Free Republic

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker came to the aid of Sen. Ted Cruz Friday after reports that Speaker of the House John Boehner called him a "jackass" during a fundraiser. Appearing on "The Hugh Hewitt Show," the Republican presidential hopeful called Boehner's reported Wednesday night statement "just wrong." Boehner made the comments at a Steamboat Springs event for GOP Rep. Scott Tipton, according to the Daily Caller. "I think it's just wrong," Walker said. "Even though I don't know Sen. Cruz as well as I know some of the governors, I've grown to know him and like him and admire him...

It is tempting to dismiss the latest anti-choice salvo from Ohio lawmakers, which would criminalize abortions based on a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome, as a blatantly unconstitutional ploy that would never be enforced. That would be a mistake. The bill stands a disturbingly good chance of approval this fall by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature A similar bill passed in North Dakota in 2013 bans abortions on the grounds of fetal genetic anomalies, including Down syndrome. The law has not yet been enforced — under existing Supreme Court precedent it is hard to see how it could be — but...

PPP New Hampshire: Trump 35%, Kasich 11, Fiorina 10, Bush and Walker 7, Carson 6, Cruz 4

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Texas’ Sen. Ted Cruz was the hands-down favorite of the Americans for Prosperity annual summit in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend, if the number and volume of ovations during the speeches of five presidential candidates who addressed the annual convention of tea party activists was the measure. The reception to former Gov. Rick Perry’s energetic appearance at the event was somewhat muted by the fact that he was its very last speaker. At the other end of the spectrum was former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a newcomer to events financed by conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch. Bush...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Casting himself as a tax-cutting, passionate government reformer, Jeb Bush drew merely polite applause Friday from thousands of the nation's most-active tea party conservatives gathered at the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers' summit. Only when the Republican presidential candidate wrapped up his 20-minute speech by calling for a military buildup did the more than 3,000 conservatives from around the nation join in a sustained cheer for Bush, a familiar face in American politics but a newcomer in front of the tea party crowd. "I promise you, if I'm elected president of the United States, I will restore the...

Charlotte Ivancic, Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) top health policy aide, is leaving his office to join the lobbying firm Tarplin, Downs & Young, the firm announced Wednesday. Ivancic led the negotiations for Boehner on the repeal of Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate this year. The elimination of the annual Washington headache of automatic cuts to doctors under Medicare, after negotiations with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was a significant achievement. […] Tarplin, Downs & Young was founded in 2006 by former Republican healthcare staffers in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill. It also has former Democratic staffers. …

Charlotte Ivancic -- the older sister of Cate Dyer who runs the biotech company StemExpress, and who discussed and laughed about shipping “intact” aborted baby parts in an undercover video released on Friday – is leaving her position as the health policy adviser to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to go to work for the lobbying firm Tarplin, Downs & Young. The resignation of Ivancic--who worked for Boehner and as legal counsel to the House Budget Committee–was announced on August 5, as reported in The Hill. In late July, StemExpress and its founder and CEO, Cate Dyer, were mentioned in...

Many advocates for revamping immigration laws have tried to coax Congress into action over the years, but a particularly powerful one will be arriving next month: Pope Francis. Lawmakers and immigration activists expect the pontiff’s message will resonate beyond Capitol Hill and inspire members of Congress and their constituents. The pope's U.S. schedule includes an address to Congress on Sept. 24 and a meeting two days later with immigrants and Hispanic families at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. “He’s been clear on our failure to respond appropriately to immigrants and refugees,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told CQ. “I don’t think anyone will...

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson is hoping the momentum of the Donald Trump presidential campaign can lead to the overthrow of House Speaker John Boehner. Erickson recounted on his blog Wednesday that despite the effort by conservative House members like Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Steve King (R-Iowa), Boehner was reinstated as Speaker by a slim margin of victory in January. He credited Boehner’s victory to his ironclad agreement to conservatives that he would fight “tooth and nail” against President Obama’s executive amnesty on the Department of Homeland Security. Boehner broke that promise and funded DHS with barely...

The Quinnipiac poll of battle ground states had some pretty interesting information in it.  Most notably, amongst registered voters of all political stripes, the top 4 names are the same in each of the states polled (Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania).  The four are Rubio, Kasich, Fiorina and Carson, who seem to run the gambit of the GOP, from moderate (Kasich) to establishment conservative (Rubio) and full-on Tea Party outsider (Carson).  And all of them have better numbers than both Clinton and Biden. First, let's look at Florida: Note that Trump is very near the bottom in a very key state. ...

Despite the best efforts of the media to report the details of Hillary Clinton’s ongoing email scandal but not let it disqualify her (like they would do to a Republican), the former First Lady’s poll numbers continue to implode. A new Quinnipiac poll shows her support cratering in the crucial swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The big news is that while Trump doesn’t do as well as Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio against Clinton, he is most certainly a player; just a few points behind. The argument that the billionaire businessman can’t win a general election is...

Very strangely reported poll because the very first thing they highlight is BIDEN vs Bush, Rubio, or Trump. The second thing they highlight is a "third party run" by Trump in which Hillary wins. When they finally get to the real world as it now stands, Trump beats Hillary by two in FL (43-41), Bush wins by 11, Rubio by 12. But neither Bush nor Rubio can beat Trump for the GOP nod there. In OH, Kasich leads Trump 27-21, but in the general, Clinton ahead of Bush by 2, ahead of Trump by 6, Rubio beats Clinton by 2...

Pennsylvania? The last time a Republican won the Keystone State, the Berlin Wall was still in place. Yet Hillary Clinton trails both Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in Quinnipiac’s head-to-head matchups in today’s swing-state polling. She only trails Rubio in Ohio, the must-win state for Republicans, and loses to all three in Florida if the race were held today.And watch out for … Joe Biden. Or not: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clear winners in the Democratic and Republican primaries in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but Vice President Joseph Biden runs as well as...

House Speaker John Boehner made a mistake inviting Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress next month -- and the Israeli prime minister erred by accepting, legendary conservative pundit Pat Buchanan says. "I disagree with what John Boehner did and I disagree with what the prime minister did," Buchanan said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show," on Newsmax TV. Netanyahu is set to address Congress on the dangers of Iran's growing nuclear program on March 3 following an invitation by Boehner. But Boehner did not follow normal protocol by coordinating the invite with the Obama administration, which then announced the president...

Our nation cannot be stifled because of one man. That our Constitution protects against the inevitability of a totalitarian president proves what a magnificent structure was built in Philadelphia in 1787. But when one man stands as guard against the remedies inherent in the Constitution, because the would-be king considers him a lieutenant, that man must not only be removed but hurled from power lest the nation succumb to the darkness of despotism. This nation came to be through the unequivocal recognition that the right of the people to govern is not only the best way to achieve liberty and...

Sen. Sherrod Brown announced Friday he is going to block the confirmation of a high-level White House nominee, because of the Obama administration's refusal to relax its secrecy protocols that make it difficult for members of Congress and their staffs to review the language in a Pacific Rim trade deal.Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, told NPR it was "outrageous" that congressional staff members with the proper security clearances can view the Trans-Pacific Partnership draft only when a member of Congress accompanies them. As NPR's Ailsa Chang reported in May, the document is stored in a highly secure room in the...

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO Northern California Republican who ran as a conservative to get the Republican Senate nomination in 2010, attacked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Wednesday, saying there was “no honor” in his fight to defund Obamacare. Fiorina made her remarks just days after she joined the American Conservative Union, an establishment organization on the right that supports comprehensive immigration reform. In an appearance on CNN’s The Lead, Fiorina blamed the government shutdown on Cruz and implied that Republicans would have been better off waiving the white flag from the beginning on eliminating Obamacare. -snip- Fiorina said she...

The former Joisey governor Christie took a few shots at the Donald but called him a “great guy and a good person” while explaining why he thought he’s unsuited for the presidency. Watch below: Everyone’s takin’ shots at the Donald because they’re all total losers! You can tell Christie just has blood coming out of his… wherever.

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) had been planning to call up on the House floor last week a measure from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) that would have removed him as Speaker of the House if it succeeded—intending to embarrass Meadows—but abandoned the plan after his entire leadership structure learned that they did not have the votes to re-elect him as Speaker before the August recess. “[House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy was making phone calls—he was whipping it—and so was [House Majority Whip] Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA),” a senior conservative movement leader who’s had many personal and direct discussions with...

Principled limited government constitutional conservative Ken Cuccinelli, Chairman of Liberty Now PAC, issued a powerful appeal for Virginians to demand their Representatives in Congress support Rep. Mark Meadows' motion to vacate the Chair and oust John Boehner as Speaker of the House. Cuccinelli writes: An amazing thing happened the other day, although it hasn’t gotten much attention… yet! On Tuesday, North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows courageously submitted a “Motion to Vacate the Chair.” The “Chair” in this case is Speaker Boehner. If successful, Congressman Meadows’ motion would remove Congressman Boehner as Speaker of the House, and allow for a vote...