Free Republic

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference next month, despite a snub from the group last year and the ongoing controversy over the George Washington Bridge closures. Christie has accepted an invitation to address CPAC, POLITICO confirmed Monday.

Introduction to the Free Speech ClauseThe issues: What events influenced the thinking of the framers about the right of free speech?  What is the original understanding of the First Amendment? What values does the Free Speech Clause serve?  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment  of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  IntroductionAlthough First Amendment jurisprudence is almost entirely a creation that began in the 20th century, common law...

After the adjurnment of a hearing to investigate the silencing of political opposition to Democrat Barack Obama, Chairman Darrell Issa (R) turned off the microphone of Elijah Cummings (D) before Cummings could make a statement to further distract from the investigation. Cummings then had his apparently planned tantrum for the camera. The Democrats are now claiming outrage at being silenced by having Cummings' microphone turned off. The hypocracy of that seems lost on on the Main Stream Media based on their coverage of the event. Their coverage barely mentions the reason for the hearings or the status of the hearings...

Richmond County Tea Party Patriots and Gun Rights Across America yesterday held a rally in the rain to defeat Gov. Cuomo's unconstitutional and ill-conceived NYSAFE Act. Tea Party Patriots member and American Grizzlies United / Organize4Palin NY State Coordinator, Ron Devito spoke at this rally, beginning at the 21:45 mark in the video. His remarks were covered by the Staten Island Advance. The Richmond County Tea Party Patriots were initially denied the permit to hold the rally, but it was ultimately granted. The denial may or may not be part of a pattern of harassment and intimidation of Tea Party...

The Koch brothers are at it again. Their right-wing political Panzer Division descended on a New York City hospital over the weekend to protest (!) the addition of a new ambulatory care center. What the hell, Koch bros? Why not pro-America?Sorry. That’s not quite right. In fact, it was the New York State Nurses’ Association, the NAACP New York State Conference, and SEIU Local 1199, among others, who marched on the soon-to-be-built David H. Koch Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, which was funded in part by a $100 million donation from the man one prominent liberal recently predicted would...

This is how you think outside of the box.

t's time for a clear, decisive alternative to the Democrats' failed spending policy.The Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday that the U.S. economy is about to go underwater.Issuing its annual long-term budget outlook, the nonpartisan CBO said that current federal tax-and-spend policies could, by the end of the decade, push total U.S. government debt to a point where it is bigger than the entire economy.As if that were not bad enough, the congressional agency further predicted that total debt could reach a level double the size of the economy in 2035, just fifteen years further down the road.If the debate over...

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) exhorted Republicans Friday to rally against fiscal excess, promising a conservative crowd that the country is “on the verge of a great American awakening.” Pence, the House GOP conference chairman, said the simmering unrest that led to Tea Parties since the spring and the march in Washington last month reflected a country angry about the expansion of government. “It’s authentic and it’s real and it’s powerful and it’s American,” Pence told about 2,000 conservatives at the annual conference of Americans for Prosperity, a free-market group. The five-term Hoosier said of the movement: “The politicians aren’t leading...

The media has talked about Paul Ryan's budget as an albatross that would hang from Mitt Romney's neck with or without Ryan on the ticket, and the assumption has been that Ryan himself will also be a net negative for the GOP in November. Democrats tried to proactively damage Ryan's standing with voters by depicting him pushing an elderly woman off of a cliff in May 2011, when Ryan first proposed his comprehensive, long-term budget reform package in May 2011. Rasmussen Reports has reminds us that a July survey showed Ryan's favorability as mainly positive, albeit with a significant number...

Barack Obama must be stopped. Never in my life would I have dreamed that America would see a man in the United States presidency who is distinctly at odds with this country. Never could I have imagined that an enemy of America and the American people would be wormed into the highest position of power in the free world. At this awful point we can dispense with all niceties and undeserved respect for this man who is clearly a danger to the survival of this great nation as it was founded. To say that he is a communist enemy of...

By Andrew W. Griffin Red Dirt Report, editor Posted: August 23, 2009 reddirtreporter@gmail.com OKLAHOMA CITY – While the crowd gathering on the south steps of the State Capitol here in Oklahoma City was smaller than previous protest gatherings in recent months, those in attendance were no less outraged by the Obama Administration’s push for government-run , socialized health care. Health care was the main issue addressed at the “Healthcare Freedom Rally,” organized primarily by the Sooner Tea Party organization. Signs held by concerned Oklahomans included “Hands Off My Healthcare” to the even more straightforward "Don't Kill Me." Some held American...

Michele Bachmann spoke at the Americans for Prosperity Forum in New Hampshire (along with Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum). From her speech you get a good idea of what Bachmann's campaign would be should she choose to run. 25% cut in federal discretionary spending Cancel outstanding stiumulus; return repaid TARP funds to US Treasury Reinstate 1994 welfare reform act with 5 year lifetime cap A balanced budget with no tax increases and no spending increases outside of population growth + inflation Federal government would send letter to every state announcing it will not bail out any...

Time to show you the money. Here are the top ten negative ad spenders in the 2012 campaign as of late at $530 per ad spot, on average including percent of negative ad expenditure: 1. Restore Our Future (Pro-Romney) $16,324,750- 100% 2. American Crossroads / Crossroads GPS $11,376,230- 100% 3. Americans for Prosperity $7,193,160- 100% 4. Mitt Romney $6,369,830- 57% 5. Winning Our Future (Pro-Gingrich) $2,680,100- 75% 6. Red, White, And Blue Fund (Pro-Santorum) $2,249,770- 91% 7. Make Us Great Again (Pro-Perry) $1,676,230- 77% 8. Rick Perry $1,656,310- 60% 9. Ron Paul $1,628,770- 58% 10. Rick Santorum $1,364,620- 100% Source...

The deadline was 4 p.m. The names stand. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12), U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6), and Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34) await certification of at least 1,000 valid petition signatures on the Democratic side. Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and Aleita Eck have filed on the Republican side.

If you asked most Americans today what the biggest threat to our future prosperity is you would get answers like competition from abroad, outsourcing, the subprime mortgage crisis, and the wave of illegal immigration swamping the labor market. Those answers would be wrong. In fact, the biggest threat to Americas’ continued prosperity is the growing disquiet about our economic prospects in the face of those challenges, and the economic populism that is bursting out in response to these fears. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has distilled those fears into the central message of his campaign, but echoes of his message...

No You Can’t by: Allie Winegar Duzett, October 13, 2009 U. S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Car.) was given the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) George Washington Award on October 3 at the 2009 Defending the American Dream Summit for his outstanding work to promote American freedom in the United States Senate. Sen. DeMint’s acceptance speech focused largely on victory for American freedom, and how Americans can make it happen. “We know in this room that when the government says ‘yes we can,’ we need to stand up and say ‘no, you can’t,’” he began, with enthusiastic audience support. He continued...

Liberals Without SIN by: Allie Winegar Duzett, October 13, 2009 Radio host Herman Cain was a popular presenter at the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Defending the American Dream Summit on October 3, 2009. Cain began his speech by quoting the entire second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence—without a teleprompter, much to the audience’s delight. Cain focused his presentation on the idea of conversion: in a world with so many liberals, Cain argued, conservatives need to step up and “save the savable,” those liberals who have not yet lost the ability to see the light. “Don’t go after ‘em all,”...

President Barack Obama and his senior advisers are closely monitoring the situation in Detroit after the city filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, the White House said. "While leaders on the ground in Michigan and the city's creditors understand that they must find a solution to Detroit's serious financial challenge, we remain committed to continuing our strong partnership with Detroit as it works to recover" said Amy Brundage, a White House spokeswoman.

I’m reading the Constitution and I do not see a “Grope or Scan” clause. The TSA is unconstitutional. Let’s eliminate the TSA. If you read my columns regularly, you know that I consider the TSA to be a carcinogenic petting zoo. I nearly always opt out. I object to the scanners on principle of their unconstitutionality. And I am concerned about the possibility of a scanner malfunction (thousands of service calls have been made to the backscatter X-ray machines)—which medical experts warn can result in extremely high radiation exposure. Last week, I was traveling to New Jersey to speak...

Concealed carry comes to Wisconsin today, and Second Amendment fans should be excited that for a scant $50 permit, they can now protect themselves by shooting people in Madison streets. However, they might be bummed to find out that Madison has a bunch of safe havens for those who feel more comfortable when they know people around them aren’t armed. The A.V. Club checked on a few Madison landmarks to give the gun-averse a primer. Monona Terrace Listed reason for banning concealed weapons: The convention center is technically a city-owned building, and Mayor Soglin pledged that no city-owned buildings would...