Free Republic

So House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is about 40-odd minutes into her "Ask the Speaker" session Saturday at the Netroots Nation confab here in Austin,TX and about to field a question about energy and the environment, when she says she's got to call a friend. Offstage is heard the voice of Al Gore. No, wait he's actually here and the Netrootsters in the airline hangar sized hall greeted him with a nearly a minute long standing O. It was like a surprise guest showing up to jam at a Bridge School Benefit Concert. -- if you're a political geek, which we...

YES, folks, it's déjà vu all over again. That charismatic American politician Jimmy Carter II, aka Barack Obama, is carrying all before him – at least in Europe – riding a tsunami of media-driven hysteria. When you are possessed of unlimited reserves of rhetoric, boundless ambition, an increasingly undisciplined ego and – er – not a lot else, the soap-box becomes addictive.

In Barack Obama’s July 2, 2008 speech calling America to national service, Obama proposed “a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as our military. This has prompted some in the blogosphere to raise the specter of a huge new domestic paramilitary organization. Others suggest that he may have been talking about our “current non-military security agencies - FBI, CIA, NSA, DEA, DHS, etc.” I think that both interpretations are probably wrong. If you listen to the whole speech –- or even the couple minutes before his security force proposal — I think...

That nervous laughter you hear is the sound of party activists responding to speculation that Barack Obama or John McCain might pick a vice presidential candidate from the opposing party. More specifically, it is reaction to talk that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) is being seriously considered as a running mate for Barack Obama or that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is a potential choice for John McCain. Though it’s nothing more than unfounded conjecture at this point, top conservative and liberal activists nevertheless say that any cross-party selection of that kind would...

On Wednesday morning, The Post published a poll of registered voters giving Barack Obama an eight-point lead -- largely because the voters said they trusted him more than John McCain on handling their No. 1 issue, the economy, by an astounding 19 percentage points. That noon, I had lunch with two veteran Republican operatives not working in the McCain campaign and asked them what they would recommend for the Arizona senator. "Get Alan Greenspan to run with you," said the first. "Or Warren Buffett," the second offered. Neither of those celebrated financial wizards is likely to be available. But it...

Barack Obama delivered a speech in West Lafeyette, IN on Wednesday and once again mangled some well known historical facts: Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor, to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Americans have adapted to the threats posed by an ever-changing world. Aaah yes – "the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor." Who can forget that? It was the big one, the one that took out all those boats. I guess Obama's political correctness prevents him from...

The House for a second time defeated a Democratic bill to require energy companies to explore their existing oil and gas leases or lose them. The “use-it-or-lose-it” bill (HR 6515) was the Democratic leadership’s response to a drumbeat of Republican calls for legislation to open up new public lands and offshore areas to oil and gas drilling. It was a retread of a measure (HR 6251) that Democrats rushed to the floor ahead of the July 4 recess under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds vote for passage. The 223-195 vote on that bill June 26...

New York tax filers reporting more than $375,000 a year in earned income may end up paying nearly 60% of their wages in taxes to the government under a Barack Obama presidency, economists who have analyzed his plan said. The Democratic presidential candidate is proposing not only raising the federal income tax, but also adding a Social Security tax for those Americans earning more than $250,000 a year. For New Yorkers, that could mean that if the current Social Security rate is applied, the marginal tax rate, or rate on every extra dollar earned, could rise to 58%. "This is...

Looking back over the last 40 years, the presidential campaign that most closely resembles this year's is the contest between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in 1976. The Republicans were the incumbent presidential party that year, as they are now, but the Democrats had a big advantage in party identification -- on the order of 49 percent to 26 percent then, far more than today. The Republican president who had been elected and re-elected in the last two campaigns, Richard Nixon, had dismal favorability ratings, far lower than George W. Bush's. His name could scarcely be mentioned at the Republican...

Having had the pleasure of sitting in for Hugh Hewitt today on his radio show, much of the discussion centered around a peculiar riff by Barack Obama in a speech from July 2 -- one which, remarkably enough, is going unreported by the media. In a deviation from the speech's transcript as printed in the Wall Street Journal and the Denver Post, Barack added: We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as...

Hi everybody, I’m excited to be posting on BlogHer. Not only because blogging is something I’ve actually been able to beat my daughters to; but because it gives me the opportunity to tell you a little bit about them, my husband, myself, and our experiences traveling all over this great country. Over the course of this campaign, I’ve been hosting roundtable discussions with working women all across America. I’m there to talk about my husband, of course – but more importantly, I’m there to listen. We talk about what it’s like to play multiple roles at once and what it’s...

Many people across the Arab world are excited and amused that a black man with the middle name 'Hussein', who is pledging to end the war in Iraq, has become the Democrats' nominee for president of the US. But in Iraq, which is preparing to receive Senator Barak Obama this weekend, a sense of realism prevails. He said that he would have all US combat troops out of the Arab country within 16 months of becoming president. All this, however, sparks fear rather than joy among many Iraqis across the political and sectarian spectrum. Withdrawal of US troops is not...

As Sen. Barack Obama prepares for his second visit to Iraq, Iraqis are divided over his plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops in 16 months should he be elected president. "Iraq will be in hell, and we will find ourselves at the gates of civil war," said Maied Rashed al-Nuaemi, a provincial council member in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq where Iraqi forces are battling the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. "The American presence in Iraq is the safety valve to keep this country quiet. If they withdraw, that will lead to calamity." Mohammed Sulaiman, 56, a retired...

On May 6, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama won the North Carolina Democratic primary almost as decisively as he had won South Carolina nearly four months earlier. Tim Russert of NBC News immediately declared the race over and Obama the winner. A week later, Obama lost West Virginia by more than 40 points as he began a stumble to the actual finish line that showed him to be the hare, Hillary Clinton the tortoise. Actually, he's a one-trick pony, whose opposition to the war in Iraq seems about as relevant today as a sequel to the movie "The Adventures of Pluto...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wants people to know that Democrats like oil drilling. A lot. They're just very picky about where. "Democrats are saying let's drill. Let's explore. Let's get energy for Americans from America and have it for Americans," Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. He was announcing that Democrats will unveil an energy production bill Thursday. Asked a minute later if the proposed bill would allow new offshore drilling, Hoyer told IBD no. ... "We want oil and gas companies to drill on the leases they've been given," Reid said.

One day Americans are moaning about the harmful impact of cheap oil and the next they're grousing about the harmful impact of expensive oil. Which one is it? As a disreputable sort, I freely confess to having a fondness for oil. Actually, I have a mild crush on all carbon-emitting fuels that feed our prosperity. But I'm especially fond of cheap oil. For many years, those who spread apocalyptic global-warming scenarios have warned me that a collective national sacrifice was needed to save the world. One option, we were told, was to make gas artificially expensive, forcing our ignorant, energy-gobbling...

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr praised Al Gore on Thursday for his commitment to addressing climate change and said he has met with the former vice president several times to discuss possible solutions. In a speech Thursday at Constitution Hall in Washington, Gore said that he has also discussed climate change with presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Both McCain and Obama believe that action needs to be taken on global warming and have separately criticized the Bush administration for its approach on the issue. Barr said he believes the most effective energy solution will...

Remember the 3-o'clock-in-the-morning test--Hillary Clinton's dig at Barack Obama's commander-in-chief credentials during the primaries? As Obama heads to Europe and the Mideast this coming week, he is embarking on what might be called his "Ich bin ein Commander" test. It may well be the decisive one of his candidacy, especially with so many media stars--including three network anchors--along for the ride. One major reason why Obama's opponent, John McCain, has managed so far to rise above the public's grim assessment of the Republican Party is that, for many voters, he has already passed this test. Even though Americans think by...

Attend a Local Office Opening The Campaign for Change is opening offices across the Commonwealth this Saturday, July 19th. Show your support by attending one of these events. Most office openings are from 10am-2pm, except for our Charlottesville and Norfolk offices. Please check below for the exact time and address of the office nearest you: Blacksburg 216 South Main Street 276-494-4332 10am-2pm Bristol 1009 W. State St., Suite 1-D 276-494-4144 10am-2pm Castlewood 2 Right Miners Drive 276-494-4186 10am-2pm Charlottesville A & N Building at 422 E. Main St. 804-306-5823 7pm-9pm Danville Riverside Center, 3228 Riverside Dr. 434-378-2160 10am-2pm Fairfax City...

Dick Morris can be slimy and smarmy, but he’s smart. This week he put his finger on an issue that Democrats need to think hard about: offshore – or, as the Republicans call it – “deep-sea” drilling for oil. Clearly the Republicans have drilled down on this issue with some heavy-duty polling. Almost simultaneously, John McCain, Elizabeth Dole, Richard Burr and Pat McCrory came out for drilling to find more oil. Democrats – Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Kay Hagan and Bev Perdue – reflexively opposed the plan. They note, accurately, that drilling now will not produce oil for years to...

The phrase, “Let them eat cake,” is often attributed to Marie Antoinette, but some believe that Jean-Jacques Rousseau also used the phrase when writing about a French Aristocrat insensitive towards peasants who could not afford bread at the time. Whoever quoted the line is for history to figure out, but it would seem that this is the same bit of advice that Americans are getting from Congressional Democrats daily. While Americans struggle daily with the high price of gasoline and demand that Congressional Leaders and the President do something long lasting to address the problem in poll after poll. Congressional...

To watch the contortions over that New Yorker cover cartoon of the Obamas is to understand whom it is impermissible to offend in the America of 2008. The cartoon is a caricature of Michelle as an urban terrorist in an Angela Davis afro with an AK-47 slung over her back and a bandoleer of ammo in the Oval Office doing a fist-bump with a Barack decked out in turban and Muslim garb. On the wall hangs a portrait of Osama bin Laden. Blazing away in the fireplace is the American flag. "President Obama and First Lady -- as Seen From...

I heard The Great One, Mark Levin say on his radio show one day that he wished there was a way that we could put something at the gas pumps to let people know who’s to blame for the high gas prices.I think I also heard him say that he wished there was a way we could put Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama’s pictures on the gas pumps so when people filled up they’d see the faces of the people responsible for the high prices.After hearing this, I got an idea.So I payed a visit to my local...

A major theme of this year's presidential campaign is that the United States has lost the respect of the world and that electing a Democrat, especially Barack Obama, is the way to fix it. "What if we could restore America's place in the world, and people's faith in our government?" asks one Obama ad. Obama's supposed ability to make the United States loved again is taken as a given by the pundit class, not to mention his adoring followers. Listing his reasons for supporting the junior senator from Illinois, the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan swooned, "First and foremost: his face. Think...

Oh, for a good riposte. Barack Obama’s levity-free reaction to the now-famous New Yorker cartoon leaves one reluctantly wondering: Is he humor-challenged? Perchance, does he take himself too seriously for a nation of wits and wags? So soaring has been Obama’s rhetoric and so dazzling his smile that we’ve missed the possibility that the Illinois senator is less the lanky rock star and more the purse-lipped church lady, clucking his tongue in disapproval of the chuckling masses. His campaign’s angry reaction to the magazine cover shows a stunning lack of political dexterity. It wasn’t always so. In earlier days, Obama...

NEA Family Feud by: Bethany Stotts, July 18, 2008 It’s that time again. The National Education Association teacher’s union met in Washington, D.C. over July 4th week for its annual convention and to endorse Barack Obama for president. Obama has drawn criticism from pro-life groups for his strongly pro-choice stance, having declared in 2007 that “the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act,” which would overturn state restrictions on abortion. Following in this pro-choice vein, the NEA convention also once again upheld the original language of Resolution I-15, which “supports family planning, including the...

One day Americans are moaning about the harmful impact of cheap oil and the next they're grousing about the harmful impact of expensive oil. Which one is it? As a disreputable sort, I freely confess to having a fondness for oil. Actually, I have a mild crush on all carbon-emitting fuels that feed our prosperity. But I'm especially fond of cheap oil. For many years, those who spread apocalyptic global-warming scenarios have warned me that a collective national sacrifice was needed to save the world. One option, we were told, was to make gas artificially expensive, forcing our ignorant, energy-gobbling...

CNN this week took a look at Cindy McCain's wealth this week, reporting that she "is not only a wife to Senator John McCain, she is also his meal ticket. Her reported 2006 income of more than $6 million exceeded her husband's earnings 16 times over. That money pays for a wealthy lifestyle of high end condos, an Arizona ranch, flying in a corporate jet, and more." The story quoted a writer from the Politico saying that her beer distributorship funded his first congressional campaign and has subsidized his presidential campaign. CNN correspondent David Mattingly reported that "as president, McCain...

New York Times: Senator Obama, for his part, will not be cast as the avenging hero in “The Rescue” any time soon — and not because of the color of his skin or his lack of military experience. He doesn’t seem to want the role. You don’t see him crouching in a duck blind or posing in camouflage duds or engaging in anything more gladiatorial than a game of pick-up basketball. If Mr. Obama’s candidacy seeks to move beyond race, it also moves beyond gender. A 20-minute campaign Web documentary showcased a President Obama who would exude “a real sensitivity”...

Not WRIGHT for America just announced an "ongoing public service campaign to warn people about the dangers of an Obama presidency." Their classic bumper sticker is free at www.notwrightforamerica.com. It will look great on your car! We have to tell people about Obama and his radicalism, and part of that is reminding people about Reverend Wrong. This is one small way.

This morning the papers were overloaded with positive stories proclaiming that Barack Obama was back on his A-Game and raising money like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately the MSM once again failed to look at the actual numbers that should be of concern for the Obama campaign. It is true that the Obama campaign did raise $52 million in June, along with DNC fundraising that added another $22 million to their coffers. That's a total haul of $74 million for the Democrat party in the month of June. But...

WASHINGTON: Upon entering Congress in 1987, Representative Nancy Pelosi quickly became part of the solid California front against oil drilling along much of the nation's coast. The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and the steady push to tap the potential reserves off the state's rugged coast had galvanized Californians and made opposition to offshore drilling part of the political DNA of up-and-coming figures like Pelosi.

The rhetoric over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is heating up as gas prices rise, with pro-drilling members of Congress and congressional hopefuls making visits to the refuge to hammer home their point. A group of House Republicans led by minority leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, are headed to Alaska this weekend for a tour of ANWR. Seven Republican U.S. House candidates from around the country also flew to the refuge this week and told reporters in Anchorage Thursday that it strengthened their pro-drilling stance. "I will go back to the people of Utah and confirm to the...

Former Gov. Mitt Romney, who's increasingly visible on the campaign trail on behalf of the man who beat him for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain, is about to forgive the $45 million he loaned himself for the primary struggles. The legal move of filing papers with the Federal Election Commission re-declaring Romney's loans as contributions is imminent, according to a report by Michael Kranish on the Boston Globe website. It would clear the legal deck for Romney to become a candidate again as, oh, say, the vice presidential Republican running mate of McCain. Republican presidential nominee to be...

<p>WARREN, Michigan (CNN) – John McCain on Thursday described Barack Obama’s Senate record as “more to the left” than Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont — an independent who caucuses with Democrats but has described himself as an “independent Democratic socialist.”</p>

A political messiah, who — unlike Reagan and Kennedy — needn't bother to do anything. Barack Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate. He figures it would be a nice backdrop. The supporting cast — a cheering audience and a few fainting frauleins — would be a picturesque way to bolster his foreign-policy credentials. --snip--After all, in the words of his own slogan, “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” which, translating the royal “we,” means: “I am the one we’ve been waiting for.” Amazingly, he had a quasi-presidential seal with its own Latin inscription affixed to his...

No wonder John McCain's policies are incoherent. He digests this stuff while also claiming to be a Reaganite. The problem is, many people in his own party aren't buying it, let alone conservatives. Many of the problems Brooks sites to promote his view were made worse by big government. Can anyone seriously point to any major sector of our economy where the government hasn't insinuated itself in a significant way? Talking about Disraeli and TR as if 100 years and more of government intervention hasn't transpired — such as the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the Square Deal, the Great...

Signaling how they intend to frame their attacks next week against a globe-trotting Barack Obama, John McCain's campaign is suggesting that the Democratic nominee's popularity abroad may not translate well in middle America and that his trip amounts to a foreign photo-opportunity. "I don't know that people in Missouri are going to like seeing tens of thousands of Europeans screaming for The One," quipped a McCain aide, deploying a moniker some in the campaign use to poke fun at Obama's exalted status in certain quarters. McCain is stumping today in Kansas City, Mo. "This isn't about reaching out to allies...

WASHINGTON -- Gasoline prices are flattening consumer wallets and hobbling our economy, while the Democrats sit back and play politics with the issue. Voter surveys show that the economy and gas prices top the list of the most critical issues facing our country. A Washington Post/ABC News poll reported last week that 85 percent of voters polled said gas prices will be either extremely or very important to their vote in this year's elections. And with good reason: Americans are getting walloped with huge gas bills, while utilities, buckling under ever-higher energy prices, are raising electricity rates to historic levels....

A few weeks ago, John McCain met with the Rev. Billy Graham in what was widely seen as an effort to step up his outreach to religious people. And little wonder: The conventional wisdom has decreed that the senator, who is generally reticent about his own faith, needs to do something drastic to shore up his appeal among religious voters. But it is not only Republicans who feel the need to court the "value voter" bloc. Ever since John Kerry's loss in 2004, the Democratic Party has been trying to "broaden the agenda" of religious folks, pushing global warming, Iraq...

Pelosi: Let Them WalkNancy Pelosi is an unlikely choice for Speaker Of The House of the United States. She is stupid, greedy, ignorant, vengeful, and stubborn. All poor qualities for someone in leadership, particularly someone that is third in the line of succession to be President. While these apparent political attributes have served her well, they have made the country less secure. Pelosi stands firm against offshore drilling The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and the steady push to tap the potential reserves off the state's rugged coast had galvanized Californians and made opposition to offshore drilling part of the...

Obama 's planned trip to Israel and the West Bank next week has raised security concerns to levels not seen since the Illinois senator began his presidential bid, officials tell the DRUDGE REPORT. Coming just weeks after shots were fired at Israel's TLV airport during a farewell ceremony for France's Sarkozy, from an apparent suicide of a security guard, Obama's trek to the region has become a serious logistical and safety challenge. "I would prefer if he did not make the trip to Ramallah," a concerned government official explained Thursday night from Washington. "And he must use extreme caution throughout...

Waldo - Some 150 anarchists from throughout the United States and Canada descended on a strip of private land this week in this Sheboygan County village for four days of workshops, including some focused on strategizing for demonstrations at the upcoming Democratic and Republican national conventions. The 2008 CrimethInc. Convergence was the sixth annual communal campout organized by CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective, an international underground network that since the mid-1990s has published widely read anarchist texts such as "Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook." The group also has drawn the attention of FBI agents trying to infiltrate the protest movement. At...

On the night of January 20, 2009, a new commander-in-chief will leave the inaugural podium, parade, and festivities for the Oval Office. A national security staff ready with the latest “threat briefing” will join him there. On his desk, they will place a thick binder of reports, each focusing on real or emerging threats to our national security. In the quiet of the Oval Office -- in the presence of these stern-faced, deadly serious briefers and advisers -- Barack H. Obama, should he be the next president, will come face-to-face with reality. Americans are afraid of this scenario, Barack H....

How are you doing, financially? You’ve probably got a better job than you did five years ago, and you’ll probably have a still better job (or at least better pay) five years from now. Unless, of course, you retire. In that case, your income goes down, yet you have an opportunity to live for your final 20 or 30 years (with help from Social Security and Medicare) without working. Retirement is a prospect today’s Americans take for granted. But it’s a recent invention. It wasn’t all that long ago that most people worked their entire lives. Most jobs were physically...

I was excited to see the U.S. Supreme Court affirm for the first time that the Second Amendment and our right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. Sen. John McCain understands this and he immediately praised the Court’s decision. Sen. Barack Obama still can’t figure out how he feels about it. Barack Obama has made many statements over the years that lead me to believe he would be the most anti-gun president ever elected to the White House and also leads me to believe that he doesn’t understand our...

Obama with another gaffe from that West Lafayette, Indiana speech. Via CNN transcripts. "From the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor"

Barack Obama wants to speak at the Brandenburg Gate. He figures it would be a nice backdrop. The supporting cast -- a cheering audience and a few fainting frauleins -- would be a picturesque way to bolster his foreign policy credentials. What Obama does not seem to understand is that the Brandenburg Gate is something you earn. President Ronald Reagan earned the right to speak there because his relentless pressure had brought the Soviet empire to its knees and he was demanding its final "tear down this wall" liquidation. When President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate on the...

Lifelong Democrat Caren Turner doesn’t plan to vote for Democrats out of a sense of nostalgia. In fact, she’s not sure she’s going to vote Democratic in the coming presidential election. Turner, a Hillraiser who worked as part of the powerhouse New Jersey fundraising arm called the Group, was among those Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) holdouts who yesterday took part in a feel-out session with a surrogate of Sen. John McCain’s (D-AZ). Of the group formerly known as "The Group," Michael Kempner last month indicated his absolute adherence to the Obama campaign, as did the Rev. Reginald Jackson; John Graham...

Every four years, the media announce which slice of American voters—Soccer Moms, Security Moms, Waitress Moms, NASCAR Dads, Office Park Dads, Joe Six-Packs, Angry White Males, or One-Armed Vegetarian Live-In Boyfriends—will decide the election for the rest of us. Equally ritualistic is the gleeful debunking of these ever-proliferating categories of swing voter. This year, with John McCain and Barack Obama redrawing the electoral map, it's going to be difficult to pinpoint a single group as the key to victory. But that doesn't mean media outlets (including this one) won't try. Pollsters generally discover swing voters in one of two ways....