Free Republic

President Obama and Republican senators had a “good exchange of ideas” this evening during their roughly two-hour-long dinner at the posh Jefferson Hotel, just blocks from the White House, according to a senior administration official. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., gave the meeting a thumbs up as he exited the hotel, saying it was “just fine,” “great” and “wonderful.” McCain told reporters gathered across the street that it was a “very enjoyable evening,” but declined to discuss specifics. Obama invited 12 GOP senators to break bread as part of a larger effort to jump start budget negotiations and try to cut...

Seven Secretaries of State have released a statement criticizing First Lady Michelle Obama for her false claim that Republicans engaged in voter suppression in the November election: “Unfortunately the First Lady’s comments continue the baseless attacks that have been made upon those leaders who are simply taking reasonable steps to protect the security and integrity of elections. This past election speaks for itself. In Arizona, a state that has a photo ID requirement, Hispanic voter turnout was the highest in the state’s history. In Georgia, African American turnout has remained high in each election after the state adopted its photo...

On “Fox News Sunday,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said the GOP has work to do, including embracing “a bigger tent” to attract a bigger constituency. “I think we have to have a bigger tent. That’s — no doubt about it,” McCain said. “And, obviously we have to do immigration reform. There is no doubt whatsoever that the demographics are not on our side. And, we are going to have to give a much more positive agenda. It can’t be just being against the Democrats and against Harry Reid and against Obama. You got to be for things, and we have...

. NBC News : Free Republic's Patton@Bastogne calls-out Myth Romney as a "Pathelogical Political Liar" at the Tampa 2012 GOP Convention ... Patton@Bastogne calls-out Myth Romney as a "Pathelogical Political Liar" in Tampa ...(click) Internet Link: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbcnews.com/48798495 .

GILBERT, AZ- Kirk Adams and his campaign for Congress is proud and honored to announce Governor Sarah Palin will be in the Grand Canyon State Monday, August 27th, to support Kirk Adams. The event will include live music and a family BBQ. The BBQ is set to start at 3:30 pm and will be held at Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert, AZ. Adams and Palin will be serving the food as a way of saying thank you for all the support and encouraging people to get out and vote. Accompanied with the food will be refreshments, live music and several...

As a former business owner, I was shocked by the audacity of our President when he declared, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Someone else made that happen.” That statement not only shows his audacity, it also shows his naiveté. As a business owner, it was common for me to spend 70 to 80 hours a week working to build my business. It was also common to have my employees taking home a larger salary than I paid myself. In fact, I think it was 18 months before I took any salary out of my company just...

Republican Senator John McCain says he chose Sarah Palin over Mitt Romney as his running mate in 2008 because she was a “better candidate,” not because of Romney’s much-discussed tax records. The McCain presidential campaign received 20 years of Romney’s tax records, much more than what the 2012 Republican presidential nominee has revealed to date. Democrats have suggested the McCain campaign passed over Romney because they found something politically damaging. “Of course not,” McCain told Politico when asked if the tax records hurt Romney...

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl stated his belief that “impeachment is always a possibility” regarding President Barack Obama’s recent immigration policy shift, during an appearance Tuesday on the Bill Bennett radio show. “If the president insists on continuing to ignore parts of the law that he doesn’t like, and simply not enforce that law, the primary remedy for that is political,” said Mr. Kyl. “And you have it two ways: one is oversight through the Congress to demonstrate what they’re doing wrong and there are some potential criminal charges there for dereliction of duty. Although, I haven’t looked that up yet....

Two days after losing the special election for Gabrielle Giffords's old House seat, Republican Jesse Kelly has decided to forego a run for Arizona's new 2nd Congressional District this fall. "Looking at the results from Tuesday, we have decided to withdraw from the race for Congress in AZ-02 and to seek other opportunities," Kelly said in a statement Thursday."I will forever be thankful to our generous supporters and volunteers." Kelly's withdrawal vaults Air Force veteran Martha McSally to front-runner status for the GOP nomination in the new district. McSally finished second behind Kelly in the special Republican primary earlier this...

On his show Tuesday night, Ed Schultz took on birthers — specifically those in Iowa and Arizona who have brought President Barack Obama‘s eligibility for office back into headlines recently. He asked, isn’t this just racism? The Iowa GOP chairman, Don Racheter, and Arizona’s secretary of state, Ken Bennett, have recently questioned Obama’s natural-born citizenship (though Bennett said he’s not a birther, he sought verification of Obama’s birth certificate from Hawaii, saying it’s possible he’d take Obama off the ballot otherwise). Schultz asked his guest, Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson, “Is this just another form of racism being played...

Today, Arizona Senator John McCain told CBS This Morning that it's time for Rick Santourm to drop out of the race for the GOP Presidential nomination so Mitt Romney can get to focusing on the important stuff — like picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. Since John McCain probably hasn't forgotten about that one time he was running for President and picked Sarah Palin for his running mate and her abject stupidity kind of sank his Presidential campaign, there has to be some reasonable explanation as to why he'd encourage the Republican candidate for President to do the political...

Some big names in Phoenix business are offering financial support to both U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake and Mesa philanthropist and businessman Wil Cardon in the Republican race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl. Click the image to the right to see high-profile Phoenix business donors backing Flake and Cardon. Cardon just launched his first television ad in the race, in which Flake is the favorite in the primary and general election. Cardon has close to $1.3 million of his own money into the GOP race. Flake has raised $3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. Flake has financial...

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz.— Count one less viewer in the audience when HBO airs "Game Change," its dramatization of the 2008 presidential campaign, which features a scathingly negative portrayal of vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin. "This new movie that comes out, (people) ask me if I'm gonna watch it," Arizona Sen. John McCain told a group of Republican activists on Saturday. "I tell them it'll be a cold day in Gila Bend, Arizona." (For the uninitiated, Gila Bend is a Sonoran Desert town that often appears on weather maps as the nation's hot spot). The made-for-TV movie, based on the...

The topsy-turvey GOP presidential season just flipped again as a new poll shows Mitt Romney has jumped to the lead in both Michigan and Arizona just days before pivotal primaries in both states. The former Bay State governor has 40 percent of the vote to 34 percent for red-hot rival Rick Santorum in Michigan, Rasmussen Reports states today. The survey of likely Republican voters was taken last night a day after the CNN debate where Romney went on the attack against Santorum’s record in the U.S. Senate. Michigan holds its primary Tuesday night. So does Arizona, where Romney is also...

I posted last night and again this morning that Rick Santorum had a terrible debate. But it’s fair also to point out that many of the shots Romney scored on Santorum were cheap shots, as pointed out by George Neumayr at The American Spectator (h/t reader OccamsrazorX): "Romney, at his most hypocritical, labored hard to present himself as more socially conservative than Santorum, noting that Rick had voted for Planned Parenthood funding. Astonishingly, Santorum missed his chance at a return upper cut. Why didn’t he mention that Romney once gave money to Planned Parenthood from his own pocket? Why didn’t...

The mainstream media enjoys analyzing how the candidates performed but rarely replays the meat of an answer given by a candidate. The substance of what Newt Gingrich said in reply to the questions asked by CNNs John King will help Oklahoma voters make their decision of who to vote for in the March 6th Presidential Primary. The first question asked was regarding the candidates’ plan to bring down the national debt. Gingrich’s response was to create jobs and spur economic growth. He also suggested that the Federal government open federal land and offshore areas to energy production. He also mentioned...

Senator John McCain appeared on This Week today from Afghanistan, but before getting onto matters of foreign policy, he weighed in on the Republican contest going on in the United States and continued to speak out forcefully on an issue that has been part of his political identity for over a decade: campaign finance reform. McCain has not been the biggest fan of Super PACs, and McCain today blasted the Supreme Court for its decision in the Citizens United case two years ago. When Jake Tapper asked McCain about how the GOP’s divisive contest may end up handing the election...

An Arizona co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign resigned after announcing that he is gay. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was forced to come out after allegations that he dated a Mexican immigrant and hosted a pornographic online profile. The Romney campaign said they received a call from Babeu and accepted his resignation. "Sheriff Babeu has stepped down from his volunteer position with the campaign so he can focus on the allegations against him. We support his decision," spokesperson Ryan Williams said. Arizona is holding its primary on February 28, and all four candidates will be in the state Wednesday...

Sam Fulwood III explains why Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's disrespectful gesture last week will motivate black voters to support the president in the November election. With a waggle of her right index finger last Wednesday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer erased the question of whether black voters will be enthusiastic about going to the polls in support of President Barack Obama. Now, you can count on it. Gov. Brewer almost guaranteed that large numbers of black voters will turn out on Election Day because they will march to the polls, still angry about Brewer's one-finger salute of the commander-in-chief. Nothing motivates...

Newt Gingrich may have pulled out a shock victory in South Carolina, but he has yet to win the heart of one political analyst. "Newt Gingrich is dangerous on many levels," Meghan McCain told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR's Mac & Gaydos. The Republican daughter of Arizona Sen. John McCain said that Gingrich uses techniques that make the younger McCain dislike politics, including race-baiting. McCain even went so far as to say that, if the election came down to Obama versus Gingrich, she would likely turn to a third-party candidate. "I can't vote for Newt Gingrich," she said. With McCain crossing her...