Free Republic

Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, also a nationally syndicated radio host, is tripling down on his calls to demand new blood in House GOP leadership. In the wake of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) rebuffing his call to run against Speaker John Boehner after the white supremacy scandal that has rocked Boehner’s ally, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Hannity is calling on every Republican member of the House of Representatives to reconsider whether Boehner is in fact an effective leader. “Every Republican member needs to ask themselves if John Boehner is really the best person to lead the conservative movement at...

(tweet) Brad Dayspring Candidates who associate with white nationalists & segregationists events give away #GOP seats to Democrats. http://bit.ly/1scpnwC #MSsen 10:30 AM - 3 Apr 2014 But that was before it was a member of the Republican Leadership who did that. Conservatives headed to Washington and asked to vote for Rep. John Boehner need to realize that the leadership in place now isn’t far removed from the pigs at the end of Animal Farm. They view themselves as more equal than others.

Nationally syndicated conservative radio host Mark Levin, a former official in President Ronald Reagan’s administration, is calling on former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to answer whether he stands with House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Majority Whip Steve Scalise in the wake of a blistering Scalise scandal concerning his longtime ties to a top aide to former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke.

ep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, says he made an innocent mistake in speaking to a white supremacist conference in 2002. How was he to know that the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO) was a collection of racists and neo-Nazis?. "For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous," says Scalise, who was a state representative at the time. "I spoke to any group that called, and there were a lot of groups calling." Why, he even spoke to the League of Women Voters,...

Former Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel (R) on Tuesday accused Republican leaders of enforcing a double standard in their response to the revelation that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002. ADVERTISEMENTMcDaniel nearly took out Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in the this year's GOP Senate primary. He was the target of attacks from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and some in the state GOP who said he should withdraw from the race because he had booked a speaking engagement at a conservative rally alongside a white nationalist. McDaniel ultimately withdrew from the rally....

In 2002, a year after not long before Trent Lott was driven from office in December of 2002, for his statements about support Strom Thurmond, Rep. Steve Scalise, now the number three Republican in the House of Representatives, went to a David Duke organized event. How do you not know? How do you not investigate? David Duke is the reasons I am no longer a resident of Louisiana. After supporting Edwin Edwards in the gubernatorial race against David Duke in 1991, I knew I had to get the hell out of a state where those were the two most popular...

The GOP has had a pretty good story to tell this year in terms of race and African-American voters. Three black Republicans were elected to Congress — two in the House (Mia Love and Will Hurd) and one in the Senate (Tim Scott). Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and others are making outreach efforts, as is the Republican National Committee. Overall, Republicans did better among African American voters, particularly in states like Ohio. But that good news could be overtaken by some other news: The new House majority whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, spoke to a white nationalist group in 2002....

We ask, because earlier this month when he attempted to paint The Hayride as a hate site for the crime of ridiculing his clownish attempts at whoring himself out as a political tool for the noted leftist bigot Wendy Davis in Texas we said he was lame. And since White suffers from cerebral palsy and trades, in part, on using that condition as a shield against criticism from those who might judge him by the quality of his work rather than his status as a member of a special interest or victim group, he dispatched a horde of lefty keyboard...

In a lengthy interview on Friday afternoon, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) exposed how House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise strengthened President Barack Obama’s executive amnesty with procedural trickery former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber would envy—and they did it all in the name of pushing a bill that they told Republicans would block Obama’s executive amnesty. What’s more is that a series of interviews and recent developments indicate that Boehner’s gambit here is placing several of his top lieutenants—including at least two committee chairmen—at political risk of serious primary challenges...

WASHINGTON -- Republicans were quick Monday to condemn President Barack Obama's declaration that the Federal Communications Commission should block internet providers from striking deals with cable companies and other content providers to stream their material at faster speeds. "Today's attempt by the President to have the FCC reclassify broadband Internet as a public utility is yet another example of the Obama Administration's radical effort to have the government take over more aspects of our economy where there is no justification," said House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson. Joining Scalise in expressing opposition to the president's proposal were House Speaker John...

What's the opposite of a "political earthquake"? If the primary defeat of Rep. Eric Cantor drained D.C.'s supply of dramatic analogies, the snap leadership election surprised almost no one. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the party's occasionally competent whip, easily took Cantor's old job after a furtive conservative challenge from Rep. Raul Labrador. And Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana conservative who had been leading the Republican Study Committee, nabbed McCarthy's job in one ballot. (SNIP) Why? Simple: There are three states where party primaries have been replaced by jungle primaries, followed by runoffs between the top two finishers. After John Boehner, the...

As the Senate wrapped up work before departing for the elections, Republicans forced a vote on the issue of immigration, wanting to put Democrats on record on the controversial issue of the president’s executive authority to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It’s obvious that, through the short-term lens of the coming election, this proved to be a smart political maneuver. In fact, four vulnerable Democrats sided with the Republicans and against the president because they were so worried about the political volatility of the vote. This follows a vote by House Republicans before the August recess that...

Friend, We have a fight on our hands—and the future of our country is on the line. Obama, Pelosi, and the Democrats have outraised us by $27 MILLION this cycle. That’s a frightening number. We have only 75 days to cut that gap before Election Day in order to beat the Democrats. Friend, this is why I’m reaching out to you personally. Your name is on my list as someone who has not yet contributed to our winning cause this year. I am counting on you to help out by midnight tonight. (SNIP) Friend, every day that passes without your...

Incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has tapped Rep. Patrick McHenry as his chief deputy majority whip. McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, was elected in 2004 and was a key player in Scalise’s successful attempt to defeat Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) for the majority whip post. “I look forward to working with him on behalf of the Republican Conference to advance the conservative values and principles that unite us and move America forward,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement. McHenry also served on the Republican whip team under Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the newly elected House majority leader. “His...

The tea party has claimed its first spot in House leadership with the election of Rep. Steve Scalise to the No. 3 post – majority whip. Will he ease GOP tensions or make them worse? ...The Louisianan will take the position of whip, making him responsible for corralling votes in order to pass legislation. He fills the slot left vacant by Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who was elected – and elevated – to the No. 2 job of majority leader, who decides what legislation comes to a vote.

Technically, nothing prevents Warren Buffett and other “Patriotic Millionaires” from donating money to the federal government right now, but, as they continue to clamor for a higher tax rate for themselves and others, it’s easy to assume they don’t know that. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) have introduced legislation to ensure they do: Dubbed “The Buffett Rule Act of 2011,” the names of the bills take a mocking swipe at President Barack Obama’s own proposed “Buffet Rule,” which conversely would close tax code loopholes to ensure that Warren Buffett and those like him no longer pay...

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett revealed Wednesday that he made $62,855,038 last year, paying $6,923,494 in income taxes (or about 17 percent of his $39,814,784 taxable income) and $15,300 in payroll taxes. With Buffett concerned that he does not pay enough in taxes, congressional Republicans have introduced legislation to allow Buffett — and others who believe they are under-taxed — the easy option of voluntarily donating to the U.S. Treasury on their tax forms.

Four Republican senators seek to cut off money to czars in the Obama administration and force current and future czars to undergo a Senate confirmation. The senators, David Vitter of Louisiana, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Dean Heller of Nevada and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have introduced the amendment in the Nominations Process Reform Bill. Heller said the amendment, which defines czar as the “head of any task force, council, policy office or similar office established by the president that has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate,” excluding the National Security Advisor, could return some accountability to the current administration’s...

This newspaper makes the following recommendations for Tuesday's ballot. CONGRESS U.S. Senate David Vitter Much of Sen. Vitter's first term in the Senate came in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches that left 80 percent of New Orleans under water. The senator fought hard to hold the Army Corps of Engineers accountable and to get recovery resources for South Louisiana, including vital funding for coastal restoration. He was a leader in the push to finally close the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, the corps-built waterway that contributed to the devastation during Katrina. He also played an important role in...

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) wanted to fly 10 lawmakers down to the Gulf of Mexico to see the damage caused by BP’s gigantic oil spill first hand. House Democrats said no. Scalise’s trip was rejected for a variety of bureaucratic and logistical reasons, but it has also opened a new vein of partisan squabbling over who should be allowed to arrange a trip to view the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.