Free Republic

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan Conservatives and liberals may disagree on reasons, motivations, and excuses for Barack Obama's performance, but the facts are still facts. There may be many reasons that a pro football coach goes 1-15, but everyone can agree that his record is still 1-15, right? Well, here are some basic facts about how the country is faring with Barack Obama in the White House. Take a look at the numbers, sans commentary, and make your own judgment about whether Barack Obama deserves...

<p>Americans will be "f**ked" if Barack Obama gets re-elected ... this according to Beach Boys singer Bruce Johnston.</p>

Yesterday I told you about the Obama campaign’s (new fictional character Julia) She is a government moocher used to push that wholesome totalitarian ideal that Big Brother should be there to watch over us from cradle to grave using the power of the Nanny State. You may be wondering though, why is the character named Julia? There is an obvious but brilliantly subtle answer picked up by (It's Only Words)Julia is of course one of the main characters in George Orwell’s dystopian vision of the future Nineteen Eighty-Four. She is an overzealous proponent of her government who rebels against its...

The 2012 election has often been described as the most pivotal since 1860. This statement is not hyperbole. If Barack Obama is re-elected the United States will never be the same, nor will it be able to re-capture its once lofty status as the most dominant nation in the history of mankind. The overwhelming majority of Americans do not understand that Obama's first term was dedicated to putting in place executive power to enable him and the administration to fulfill the campaign promise of "transforming America" in his second term regardless of which political party controls Congress. That is why...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: A couple of stories here from the Associated Press. The first one: "US Applications for Unemployment Aid Drop Sharply -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week by the most in nearly a year. The figure was a hopeful sign that hiring could pick up in coming months." This is a seesaw. Just yesterday we had the news from ADP that new jobs were paltry, 119,000. Now, this report contradicts what ADP put out yesterday. "US Applications for Unemployment Aid Drop Sharply," which means fewer people are supposedly out of work. Now, we've told...

Brown: Is Progressivism the new Communism? In politics, truth-telling can get you into trouble, even if you stumble upon it by accident. Just ask Rep. Allen West (R-FL). West is feeling the heat for a pregnant pause he took during a town hall meeting after he was asked "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists or International Socialists?" "It's a good question," West responded, "I believe there's [sic] about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. (Long pause) "They don't actually hide. It's called the Congressional Progressive...

I have several amusing posts about the left’s fixation on redistributionism, including this Halloween classic, this Elizabeth Warren takedown, this mockery of the Occupy Wall Street nitwits, and this caricature of Obama’s class warfare. In this grand tradition, here’s a funny poster sent to me by a reader.This is an appropriate point for the disclaimer that Obama is not a socialist, which technically requires government ownership of the means of production. As I’ve explained before, it’s much more accurate to say he’s a statist, a corporatist, or a redistributionist.And since we’re looking at definitions and this post features young children,...

The highest elected official in the United States dished out an extra helping of irony yesterday when, in speaking at a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Barack Obama slammed the Supreme Court as an “unelected group of people” who will have turned to “judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint” if they strike down Obamacare. The President’s remarks imply that the Court, were it to rule the individual mandate unconstitutional, would be acting recklessly in undertaking judicial review of Congress’ unprecedented use of the Commerce Clause to force Americans...

Obama said that Republicans have “one message and that is, we’re going to make sure that we cut people’s taxes even more — so that by every objective measure our deficit is worse and we will slash government investments that have made this country great,” he argued, “not because it’s going to balance the budget, but because it’s driven by our ideological vision about how government should be. That’s their agenda, pure and simple.” You learn a lot from Professor Obama, don’t you? You may have thought the Founding Fathers, who strongly believed in low taxes, small government, and...

President Obama hits the road this week to try to shake off two persistent political liabilities — Keystone XL and Solyndra — and their ongoing damage to his re-election hopes. Instead of shying away from these two political hot potatoes, Mr. Obama seems determined to try to change the public’s mind about them — or at least explain how they fit into his stated “all of the above” approach to energy. It won’t be an easy task, especially with voters worried that rising gas prices could thwart the economic recovery and political opponents charging that Mr. Obama is more committed...

This week marks two years since of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and if the Obama administration has chosen to all but ignore the second anniversary of Obamacare, the rest of us should pause and reflect on just what a monumental failure of policy the health-care-reform law has been. What’s more, it has been a failure on its own terms. After all, when health-care reform was passed, we were promised that it would do three things: 1) provide health-insurance coverage for all Americans; 2) reduce insurance costs for individuals, businesses, and government; and 3) increase...

Longtime readers of my columns know that my favorite movie is “Braveheart,” Mel Gibson’s 1995 tale of Scottish leader William Wallace. One of my favorite lines from that film is Wallace’s rebellious reply to a statement uttered by the English princess regarding compromise with a tyrant — in this case Edward Longshanks, the ruthless King of England. “Peace is made in such ways,” the princess naïvely proclaims to our hero. “Slaves are made in such ways!” Wallace snaps. Therein lies the truth of dealing with the treachery of Barack Obama, whose policies are turning America into a nation of slaves....

That agenda is to lead us to European-style socialism. Despite the fact that socialism has caused the European economy to tank. Despite the fact its results have fomented rioting in the streets. Despite the fact that it has failed miserably. But Obama and his cohorts have an agenda, the agenda of the elites who feel they know better than the rest of us. In addition, they have the mistaken impression that any rights We the People may have, derive from government. They, as the ruling class will decide what rights we may or may not enjoy, a concept anathema to...

Some 10,215 new federal regulations from the Obama administration are costing consumers, businesses and the economy overall $46 billion annually, more than five times the regulatory price tag of former President Bush in his first three years in office. Worse: just implementing those regulations had a one-time additional cost of $11 billion, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis provided to Washington Secrets.

When Barack Obama became president of the United States, he swore an oath to "preserve, protect and defend our Constitution." Unfortunately, evidence has accumulated ever since that he feels no obligation to honor his commitment. In fact, Mr. Obama has been violating that oath, left and, well, left. Here are a few of the most egregious examples: Under the president's health care legislation, now universally known as Obamacare, Americans are compelled to purchase health care. The constitutionality of this measure is being tested in court at this writing. But such a mandate smacks of big-government overreach that must be struck...

If you thought Barack Obama’s first term was bad, you don’t want to see a second. The verdict is in on the last three years. President Obama has produced a steady stream of broken promises, failed policies, and misplaced priorities. However, he still claims a second term will be different. It will. It just won’t be better. We have seen the liberal agenda the president has pursued over the last three years: government run healthcare, cap-and-trade, pet projects disguised as “stimulus,” card-check, taxpayer-funded loans to now-bankrupt energy companies, and reckless deficit spending. Now imagine what he would do in a...

CBS News) President Obama on Tuesday scoffed at the notion he wants higher gas prices, as some of his critics claim. Asked about the charge at his first formal White House press conference of the year, Mr. Obama replied to Fox News correspondent Ed Henry's question with a question of his own. "From a political perspective, do you think the president of the United States going into re-election wants gas prices to go up higher? Is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense?" Presidents of both parties have historically considered it harder to get votes if...

'The American people aren't stupid," thundered President Obama yesterday in Miami, ridiculing Republicans who are blaming him for rising gasoline prices. Let's hope he's right, because not even Forrest Gump could believe the logic of what Mr. Obama is trying to sell. We'd almost feel sorry for Mr. Obama's gas-price predicament if it weren't a case of rough justice. The President has deliberately sought to raise the price of energy throughout the economy via his cap-and-trade agenda. He is now getting his wish, albeit a little too overtly for political comfort. Mr. Obama has also spent three years blaming George...

The problems Obama will face are growing not subsiding. In just the last month the pump price of gasoline has risen .20 a gallon. ……..higher than it has been in February since 1981. The reason for the rise totally out of Obama’s control; he can’t lie his way out of it. The Iranians want to squeeze the Europeans who are already looking at $8.00 a gallon gas so they are denying France and England oil. The Europeans will come here to buy their gasoline because our $3.52 per gallon looks great! When they do our price will go up whether...

Corporate tax reform has long been an opportunity for a win-win bipartisan effort in Washington. Everyone agrees that the corporate code needs significant changes, if not a complete overhaul; it's too complicated, too costly, and rewards the larger companies that can afford to analyze it for every possible benefit. Both parties have made corporate tax reform part of their plartforms, Democrats arguing that we need to close loopholes, Republicans that we need simplification and lower rates.The White House decided to go first on corporate tax reform: The Obama administration Wednesday will unveil a framework for reforming the corporate tax code...

WASHINGTON (AP) - This time around, President Barack Obama's message can sound decidedly down-to-earth. Four years after winning the White House, Obama is dealing with a different economic and political reality as he seeks re-election. He's focused less on a lofty vision for overcoming divisions and remaking Washington, and more on the most basic building blocks of middle-class economic security: a job, a house, a college education for the kids, health care, money for retirement. What Obama describes as the American Dream can seem a spare, fundamental aspiration, tailored for a campaign that looks to be fought over who is...

It’s not exactly Detective Comics #27, or a first printing of the Gutenberg Bible (who knew the Police Academy movies were so rich in religious subtext?), but Friday night saw the release of the inaugural Obama For America Truth Team Tip Sheet, a collection of political bullets for supporters to fire at the watercooler, and into the social media stratosphere. Now, I just need to figure out how to get an email into a durable, acid-free plastic sleeve. The “Truth Team,” rolled out earlier this week, is this year’s version of the President’s 2008 campaign “Fight the Smears” site,

The United States of America is becoming more like Nazi Germany every single day. In fact, the Nazification of America is almost complete. The parallels between Nazi Germany and the United States of today are going to absolutely shock many of you. Most Americans simply have never learned what life was really like back in Nazi Germany. Under Adolf Hitler, Germany was a Big Brother totalitarian police state that ruthlessly repressed freedom and individual liberty. Under Adolf Hitler, Germany adopted socialism, dramatically increased government spending and raised taxes to astronomical levels. Under Adolf Hitler, abortion became legal in Germany, the...

President Obama released his FY 2013 budget [Monday] morning. By his own numbers, his budget raises net taxes over the next decade by $1.56 trillion (Table S-9, page 225). As a percentage of the economy, tax revenues would rise all the way to 20.1% of GDP in 2022, far higher than the historical tax revenue average of 18.3% of GDP (Table S-1, page 205). Here are some of the tax lowlights: All 20 of the new or higher taxes in Obamacare are assumed to take place. That means that there will be a 3.8 percentage point surtax on investment income....

President Obama's proposed 2013 budget contains a decade-long surge of tax hikes that, if approved, would affect everything from income to investment to inheritance. The budget blueprint contains roughly $2 trillion in new taxes and fees. When other tax cuts and credits are counted, the net impact from the proposals is still about $1.5 trillion. Though Republicans already are mounting a vigorous campaign against the proposal, many of the tax provisions still could become law unless Congress takes action to stop them. ,,,, But the budget also imposes various fees, such as a hike in the airline "security fee," as...

Although Barack Obama is the first black President of the United States, he is by no means unique, except for his complexion. He follows in the footsteps of other presidents with a similar vision, the vision at the heart of the Progressive movement that flourished a hundred years ago. Many of the trends, problems and disasters of our time are a legacy of that era. We can only imagine how many future generations will be paying the price — and not just in money — for the bright ideas and clever rhetoric of our current administration. The two giants...

The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation. The conservative think tank's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families." The increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show. The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an...

Actual title is : It’s baaack! The plan to kill talk radio. Group advising White House wants to restore controversial policy An organization that helped to craft President Obama’s environmental policies has recommended the reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, purportedly as a method of silencing critics of the theory of global warming. The Presidential Climate Action Project, or PCAP, last year released an extensive list of recommendations for the White House in a 75-page paper entitled, “Building the Obama Administration’s Climate Legacy.” Primary among the PCAP’s recommendations is that the Department of Energy should join the U.S. Department of Housing...

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chaired by Darrell Issa (R-CA) is set to begin a hearing on the morning of February 1 on President Obama's recess appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). During the hearing, titled "Uncharted Territory: What are the Consequences of President Obama's Unprecedented 'Recess' Appointments?", constitutional attorney David Rivkin will assert that the appointments are unconstitutional.

President Obama: I Want Second Term 'Badly' By DEVIN DWYER (@devindwyer) LAS VEGAS, Nev., Jan. 26, 2012 President Barack Obama today signaled an aggressive tact for his early re-election campaign, critiquing his Republican opponents by name and insisting he's ready to "fight with every fiber of my being" for a second term. "How much do you want it?" ABC News' Diane Sawyer asked Obama during an exclusive interview in Las Vegas. "Badly," the president said, "because I think the country needs it." "Whoever wins the Republican primary is going to be a standard bearer for a vision of the country...

People earning over $1 million per year should pay an effective tax rate of no less than 30 percent, President Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The president laid down one of his most political markers of the annual policy speech by crafting what he called the "Buffett Rule," named after the famous billionaire investor. "Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes," Obama said.

It turns out Mitt Romney paid $6.2 million in taxes in the latest year between federal and local taxes and I say bravo for him that sounds fair as hell to me. Really, just think for a moment and ask yourself does anyone get $6.2 million a year in services from the government? This past weekend is a perfect example. A nature preserve sits right behind my house, which is great because it's like having a giant backyard with deer, foxes, and occasional eagles. I worry about those giant trees that lean toward the house in such an ominous way...

Obama delays budget for 2013 By Erik Wasson - 01/23/12 02:08 PM ET President Obama will release his 2013 budget one week late, an administration official said Monday, the third time the administration has missed the legal deadline. Under the law, the budget is to be released on the first Monday in February, but the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be releasing the 2013 budget on Feb. 13. The Obama administration also delayed the release of the budget last year, waiting until Feb. 14. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the delay is symptomatic of a...

With Obama ruling against the Keystone XL pipeline, he continues a direction which he has maintained from the very beginning, and will only accelerate should he win again in November. Think about some of the major actions of this administration: 1. A huge “stimulus” bill, most of which went to his supporters. If you look at where most of the money from the bill went, it went to businesses which supported his campaign, it went to businesses with union employees, it went to businesses which were ideologically aligned to his vision – during the auto bailouts, there were underreported reports...

President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to define an activist role for government in promoting a prosperous and equitable society, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty. ...Mr. Obama will call for changing the corporate and individual income-tax codes so the wealthy pay more, both to finance government investments and to alleviate the rise in income inequality in recent years. Republican presidential candidates have countered that government should get out of the way.

Voters are deeply divided on President Obama's accomplishments in office — with a majority reporting that the president has accomplished "not much" or "little or nothing." A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that 52 percent of voters have a negative assessment of the president's track record. The survey finds that 12 percent of voters believe he has accomplished a "great deal," while 35 percent describe his accomplishments as a "good amount." Among those who believe the president has not accomplished much, 56 percent blame Obama for that state of affairs, while 18 percent blame Republicans in Congress. And 19...

The following is edited from remarks given at the Nov. 11, 2011 meeting of the Communist Party National Committee.2012 is a big election year and as we know the stakes are very high. The right-wing Republican opposition unashamedly defends the wealth and privilege of the 1% over the 99% that includes tens of millions who are struggling to survive. These self-proclaimed patriots are willing to wreck our country in order to defeat Barack Obama in 2012 elections. Our party and youth league are an active part of the great democratic mass that is standing against them. These so called patriots...

As proof that we need a strong and powerful President to reverse the damage done to America by Obama, we are developing a list of issues and actions of the Obama administration to demonstrate the dangerous direction our country is in, e.g. rapidly accelerating debt, deteriorating jobs market, shredding of our Constitutional protections from a rogue government, etc. We need to replace the Marxist in the White House that is hell-bent on bringing America to its knees economically, militarily, socially and with respect to its global standing and reverse everything he has done to us.

President Obama, looking to make the federal government "leaner, smarter and more consumer-friendly," asked Congress Friday for the authority to merge six trade and commerce agencies as part of a broader effort to rebuild the government for a "21st century economy." Speaking at the White House before a crowd of small-business owners, Obama pledged to streamline and reform the executive branch, and asked Congress to reinstate an authority — last used by former President Reagan — to put his proposal in action. “From the moment I got here, I saw up close what many of you know to be true:...

I am trying to work and listen at the same time, but is anybody else hearing this?? Obama is asking Congress to reinstate his Executive authority to streamline six agencies into one, so he could "help businesses grow, save businesses time, save businesses money." He's making it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. News media is eating it up. "Reform and remake our government so that it works. This should not be a partisan issue."

Trying to jump-start his re-election with hometown fund-raisers and rallies, President Barack Obama told 500 cheering fans Wednesday, “Everything that we fought for is now at stake in this election.” He repeated the message at more intimate gatherings in private homes in Lake View and Kenwood. He fired up the troops in his very first visit to his national headquarters in the Prudential Building. And he even stopped in to his own home for 20 minutes at the end of the night before flying back to Washington, D.C. He hopes the fund-raisers bring in more than $2 million for what...

Obama recently signed a mysterious new law that proclaims all American soil is a "battleground," thereby allowing the president to indefinitely detain any American citizen without charges. Critics fear Obama will use his fun new unconstitutional powers to make his political enemies disappear, but that may not be necessary. The way things are going, most patriotic Americans will soon be six feet under, felled by apoplectic strokes brought on by reading the latest outrage committed by our "Commander in Chief." He may not have a limit to what he'll inflict; but our collective blood pressure may have a limit to...

<p>O’Reilly: Is he a socialist?</p> <p>Romney: You know, I prefer to use the term that he’s just over his head.</p> <p>O’Reilly: Yeah, but you got to look at his economic plan. An economic plan that’s top down, federal leadership, getting us out of the recession--- he spent trillions of dollars on that. And people say, Listen, the guy’s a socialist — it’s class warfare that’s what he’s gonna wage against you if you get the nomination: You’re a rich guy, you’re out of touch. Is he a socialist?</p>

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes,” President Obama, September 12, 2008 Beginning January 1, 2013, ObamaCare imposes a 3.8% Medicare tax on unearned income of “high-income” taxpayers which could apply to proceeds from the sale of single family homes, townhouses, co-ops, condominiums, and even rental income, depending on your individual circumstances and any capital gains tax exclusions. Importantly, the “high income” thresholds are not...

And Obama again proves that only gullible, stupid people vote for him. [VIDEO AT SITE] Posted on the pomposity that is the site of the "Office of the President Elect" it says this: Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack...

Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income. The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families. "Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses,...

At a time when economists say U.S. manufacturing policy is in "disarray," the Obama administration on Monday said it has created a new Office of Manufacturing Policy to be co-chaired by the Commerce Department Secretary and the director of the White House National Economic Council. "At this make or break time for the middle class and our economy, we need a strong manufacturing sector that will put Americans back to work making products stamped with three proud words: Made in America," President Barack Obama said in a statement. Wisconsin leads the nation with the highest share of its workforce employed...

President Obama has warned Republicans he'll veto an extension of the payroll tax if it includes a measure forcing quick approval of the Keystone oil sands pipeline. “Any effort to try to tie Keystone to the payroll tax cut I will reject,” Obama told reporters Wednesday after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House. Obama said he would not accept a payroll tax holiday bill if Republicans add “extraneous” provisions, including a measure that would force quick approval of the controversial Keystone pipeline that would run from Canada to the southern U.S. House Republicans pushing for...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Ah, you know, you people are so lucky. All you have to do is listen to this. I have to be the one to actually do it. And that's okay. This is Wednesday. Right. Okay. Pearl Harbor Day. A day that will live in infamy, absolutely right, Pearl Harbor Day. Of course yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day number two: The attack on the country by the president of the United States in that speech in Osawatomie Kansas. As I promised yesterday, we have the audio sound bites from that speech. I've studied it. It's depressing to actually...

Our nation was, is and always will be the most exceptional country on earth because of its abundant natural resources and the uniquely driving force of the American spirit. The current occupant of the White House and his collection of fringe thinkers don’t understand this, but we have no time to let them get up to speed about America’s greatness. We have to save America ourselves. We are once again reminded of our ability to grow and thrive by a new report on the exciting prospects of using our vast stores of natural gas as the fuel to stoke America’s...