Free Republic

It seems the voices of the folks back home are beginning to register with their representatives, especially with midterm elections coming up. The fear of being replaced finally strikes home on both sides of the aisle. Angry Congress lashes out at Obama The Washington Post Fri., Nov . 20, 2009 Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration. Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment and...

Ask yourselves why the price of gold is headed to $1500. The answer is that this government has lost control of the currency and therefore the economy. Normally price appreciation is great except when it comes to gold. It means our political leaders have no idea what they are doing and there are going to be very severe consequences. Very! Last November gold was at $700. Now it is at $1100 on its way to $1500. We will all have third rate health care with no jobs. What a future.

Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration. Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment and economic hardship back home. They also underscored the stiff headwinds that the administration faces as it pushes to enact sweeping changes to the financial regulatory system while also trying to create jobs for ordinary Americans. President Obama's allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, exasperated by the administration's handling of the...

November 20, 2009 Dear Senator Bayh, I tried to call your Washington and Indianapolis offices, but the voice mail boxes were full. I am writing this email to you to plead with you not to vote to bring this health care bill up for senate vote. NOTE: A vote for it now IS a vote to allow it to eventually pass because, as you know, it is quite possible you can vote against its final version knowing full-well that there will be enough votes for it's final passage because the vote requirements are fewer. There are many reasons why you...

While the Senate is now preparing to debate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's 2000-plus-page version of the health care reform plan, 47% of Americans still believe the private sector rather than the federal government has the best chance of keeping health care costs down and the quality of medical care up. But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 33% of adults think the federal government would do a better job of reducing costs and maintaining quality of care. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided. Forty-nine percent (49%) of adults who already have insurance say the private sector would accomplish...

Former Marine Nick Popaditch, aka the Cigar Marine, is running for the Republican nomination to challange the incumbent Democrat in the California 51st Congressional race for 2010. He needs your support. The district is heavily Democratic and he faces an uphill struggle but this Marine is one tough opponent. This man is a true war hero, not some "Swift Boat" wannabe. His slogan, "A Marines word is his bond", says it all. He gained national popularity when he was photographed atop his tank turret smoking a cigar at the fall of Baghdad. Later in the war he was seriously wounded...

November 19, 2009 Politics as Usual? A Glenn Beck case study Today's Show Segment Video-6:15

After serving 18 years in Congress, former Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, a Democrat, will continue his service in a different federal institution -- prison. He was sentenced recently to serve 13 years for bribery. But his fellow prisoners will have to forgive Jefferson if he grins and whistles as he stamps out license plates. That's because he is still eligible for a guaranteed $50,000 pension in his first year of retirement, which will increase each year thereafter with the cost of living.

THE ONLY REAL SURPRISE in the latest disastrous batch of data on housing is that anybody is surprised. With the $8,000 tax credit originally set to expire, housing starts plunged nearly 11% in October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529.000 units. That put new home construction back to the dismal levels of last spring before a temporary blip lifted housing activity during the warm-weather months. Even though the home-buying subsidy was extended through next March and expanded beyond first-time buyers, there's little evidence that these giveaways are working. Applications for mortgages for home purchases, for instance, fell to...

Reid scrambles for 60 health votes With an assist from Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrambled Wednesday to pull together 60 votes for his health reform bill, awaiting all-important cost estimates in hopes of getting the bill to the floor by the weekend. At around 2:15 p.m., the three moderate Democratic holdouts - Blanche Lincoln, Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson - entered Reid's office for a briefing. "He is walking through the particulars with them," said Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley. "We need 60 votes to get this bill to the floor." Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the...

GOUVERNEUR, NY - The computerized voting machines used by many voters in the 23rd district had a computer virus - tainting the results, not just from those machines known to have been infected, but casting doubt on the accuracy of counts retrieved from any of the machines

The Senate is headed for a rare Saturday vote to advance its major healthcare reform bill without a guarantee of success, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated Thursday. At a rally with supporters of the healthcare reform bill, Reid would not say he had secured commitments from all 60 members of the Democratic Conference to vote for the legislation — an absolute necessity given unanimous opposition from the 40 Senate Republicans. "We'll find out when the votes are taken," Reid said. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), one of three Democratic holdouts, said Thursday that he would announce his intentions prior to...

The Senate voted to end debate and move to a final vote on President Obama’s first judicial nominee, former ACORN fundraiser Judge David F. Hamilton, who disallowed invoking Jesus' name in prayers in the Indiana Legislature. Ten Republicans voted to allow a floor vote on Hamilton's nomination, thus assuring his confirmation. Hamilton, nominated to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, won a 70-29 cloture vote. All 29 who voted against cloture were Republicans. while 10 Republicans joined with all 60 Senate Democrats to vote for cloture and allow the confirmation vote to proceed. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchiso (R.-Tex.) did not...

In 2006, long before there was an Obama administra tion determined to impose a command-and-control federal health-care system, a young orthopedic surgeon walked into the Goldwater Institute here with an idea. The institute, America's most potent advocate of limited government, embraced Eric Novack's idea for protecting Arizonans from health-care coercion. In 2008, Arizonans voted on Novack's proposed amendment to the state's Constitution: "No law shall be passed that restricts a person's freedom of choice of private health-care systems or private plans of any type. No law shall interfere with a person's or entity's right to pay directly for lawful medical...

Former State Representative Allen Quist announced Wednesday night that he will run against U.S. Representative Tim Walz for the First District Congressional Seat. In a press release, Quist said: "If people like what Congress is doing, they should vote for the incumbent. But if they believe, as I do, that Congress is headed in the wrong direction, then I will be the alternative." Quist had previously established a web site and Facebook page, so the formal announcement of his candidacy was not unexpected. A Republican, Quist served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988, runs...

It’s been a little while since a good confrontation between a birther and a member of Congress, but here’s one from last week: a constituent of Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) asking his congressman why Republicans won’t do anything about the “eligibility issue.” It makes for awkward viewing, as Garrett’s staff clearly wants a change of subject from an audience that seems to be fine with pushing the question. At around 4:40 in the video, the congressman finally engages. “Obviously, there is no political solution to it,” says Garrett. “Even if the entire Republican Party was united on the issue–” He’s...

<p>Although most conventional wisdom rates Gerald E. Connolly of Fairfax County as the safest of three freshmen Democrats elected to Congress in Virginia last year, that wisdom rests on a rematch with Republican Keith S. Fimian in next year's midterm elections.</p>

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," November 17, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Wait until you see what members of Congress are getting. It's pink. And we are told the number is more than 4 million. That's all the clues we are giving you. South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint will tell you all about it. He went "On the Record". (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VAN SUSTEREN: Senator, nice to see you, sir. SEN. JIM DEMINT, R - S.C.: Greta, welcome to my place. VAN...

Republican candidates maintain a six-point advantage over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 38% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for each party rose one point from last week. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 41% to 24%. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available...

The "pink slips" being sent to members of Congress, warning them to abandon Washington's "charge-it-and-spend-it" programs, new energy taxes under "cap-and-trade" and nationalized health care have surged past five million, but supporters of the program say they need to keep coming. Janet Porter, founder and president of Faith2Action, is one of the organizers behind the "pink slips" campaign and was at a news conference today in Washington where U.S. Reps Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn.; Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; Steve King, R-Iowa, and Trent Franks, R-Ariz., spoke in approval of the effort. She said it's clear the message – delivered through a stack...

Washington (CNN) -- Military victims of the Fort Hood massacre will be eligible to receive the Purple Heart if Congress passes a bill introduced Tuesday. Non-military victims could receive the Secretary of Defense Medal of Freedom -- the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart. Both military and civilian personnel killed or wounded in the November 5 attack would be granted the same legal status as combatant casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bill was introduced by Texas GOP Rep. John Carter, who represents Fort Hood in the House of Representatives.

Rosanna Pulido Fires Back At David Ratowitz’s Immigration Proposals Rosanna Pulido: First off, let’s remember how immigration lawyers make their living. When you take it under consideration that David Ratowitz is an immigration lawyer, it’s no wonder that David wants even higher levels of legal immigration and would support legalization of the 12-20 million already here. Actually, what this government needs to do at this moment is suspend ALL UNNECESSARY IMMIGRATION until our economy recovers and the unemployment rate drops to below 5 percent. How can the government continue to bring in 125,000 foreign workers EVERY MONTH when 15 million...

There I was, expertly navigating through traffic, when a snippet of news came on. It was the voice of the Speaker of the House, Madame Pelosi, promising that the healthcare bill would be ready to give to the American people as a “Christmas” present. Luckily I was not the freeway. I may have driven into a barrier! Say what, Madame? “Healthcare reform bill” in the same sentence as the word “Christmas”? With all due respects Madame, Halloween, the time when the healthcare bill was introduced to “we the people,” is a more appropriate season for your bloated ghoul! Christmas is...

Today was the final day for absentee ballots to be received in New York's 23rd District Special Congressional Election. Already three counties have completed the final vote counts, and Hamilton County has already certified those counts to the State Board of Elections. Updated Counts Here: County Hoffman Owens Scozzafava Clinton 7530 10536 686 Essex 3175 3718 432 Franklin 4589 5125 247 Fulton 2489 1969 676 Hamilton* 1265 938 369 Jefferson 10884 10460 1179 Lewis 2676 2169 282 Madison* 9155 8290 724 Oneida* 3225 2243 459 Oswego 12748 11000 950 St. Lawrence 8748 12987 1194 Totals: 66,484 69,435 7,198 * -...

President Obama told the House Democratic Caucus before the roll-call vote on health care on Nov. 7 that they'd be better off politically if they passed the bill than if they let it fail. Bill Clinton, speaking to the Senate Democrats' lunch on Nov. 10, cited his party's big losses in 1994 after Congress failed to pass his health-care legislation as evidence that Democrats would suffer more from failure to pass a bill than from disaffection with a bill that was signed into law. These were closed meetings, but we can safely assume that the two Democratic presidents also assured...

For a chance to unseat a 5-term incumbent, check out Matt Friedman for Congress: Matt Friedman for Congress 302 Washington #942 San Diego, CA 92103. www.friedmanforcongress.org

Activists Sending Coat Hangers to Congress for Abortion Funding in Health Care Washington, DC -- Borrowing a page from the playbook of pro-abortion members of Congress who recently used the myth of illegal back alley abortions to oppose the Stupak amendment, grassroots pro-abortion activists are sending coat hangers to Congress to urge taxpayer funding of abortion in the health care bills. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5663.html

Both Democratic and Republican voters are happier with Congress these days, and Independents are not. The uptick for the first two is easy enough to explain: both side’s partisans are happy that their respective sides are slugging it out. The question is, which side are the folks in the middle supporting? Americans express slightly greater approval of Congress this month after last month's decline. The current 26% rating is up from 21% in October but down from 31% in August and September. Still, more than two-thirds of Americans (68%) disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. This month's...

This morning on Fox & Friends, three 9/11 family members debated President Barack Obama's decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other top attack conspirators in a federal court just six blocks away from the World Trade Center. The three were Debra Burlingame, James Riches Sr., and Charles Wolf. (See the video after the jump.)

On Wednesday, November 18, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder will attempt to explain his decision to bring war criminal Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to trial in Manhattan's federal courtroom six blocks from Ground Zero. This is our Action Alert to you: Americans, it is time to unite, not as Republicans or Democrats, not as Conservatives or Liberals or Progressives. It is time to unite as CITIZENS. President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have forgotten that their chief duty is the safety and the security of the American people. IT IS TIME FOR US TO REMIND THEM. AG Eric Holder...

Health care insurance for everyone is an insult to our psyche and our wallet.

In the aftermath of the massacre at Fort Hood and the deaths of fourteen people, some members of Congress demanded investigations into why the Army and the FBI failed to identify and stop Major Nidal Malik Hasan before he had an opportunity to commit mass murder. Some of the revelations from Hasan’s past, including communications with an al-Qaeda recruiter in Yemen, have Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Sen. Joe Lieberman promising to conduct separate investigations into the failure of counterterrorism efforts. President Obama warned Congress to stay out of it, at least until the FBI finishes investigating the shootings: President Barack...

C-Span is forever. Back in 2005, then house minority leader, Nancy Pelosi stood up on the house floor complaining that the Republican leadership was being outrageous by not giving members of Congress three days to read a bill. She went on to say "I expect you know what you are voting on. Of Course that was then, this is now. Now, the hypocritical Ms. Pelosi expects congressmen to vote for what ever she tells them to vote on whether they have read it or not. Watch the video below from Naked Emperor News(if you cant see the video click here):

Health Care Reform: Failure to buy health insurance in the just-passed health care bill could get you five years in jail with a $250,000 fine. How can violating a law that's unconstitutional be a felony? The passage last Saturday night of the House health care measure by a fragile 220-215 margin may well prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. In polls, townhall meetings and tea parties, Americans have shown they don't want a "reform" that costs a staggering $1.2 trillion yet fails to meet the left's desire of insuring all the uninsured. And they certainly don't want a bill that...

Should the “greatest good for the greatest number” be the guiding principle behind health care? As I have said before on Breakpoint, much of the hype and even hysteria surrounding the H1N1 flu strain is unwarranted. That’s not to say that the swine flu’s potential impact isn’t devastating—it is, but not in the way cable news would have us think. And now the Florida Department of Health has issued a set of guidelines that instructs hospitals on what to do “if the state is overwhelmed by [H1N1] cases.” The guidelines recommend that hospitals bar “patients with incurable cancer, end-stage multiple...

With the pending release of Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue, the mainstream media decided to do some "fact checking". As such, the Associated Press dispatched several reporters to decipher the factual basis of a book written by a failed Vice Presidential candidate who no longer holds any official position in politics. In the end, the AP contends that the former governor of Alaska may have fudged on some things, like Palin's claims of frugality when conducting state business. However, the AP's exhaustive research uncovered one instance where a five-day trip to a women's leadership conference cost the Alaskan taxpayers (GASP)...

I support the kind of health care reform that will lower costs and increase accessibility to quality, affordable care. Unfortunately, what Speaker Pelosi rammed through the House today does nothing to curb rising costs. Instead, her bill seizes control of the health care industry and puts it in the hands of the federal government, introduces job killing taxes on individuals and small businesses, and accelerates deficit spending and the accumulation of national debt. Late Saturday night, I voted against Speaker Pelosi’s massive federal takeover of health care because I do not believe it is the right prescription for Oklahomans. After...

I was a victim of stolen identity. A criminal used my checking account to pay his electric bill. When my checking statement arrived I thought how stupid can anyone be, the statement showed the account number of the person’s electric bill paid. I called the electric company and told them someone paid their electric bill with my checking account, could they please tell me the name of the individual with that account number so I can press charges. The electric company told me they knew who the person was, but couldn’t release their name without a court order. I went...

This week, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, told reporters the GOP offers a "back-of-the-hand treatment to women." Later she said two conservative female representatives only serve to further "repulse women." You see, Schultz said on MSNBC, Republicans "don't really get very many women when it comes to elections." The week before, in Virginia, the Republican gubernatorial candidate won women. And in blue New Jersey, the Republican lost women but won white women by 18 percentage points. Last year, John McCain won a majority of the white female vote. They sum to more than 25 million women. Democrats, so...

Does anyone remember when I posted that email from the CPA about the lawyers party? Here’s an excerpt: Most Americans know that a republic in which every major government action must be blessed by nine unelected judges is not what Washington intended in 1789. Most Americans grasp that we cannot fight a war when ACLU lawsuits snap at the heels of our defenders. Most Americans sense that more lawyers and judges will not restore declining moral values or spark the spirit of enterprise in our economy. Perhaps Americans will understand that change cannot be brought to our nation by those...

One year out from midterm elections, anti-incumbent sentiment is approaching its highest level in two decades, according to a poll released Wednesday by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The survey found that 53 percent of Americans said most members of Congress should not be reelected, compared with just 34 percent who said most members should be reelected. Fifty-two percent would like to see their own representatives reelected in 2010, while 29 percent want them out of office, according the Pew poll. The last time voter sentiment was this negative was during the 2006 and 1994 election...

Earlier today, Goldman came out with a harbinger piece on why a second stimulus announcement is essentially a formality. The administration has already promptly forgotten the lessons from the recent elections which were a failure for the Democrats, and a resounding vote against incremental deficit spending. The people spoke, and they will have no more of it. Alas, Obama is now stuck: any action he does to create jobs and to rope consumers back into the clearance sale stores, will be met with increased political disapproval and risk of a major failure at both the mid-term and next presidential elections....

How out of touch are they in the Washington, D.C., "bubble," in which Congress and the media live? Recently, a national poll was touted in the national news, with a typical headline reading something like, "Public Supports Public Option" for health care legislation. Big news, right? But the actual question asked if poll respondents preferred a plan "that includes some form of government-sponsored health insurance." Think about it. The poll didn't ask about a government-run program at all. It merely made it sound as if the government would be creating an additional policy option for people who need it. In...

Last April, The Heritage Foundation released a WebMemo titled "The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society."[1] Seven months later, many of these policies being advocated by Congress and the President have moved closer to becoming law. In addition, several new issues have emerged that deserve illumination. Taken as a whole, these policies serve to undermine traditional families, devalue life and human dignity, and weaken civil society in American life. National PolicyMassive Expansion of the Welfare State. Within his first two years in office, President Obama will have increased spending on means-tested programs for the poor by 30...

Investors and political analysts should keep a sharp eye on the congressional assault on Federal Reserve independence. This is a transparent effort by members of Congress to use the financial-reregulation bills as a means of applying political leverage to stop the Fed from any 2010 midterm-election-year exit strategies that might raise the federal funds target rate, stop the purchases of mortgage-backed bonds, and drain cash from the economy. The Chris Dodd bill unveiled this week spells it all out. The White House would appoint the chairmen of the regional Federal Reserve banks (New York, Dallas, Richmond, etc.), subject to confirmation...

Eight year ago today, on November 13, 2001, my family laid to rest a 9/11 hero on what would have been his 46th birthday. Outside the church, along with hundreds of friends and neighbors and 1,200 firefighters tearfully saluting their fallen brother, we felt our nation standing as one. Today, we ask that you stand once more, for your families and with ours, to support our troops, and in the common defense. We have appealed directly to the President. Below is that letter. If you wish to add your name to it, PLEASE CLICK HERE. (Note: 911FamiliesForAmerica.org is partners with...

The last thing Democrats need right now is a fight over health care with a powerful group that ought to be an ally in the struggle to pass a bill. Yet that's exactly what may be taking shape with the nation's Catholic bishops. The reason: The party's liberal wing is trying to force a retreat from a deal struck in the House to ensure that federal funds aren't used for abortions under a health-care overhaul. It's an argument nobody seems to really want, over a subject almost everybody would like to avoid, yet it hangs overhead like a cloud that...

I want to inform any tea partiers in the San Fernando Valley area (Southern California) about an event this Sunday: Democrat Congressman Brad Sherman, Big spending Liberal, is holding a TOWN HALL Meeting, on SUNDAY. As a fiscal conservative, I plan to protest the event and this Democrat Congressman, spending our grand kids money!!!!! If you could help me spread the word, I'd appreciate it.

GOUVERNEUR, NY - Despite the fact that Bill Owens has already been sworn-in and has voted on crucial legislation in the House of Representatives, he may not have actually won the NY-23 Congressional Special Election. Several errors were made during the initial vote counts. Over 2,000 votes for contender Doug Hoffman were not counted in the preliminary results, narrowing the current vote gap to less than 3,000 votes between Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Doug Hoffman. The errors were discovered during the standard vote recanvas that has been underway since November 4th. The largest error occurred in Oswego County where...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. -- Former NFL player Jon Runyan says he's considering running for Congress. In a statement issued Wednesday by the Burlington County Republican Committee, Runyan says he believes the country is being taken in the wrong direction by career politicians. Runyan, an offensive lineman, played 13 seasons in the NFL, the last nine with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 35-year-old is out of football this season, though he's talked to the Eagles and other teams about coming back. If he runs for Congress, it would be in New Jersey's 3rd District, which stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs to central...