Free Republic

What 'culture war'? At the conventions, they'll try to stir up red-blue divisions. But most Americans hold un-partisan views. By Dick Meyer August 27, 2008 As the nation's attention reluctantly turns to the political parties' conventions, with their scripted suspense and stage-managed sentiment, it is important to keep in mind that these are phony representations of American political life. But the slick video profiles, the teary appearance of a beloved party elder -- these are not what is most phony about the conventions. This gathering of America's civic tribes -- and the reporters who love them -- in separate cities...

An East Boston sicko is facing up to 25 years in state prison for stomping a neighborhood cat to death, lighting its carcass on fire and nearly burning down an apartment building into which he threw the torched tabby. Luigi Epifania, 25, will be sentenced Monday for last year’s death of “Nunu,” in what Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley called “a cruel and cowardly act.” A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted Epifania yesterday of arson and killing a domestic animal, but that’s just the beginning of his troubles. He still faces trial on a separate charge of attempted murder for...

Without a doubt, all politically alert Americans are aware of the Red State, Blue State color scheme that's used to describe the voting patterns of various constituancies in the U.S. In it, Red states are conservative Republican, Blue States are liberal Democrat. There are some marginal states, which have become known as Purple States. But, on Free Republic, I've noticed some Freepers complain about the colors that are applied. I personally never felt strongly about it, but others seem to, and they have a point. The term became fixed into our conciousness on election night in 2000. The networks chose...

Has Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's chances of landing the coveted spot as Obama's Veep risen? According to stories at both The Politico and the Washington Post Kaine has risen to the level of serious contender, along with Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. The WaPo story has close Kaine associates acknowledging that Kaine has told them that he has had "very serious" conversations with Obama about joining the ticket.

The Sen. Barack Obama campaign held a conference call this morning on one of the key battleground states in this race: Pennsylvania. Team O, led by Gov. Ed Rendell, stressed the importance of registering and winning over the one-million-plus, un-registered voters spread out over the Keystone State.

It's complicated. Pennsylvania is a "purple" state that must go Democrat blue instead of Republican red for Barack Obama to win the November election. John McCain does not need Pennsylvania to win the White House, but Obama sure does.

Just before and just after California's Feb. 5 presidential primary election, polls of voters indicated that Sen. John McCain would have a fighting chance to recapture a state that Republican presidential candidates had owned for decades after World War II, only to see it taken away by Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. McCain trailed Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton by single digits in the January and February polls. As he locked down the GOP nomination, he visited the state frequently, both for fundraising and public appearances, and vowed to mount a full-fledged campaign here. "There are 53...

When asked about the state of the U.S. economy, Hillary Clinton first takes the opportunity to imply some similarity between John McCain and Herbert Hoover. At the same time, Senator McCain delivers a speech addressing, “Senator Obama's fantasy plan for making us safer." Meanwhile, Barack Obama compares Senator Clinton to Walter Mitty, in responding to her "mistake", in recounting her visit to Bosnia, as First Lady. I understand that these tactics are common, for providing political leverage but how do they help our nation? None of the three current Presidential Candidates mentioned are perfect but, though their approaches differ, I...

An army of star spouses and entertainers - propelled by a down-to-the-wire struggle for the trove of California's delegates - turned the final weekend before Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary into a fevered showdown between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The candidates themselves were stumping for votes in other Super Tuesday states Sunday, but neither campaign slowed efforts to seize victory in the nation's most populous state. "The symbolic nature of who carries California will ring throughout the nation," said pollster Mark DiCamillo. At Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus, California first lady Maria Shriver appeared alongside media mogul Oprah...

In the 2008 Virginia Senate race, the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds Democrat Mark Warner leading Republican Jim Gilmore 53% to 38%. Both men are former governors of the state of Virginia.

Like every great sales pitch, Mitt Romney's case for Mitt Romney is low on the hard sell. At the Sheraton Hotel here one recent morning, the boasting is handled by a former governor of South Carolina, who opens this "Ask Mitt Anything" session with a precis of the candidate's career. This includes academic achievements (Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School "in four years!") and election as governor of Massachusetts in 2002, which is described in a tone befitting a miracle. "He ran for governor in the bluest state of all blue states," says James Edwards, "the bluest state you...

Ohio is important state in presidential politics. Just ask Sen. John Kerry who might now be finishing up his first term in the White House had he won Ohio. So it’s worth noting that the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute has a survey which shows Democratic front runner Sen. Hillary Clinton leading former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Republican front runner, by seven points, 47 percent to 40 percent. They were tied in an August poll done by the same organization. Her lead against former Sen. Fred Thompson was even greater at 12 points, 49 percent to 37 percent....

On an average Saturday morning, there are five blue Toyota Priuses in the parking lot of our synagogue. I know because my children count them, starting with ours. They could do this with any popular item they own, of course (not that they have too many chances in our late-adapting household). But their hybrid love made me cringe last week, when the New York Times ran a story about the success of the Prius (purchase required), and I saw myself in it. Why are Prius sales surging when other hybrids are slumping, the Times asked? Because buyers "want everyone to...

Giuliani leads GOP pack, but survey says he'd lose to Clinton or Obama. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani holds a strong lead among California Republicans likely to vote in the GOP presidential primary Feb. 5, according to a Field Poll released Tuesday.But the survey found Giuliani's chief opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, would fare better in California against the Democratic front-runner, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a potential November 2008 general election match-up.Each of the three Democratic top-tier candidates -- Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards -- held leads over either...

Here are the three leading candidates for president in the Republican party, a party based in the South and in the interior, rural in nature, and backed in large part by social conservatives: the senior senator from Arizona, a congenital maverick with friends in the press and a habit of dissing the base of his party; the former governor of deep-blue Massachusetts, son of a Michigan governor, a Mormon who looks, sounds, and comes across as a city boy; and the former mayor of New York, the Big Apple itself, ethnic and Catholic, pro-choice and pro-gun control, married three times,...

For this reason, contrary to conventional wisdom, a victory by Rudy Giuliani would strengthen even the socially conservative agenda in the long run. As the new Fox Dynamics Poll shows, 65 percent of Americans would be “comfortable” with a Rudy Giuliani administration. Being comfortable is a major step in the right direction. Americans might actually listen to him when gives the State of the Union (without a teleprompter no less, as he usually speaks with note cards or does so extemporaneously). A Giuliani administration that would focus on fighting the Islamic Extremists, reducing the size and scope of government, handling...

I guess the results of this poll from Siena College shouldn't be surprising. In short, Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton have big leads among registered voters in our great state. Rudy Giuliani having a 47-20 lead over John McCain is to be expected.

GENTLE PEOPLE WITH FLOWERS IN THEIR HAIR January 8, 2007 The San Francisco metropolitan area has a higher percentage of people who are regular drug users than any other major metropolitan area in the United States, a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found. According to the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health 2002-05: Nearly 13 percent of San Francisco residents reported using some type of illicit drug, such as marijuana, cocaine or heroin, in the previous month; the national average is 8.1 percent. Other areas with drug-abuse rates higher than the national average included...

Slate’s media critic Jack Shafer reports on scholarly research about media bias by two University of Chicago economics professors, Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse M. Shapiro that analyzes Congressional floor speeches to link specific phrases to Republicans or Democrats based on frequency of use: "Prior to reading this paper I would have associated "reform" with Democraticspeak, but Republicans have so completely co-opted the word that it doesn't appear on the Dems' list in any form. ... As you might suspect, the Democrats own the word "cuts" in all its variations: "budget cuts," "Medicaid cuts," "bill cuts," "spending cuts," "cut food stamps,"...

The single most powerful factor in California's politics -- one that underlies its chronically dysfunctional government -- is the ever-widening division between Californians as a whole and those who vote. California's population is growing strongly, and with virtually all of that growth stemming from immigration and the state's economy continuing to mutate, it has become the globe's most complex society. Ironically, however, little of that complexity is reflected in the body politic, as last week's election confirmed anew. Ever-fewer Californians are voting, creating a widening gap between the characteristics and priorities of voters and those of the overall population. The...