Free Republic

Well, that was fast. When your humble correspondent first read the New York Times/Kaiser Family Foundation poll this morning showing incumbent Mark Pryor suddenly surging into a ten point lead over challenger Tom Cotton in the Arkansas Senate race, my suspicious antenna immediately sensed something was wrong with the way the poll was conducted. However, I figured the Times wouldn't be so unsubtle as to make it easy to detect how erroneous the results were and that only polling experts would be able to dig through the reams of stats in order to point out the errors. I was wrong....

Republicans need to win six Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber, and most scenarios for victory include the Southern seats up for grabs. A poll out today from the New York Times and the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that may be tougher than first thought. Mark Pryor, considered to be one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the midterms, has a ten-point lead over his Republican challenger, Rep. Tom Cotton: The survey underscores a favorable political environment over all for Republicans in Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas — states President Obama lost in 2012 and where...

While maybe not the political “gaffe of the year,” Sen. Mark Pryor’s (D-AR) remark that his Republican challenger's military service gives him a “sense of entitlement” is certainly up there. Hence why Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) -- who is indeed running to unseat Sen. Pryor -- is now actively campaigning off his opponent’s verbal missteps. If for no other reason, this spot is effective because (as Matt Lewis also notes) it reminds voters that Pryor actually said that. And that’s important to emphasize. I’ve never served in the armed services, of course, but I’m fairly certain one does not return...

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...

Arkansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Lynette Bryant’s complaint against the Arkansas Democratic Party was rebuffed as “misguided” by Democratic National Committee Chairperson Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla). Dr. Bryant took exception to her primary opponent, Mike Ross, being described by Democratic Party officials as “the next governor of Arkansas.” She also protested being barred from speaking at Saline County’s Jefferson Jackson Dinner. “I can understand how Dr. Bryant—an African-American woman—might feel frustrated and belittled by the way she’s been treated,” Wasserman Schultz offered. “However, we need to focus on the big picture. The message of the Democratic Party is that...

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...

(Reuters) - You've heard of the Model T Ford, the famed early 20th-century automobile that was the forerunner of the modern car. But how about the Model T shark? Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of the impeccably preserved fossilized remains of a shark that lived 325 million years ago in what is now Arkansas, complete with a series of cartilage arches that supported its gills and jaws. :snip: Employing sophisticated equipment at the European Synchrotron in France, the scientists used high-resolution X-rays to obtain a detailed view of the shape and organization of the arches and associated structures. They...

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...

Newly released Clinton document describes Internet as ‘right wing’ tool of ‘conspiracy commerce’ Posted By Giuseppe Macri On 6:01 PM 04/18/2014 In | No Comments A previously unreleased White House document among the 7,500 published by the Clinton presidential library Friday warns that the burgeoning Internet of 1995 is being “seized” by the “right wing” and turned into a “communication stream of conspiracy commerce.” The 1995 report, titled “The Communication Stream of Conspiracy Commerce,” describes the Internet as a new method of communication ”employed by the right wing” and used to “convey their fringe stories into legitimate subjects of coverage...

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...

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz threw his support behind T.W. Shannon in Oklahoma's GOP senate primary, The Hill reported. Shannon is a former state House Speaker. This was the first primary endorsement made by Cruz, who has a strong following among tea party-aligned Republicans. The endorsement allows him to honor his pledge not to back insurgents in primaries involving Senate GOP colleagues, The Washington Post reported. Shannon is in an open primary. A special election in November will fill the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn two years before his term ends in 2016. Cruz plans to attend...

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.

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...

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Republican presidential primary is up and running in New Hampshire, where conservative prospects lined up in Manchester Saturday for the first cattle call of the 2016 cycle. Speakers at the New Hampshire Freedom Summit, which was sponsored by Citizens United and Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity, included Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, all of whom would be top tier presidential contenders should they run. Donald Trump also spoke. Huckabee seemed especially determined to show he could compete for conservative votes against politicians like Paul and Cruz, who have each...

First of all, before we get into money talk, color me flabbergasted by the fact that there’s a park where apparently you can find free gems, take them home at your leisure and then sell them. Crater of Diamonds State Park exists, and it’s made one 14-year-old girl way richer than most kids her age.

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."

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...