Free Republic

Rep. Kevin McCarthy is not even Speaker of the House yet, but there is already a group ready to fire him. A group of prominent right-leaning organizations formed a coalition Wednesday dubbed "Fire Kevin McCarthy," pledging to remove the California Republican should he be chosen to replace John Boehner when he retires at the end of next month. "Having worked with Kevin McCarthy in the House, I'll admit he's a friendly guy," former Georgia Rep. Paul Broun said in a statement announcing the formation of the coalition. "But we need a dramatic change in House leadership — we can't afford...

Ted Cruz called out Mitch McConnell seven times by name on Monday night. Afterward, the Senate majority leader barely uttered a word about his chief Republican adversary. Asked about Cruz’s diatribe on the Senate floor, during which the Texas Republican suggested McConnell is a puppet for Democratic leaders and a foe of conservatives, McConnell couldn’t conceal his smile on Tuesday. Story Continued Below “I have tried very hard to stay out of the presidential race, and I think that’s probably a good rule for me,” he said with a chuckle. McConnell may not like to talk about Cruz, but he...

Washington (CNN)The rift between Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, political allies turned rivals, widened on Tuesday when Paul decried his Senate colleague's hardline tactics. Paul criticized Cruz for breaching Senate decorum, saying the Texan could not accomplish any of his legislative priorities because of how much his GOP colleagues despise him. "Ted has chosen to make this really personal and chosen to call people dishonest in leadership and call them names, which really goes against the decorum and also against the rules of the Senate, and as a consequence he can't get anything done legislatively," Paul said in an interview...

A senior Republican official is urging Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to resign from his job as the Republican leader of the Senate. “Mitch is a good and honorable guy, but the base is leaving our party,” Roger Villere, the chairman of the Louisiana GOP... “I’ve worked for 12 years as chairman to build this party, and I just don’t want to see it all go down the drain because the [leaders] aren’t willing to fight for what we believe… Our base is demanding we do something or they’re going to leave us,” said Villare, who also holds a position...

Friday morning is not always laundry day for me, but the clothes have to get washed before the work day, and even if I hold off to the end, I know that I can sneak in the chores, the dirty work, and still have time for play. Speaking of wash, Washington DC has gotten as dirty as ever, and only the dysfunction, gridlock, and frustration of unsuccessful politicians have stopped the spread. And speaking of dirty, The View was blasting on the TV while I was pouring the bleach. Ugh! There is nothing worse than a bunch of catty liberals...

It was as if John Boehner had a confession to make after all these years of troubled conscience. His recent resignation had the effect of suggesting the pro wrestling in Congress is fake (emphasis mine). The Washington Republicans, dear fans are supposed to lose – after making some effort to heighten the drama — to the Capital Democrats. All those heart stopping moments toward the end lost due to some error or a sudden reversal of fortune — well that was in the script. Republican Eric Cantor, writing in the New York Times, argues that there was no dishonor to...

Show us you're in the game. In golf a par is good, but a birdie is better. In baseball a single, double or triple is good, but a home run is great! In football a first down, or a few first downs are good, but a touchdown is great. Contrary to what some people think, it’s going to take more than Speaker John Boehner’s resignation for the Republicans in Congress to show their supporters some results. It doesn’t have to be a series of birdies, home runs, or touchdowns politically speaking. They just have to accomplish something that Main Street...

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, asked for his reaction to the resignation of John Boehner, had good things to say about the House Speaker: "We'll have to see how it plays out," Bush told "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace. "I admire John Boehner greatly. He's a great public servant. He left at the apex of his--of his time in service to this--to the country, with the Pope speaking in Congress. "I think people are going to miss him in the long run, because he's a -- he's a person that is focused on solving problems." Asked if Boehner's departure...

If Ted Cruz is ever going to break through in the Republican presidential primary, the time is now. Cruz has been the workmanlike conservative of the GOP field: a strong fundraiser but no Jeb Bush, well-liked by the activist right yet unable, so far, to generate the kind of breakout moments that have vaulted his anti-establishment rivals out of the single-digit doldrums. But Cruz’s supporters see the showdown in Congress over Planned Parenthood and the budget — which kicks into high gear this week and could stretch into the winter, on the cusp of voting in early states — as...

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared on one Sunday show — CBS’ “Face the Nation” — after his Friday surprise announcement that he’d be resigning from Congress in about a month.And Boehner used the opportunity to make another firm announcement: There will be no government shutdown this week, despite the efforts of some conservatives to block Planned Parenthood funding. “The Senate is expected to pass a continuing resolution [this] week. The House will take up the Senate bill. We will also take up a select committee to investigate these horrific videos that we have seen from abortion clinics in several...

Boehner's tenure has been viewed with suspicion by many conservatives, and it has coincided with a general loss of faith in the party's leadership. Even so, right wingers give him an undeservedly bad rap. As a Republican speaker with a Democratic president, he never had a chance to do several of the things they clamored for him to do. Sometimes his most critical Republican colleagues' demands that he get rid of Obamacare or, more recently, defund Planned Parenthood, have suggested a fundamental failure to grasp the mechanics of the system of government in which they work. Boehner was not in...

Last week, House Speaker John Boehner decided to retire rather than chance being ousted by his own colleagues. Despite this lucky break, the congressional GOP has little chance of winning back disenchanted Republican voters unless it also shows Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the door. Continued Republican control of the Senate is on the line. A brand-new poll reveals that 72 percent of Republican primary voters are dissatisfied with McConnell and Boehner. Only 2 percent of those polled were “very satisfied” with the party’s two congressional leaders, who the majority believe have accomplished essentially nothing. The situation is actually...

With John Boehner now departing as House speaker, an influential Republican Party official is now seeking the ouster of another GOP leader who has frustrated conservatives: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “McConnell needs to resign!!” Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere wrote in a Facebook posting. Mr. Villere isn’t just any Republican. He’s the longest-serving state GOP chairman in the nation, with 12 years on the job, and is the vice chairman of the Republican National Committee, the GOP’s national governing body. He also serves on the RNC’s executive committee that makes decisions alongside Chairman Reince Priebus. “Mitch is a good...

God is truly merciful – John Boehner has announced he will step down as speaker of the House at the end of October! Boehner – like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – has long conspired against the will of the voters. And scrutiny of their weak and destructive deeds has intensified since the people overwhelmingly voted in a conservative majority in both the House and Senate to stop Barack Obama’s relentless push to destroy America. What does it say about us that we end up with leaders like John Boehner? Boehner promised to defund Obamacare, yet funded it, as he...

Boehner’s surprise decision to quit as speaker of the House all but ensures that Congress will avert an immediate crisis — another government shutdown — but strengthens the renegade Republicans who helped topple him and brought turmoil to the establishment GOP. In the halls of Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, the Republican Party is undergoing an ideological and practical revolt. The insurrection is driven partly by grass-roots activists angry at the failure of mainstream Republican leaders to thwart President Obama’s agenda, and partly by a fierce determination to redefine the party’s future. In the near term, ironically, the...

John Boehner says Barack Obama disrespected him during tax-cut extension battle. On an appearance on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening, incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner scolded Barack Obama for what he says was the disrespect that the president showed him during the battle over extending all of the Bush-era tax cuts. Specifically, Boenher really disliked the time last week when Obama held a press conference to broadly accuse the GOP of taking the American people hostage over their principled stand to ensure that the Bush tax cuts for all income earners get extended. Initially, when asked to comment...

On Capitol Hill today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) delivered a brief statement about the stalled budget negotiations between President Obama and House Republicans in regards to funding the federal government and raising the debt ceiling. “I [am] disappointed that the president refuses to negotiate,” he said. “The House has passed four bills, four bills to [fund] our government,” he claimed, referring to the numerous piecemeal appropriations bills passed by the House of Representatives to fund essential government services. “[Each] of those bills was rejected by the United States Senate.” “Dozens of times [in the past] there have been negotiations...

President Obama has never run a business or been forced to negotiate unless he was in a position of overwhelming strength. He is obviously clueless as to how the real world works. (The Hill) — In the midst of a rebellion from his own colleagues, John Boehner faced a big decision. It was 10 p.m. last Thursday, the most stressful moment of his Speakership. Boehner’s debt-limit bill was short on votes, and the GOP leadership was forced to change the measure so it could attract the support of recalcitrant members. With dozens of reporters staking out the Speaker’s office and...

President Obama’s reelection guaranteed at least one thing for his second term – Obamacare is here here to stay. But that is not going to keep Republicans from trying to chip away at the law. House Speaker John Boehner wrote, in an op-ed, Tuesday that cuts to the president’s landmark legislative achievement should be included in efforts to deal with the looming fiscal cliff. “We can’t afford it, and we can’t afford to leave it intact. That’s why I’ve been clear that the law has to stay on the table as both parties discuss ways to solve our nation’s massive...

President Barack Obama on Monday rejected any negotiation with Republicans over the most pressing U.S. fiscal issue, refusing to trade cuts in government spending in exchange for raising the borrowing limit.