Free Republic

"...Austin Hill...you just a racist; you just can’t handle the black man bein’ in charge..." Those remarks were left for me in a voicemail message about six weeks ago. The call was placed to my Blackberry one weekday morning while I was on-air hosting talk radio in Phoenix, Arizona. I don’t know who the woman was that made the call (the "caller i.d." was blocked), and I didn’t recognize the voice. But somebody who had access to my personal mobile number left that message for me at a very strategic time – a time when I was obviously not going...

It sounded to White House advisers like a good idea. Put President Barack Obama on five Sunday morning talk shows. This would focus attention on health care, re-establish momentum, and show off Mr. Obama's passion, intelligence, and persuasive abilities. It didn't work. Mr. Obama made a classic mistake of politicians on a downward-bending arc. He jumps out in front of the cameras without having something fresh to offer.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY United Nations Headquarters New York, New York 10:10 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to address you for the first time as the 44th President of the United States. (Applause.) I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me, mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history, and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad. I have been...

"...These are bits and pieces of an increasingly unrestrained manifestation of racism directed toward Mr. Obama that is being fed by hate-mongers on talk radio and is widely tolerated, if not encouraged, by Republican Party leaders. It’s disgusting, and it’s dangerous. But it’s the same old filthy racism that has been there all along and that has been exploited by the G.O.P. since the 1960s. I have no patience with those who want to pretend that racism is not an out-and-out big deal in the United States, as it always has been. We may have made progress, and we may...

What I wrote last year about candidate Barack Obama -- that to win he had to be seen as "the least-aggrieved black man in America" -- may be even more relevant now. To lead this diverse and fractious nation effectively, the president has to negotiate racial issues with delicacy, caution and tact. He has to give even his most vocal critics the benefit of the doubt. But I don't. So I can say in plain language that Jimmy Carter was right in essence, but wrong in degree. It seems clear to me that some -- but not "an overwhelming portion,"...

DAYTON — Sen. Sherrod Brown said Friday, Sept. 18, that he believes President Obama should have a health reform bill — one with a government-run insurance plan and universal coverage — on his desk by late fall. The Ohio Democrat said he would be “hard-pressed” to vote for a bill that does not include a government insurance plan as one of the options available to people. He made his comments following a breakfast speech sponsored by the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Also Friday, an audience member asked Brown about comments by Nancy Pelosi, the...

Jimmy Carter: Wilson Comments 'Based on Racism' ASSOCIATED PRESS September 15, 2009 ATLANTA (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst to President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress last week was an act ''based on racism'' and rooted in fears of a black president. ''I think it's based on racism,'' Carter said at a town hall held at his presidential center in Atlanta. ''There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president.'' The Georgia Democrat said the outburst was a part of a disturbing...

It is clear and not coincidence that FOX continues to attack and divide our nation along racial lines. We believe our country is beyond this type of attack and call on all Americans to demand that FOX stop its racist coverage.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has agreed the House should vote next week on scolding Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his outburst during President Barack Obama's speech unless he apologies on the floor of the House. "There was a violation of the rules of the House," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. "It needs to be resolved by an apology or a resolution." A Democrat will introduce a "resolution of disapproval" Monday or Tuesday unless Wilson formally apologizes on the House floor. The House returns Monday. Wilson shouted "You lie!" Wednesday night during Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress, after Obama...

If you believe Huffington Post contributor David Sirota there are only two types of people in the world, those who agree with everything President Obama says and does, and those who are racist. Sirota is a "racer" someone who uses race as the political excuse for just about everything, and takes it to an extent which goes beyond any sense of reality. Other famous racers are Janine Garafolo, who said that the people participating in the April Tea Parties were doing so because they objected to a African American President, and embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel who blames protests against Obamacare...

Editor, At the risk of sounding sexist, how did the health care debate get hijacked by an overgrown teenage girl on Facebook? Sarah Palin quit her job as governor of Alaska to become an unpaid right-wing blogger, yet still has the power to disrupt any rational discourse. Possibly related: How did someone like Palin even rise to the spotlight in the first place? Her rise was born in the waning days of the contentious Democratic primaries between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. After the controversial Democratic National Convention Rules Committee decision to split in half the delegates from Michigan and...

Alaska Democrats on Monday accused Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of abdicating her duties with her decision to travel outside the state this week as the state Legislature’s session winds down. "She is putting her national political ambitions ahead of the needs of Alaska," Alaska Democrat Party Chairwoman Patti Higgins said at a news conference. The Legislature must conclude its work by Sunday, with the federal stimulus package and the capital budget yet to be approved. Palin is scheduled to leave the state later this week to attend a right-to-life fundraiser Thursday in Indiana....

Taken as a package, Obama said, his agenda in Europe should be the common goals among people of faith during holy days of Easter and Passover. "These are two very different holidays with their own very different traditions. But it seems fitting that we mark them both during the same week," Obama said. "For in a larger sense, they are both moments of reflection and renewal. They are both occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what...

Just like movie studios release excerpts of upcoming films to generate excitement and hopefully a big audience, that’s what 60 minutes is doing to preview President Obama’s appearance on the news show tonight. And as disgruntled moviegoers know, half the time the trailers are better than the actual movies. Here’s hoping that tonight’s show fares better than this dog, this flop, or this disaster. It should do well. To make sure it was interesting, they interviewed him for over 90 minutes (and the teleprompter wasn’t invited). Based on the excerpts they released, if it were a movie, it could be...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is denying Republican claims that she is partisan, saying she has been open to GOP ideas. In an interview with Charlie Rose on Friday, Pelosi was asked what is the most unfair and misleading impression of her. Pelosi initially said she doesn’t think about it, but when pressed, the Speaker took on her Republican critics. “There seems to -- some people think there seems to be a market for saying that I am very partisan, and that I don't give the Republicans their opportunity. That simply is not true.

"It literally look[s] like Nazi Germany -- it really did. I make -- said that point. It just does not seem -- like not only are we not welcome -- not only are we not welcome, but they don’t even care what we think."

NEW YORK – MSNBC's Chris Matthews said he was surprised by the "peculiar stagecraft" of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's response to President Barack Obama's speech to Congress, leading him to quietly say "Oh God" as Jindal approached a microphone. The remark inspired a brief Internet guessing game about who had said it and questions about whether someone at MSNBC was mocking the Republican governor. Matthews' barely audible "Oh God" appeared to be a classic case of someone talking on TV without realizing their microphone was on, and potentially embarrassing to a network many Republicans already regard with suspicion because of...

Us” meaning the GOP, of course. I appreciate his willingness to beat himself up in the name of regaining the public’s trust, but, er, is the man of Steele being perhaps a bit too self-deprecating here? Even Beck’s taken aback by the brutal candor of it (but in a good way!)

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 02/13/2009 Pelosi: ‘After All the Debate, This Legislation Can Be Summed Up in One Word: Jobs’ Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this afternoon in strong support of the joint House-Senate conference report on HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The House approved the measure this afternoon by a vote of 246 to 183. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation later today and President Obama will sign it into law next week. “Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, I...

Pelosi chides GOP criticism of stimulusKara Rowland Saturday, February 7, 2009 WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday disavowed what she termed as Republican "personality attacks" over President Obama's stimulus bill, reiterating previous arguments that the legislation allowed for bipartisan input. "The people who can't win on policy always resort to process and then they stoop to their personality attacks," Mrs. Pelosi told reporters here at the Kingsmill golf resort, where about 200 House Democrats gathered for a three-day retreat. "The process afforded Republicans every opportunity to put their suggestions forward and they know that." Her defense of...

(watch the video of the idiot saying this) We’ve heard for years that Republicans don’t have that killer instinct. Apparently, it’s true. Multiple plastic surgery survivor Cher says that living under Republican rule almost killed her. And she was just getting started. She also said she can’t fathom why anyone wants to be a Republican and that President Obama’s “intelligence” and “spirit” is “so great” he will accomplish “more than anyone could possibly do.” When asked to explain her comment that Republicans almost “killed” her, the diva was a tad hazy on details. “My face has been stretched so tight...

At a news conference earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the Democrat-only passage of the economic stimulus package, contending that Republicans were indeed included; their suggestions on tax cuts had become part of the bill itself, she said. When Mrs. Pelosi was asked whether the vote — 244 to 188 without a single Republican’s approval — represented a failure on her part to advance President Obama’s desire for a broad bipartisan bill, she practically snapped: “I didn’t come here to be partisan. I didn’t come here to be bipartisan. I came here, as did my colleagues, to be nonpartisan,...

"I am the Speaker of the House. I don’t get into that." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defiantly ignoring Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge -- who spent much of the week nitpicking her stimulus bill on issues ranging from STD prevention funding to cash for the re-sodding the National Mall. "I am the Speaker of the House. I don’t get into that," she said at her weekly press conference just now, when asked about their impact on the stimulus debate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tapped Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a loyal liberal from Northern California, as chairwoman of the House ethics committee. Pelosi announced Lofgren’s selection early Tuesday evening after a busy Inauguration Day. In a release, she said she would recommend Lofgren to the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and House Democratic Caucus. The choice is something of a surprise, because Lofgren has already served more than the required three terms on the ethics panel, officially called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Second stints on the ethics panel are rare, with most lawmakers trying to avoid...

President Obama's Inaugural Address? Clichéd, surprisingly dull, naive, and memorable only insofar as it was forgettable. Mr. Obama's oration wasn't even...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US president-elect Barack Obama Tuesday vowed to speak out about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once he takes office, but insisted until then only President George W. Bush can speak for the US. "After January 20 I am going to have plenty to say about the issue," Obama told reporters, fending off criticism that he has failed to forcefully address the Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip. Obama said he was sticking by his campaign pledge that "at the beginning of our administration, we are going to engage effectively and consistently in trying to resolve the conflict that...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 11/24/2008 Pelosi: Talented Obama Economic Team Will Help Lead Our Nation During Serious Economic Crisis Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President-elect Obama’s announcement of his economic team: “President-elect Barack Obama has assembled an exceptionally talented and diverse economic team to help him lead our nation during the most serious economic crisis in generations. Congress stands ready to work with the new President on his bold plan to restore confidence to our economy, create and save 2.5 million good-paying jobs here at home, and...

When voters consign political parties to minority status, circular firing squads usually follow. But Tennessee Democratic leaders and campaign operatives aren't blaming each other for the party's stunning losses in last week's legislative elections. They're blaming racism. Barack Obama changed the political map with the biggest Democratic victory since LBJ, but the election made a different kind of history in the alternate universe known as Tennessee. John McCain not only won the state by 15 points, he took some rural counties by 40 points or more, and those mind-boggling margins poured down the ballot to give Republicans majorities in both...

When the left is desperate to smear someone, it inevitably resorts to accusations of racism. In a recent editorial, “Politics of Attack,” The New York Times charged: “But Senator McCain and Governor Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember.” Every Republican presidential campaign is the “most appalling” The Times can remember. Still, the paper insists that McCain and his running mate have moved beyond mere “distortions” of Obama’s record “into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia.”

Taxpayer-subsidized journalist Ray Suarez (pictured at right) thinks concerns over Barack Obama's liberalism are transparent proxies for something more sinister: racism.

For 20 years he sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright church. For 20 years he listened to the Reverend of hate, racism, and anti-Americanism. For 20 years he called Wright a friend and a mentor. Even when the Reverend that asked God to damn America was exposed Barack Obama still could not disown him more than he can disown his white grand mother as he said in this ridiculous speech he gave in March 2008. Obama and his liberals believe that they are going to fool America and win the Presidency. The media gives us dozens of biased polls...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 10/03/2008 Pelosi: Dismal Jobs Report Shows Need to Pull Our Economy Back from the Precipice Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement this morning after the Department of Labor released its employment report for September showing a loss of another 159,000 American jobs, bringing the total number of jobs lost this year to 760,000: “The House will act today on the economic rescue package as well as an extension of unemployment benefits for Americans who are struggling through these tough economic times. We must pass these critical...

CHICAGO - In a presidential race turning increasingly negative, Democratic nominee Barack Obama drew on editorial comments from U.S. newspapers and magazines Monday to accuse John McCain of running a dishonest campaign with some of the "sleaziest ads" ever seen. Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, said McCain was "launching a low blow a day" and went on to say he stands "with George Bush firmly in the corner of the wealthy and well-connected." Obama, flying to Colorado to begin a swing through contested Western states, leveled his charges in a new television commercial that aggressively pushes back against charges...

Pelosi Statement on Comprehensive Energy Plan of New Direction CongressTue Sep 2, 5:43 PM ET **SNIP** WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement in response to President Bush's comments today on energy: "For too long, the President's and Republicans' 'drill only' energy policies have reflected the demands of Big Oil. "The New Direction Congress is crafting a comprehensive energy strategy that will provide relief for consumers, end our dependence on foreign oil, create millions of jobs and grow our economy. The Democratic plan will promote efficiency and invest in renewable sources of energy, responsibly increase...

Jesus' genealogy is stated clearly in the Bible and demonstrates that he was a man of color... Matthew 1:2-17 sets out Jesus' lineage to King David and beyond, which... contains at least four Afro-Asiatic women: Rahab, Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba... He was of mixed blood known as Afroasiatic. Like his parents, he was much like the darker Palestinian, Egyptian or Yemenite of today... The name Hussein, which is being used to demagogue [sic] Mr. Obama... does not actually have any evil connotation... Jesus was crucified because he was a liberal... These are liberal principals [sic], but it does not end...

For Immediate Release 08/04/2008Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Democratic proposals to bring relief to Americans at the pump:“Democrats offered a real solution to high energy prices that would bring immediate relief within 10 days by forcing the President to free our oil from the nation’s stockpile.  The Republicans propose to giveaway public lands to Big Oil, which will not immediately reduce the price at the pump and save Americans only 2 cents 10 years from now.  This Republican hoax is unworthy of the serious debate we must have to reduce the price at...

I sent an email to Tyson regarding my thoughts on the celebration of a Muslim holiday and the following is their response..... as a liberal once told me you vote with your dollars, I won't be buying Tyson.... "Contrary to recent reports, Labor Day has not been done away with at the Tyson plant in Shelbyville, TN. Recent RWDSU (Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union) contract negotiations resulted in a different holiday for workers covered by the contract, for which the union bargained. Employees not covered by the contract will still have Labor Day as a paid holiday. The union...

Big Oil Continues to Rake in Record Profits August 1, 2008 Washington, DC—Senate Democrats responded today to a Department of Labor report which indicates that the nation shed another 51,000 jobs in July – the seventh straight month of losses – as unemployment rose to a four-year high of 5.7 percent and Chevron announced a second-quarter profits of nearly $6 billion. Democrats also called attention to the disproportionately higher unemployment rate among Hispanic American workers.According to the Department of Labor report, the unemployment rate among Hispanics was 7.4 % last month. The disproportionately higher jobless rate among Latinos underscores the...

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called President George W. Bush "a total failure" who "has no ideas," in an interview with CNN. Responding to stinging criticism from Bush on the Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress and the slow pace of the legislative agenda, as Congress prepares for its one-month summer recess in August, Pelosi let loose: "You know, God bless him, bless his heart, the president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject." Pelosi, 68,...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/16/2008 Pelosi Statement on Bush Administration Effort to Redefine Contraception as Abortion Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on reports that the Bush Administration’s is drafting a proposed rule that would place new restrictions on domestic family planning programs. While current law already allows health care providers and professionals to refuse to provide abortions based on their religious beliefs, this provision would threaten the funding of organizations and health facilities if they do not hire people who would refuse to provide birth control. “If the Administration...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/15/2008 Pelosi on Gas Prices: ‘It’s the Economy, Mr. President’ Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders today held a news conference with economic experts following an economic forum this morning. At the forum, five national economic experts endorsed Democrats’ call for the President to immediately release a small amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce energy prices for American consumers. Below are selected comments by the Speaker on energy: “The President said today that he would not support the release of the oil...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/14/2008 Pelosi Statement on President Bush Lifting the Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on President Bush's announcement lifting the executive ban on drilling in protected coastal areas: “Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil. "The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands...

He was a fighter pilot in World War II, bombing targets in Europe to stop Hitler. But former Senator and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern says that didn't qualify him to run the country--and the same goes for GOP presumptive nominee John McCain. ``I don't have any regrets about that,'' the antiwar Democratic stalwart said in a brief interview yesterday on Capitol Hill. ``While bombing is a terrible thing, we smashed Hitler's oil refineries all over Europe.'' ``But I don't recall ever saying that experience as a bomber pilot equipped me to be very strong on how to run...

"One place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration. He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it," [said] Obama....."But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment. He said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote.....If we are going to solve the challenges we face, we can't vacillate, we can't shift depending on our politics."

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 06/18/2008 Pelosi Statement on Bush Call for End to Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in reaction to the President’s comments at the White House urging Congress to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration: “Oil companies are sitting on 68 million acres of public lands they have already leased, but President Bush and Senator McCain want to award them with even more. “Americans are suffering under the Bush-Cheney-McCain...

June 6, 2008 Reid: Bush-McCain Republicans Block Global Warming Bill, Squander Another Opportunity To Strengthen Economy, National Security Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today after Senate Republicans blocked the Climate Security Act of 2008: “We saw this morning yet another example of Bush-McCain Republicans refusing to address one of the most important issues of our time. Given the opportunity to solve the urgent energy and economic crises of today and environmental crises of tomorrow, they ran away from the debate. “Time and again Democrats have given Republicans the opportunity to address the rising cost of...

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama -- Final Primary Night Tues., June 3, 2008 19:02:11 ET Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end. Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said -- because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or...

The Wisdom In Talking By John F. Kerry Saturday, May 24, 2008; A21 As President Bush commemorated Israel's 60th anniversary by attacking Barack Obama from overseas, here at home he found an all-too-frequent ally: John McCain. When Bush accused "some" -- including Obama, Bush aides explained -- of "the false comfort of appeasement," McCain echoed this slander. "What does he want to talk about with [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad?" McCain asked, fumbling to link Obama to the Iranian president's hateful words. Soon, a GOP talking point was born. Lost in the rhetoric was the question America deserves to have answered: Why should...

Behold the “global test” in action. Pray tell, dear Waffles, from whom will we be reclaiming it? "Dialogue helps us isolate Ahmadinejad rather than empowering him to isolate us. More important, even if we fail to reach an agreement, engaging Iran will spark three conversations likely to strengthen our position… The third conversation is with the world. By engaging Iran, we reclaim the moral high ground — no small feat. If Iran refuses to budge, we have new leverage to expose it as a threat whose bad intentions cannot be explained away." I’m curious to hear how Iran’s intentions might...

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/17/2008 Speaker Pelosi Statement on Visit to Iraq Jerusalem - In preparation for Memorial Day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a bipartisan congressional delegation flew today from Israel to Iraq to express the appreciation of the Congress to our troops for their patriotism, their courage, and their service to our country. The delegation met with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Mahmud al-Mashhadani, the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement: “In the meetings in Baghdad today, I...