Free Republic

Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) 18% is endorsing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) 58% for Speaker of the House of Representatives. Gutierrez, perhaps the most extreme open-borders advocate in Congress, was interviewed on MSNBC. As CNN is now reporting, “Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez on MSNBC called Ryan one of the smartest men in the GOP. ‘He would be good for the country,’ Gutierrez said. Paul Ryan is the kind of individual that would work with people on the other side of the aisle and that’s what we need.'” , the Gang of Eight bill would have been sent to President Obama’s...

In what has become an all-too-frequent occurrence, Fox News wasted no time taking a swipe at conservatives. We've seen it plenty of times now -- from commentators having meltdowns because their establishment candidate isn't the frontrunner to openly criticizing conservatives as out of touch or crazy. Now, the race for Speaker of the House is up in the air, and Fox News has singled out a certain conservative candidate as the possible culprit. Some of the Fox News bias really came to light with the ascendance of Donald Trump. Trump is certainly no conservative, but he speaks out against the...

Friday on MSNBC, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) doesn’t want to be House Speaker because he would have to work with the “extreme” Republicans who want to take away the rights of gays, woman and minorities.

The reason Rep. Kevin McCarthy abruptly pulled his name from the running for the job as House speaker Thursday may be exactly as he explained – his untoward comments attributing a political purpose to a House committee investigating Benghazi. Or it may have been something else – as speculation swirled on Thursday about an alleged affair with another member of Congress. And if that was the case, one report is suggesting people look to the Obama administration for a level of involvement. Because the trail could link back to the administration’s Department of Homeland Security.

Having Talked to several senior aides on Capitol Hill (along with Chris Stirewalt and his sources on the Hill tied to the leadership) here is the picture that is beginning to form. Speaker John Boehner has agreed to stay on as Speaker--not just until the Caucus nominates someone --but, until that person can confirm 218 votes on the House floor (needed to take the Speaker’s gavel). Short of that – Boehner will stay on for the rest of this Congress and steer legislation that is pending.

ICYMI: CRUZ: We Have No Business Getting in the Middle of the Syrian Civil War; Goal Should be to Defeat ISIS Speaks with WRKO’s Jeff KuhnerHOUSTON, Texas – Today U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke with The Kuhner Report regarding the Obama administration’s disastrous foreign policy, the 2016 presidential race and the President’s decision to politicize the tragedy in Oregon.Below is an excerpt. Listen to the full interview here:Ted Cruz on the Kuhner Report (Audio)“I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send...

Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stunned House colleagues when he announced that he would withdraw from the race to be the next House Speaker. In the immediate aftermath, Rep. Charlie Dent says "anything is possible now." To get anything done "we might have to assemble a bipartisan coalition, that’s the reality of this place," Dent told CNN moments after McCarthy withdrew from the race. REP. CHARLIE DENT: The next Speaker should not appease those who make unreasonable demands. There are a number of members of our conference. You cannot get the yes on anything. For them the end will be...

Hopefully that’s just a bluff Boehner is using to twist the arms of House conservatives who’d otherwise object to another center-right Speaker. Line up behind Ryan, Boehner is saying, or else I’ll stick around and make your lives even more miserable. What his leverage is in doing that isn’t immediately clear to me; wasn’t the whole reason he quit in the first place because he wasn’t sure he had the votes to survive the challenge being led by Rep. Mark Meadows to oust him? But maybe this little nudge will be enough to convince the Freedom Caucus to give Ryan...

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he will stay in the top post in the House of Representatives until his successor is elected, adding that he would announce the date of that vote later. "We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks," the Ohio Republican said in a statement released after the surprise withdrawal of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy from the race.

Powerful Republican Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) stood firm on Thursday in his desire not to become the next Speaker of the House. Ryan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued a statement after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy shocked the GOP when he abruptly ended his candidacy to replace Speaker John Boehner. "While I am grateful for the encouragement I've received, I will not be a candidate," Ryan said. "I continue to believe I can best serve the country and this (Republican) conference as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee." CNN reported McCarthy was with his wife...

<p>McCarthy's demise comes hard on the heels of Boehner bowing out of the speakership as a sort of human sacrifice to the tea party right. And it happens as Donald Trump is in the midst of his fourth consecutive month as the Republican front-runner for the party's presidential nomination -- and with Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, two other people who have never held elected office before, running in second and third place, respectively.</p>

Columbus — Gov. John Kasich is no longer the leading Republican presidential candidate among Ohio voters, according to a new poll released Oct. 7. Registered Republican voters in the state have shifted their support to business mogul Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who received 23 percent and 18 percent support, respectively, in the latest Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey. Kasich was third with 13 percent, down from 27 percent in August and ending a string of Quinnipiac polls where he was atop the GOP field in his home state. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and businesswoman Carly Fiorina were...

Conservative frustration over Republican efforts to force a House vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank boiled over Wednesday during a contentious GOP meeting. Members of the conference’s conservative wing criticized Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) at the meeting for moving to file a discharge petition to bring a vote on legislation renewing the embattled bank’s charter for five years, after it lapsed June 30 because of Tea Party opposition. "A lot of people don't like that we're doing a discharge petition. You know what? I don't like it. I wish we could've done something in committee," Fincher said in an interview...

<p>Quinnipiac has Trump up in FL 28-16 (up SEVEN from last ) over Carson, 14 Rubio, 12 for Bush, 6 Cruz.</p> <p>Q is salvaging that Buden beats Trump and, according to Q Trump's unfavorables have gone 180 back to 35-50.</p> <p>Really pushing the draft Biden movement.</p>

It probably wasn’t the best idea for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the presumptive successor to outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner, to suggest that Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers were sinking due to the existence of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The Clinton Team already has a campaign ad about it, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who is challenging McCarthy for the speakership, called the remarks “absolutely terrible.” In a second salvo, House Democrats are aiming to dissolve the Select Committee on Benghazi tonight, with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) proposing the Rules Committee eliminate it tonight, though it’s bound to...

Sen. Ted Cruz will meet with a group of House Republicans one day before they're scheduled to vote for a new senior leadership team. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has invited the Texas Republican, leading presidential contender, to address his Conservative Opportunity Society at a Wednesday breakfast meeting. The agenda, according to the invitation, is "conservative strategy for the remainder of the year." Cruz has meddled in House affairs on several occassions, advising supportive insurgent Republicans in the chamber on key legislation and strategic matters. However, it's unclear if Cruz, who ranks fifth in the Washington Examiner's presidential power rankings, plans...

Speaker John Boehner is considering delaying the internal election for House majority leader and majority whip, leaving only the party vote for speaker to be decided on Thursday, according to multiple Republican sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) is circulating a letter requesting a delay in the elections for the No. 2 and No. 3 slots in leadership. There is also widespread interest in considering a change in internal party rules that would force candidates to resign chairmanships and leadership slots to run for new office.  There is serious unrest in the House Republican...

I was a a Maker Faire today and noticed a 60ish man wearing a shirt with the words "United We Stand" and "9-11-2001" on it. Thinking he might be a fellow traveler, I struck up a conversation and asked him who was supporting for President. "Not Biden, not Biden," he said. "I don't want Hillary either. Um, what is his name? Oh yeah, Boehner!" (He pronounced it properly as 'Bayner'.) "Boehner?" I replied. "Are you sure you mean Boehner?" "Yeah, Boehner," he insisted. I took pity on him. "Do you mean 'Bernie'? Bernie Sanders?" "Yes, that's who it is," said...

In 2013, Fiorina said of Cruz’s effort to defund Obamacare: "Everyone could see this train wreck coming. I actually feel bad for John Boehner. And I think Ted Cruz’s tactics were wrong. There is no honor charging a hill that you know you can’t take — only casualties. Although Ted Cruz may have gotten name recognition and money along the way." She stood by those comments in an interview with Glenn Beck: " We all want to repeal Obamacare. But here’s what was different then: We did not have a majority. We did not have a majority."

Speaker of the House John Boehner’s unexpected resignation last week has caused many observers to question his decision and its timing. Theories have ranged from Boehner’s health taking an unexpected turn for the worse to Boehner being charged with some sort of crime. However, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has come forward with what he claimed was the real reason that Boehner has resigned his post.