Free Republic

As it turns out, Senate Democrats may not be able to force healthcare legislation through the chamber on a simple majority vote. Republicans say they have found a loophole in the budget reconciliation process that could allow them to offer an indefinite number of amendments. Though it has never been done, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he’s prepared to test the Senate’s stamina to block the Democrats from using the process to expedite changes to the healthcare bill. Experts on Senate procedural rules, from both parties, note that such a filibuster is possible. While reconciliation rules limit debate to 20...

Drilling Survey I need your immediate help. As you know, the twenty-five year ban on offshore drilling will expire on October 1st. In the coming days the Senate will be debating on whether or not to renew the ban. I believe that we should not renew the ban and begin drilling in our territories to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but I need to know what you think. Will you please take the time and answer these two quick questions: Should we let the twenty-five year ban on offshore drilling expire? Yes No Should we stop frivolous lawsuits from...

Why We Whisper by: Melinda Zosh, July 24, 2008 Senator Jim Demint (R-SC) said that unwed pregnant women should not be schoolteachers, and the media accused him of intolerance. What the media did not reveal, however, were the constituents who whispered after the cameras disappeared. “People would whisper ‘you’re right, we’re with you,’” said Sen. Demint. “They did not want to say that anything was wrong, because they know that’s hateful, wrong and politically incorrect. I notice how much people whisper.” Sen. Demint more than noticed the whispers, and he wanted his constituents’ voices to be heard. He wrote a...

Senators Introduce Semper Fi Act of 2008. Bill Stops Berkeley Earmarks and Transfers Funds to Marine Corps. The bill would rescind over $2 million in hidden earmarks for Berkeley, California in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, and transfer the funds to the Marine Corps. U.S. Congressman John Campbell (R-California) is introducing a companion bill in the House of Representatives. Last week, the City Council of Berkeley voted to oust Marine Corps recruiters from their downtown office, saying the Marines were "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." Berkeley officials also voted to give the radical protest group Code Pink space outside the recruitment...

February 1st, 2008 1:15 PM Eastern Berkeley Bashing Our Troops by Jamie Colby UPDATE: SENATOR JIM DEMINT WILL BE ON OUR SHOW THIS SATURDAY BETWEEN NOON AND 2PM EASTERN. POST YOUR COMMENTS AND I WILL READ AS MANY AS I CAN ON THE SHOW. Ralph wrote The Colby Files “how about a blog about Berkeley trying to boot the troops”. To the point, some folks in Berkeley California and the City Council there say it’s no place to recruit. Here’s just the latest on this story from foxnews.com:Friday , February 01, 2008WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., says the City of Berkeley, Calif., no longer deserves federal...