Free Republic

This comes from total reliable sources -- like you can take it to the bank. Oklahoma Republicans have taken over the Oklahoma House for the first time in 80+ years (tied then) and we have only been a State since 1907. Great day to be an Oklahoma Republican! Have been told that the Governor has conceded to the new Speaker of the House -- a Republican. We still don't know about the State Senate here in Oklahoma but my State Senator who was in a tough race won handily with 58% of the vote. With a win by Dr. Coburn,...

Coming Home By Patrick J. Buchanan In the fall of 2002, the editors of this magazine moved up its launch date to make the conservative case against invading Iraq. Such a war, we warned, on a country that did not attack us, did not threaten us, did not want war with us, and had no role in 9/11, would be “a tragedy and a disaster.” Invade and we inherit our own West Bank of 23 million Iraqis, unite Islam against us, and incite imams from Morocco to Malaysia to preach jihad against America. So we wrote, again and again. In...

1. Bye Bye Democrats "When the Democratic Party held its national convention in 1992, it could claim 57 senators, 266 members of the House, 27 governors, and 4,430 state senators and representatives. Today, three years and one month after Clinton's nomination, the Democratic Party has been reduced to a minority party with only 46 senators, 200 members of the House, 19 governors, and 3,830 state senators and representatives. Since its convention in New York City just three years ago, the Democratic Party has lost a total of 685 senators, House members, governors, and state senators and representatives." RNC 8/21/95 Monday...

Goodbye "Regular Joe" Democrat Karl Zinsmeister Democrats: the party of the little guy. Republicans: the party of the wealthy. Those images of America's two major political wings have been frozen for generations. The stereotypes were always a little off, incomplete, exaggerated. (Can you say Adlai Stevenson?) But like most stereotypes, they reflected rough truths. No more. Starting in the 1960s and '70s, whole blocs of "little guys"--ethnics, rural residents, evangelicals, cops, construction workers, homemakers, military veterans--began moving into the Republican column. And big chunks of America's rich elite--financiers, academics, heiresses, media barons, software millionaires, entertainers--drifted into the Democratic Party. The...

CREVE COEUR, Mo. - If John F. Kerry were to walk into the American Legion post in this St. Louis suburb, David Navy says he would greet him with a hug. "I've admired him ever since I first heard his name," said Navy, like Kerry a Vietnam veteran who calls attacks on the Democratic presidential candidate's service record "despicable." Navy first saw Kerry on television during the Watergate era. "I thought: I hope this guy runs for president someday," he said. But that doesn't mean Navy will vote for Kerry next month. "I'm voting for George W. Bush," said Navy,...

WHERE HAVE ALL the swing voters gone? The conventional answer is that the nation has become politically polarized and swing voters have taken sides. There's some truth in this, but there's a better explanation. In disproportionate numbers, swing voters have become Republicans over the past three decades. And though the trend accelerated after the 2000 election and 9/11 terrorist attacks, it's scarcely been mentioned in the 2004 presidential race. But it's playing an enormously important role this year. It gives President Bush political options John Kerry doesn't have. And it makes Bush's reelection more likely. The new Republican strength means...

The Mississippi Republican Party is pleased to add longtime Democrat and State Senator Ralph Doxey of Marshall County to the ever-increasing number of GOP members serving in the Mississippi State Senate. Senator Doxey's announcement brings the total number of Republicans serving in the State Senate to 24, just two shy of parity with the Democrats. This historic benchmark is the closest margin between the two political parties in modern Mississippi history and underscores the fact that conservative Republican policies resonate with the people of the Magnolia State.

JACKSON, Miss. - State Sen. Ralph Doxey of Holly Springs switched from Democrat to Republican on Monday, saying his beliefs fit better with those of the GOP. "I am more in line with the Republican stance on issues like gun control, abortion, taxes, education and adequate work force training," Doxey said in a news release. "I have been voting that way already and on some issues like tort reform, I have been leading the way." Doxey's switch puts the Senate's partisan balance at 28 Democrats and 24 Republicans. Despite the GOP being in the minority, Republicans have controlled the chamber...

Democrats: the party of the little guy. Republicans: the party of the wealthy. Those images of America's two major political wings have been frozen for generations. The stereotypes were always a little off, incomplete, exaggerated. (Can you say Adlai Stevenson?) But like most stereotypes, they reflected rough truths. No more. Starting in the 1960s and '70s, whole blocs of "little guys" — ethnics, rural residents, evangelicals, cops, construction workers, homemakers, military veterans — began moving into the Republican column. And big chunks of America's rich elite — financiers, academics, heiresses, media barons, software millionaires, entertainers — drifted into the Democratic...

Fordice refused 'politician' label The Vicksburg Post A mere 15 or so years ago, Daniel Kirkwood Fordice had no use for politicians. He was an engineer. He was a government contractor. He liked big-game hunting, riding his horse and flying his airplane. All that changed during trips to Washington, D.C. Fordice had risen through the ranks to become president of Associated General Contractors, and had been getting his belly full testifying before Congress on employer-related matters. A visit with the first President Bush was part of that experience, and it dawned on Fordice that he might actually be able to...

Poster in the window of the Republican Headquarters, Wyandotte, Michigan.

Louisiana congressman switches to GOP Alexander leaves Democrats for re-election bid The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. - Rep. Rodney Alexander switched his party affiliation to Republican on Friday — making the surprise flip in the last minute of registration for the Nov. 2 ballot, virtually assuring the seat for the GOP. Alexander, who ran as a Democrat to win his first congressional term but voted along conservative lines, had remained a Democrat Wednesday when he registered at the start of qualifying. At the time he said, “I’m not ashamed to be a Democrat, but I vote what I think...

At last! Some good news today! Congressman Rodney Alexander has switched parties!

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, the 1907 Harlem landmark that closed last year because of low membership, will be torn down, and a home for the elderly will be built in its place, church officials said yesterday. The Archdiocese of New York said it was planning a 57-unit building on the site of the church, which closed last summer after it could no longer afford to pay for repairs. A spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, said he did not know when the church would be demolished, but said construction on the new building would begin late next year. The...

So said St. Basil the Great to a politician of his day. The Arian Emperor Valens had sent the Prefect Modestus to get Basil, by threats or promises, into communion with the heretics. When the smooth words and promises had no effect, Modestus changed his approach. Let us listen in on the conversation: Modestus: Basil, what dost thou mean by opposing so great an emperor, whom all obey? Art thou under no apprehensions of feeling the effects of the power we are armed with? Basil: To what does this power extend? Modestus: To confiscation of goods, banishment, tortures, and death....

CRABAPPLE, GA. – Relaxing in front of his small ranch house, watching the birds flit around his feeder, Ronnie Pilcher looks out over the changing face of the place he calls home. In the four decades he and his wife have lived here on 10 verdant acres, Mr. Pilcher has seen an explosion in population and wealth that's transformed this old orchard crossroads into a booming Atlanta exurb. Where once he knew almost everyone driving by on the old Birmingham Highway - and many of them stopped to chat - now an unfamiliar flow of Beemers and Hummers weave among...

Rep. Gregory's alignment with the GOP brings the total number of Republican members serving in the state House of Representatives to 47, the largest number of Republican Representatives to serve at one time in modern Mississippi history.

Historic Holy Trinity Church in Boston’s South End -- where German Customs of decorated Christmas pine trees and Christmas cards were introduced into Puritan Boston in the early 19th century and became American traditions -- is among the 60 churches to be closed in a radical downsizing of parishes. On May 25th, Archbishop Sean O’Malley OFM Cap, announced the closing or consolidation of 65 churches, a decision he said he was forced to make due to the declining number of priests, declining memberships, and the overwhelming expense of repairing deteriorating structures. “Although this reconfiguration responds to the very special needs...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Before 1980, conservative whites in the South often rallied around homegrown, segregationist politicians such as Alabama's George Wallace and South Carolina's Strom Thurmond. Then came a Californian - Ronald Reagan. He was able to combine a right-wing political message with a gentle, persuasive voice to bring conservatives and some moderate whites into the GOP, experts said. Reagan's legacy can be seen across the once-solidly Democratic South, where Republicans now hold a majority of U.S. Senate and House seats and form a powerful GOP bloc in presidential elections.