Free Republic

In the fall of 2008, McCain left the campaign trail in a near panic to return to Washington where he voted in favor of a bailout despite significant Republican opposition and concerns expressed at the time. Below is a list of seven of the top 20 (including the top five) donors to John McCain from 2003-2008 as compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. It reads like a who’s who of companies that received bailout cash. In fact, while these companies raised John McCain over $1.7 million, they were bailed out to the tune of some $135 billion.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHORTCOMINGS of the conservative mind is that conservatives generally have moderate intellectual temperaments and therefore don't really grasp the radicalism of the opposition. When the opposition says something that would be absurd if taken to its logical conclusion, we tend to assume that they won't take it there, simply because we wouldn't if we were in their position. Nowhere is this clearer than on the issue of sexual mores. I must caution the reader that the content of this article is shocking and absurd, (not to mention unsuitable for children) but I regrettably cannot say that...

TRENTON - Increases in sales and cigarette taxes, steep education cuts, and a broken campaign promise on property-tax rebates highlight the "painful" $30.9 billion budget that Gov. Corzine will present to the Legislature today. The former Wall Street financier is the only governor in the region to announce new taxes this year. Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and Connecticut enjoy large surpluses as a reward for a half-decade of cuts amid a sluggish economy. The use of tax increases and budget cuts to close a $4 billion shortfall would be "unpleasant and likely unpopular" but would give New Jersey its first...

A distracted celebrity who parachutes into an emergency election on a late-night whim with a political philosophy still under construction resembles a vain elitist more than a populist. "Mobilizing the Machine: Schwarzenegger is harnessing his talent agents and Hollywood contacts to raise funds and rally the electorate," reads a headline in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. This is populism? Rob Lowe, whose previous grass-roots experience includes appearing on NBC's West Wing, will lend a hand. So will the Creative Artists Agency. "Candidate Schwarzenegger wants to cast his agents against type as aides in his run for the California governor's seat," says...