Free Republic

First there was the Reagan Revolution, then Newt's Republican Revolution, and now the Tea Party Revolution. In each successive revolution, the lovers of liberty threw off a bit more of the yoke of the oppressive ruling class to reestablish some vital part of our God given liberty and freedom. Pro-life, small government, big defense Ronald Reagan set and accomplished the goal of bringing down the socialist Soviet Union as a threat to the world and reestablished free America as the dominate superpower. He rescued America from the hapless Jimmy Carter who had dragged the nation down into to the depths...

In the wake of the Dem victory of November, Paul Krugman isn't merely doing a victory dance. He reminds me more of one of those ardent football fans up in the stands after his team scores the winning touchdown. Stripped to the waist, painted in team colors, getting up in the face of an opposing fan to taunt "na-na-na-na, goodbye" followed by a rousing chorus of "start the bus." In his pay-per-view opus of this morning, "A Failed Revolution," Krugman proclaims that not merely has the Republican revolution of 1994 failed, but that it "was always based on a lie."...

It was my first week as Tom DeLay's communications director in late 1995. And we were already in crisis. On the House floor, DeLay had gotten into a shoving match with a Wisconsin Democrat named Dave Obey. I had no idea what had happened. While I worked the phones trying to figure out the details, our press secretary, Tony Rudy, wasn't waiting for the facts. He started telling reporters that Obey had called Tom an obscenity too graphic to print in this newspaper. Obey vehemently denied it. Later, I asked Tom if it was true. No, he said, he had...

WASHINGTON--Ten years ago, the American people put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in more than 40 years. It was a historic achievement, made possible because we stood for the principles the American people believed in: smaller government, returning power to the states, lower taxes, greater individual freedom and--above all--reform. Some Republican leaders in the House seem to have lost sight of those principles, though the American people still believe in them. Meanwhile, Americans are sick of scandals. To fully regain their confidence--and to retain and grow the Republican majority--we need to make a...

He grew up around Barry Goldwater, arrived in Washington with the "Contract With America" crowd, boycotted one of President Bill Clinton's State of the Union speeches and is more conservative on some issues than President Bush. Now John Shadegg, a six-term Republican congressman from Arizona, has jumped into the race for House majority leader, trying to position himself as the reform candidate in challenging two more established members of the GOP leadership, Missouri's Roy Blunt and Ohio's John A. Boehner. In arguing that the Republicans have "lost sight of our ideals," Shadegg, 56, is espousing not only tighter ethics rules,...

The year 2005 will be remembered as one of good intentions, bad disasters and promises kept. This spring, Congress adopted the toughest budget since the Reagan years and, under the leadership of Chairman Jerry Lewis, the Appropriations Committee reported one bill after another on time and on budget. Then came the heartbreak that was Hurricane Katrina -- 90,000 square miles of the gulf coast destroyed. Congress responded by speeding relief and recovery funds totaling $60 billion in six days to rebuild the families and communities destroyed by this storm. After the storm, many in Washington thought that fiscal discipline was...

The Republican Revolution refers to the triumph of Republicans in the 1994 US interim elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats for the GOP in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate. Republicans successfully defended all thirteen GOP-held Senate seats up for election; but even more significant was the fact that the Republicans had not held the majority in the House for forty years, since the 83rd Congress (elected in 1952). Although this is subject to debate, the election results have been widely attributed to a sense on the part of...

For decades conservative Republicans dreamed of controlling the White House and Congress. The rallying cry was “If only we had the power, we could revolutionize this country and end the era of big government.” Well, in January 2001, it finally happened and the GOP took control of Congress and the White House. Since that time, it has held total control, except for a 17-month period in 2001-02. Yet, not only has Washington D.C. not been revolutionized, but spending has skyrocketed, deficits have ballooned and government has never been bigger. What happened? It seems that Republicans in Congress only act like...