Free Republic

Sometime before Barack Obama's strong showing on Super Tuesday, the Washington Post observed that the senator had been campaigning across this great land on a "platform of hope and change." Whether or not the Post was being arch, they had it about right. Obama rarely speaks about policy specifics; "hope" and "change" are the two dominant messages he preaches on the stump. But he has two secondary themes: "straight talk" and "unity." They don't receive nearly as much attention: Perhaps because an examination of them shows Obama to be a somewhat conventional political figure. During the course of his standard...

Unity is one of the big themes of the current election. People get unified in two different ways. Unity comes either from a common threat from the outside, or from leadership emerging from the inside. Who can forget the shock and the surge of patriotism that followed the 9/11 attacks? The political and social divisions that define calmer times disappeared and we all became Americans. We were united behind our president, whose approval ratings went beyond 90 percent. Over the few short years since that shock, circumstances have changed. President Bush, once wildly popular, is now wildly unpopular. Last month,...

The combination of scrupulous proportionality of elected delegates and the generous profusion of super-delegates sets the party on a collision course.

Are John McCain’s supporters trying to drive conservatives away from their candidate? Senator McCain is the inevitable Republican presidential nominee. He is headed, though, for a defeat of McGovernite dimensions if he can’t sway conservatives to get behind his candidacy. For their part, conservatives don’t want McCain, but even less do they want to spend the next four-to-eight years saying “President Obama,” let alone reliving history with another President Clinton. In short, there are the makings here for a modus vivendi, however grudging. Yet, McCain’s admirers appear to think belittling the senator’s good-faith opponents is the way to go. Theirs...

How conservative is Mr. McCain? During his quarter century in Washington, the senator has assembled an 82% rating from the American Conservative Union, placing him 39th among senators in 2006, while drawing a 25% lifetime rating from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, has a 75% ACLU lifetime rating. A scorecard by the antitax Club for Growth, a conservative political-action committee, ranked him 29th among 55 Republican senators in 2006.

Seattle, WA – One day after his chief rival for the GOP nomination dropped out, Sen. John McCain said among his priorities is now unifying a divided Republican party.“We are very aware that there is some unification of the party that has to take place,” McCain said during a media availability on his plane Friday.While the presumptive GOP nominee said he will continue his effort to outreach to party conservatives, some of whom remain skeptical about his record and credentials, McCain said he will not limit his message to the right in the coming months.“I am trying to appeal to...

"I look forward to setting a date for meeting with [Romney] and continuing our efforts as we pledged yesterday to unite the party and move on to victory in November," McCain said in Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday. Despite McCain's primary wins from coast-to-coast on Super Tuesday, conservatives have expressed uneasiness or outright hostility to his candidacy, including conservative radio talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Laura In-gra-ham. "I think Americans need a choice," Huckabee said during a campaign stop in Olathe, Kansas. "This idea that the process of an election becomes a coronation is about as far away...

I am starting to get a little concerned about the race for the GOP nomination. Everyone likes to say that each candidate appeals to a specific wing of the party, but the real problem is the fact that almost every candidate has become utterly unacceptable to a large portion of the party. Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are completely unacceptable to social conservatives. Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, but he is still one-step above Romney because he's honest about it. Giuliani sticks to his convictions, and that counts with social conservatives. Romney is the bottom of the barrel...

Unifying GOP/Conservative bases, expand our base and bring and and activate new youth action groups. We can counter Obama-ism this way and fight Team Hill-Bill slime machine better too.

DECLARATION TO 2008 GENERAL CONFERENCE DELIVERED BY: REV. JERRY P. KULAH DISTRICT SUPERINTENDET MONROVIA DISTRICT CONFERENCE LIBERIA AREA, UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 13TH STREET, SINKOR, P.O. BOX 1010 MONROVIA, LIBEIRA DELIVERED TO: A CONFERENCE FOR GENERAL AND JURISDICTIONAL CONFERENCE DELEGATES AND ALL UNITED METHODIST COMMITTED TO THE RENEWAL AND UNITY OF THE CHURCH DATE: 26 -27 OCTOBER, 2007 GREETINGS: Dr. Maxie Dunnam and members of the Invitation Committee of this unique and historic Conference, leaders and members of the Renewal and Reform Coalition Movements within the United Methodist Church, delegates to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences, my brothers and sisters committed...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20080106-05 January 6, 2008 Iraqi Army, Iraqi Security Volunteers strengthen their unity 2nd BCT Public Affairs, 82nd Abn. Div. Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO BAGHDAD – Key leaders from the Iraqi Army and the local volunteer security force in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighborhood held a summit Jan. 3 to discuss the way forward. The meeting was attended by Maj. Gen. Mushir, commander of the 11th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Riyad Al Samarrae, the contractor in charge of the local Iraqi Security Volunteers, as well as the IA and ISV leaders. At the meeting, IA and...

In the aftermath of the Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus, there are some important lessons to be learned by the Republican establishment and conservative voters. First, it must be recognized that among the three blocks of Republican voters, specifically, fiscal conservatives; national security conservatives; and religious/social conservatives, no dimension of the conservative constituency can be taken for granted. Religious conservatives affirmed by their high voter turnout, and overwhelming support of Governor Huckabee, that their support for any Republican candidate in a general election is paramount. The nation is divided along party lines, and any Republican Presidential nominee cannot win a general...

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against joining tribal councils fighting al-Qaida or participating in any unity government, in a new Internet audiotape on Saturday. "The most evil of the traitors are those who trade away their religion for the sake of their mortal life," bin Laden said in the tape. He denounced Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the Anbar Awakening Council, a tribal force fighting al-Qaida in western Iraq, who was killed in a bombing in September. Bin Laden said U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeking to set up a "national unity government" joining...

CAMP TAJI — Sheiks of all tribes, Iraqi Army and Police leaders, representatives of the Iraqi government and leaders from the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division and Multi-National Division-Baghdad gathered at an Iraqi Police station in Nassir Wa Salam, to discuss further steps to advance bringing the region back to the government of Iraq during the Northwest Baghdad Regional Security Summit, Dec 6. Approximately 1,000 sheiks and local leaders attended the second installment in a series of reconciliation meetings that have taken place between the Sunni and Shia sheiks in the 1st Cavalry Division’s area of operations. Tribal and...

NAJAF — Shia and Sunni religious leaders met in Najaf Tuesday to discuss peace and unity in Iraq. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the top-ranking Shia cleric in Iraq, hosted the meeting, calling for an end to the sectarian violence that has plagued the country. Leading Sunni religious figures also attended, including Sheikh Khalid al-Mullah of the Sunni Muslim Scholars Association. "Multi-National Force - Iraq applauds these religious leaders, who are reaching across sectarian lines to end the bloodshed," said Rear Adm. Greg Smith, MNF-I spokesman. Smith added that, while there have been other meetings between clerics and religious scholars from...

Twenty-five years ago this week, in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, Ronald Reagan wrote that America was set apart from other nations in an uncommon way. He said that it was his belief that ‘a divine plan placed this great continent here between the oceans to be found by people from every corner of the Earth, who had a special love of faith and freedom.’ America’s love of faith and freedom is as strong today as it was 25 years ago, or indeed 225 years ago. We are in a political season now, and sometimes it might feel that there is much...

From the desk of Todd Harris, communications director to Fred Thompson: "There is no room for this kind of smut in a Republican primary election. While there are certainly issues our campaigns disagree on, we are united by far more than that which divides us. One of our candidates is going to emerge from this process as the standard bearer for all Republicans, and we will need a united party to win next year. This kind of robo-dial bigotry which tears down Republicans today will only serve to prop up Democrats tomorrow. It has to end and end now."

We need unity – but what we don't need is compromise. The only thing this latest endorsement shows us is that our leaders are divided. The good news is that the grass roots are not. The two best indicators of where values voters stand are those who attended the Values Voter Presidential Debate and Summit where Gov. Mike Huckabee won both contests with more votes than all of the other candidates – combined. The 5-to-1 margin in both was clear – the leaders may be divided, but the values voters are not. ... Our leaders are divided and on the...

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2007 – A remarkable parade in Iraq’s Anbar province, openly attended by citizens from all walks of life, demonstrates that Iraqi reconciliation efforts are working, a coalition commander said today. “Out in al Anbar, which you know has been a difficult area about six months ago: a total change,” Army Brig. Gen. Dave Phillips told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from Baghdad. “When they say there is an awakening, I think that's almost an understatement.” Phillips, deputy commanding general for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, said he personally attended an event earlier this...