~~big snip~~ HANNITY: Let me move to the issue that has come up again this week, and that's the issue of immigration. And as somebody that hosts a radio show for three hours a day, and we've got our show on FOX and now our Sunday show, I can tell you it is a defining issue for conservatives in their desire. — They want these borders controlled and they don't want amnesty in any way, shape, matter or form. And the consensus that keeps emerging is sort of amnesty-lite. They won't call it amnesty, but the feeling among conservatives is...

Columnist, journalist, commentator and author George Will is supporting his fellow baseball fan, Rudy Giuliani, for the Republican presidential nomination and saying that Mr. Giuliani's eight years as mayor of New York were "the most successful episode of conservative governance" in America in the twentieth century. BUT, Mr. Giuliani was the candidate of New York's LIBERAL Party in each of his three mayoral races (the first a failure, the next two successful)! AND, when running for mayor, Mr. Giuliani pledged to "rekindle the Rockefeller/Javits/Lefkowitz tradition" of the Republican Party and "produce the kind of change New York City saw with...

Six Physical Factors That Affect Your Worship Service By Rick Warren Christian Post Guest Columnist Thu, Mar. 08 2007 10:04 AM ET Facilities and physical environment have a lot to do with what happens in a weekend worship service. The shape of your building will shape your service. Walk into some buildings and your mood will instantly brighten. Walk into other buildings and you'll feel depressed. The shape of a room can change a mood instantly; so can the temperature of room; so can the lighting in a room. Be aware of these factors and use them. Figure out what...

Wife and two daughters of senior editor James Kim found in Oregon; search is still on for James Kim, who left the car on foot two days ago. The wife and daughters of missing CNET senior editor James Kim have been found alive and airlifted to a local hospital, authorities announced at a press conference in Merlin, Ore., Monday afternoon. James Kim left the car on snowshoes two days ago to seek help and has not been found, the official said. The search for him continues. According to the official speaking at the news conference, the conditions of Kati, Penelope...

I once had a meal with a man who had been a Republican operative. He was lamenting the factionalism within that party, and as an example told the story of some Christian evangelicals. They had come to him offering to support his candidate providing the candidate agreed with them on 15 points. "In politics, you don't get all 15 points," he said. "Maybe you get eight of them. You have to be satisfied with that. These people didn't understand that." To them, each of the 15 was connected to Truth, and was not negotiable. There was no agreement, and no...

Just a little dose of reality for some of you going nuts over the Immigration issue, because there is NO chance that you will win on the border enforcement issue. No chance whatsoever. Only after a migrant worker program passes, making most of these illegal aliens legal, is there any chance at all to have meaningful border enforcement. Bush is not running for office anymore, but the Republican Congress is in need of a big victory in November. This issue will kill our chances to maintain the majority, and knowing that, Bush will likely veto any bill making illegal immigration...