Free Republic

Well, if this isn't a burgeoning political headache for the party of “tolerance” and “inclusiveness,” I don't know what is. An Arkansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate has filed two complaints against state organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party. She claims Arkansas Democrats snubbed her at a dinner by refusing to let her speak, and on a separate occasion, referred to her primary opponent as “the next governor of Arkansas”…as she sat and listened. From ABC’s affiliate KATV: Arkansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Lynette Bryant has filed a complaint against the Democratic Party of Arkansas and the Saline County Democratic Party...

The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exemption for a conservative charity, saying the group’s criticism of Hillary Clinton and John Kerry violated rules against political activity. The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty engaged in “deliberate and consistent intervention in political campaigns,” according to the IRS decision released Friday and first reported by USA Today... Tax-exempt groups are restricted from engaging in certain political activity, including participating in partisan campaigns in support or opposition to a candidate. The IRS said the Patrick Henry Center violated this rule, in part, by publishing “alerts” on its website that highlighted columns by...

Prop 19 went down in smoke, but the world's fifth biggest economy passed three propositions that address its yearly budget crisis. One makes it better and two make it worse, according to Bond Buyer. First, California voters passed Prop 25 to allow the legislature to pass a state budget without a 2/3 supermajority. This was the main obstacle to passing a budget this year for over 100 days past due. Arkansas and Rhode Island are the only states that still require a supermajority to pass the budget, and Rhode Island is another fiscal disaster. Second, California voters passed Prop 26...

To win the Senate, Republicans must win North Carolina. While it’s mathematically possible to take the Senate without ousting Democratic senator Kay Hagan, the chances of that happening are close to zero. For Republicans, North Carolina is necessary. It’s the key to control of the Senate. Obama Hagan It’s number six on my list. That is, there are five states where capturing Democratic seats appears more likely—West Virginia, South Dakota, Montana, Louisiana, Arkansas. Then comes North Carolina. Assuming Republicans don’t lose any of their own seats, those six pickups would give Republicans a 51-49 majority. And with it, the political...

April 18, 2014 CUMMINGS’ “MCCARTHYISM” CHARGE IN LERNER HEARING IS BOGUSM.Stanton Evans Five plus decades after he left the national scene, Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Wis) remains the target of inaccurate charges by leftward elements in Congress and the press corps.The latest example in this vein is the uproar over IRS official Lois Lerner, who took the Fifth Amendment before the House Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), concerning hostile treatment of conservative groups seeking tax exemptions,. Having proclaimed her innocence of wrongdoing, Lerner then refused to discuss specifics, pleading possible self-incrimination. This led Issa and his GOP...

Four straight polls of the Arkansas Senate race have found Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) leading challenger Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR). Although some of the polls are from Democratic-leaning groups and each of the polls find him with a razor-thin lead, the fact that a rough handful of surveys found Pryor in the lead is notable given that Pryor is considered one of the most endangered Democrats in the 2014 election cycle.

Nearly a dozen Senate Democrats, including five up for re-election this year, are pressing President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, and they say they want a decision by the end of next month. Most Republicans support the pipeline, but the 11 Democrats who wrote a letter to Mr. Obama urging him to approve the project deliberately made it a one party-effort. While a set of bipartisan signatures can be a powerful thing in the art of Washington letter-writing, these lawmakers clearly want to accentuate the pressure Mr. Obama faces from his own party on this issue. “It’s...

A plan, now stealthily making its way through state legislatures with astonishing speed, would junk the Electoral College and award the presidency to the winner of the popular vote. The plan involves an Interstate Compact where states would commit to select electors pledged to vote for the national popular vote winner regardless of how their own state voted. When enough states pass this law, sufficient to cast 270 votes which is the majority of the Electoral College, it will take effect. So far, nine states and the District of Columbia, casting 136 electoral votes, have joined. This is halfway to...

A successful Hollywood producer who had an insider’s view of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign claims she heard Bill Clinton say that Barack Obama is not eligible to be president. Bettina Viviano – who started her own film production company in 1990 after serving as vice president of production for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment – told WND that it was common knowledge among delegates committed to Hillary that the Clintons believed Obama was constitutionally ineligible and that Bill Clinton would eventually disclose his belief to the public. The Clintons were the original “birthers,” Viviano told WND in an interview in...

Just saw news flash - BLM is pulling out over concerns for safety.

A controversy in Waldron led to a parade of Confederate flags Tuesday evening to protest a ban implemented by officials at Waldron High School. Students who displayed the Confederate flag flying on the back of their pickup trucks were asked by school officials to remove them while on school property. The superintendent, Gary Wayman, said there have been complaints and some consider the display "offensive." Wayman said the students were flying the Confederate flags from the back of poles attached to their trucks. There were mixed feelings among students and others who gathered Tuesday to fly a parade of flags...

On paper, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) should be this cycle’s most endangered incumbent.But rumors of his political death might have been premature.Eight months from Election Day, the centrist Democrat is still neck and neck with or ahead of his GOP opponent in private and partisan polls. An independent poll this week showed Pryor up 3 points and a second on Thursday put him up 10 points, despite a sour national climate and $6 million in negative ads already spent against him.Armed with a top recruit in freshman Rep. Tom Cotton, Republicans thought this was the year they would finally take...

There are bishops and there are bishops. Indeed, the Diocese of Little Rock had four of them before a priest named Andrew McDonald came out of Savannah, Ga., to become the fifth, and Lord willing there will be many others to come after. Yet when people in these parts referred to the bishop, there was no doubt whom they meant. For the bishop would spend 28 years here in Arkansas, and many had known no other. Yes, there were bishops before the Very Rev. Andrew J. McDonald and there would be other bishops after him, but there was none like...

In the small town of Waldron, Ark., — population 3,600, smack-dab in the middle of the Razorback State and surrounded by lakes and a mountain range — they love hunting and fishing and their Turkey Track Bluegrass Festival. Some of the high school students also love to fly Confederate flags from their trucks, a tradition they say signifies they’re proud of their “heritage” and where they live. But those reasons didn’t fly with the brass at Waldron High School, who see the flags as potentially offensive and have threatened to suspend three boys — and possibly hold them back from...

An ethics panel has dismissed a complaint that accused Arkansas congressman and Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Tom Cotton of illegally soliciting contributions during a radio interview at his office in the U.S. Capitol. However, former Arkansas Chief Justice Jack Holt filed a new complaint Wednesday against Cotton. Holt is asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to consider whether Cotton broke House rules by not specifying clients for whom he provided consulting services.

It's not likely the race for president in 2016 will pit former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and former Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol predicted. "I'm willing to go out on a limb," Kristol told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. "I think there's no way there will be a Bush-Clinton race in 2016."

Democrats are facing a senior problem that could get even worse this year. The party has traditionally had trouble with older voters, losing the group aged 65 and over by 21 points in 2010 — when Republicans picked up 63 seats — and by 12 points in the 2012 presidential race. Seniors are the GOP’s most reliable voting bloc in midterm years, turning out in higher numbers than Democratic base voters. A recent Gallup poll showed seniors have become even more Republican over the last two decades; in 2013, 48 percent considered themselves Republican. That spells trouble for Democrats, who...

After NBC's "Meet The Press" host David Gregory ran an anti-ObamaCare ad targeting Sen. Mark Pryor from Arkansas featuring a couple with a southern accents questioning the confusing nature of the Affordable Care Act, Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker objected to Americans for Prosperity using people with southern accents in political ads running in Arkansas: "I think you could find someone who doesn't have a southern accent who is confused by this act," Parker said. "We always seem to find the character who seems a little countrified, who can't just fathom this. You know there there are plenty of smart...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told about 70 Republican House members Wednesday that he is considering another run for the White House — but that campaign cash remains a key issue for him. Huckabee had deep support among social conservatives during his 2008 presidential bid, but he never won over establishment-minded Republicans and ended that campaign broke. Huckabee told lawmakers Wednesday that he feels more confident about his ability to raise cash ahead of the 2016 race, according to Huckabee advisers and GOP officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak...

The City of Little Rock is encouraging residents and businesses to join millions world-wide to raise awareness about climate change by switching off non-essential lighting for Earth Hour – Saturday March 29, 2014 at 8:30 p.m. local time. Little Rock is one of more than 7,000 cities and towns around the world expected to take part in the world's largest voluntary environmental action. "As good stewards of the environment, we encourage Little Rock residents, businesses and organizations to participate in Earth Hour this Saturday by turning off all non-essential lights," said Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola. "The City has made...