Free Republic

In its recent look back on the first ten years of the century, Time Magazine proclaimed the period to be "the decade from hell." The editors made their case based on what they saw as the signature events of the last ten years, notably the ravages of terrorism, failed wars, and a global financial crisis. Taken together, these factors produced an era that Time is convinced will be remembered as one of the low points in our history. As the media hates to dwell on the negative, the commentary was rife with notes of optimism about pending recovery. It could...

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's son has officially entered the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky. Rand Paul's campaign manager turned in the candidacy papers and a $500 check to the secretary of state's office on Wednesday afternoon.

I was a Ron Paul supporter in the 2008 campaign for the presidency, and I made no apologies about it. Ron Paul was the candidate at the time that supported a smaller government, individual liberties and the Constitution closer than any other candidate. By far, he was the small government candidate. Others, especially conservatives, would often say that they support many of Paul’s positions, but… Either his voice was too “high and whiny”, or they viewed his position on America’s foreign policy to be “wacko” and “crazy”. The going phrase at the time, and still today, is that Ron Paul...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A former governor who is attracting attention from backers of Ron Paul’s presidential campaign is headed to New Hampshire. Republican Gary Johnson, who served as New Mexico’s governor from 1995 to 2003, will speak at a forum Jan. 23 organized by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire.

Last week on Christmas Eve, after many backroom deals were made, the Senate passed the healthcare reform bill with a strictly partisan vote. I was pleased that my colleagues in the GOP are on the right side of this bill. Although this vote was a major step in healthcare reform becoming reality, they still have to reconcile the Senate bill with the House-passed version in conference committee. This could prove even more difficult and costly than the Senate vote. There was a little bit of controversy surrounding one particular Senator who was initially against the bill, but then, coincidentally, a...

A pro-life conservative women's political action committee that promotes what it calls "biblical values" has endorsed Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul for U.S. Senate. A pro-life conservative women's political action committee that promotes what it calls "biblical values" has endorsed Bowling Green eye doctor Rand Paul for U.S. Senate. In a statement released Wednesday, Concerned Women for America called Paul a "strong man of faith and of conviction." Paul is seeking the GOP nomination for the seat held by fellow Republican Jim Bunning, who is retiring. Beverly LaHaye, founder and chairman of the Concerned Women PAC, cited Paul's financial...

The same grassroots energy that propelled Ron Paul from a little-known Congressman to a force in the presidential primaries now seems to be transferring to his son in his Senate run in Kentucky. Public Policy Polling's (D) latest survey shows him easily ahead of Secretary of State Trey Grayson, who was recruited by the national party after Sen. Jim Bunning (R) was pressured not to seek re-election. Republican Primary Election Matchup Paul 44 Grayson 25 Und 32

“What seems to be a GOP victory at first may well become another liberal victory in the long term. Unless Parker Griffith (formerly D-AL, now R-AL) starts voting like a true fiscal conservative, Alabama could be stuck with another entrenched Big-Government Republican Congressman.” “Welcome to the party, Parker. Here’s an electronic copy of the Constitution. Read it well, as you will have to continue to dodge us if you continue to disregard it.”

In the rush to pass the so-called “healthcare reform bill,” U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) stamped his feet and held his breath until he extracted his presents from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. One such gift exempts Nebraska from paying the $45 million dollar increase in Medicaid imbursement costs. Nelson was the 60th Democrat to get his stocking stuffed. Smart parents know not to give in to petulant children trying these shenanigans. If we gave kids everything they demanded, our family budget would be as busted as last year’s toy under the couch. You know, the one with batteries that...

Last week the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to put a new round of sanctions on Iran. If this measure passes the Senate, the United States could no longer do business with anyone who sold refined petroleum products to Iran or helped them develop their ability to refine their own petroleum. The sad thing is that many of my colleagues voted for this measure because they felt it would deflect a military engagement with Iran. I would put the question to them, how would Congress react if another government threatened our critical trading partners in this way? Would we not...

2010 Voter Guide | U.S. Congressional Candidate Survey 1 | Tax Increase/Cap and Trade — will tax energy consumption to combat “global warming.” 2 | “Hate Crimes” legislation — allows 2 identical crimes to be prosecuted differently if one victim is homosexual, a cross dresser or transsexual. 3 | Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA) — gives homosexual and transsexual individuals protected class status in the workplace. 4 | REPEAL of Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — the repeal of the only federal law that prevents homosexual “marriage” from becoming legal across the country 5 | Government Health Care —...

People often mistake being named Time’s “Person of the Year” as an honor, but that men as sinister as Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin and Rudy Giuliani have all been given the title suggests otherwise. According to Time, the award is primarily a recognition of influence and by that measure the 2009 selection of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke makes sense. Explains Time, the Fed is “an independent government agency that conducts monetary policy, which means it sets short-term interest rates - which means it has immense influence over inflation, unemployment, the strength of the dollar and the strength of your...

Last week, in the name of protecting the little guy from Wall Street, the House passed HR 4173 to increase the little guy’s false sense of security in the financial system. This mammoth piece of legislation would massively increase government regulation and oversight in the banking industry under the misguided reasoning that more government could have stopped faulty lending practices, when in actuality it caused them. This bill would also greatly increase the powers of the Federal Reserve, which too many in Congress still see as savior rather than perpetrator in this mess. One silver lining is that the amendment...

If anyone still doubted that this administration’s foreign policy would bring any kind of change, this week’s debate on Afghanistan should remove all doubt. The President’s stated justifications for sending more troops to Afghanistan and escalating war amount to little more than recycling all the false reasons we began the conflict. It is so discouraging to see this coming from our new leadership, when the people were hoping for peace. New polls show that 49 percent of the people favor minding our own business on the world stage, up from 30 percent in 2002. Perpetual war is not solving anything....

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (November 29th Washington Post) does not want us to know any of the details of the Fed's secret operations. This position is not surprising and has been typical of all central bank chairmen. Bernanke's stated goal in his editorial is "To design a system of financial oversight..." that will "provide a robust framework for preventing future crises." During its 96 years of existence, the Federal Reserve has played havoc with our economy and brought great suffering to millions through unemployment and price escalation. In addition, it has achieved what only a central bank can: a...

The U.S. Preventive Task Force caused quite a stir recently when they revised their recommendations on the frequency and age for women to get mammograms. Many have speculated on the timing for this government-funded report, with the Senate vote on health care looming, and cost estimates being watched closely. Just the hint that the government would risk women’s health to cut costs is causing outrage on both sides of the aisle. Even the administration is alarmed at its own panel’s recommendation. One official, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius told women to ignore the new guidelines, keep...

Please see a true conservative combating the nihilistic Barbara Boxer. The California Republicans must endorse him. To see video follow the linkAlso go to previous post on Devore vs Fiorina.

I was pleased last week when we won a vote in the Financial Services Committee to include language from the Audit the Fed bill HR1207 in the upcoming financial regulatory reform bill. As it stands now, if HR 3996 passes, because of this action, the Federal Reserve’s entire balance sheet will be opened up to a GAO audit. We will at last have a chance to find out what happened to the trillions of dollars the Fed has been giving out. Finally, the blanket restrictions on GAO audits of the Fed that have existed since 1978 will be removed. All...

Last Saturday many concerned Americans watched in horror as the House passed the healthcare reform bill. If this bill makes it through the Senate, it would massively overhaul the way healthcare is delivered in this country. Today, obviously, we don’t have a perfect system, but this legislation takes all the mistakes we are making with healthcare and makes them worse. Most of what is wrong with healthcare stems from decades of government intervention and the resulting unintended consequences. But the government’s prescription for the ills caused by intervention is always more intervention. We see this not only in healthcare policy,...

It’s still early to be thinking about 2010 elections, but the Republican Liberty Caucus National Board has approved several endorsements for 2010 already. Liberty fans across the country will be pleased to note that the RLC endorsed Rand Paul in his bid to become U.S. Senator in Kentucky, and Peter Schiff in his bid to represent Connecticut in the Senate. The RLC has also endorsed Jason Shepherd for State Representative in Georgia, Shane Schoeller (Incumbent) for State Representative in Missouri, and Bill Hunt for Orange County Sheriff in California. Our endorsements process has just begun, so please stay tuned for...