Free Republic

Is it possible during the tenure of a Republican-controlled Congress and presidency that pro-life legislation with an 80 percent public approval rating won't pass? Yes. And if that happens, the responsibility will rest solely with one man. The measure in question would make it a federal crime for non-parental adults to traffic minor girls for abortions across state lines without notifying her parents. This closes a loophole currently enabling molesters and incest perpetrators not only to kill the evidence of their crime but repeat it. The bottleneck on this bill is the U. S. Senate, where Republican Bill Frist is...

--Advertisement-- --Advertisement-- Evolving wisdom and original reporting from the staff of the Hotline « WH 08: "Run, Tom, Run" | Main | The Big Number: 30 » September 08, 2006 House Race Hotline Update: Huff Over Huffman An unusual GOP primary is taking place 9/12 in AZ 08, where the NRCC is attacking front-runner Randy Graf while the DCCC is rooting for him. Graf has a loyal base of support because of his hard-line stance on immigration. But many GOPers fear he's unelectable in the general. Instead, they're spending over $100K to back state Rep. Steve Huffman, who fits...

WASHINGTON - An Arizona congressional race has sparked a rift between Rep. Tom Tancredo and the Colorado Republican Party. Tancredo, a Littleton Republican, is backing a fellow, hard-line opponent of illegal immigration, Randy Graf, in Tuesday's GOP primary in an open-seat race. Much of the national Republican establishment has lined up behind another candidate, Steve Huffman. This week, the Colorado Republican Committee sent Huffman a $5,000 contribution, Federal Election Commission records show. The Colorado contribution angers Tancredo, who has used his profile on immigration to boost state Republicans recently. "He's definitely not happy about it," spokesman Carlos Espinosa said Friday....

Taking Mayor Bloomberg's view one step further, Sen. John McCain warned that the American economy would collapse if 11 million illegal aliens are sent packing. "What are we going to do with 11 million people?" McCain asked at a dinner at the New York Yacht Club......... "You going to send 'em all back? Mayor Bloomberg testified at a hearing last week that the economy of New York City would collapse [without illegal immigrants]. I would argue the economy of America would collapse." The Arizona Republican is co-sponsor of a bill....that would provide for a guest-worker program and a path to...

Rove Is Using Threat of Loss to Stir G.O.P. By JIM RUTENBERG WASHINGTON, May 5 — To anyone who doubts the stakes for the White House in this year's midterm Congressional elections, consider that Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the Democrat who would become chairman of the Judiciary Committee if his party recaptured the House, has called for an inquiry into the possible impeachment of President Bush over the war in Iraq. Or listen to Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who would run the Senate Judiciary Committee if the Democrats took the Senate. Mr. Leahy vowed in a...

GOP Chiefs Don't Want Immigrants Charged By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 29 minutes ago The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal aliens to prosecution as felons. A written statement by Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, did not say whether they would seek legislation subjecting illegal immigrants to misdemeanor prosecution or possibly a civil penalty such as a fine. "It remains our intent to produce a strong border security...

Today and over the weekend, high-level nogotiations are taking place among the legislative leadership and the Governor - the focal point of these discussions - infrastructure investment. LOOK CAREFULLY at what comes out of the negotiations. Were the Republican Governor and Republican legislative leaders able to hold the 'line in the sand' against the big-government, spend-a-holic Democratic leaders? Does the plan: 1) HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PAY-AS-YOU-GO COMPONENT FOR FY '07-'08 AND BEYOND?2) HAVE A 6% BORROWING CAP?3) CONTAIN CEQA AND OTHER NEEDED REFORMS?4) LIMIT THE BORROWING TO MORTOR-AND BRICK REAL INFRASTRUCTURE?*From Senator McClintock:5) LIMIT GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDING TO STATE SCHOOL...

It's a fee. No wait, it's a tax. Actually ... Attempt to define $3 water charge comes up dry SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's waterworks plan, which could send millions of flood-control dollars to San Joaquin County, hinges in part on a $3 charge that would appear on a homeowner's water bill every month. Schwarzenegger calls this charge a fee. Others say it's a tax. While this debate might mean little to a Stockton homeowner faced with forking over $36 a year, it is so politically charged that few at the Capitol will discuss it openly. The flood-control legislation begins...

Some on the morning talk shows suggested that McCain is the natural successor to Bush for his committment to the war, and that Bush will "pass the baton" to him. My question is: if Bush endorses McCain will you think aboout voting for him? Personally I don't care for McCain for a number of reasons, but if I think he will continue W's legacy, I might reconsider. What do you think?

The past few weeks have been a wakeup call to those Republicans, and especially those conservatives, who got stars in their eyes and supported movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor during the historic Gray Davis recall campaign. On the heels of a decisive defeat in the recent special election for his reform ballot initiatives, the Terminator is acting like he wants to terminate his alliance with the Republican Party. Since he has failed to even slow the nonstop spending of the California Legislature, Arnold's false reading of the election-results tea leaves has now led him to join the Democrat Party...

Team Arnold lost his Big Four measures -- Propositions 74 through 77 -- on the California ballot Tuesday because this band of political hired guns deserved to lose. They ran a cynical campaign. After Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's big recall-election win in 2003 and his successful fight in 2004 against some well-funded ballot measures -- like the two Big Casino measures and a three-strikes makeover that rode high in the polls until he opposed it -- the team figured he could sell anything to the California voter. So they didn't do a careful job of lining up initiatives with curb appeal...