Free Republic

A very nice website, Reagan To Palin, has an interesting post: The national movement that is building to take back Congress next year and elect Sarah Palin President in 2012 gathers steam each day.  Young and old alike are massing like a citizen army awaiting the battle cry for freedom to sweep the Pelosi’s, Reid’s and Obama’s out of Washington.  Every day we see evidence of people using their creative talents to produce videos, launch web sites, organize neighbors and register voters in the name of the common sense conservatism Sarah Palin is proclaiming for our nation.  The creative video...

"This battle was not fought for the sake of gaining positions or so many square miles of desert territory. They fought it with one single idea. they meant to destroy the armed force of the enemy and to destroy it at the place where the disaster would be most far-reaching and irrecoverable.... Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning..." Sir Winston Churchill - 1942 As we head into the new year within the next few hours in America, are we on the heels...

GOP strategists see hopes for a comeback in the 2010 midterm elections, though, and they are focusing strongly on Democratic incumbents in McCain districts such as Marion Berry in Arkansas’ 1st District and Vic Snyder in Arkansas’ 2nd. While both of these veteran lawmakers maintain advantages in their races, the stepped-up GOP efforts to challenge them have prompted CQ Politics to change its ratings on the races — to Leans Democratic (from Likely Democratic) in Snyder’s race and to Likely Democratic (from Safe Democratic) in Berry’s district.

If you needed more confirmation that entrenched, nine-term incumbent Earl Pomeroy is in a lot of trouble in the upcoming election year (after ignoring his constituents and casting a vote for an unpopular health care bill this last year, among other things) I have the line on some private polling that shows Pomeroy floundering even against an unnamed opponent.

More rhetoric than reform. A couple of weeks ago, amidst the prolonged drama surrounding Senate passage of the Democrats' health care bill, House Democrats unveiled another major policy initiative for 2010--a renewed effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The new bill didn't attract a lot of national media attention at the time. Health care sucked the air out of the news cycle. But a closer look at this developing story reveals an interesting twist. The House's new immigration gambit looks more like a political tactic aimed at dividing Republicans--when the GOP is growing in political strength heading into the 2010...

Two of our brethren were minding their own business, just publishing an internal-only TSA security directive, when all of a sudden Men with Badges & Subpoenas show up at their homes. The nerve, eh? Let's get the juicy part out of the way first. Here's the full text of super-secret directive: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Transportation Security Administration Aviation Security Directive Subject: Security Directive Number: SD 1544-09-06 Date: December 25, 2009 EXPIRATION: 0200Z on December 30, 2009 This Security Directive (SD) must be implemented immediately. The measures contained in this SD are in addition to all other SDs currently...

I picked up Going Rogue at Target a couple of weeks ago. It has a number of surprises, some pleasant, some just startling. It tends to confirm my belief that Sarah Palin, while perhaps not qualified to be president or vice president last year, was certainly more qualified than McCain, Obama, or Biden. My biggest surprise was that Going Rogue was apparently not “ghostwritten.” In a few places, I noticed sentences with “I” instead of “me” for the direct object — a mistake that a professional writer wouldn’t make. There is also a bit more use of “I” (at least,...

Scott Brown, a former Cosmo Centerfold contest winner and conservative Republican from Massachusetts, is gaining momentum in the US Senate race to replace liberal Senator Ted Kennedy. Scott Brown won Cosmo’s “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and appeared in the June 1982 issue. Legal Insurrection has the latest: There is Scott Brown the Senate candidate in Massachusetts, and there is Scott Brown, the musician in New Zealand. They each have Twitter accounts, but the Scott Brown from Down Under laid claim to @ScottBrown first, and the Senate candidate had to resort to @ScottBrownMA. As the Boston Globe reports, in the past...

There is Scott Brown the Senate candidate in Massachusetts, and there is Scott Brown, the musician in New Zealand. They each have Twitter accounts, but the Scott Brown from Down Under laid claim to @ScottBrown first, and the Senate candidate had to resort to @ScottBrownMA. As the Boston Globe reports, in the past few days, as @ScottBrownMA has gained momentum through bloggers and twitterers and other social media, @ScottBrown has been inundated with people seeking @ScottBrownMA. Here is one of the tweets by @ScottBrown about the flood of contacts: Despite, or maybe because of, Martha Coakley's high profile as Massachusetts...

Oh, that’s quite good. Promoted from diaries. - Moe Lane If he doesn’t pull out a win in Massachusetts I’m gonna pull out all the stops to get him to move to Arizona. VIDEO His website is here… You can contribute here… even if John Cornyn won’t. Or especially since John Cornyn won’t. And finally, you can volunteer - EVEN if you don’t live in Massachusetts, you can make calls for Scott - here.

Republican Scott Brown wants Massachusetts voters to think of another telegenic politician when they step into the voting booth next month — Democrat John F. Kennedy, the brother of man he is trying to replace. In his first television ad in the campaign stretch to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Edward Kennedy’s death, Brown shows a black and white newsreel of President Kennedy delivering a speech on the benefits of tax cuts.

This is a matter of grave concern to us, because we believe the current president’s unprecedented decision to maintain his political campaign organization, in perpetual campaign mode, during his presidency means that in 2011, if not sooner, Democrats will work aggressively to select a doomed Republican presidential candidate for 2012. We believe, as we repeatedly say here, the MSM is already at work on this, pushing “The Five Horsemen of the GOP 2012 Apocalypse”. Currently, the men being pushed for 2012 by the media are Mitt Romney, John Thune, Tim Pawlenty, Charlie Crist, and John Huntsman. Some weeks, Bobby Jindal...

An Iowa Republican congressman says he thinks former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 and that she's among a few people who could win the state's leadoff caucuses. U.S. Rep. Steve King said Tuesday he initially thought Palin ended her political career when she resigned as governor last summer. But he said during a taping of an Iowa Public Television show that she's now in a far stronger position to succeed.

Tea-party leaders are delivering a bold ultimatum to all congressional candidates in 2010: Pledge to repeal the health-care reform bill in its entirety if it passes – or you will be booted from office. FreedomWorks Press Secretary Adam Brandon told WND the message couldn't be any clearer. Asked whether he believes the tea party movement will seek to oust politicians who refuse to repeal the legislation, he emphatically declared, "Absolutely." Max Pappas, vice president of FreedomWorks, echoed Brandon's statements in an interview with Gary Sargent, Washington blogger for the Plum Line, this week. "This has an unusual ability to be...

Interestingly, as I write this, word comes from the paper that one of the GOP candidates for Governor of South Carolina, has been AWOL from his day job. Gresham Barrett, a South Carolina Congressman, has been absent from more votes in the United States House of Representatives than any other Congressman, Democrat or Republican. Barrett is, like the other guys in the race, a good guy, but I have to ask what these guys have sacrificed for their principles. We are used to guys compromising in the name of comity and saving face and power. Rarely do we see a...

As reported by Jules Crittenden, the national GOP has all but abandoned Scott Brown in his bid for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in the January 19 special election. Brown's opponent, Martha Coakley, is a down-the-line liberal who is vulnerable because she will be a puppet for the Democratic leadership. If Massachusetts voters want more of the same, they can get it with Coakley. If they want change they really can believe in, Scott Brown is the answer. But the national GOP couldn't seem to care less. The amount of funding provided to Brown has been minimal. Coakley, on the other...

Here’s something that really frustrates us, because we don’t want to see Dick Durbin become the next Majority Leader once Harry Reid is removed from Congress next year — we do not want to see Democrats maintain control of the Senate, but that’s apparently what Republicans, at least in Illinois, really DO want. Last night, we talked to some Republican friends of ours, and the topic of Rudy Giuliani came up. We’re upset Giuliani decided against taking out Kirsten Gillibrand in New York — because, as we told you, and we sincerely do mean this, we want to see every...

WASHINGTON — With visions of a Republican majority dancing in his head, California U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy is driving the back roads of America these days, looking for fresh faces to represent his party in 2010. "I believe this will be a wave election," McCarthy said. "This will be a national election." To regain control of the House of Representatives, Republicans must pick up 41 seats. If they win big in the House next year, it will be at least partly because the party put McCarthy in charge of its recruiting efforts. It's the latest high-profile assignment for McCarthy, who...

If conservatives wait until November 2010 we will be: Too little, too late. This is why: The nominations and primary races are shaping up right now. We must nominate conservatives for the November 2010 vote, right now. Deadlines approach soon. GOP county and state organizations are working right now to get their ducks in a row for the 2010 election - and beyond. When conservatives sit back and "wait" - we're saddled with candidates like Dede Scozzafava of the recent RINO insider fiasco in New York, not to mention certain lack-luster candidates for the presidency. Let's look at GOP county...

We don’t get to check in with our good friend Abbey in Cleveland as often as we’d like, because we’re all so busy, and Abbey runs her own business, has started an urban farm in one of the worst parts of the city, and takes care of not only her son Lil’ Remy, but also her “Big Byron” too. She’s got all sorts of critters now, too, from rabbits and ducks to chickens and goats. She always has something interesting to say, so we were happy she gave us a call last night to catch up. In addition to the...

I have in the past been a skeptic of Sarah Palin. Not of her political talent, which is considerable, but of her grasp of – and even interest in – substantive policy issues. When she abruptly resigned the governorship of Alaska on July 3rd, I wondered if she simply hadn’t the stomach for national politics. And the rambling, disjointed speech she gave that day left me wondering if she even knew why she was making such a momentous and potentially career-crippling decision. But then a funny thing happened: In November, Mrs. Palin debuted her memoir “Going Rogue” with great sales,...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll, released Thursday, shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16 (see trends). Thirty-eight percent (38%) now believe the economic stimulus plan passed earlier this year has hurt the economy. Just 30% believe it helped. That’s the first time since the legislation passed that a plurality offered a negative assessment. Most voters (52%) are concerned that the government will do too much in terms of responding to...

Among conservatives, the GOP is often referred to as the "Stupid Party" for its tonedeaf, ham-handed, wrong-footed management of key issues like taxes and government spending. With the Senate's passage of government-run health care legislation, Democrats are making their bid to replace the GOP as not just the Stupid Party, but the stupidest party since the Whigs owned the title in the first half of the 19th century. But conservatives need to insist that the GOP press its opposition to big-government health care right through the 2010 elections. Think it's unnecessary to insist? Think again. Moderate Republicans have very little...

Tracey P posted photos from the Wasilla Christmas Friendship Dinner with the Sarah & Todd Palin serving dinner. Greg Johnson from the Frontiers Man.com reported from the the dinner, Christmas Friendship Dinner dubbed 'best ever': Wasilla, Alaska — As the vice-presidential candidate served up mashed potatoes and turkey to a long line of hungry visitors, Santa was still wide awake after pulling an all-nighter delivering gifts around the world. Both were all smiles as they chatted with and served up food and presents to hundreds at the 18th annual Christmas Friendship Dinner at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport, and believes at least one other person from the flight was arrested on Friday at Detroit Metro Airport. Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked exclusively with MLive.com and confirmed he was on the flight by sending a picture of his boarding pass. He and his wife, Lori, were returning from a safari in Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday. Kurt HaskellLori and...

Father reported him to US Authorities six months ago The young man, who yesterday night attempted to ignite an explosive device aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan in the United States has been identified as Abdul Farouk Umar Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old son of Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, former First Bank chairman. Mutallab, a former minister and prominent banker recently retired from the bank's board. The older Mutallab, as at the time of filing this report, had just left his Katsina hometown for Abuja to speak with security agencies, family sources say. According to the family members, Mutallab...

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's brother, William, is warning the Democratic Party that it is going too far left and will end up "in the wilderness" in 2010. William Daley has been a longtime political operative that has been connected with the Clintons for many years but that doesn't make him an extremist lefty, apparently… at least in his opinion. Daley wrote an op ed for the Washington Post today where he warns that the Democratic Party is in danger of going over the leftwing cliff... Read the rest at Publiusforum.com...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been the subject of such vile attacks from the left that many forget that they once had praise, not vitriol, before she became John McCain’s running mate. After Palin won her election in Alaska in 2006 she was the darling of the Democrats because she bested sitting Governor Frank Murkowski. She not only beat Murkowski, she sent packing many of his pals in the Republican “corrupt bastards club.” Smiles on the faces of Democrats were seen all around. Some of Murkowski’s buddies even made their way to the penitentiary, thanks to Palin. She meant...

Obamacare, as critics have dubbed the president's plan to socialize health care, will be flooded with lawsuits if it ever becomes law, according to an organization that works to protect rights and liberties of Americans. In an alert issued this week, Liberty Counsel, run by President Mathew Staver, promised his organization "is prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the bill since Congress has no authority to require every person to obtain insurance coverage and has no authority to fine employers who do not provide the coverage standards that are required in the bill." "In addition," he warned, "the bill still...

Sarah takes on Big Oil: The compelling story of Governor Sarah Palin's battle with Alaska's 'Big 3' oil companies, as told by the state's top oil and gas editors, Kay Cashman and Kristen Nelson (Hardcover) Product Description Sarah takes on Big Oil illuminates Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's rise to power, along with her successes and failures in dealing with the industry that is the lifeblood of the state's economy. This book is a must read for those seeking to understand Palin's qualifications for national leadership. Purchasers of Sarah takes on Big Oil qualify for a free, two-year, online subscription to...

Beware of the Sleeping Giant– Sarah Palin warned the big government democrat-socialists: Tomorrow’s Health care Takeover vote Will cause the sleeping giant to awaken and take action. “Average” Americans will take action as light shines on big government growth and corruption. The democrats have bribed enough senators and will vote tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM EST to take over health care. May December 24, 2009 be the beginning of the end of big government socialism in America. We Will Never Forget.

Dear Governor Palin, My name is Patricia Melton, and I am the President-for-Life of the Mineral City Coffee Club here in Mineral City, Ohio. I don’t know if you have Coffee Clubs up in Alaska, but you should. I imagine it gets really cold up there, and there’s nothing like a hot cup of coffee and spirited conversation with good friends (and even people you can’t stand) to take the chill out of the air and get a little fire in your belly. This morning, the Mineral City Coffee Club is getting our little care packages ready to take out...

The struggles of the Democrats and the Republicans are making news. The Democrats are learning that it is far easier to make campaign promises than it is to govern. As for Republicans, the party that loses the Presidential election often spends the off-year attempting to refine its message if not find a new message and new messengers. In the watchful eye of 24/7 cable news channels and the Internet, however, such political soul searching can appear rather untidy. As the calendar turns, the process remains unresolved for Republicans to say the least. Worse than mere overexposure, according to Rasmussen polling,...

I listened to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell on Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday. He sounded tired and barely able to rally the troops against the Democrats’ government health care takeover. He told Sean’s guest host at the end of an obligatory-sounding critique of Harry Reid that, and I quote, “We’re going to fight ‘em all the way to the finish line.” That’s what he said: “We’re going to fight ‘em all the way to the finish line.” Before the cloture vote on sneaky Sunday, Sen. John McCain had sounded the same message with more energy, invoking John Paul Jones...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Why Does Interpol Need Immunity from American Law?   [Andy McCarthy] You just can't make up how brazen this crowd is. One week ago, President Obama quietly signed an executive order that makes an international police force immune from the restraints of American law.Interpol is the shorthand for the International Criminal Police Organization. It was established in 1923 and operates in about 188 countries. By executive order 12425, issued in 1983, President Reagan recognized Interpol as an international organization and gave it some of the privileges and immunities customarily extended to foreign diplomats. Interpol, however, is also...

In honor of the made-up holiday Festivus today, here is my airing of grievances. As a conservative and reluctant Republican, I find the tea party movement a much-needed pressure valve for the frustrations over our federal government's unconstitutional acts and potential treason. It's empowering to have a voice and a vehicle for action during a time when so many Americans feel helpless and hoodwinked. Equally frustrating is that the Republican Party doesn't want to show support for a peaceful, massive opposition movement like the tea parties -- especially when it is based on Republican principles. The time is approaching...

"This is not an administration that takes bad news well," Jennifer Rubin wrote on Commentary's blog, referring to Robert Gibbs' fit when asked to explain the Gallup poll showing the president taking on water, sinking into the high-to-mid 40s, and losing ground fast. Neither apparently does much of the left, which, faced with cratering numbers for both the health care proposals and for global warming, responded with all of the rational discourse and respect for debate and dissenting opinion that has made them so widely beloved. First, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who emerged in the health care debate as the...

Americans' mortgage woes continued to get worse in the third quarter. Just 87.2% of U.S. mortgages were current in the third quarter, a decrease of 1.5% from the previous quarter, according to the OCC and OTS Mortgage Metrics Report released Monday. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision report covers 34 million loans totaling $6 trillion in principal balances, about 65% of the U.S. mortgage market. Serious delinquencies jumped to 6.2% of mortgage-servicing portfolios, an increase of 16.7% from the previous quarter. The number of prime borrowers in trouble continues to mount as...

Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs...

I heard about it on the radio, this morning as Michelle Bachmann informed Glenn Becks’s sub, Chris Baker about the ACORN provision, one of the eleventh hour additions made behind closed doors. These Dems are absolutely brazen. Roland Burris is claiming credit: The provision he cites, found on pages 240 through 248 of the manager’s amendment, requires that six different agencies each establish an “Office of Minority Health.” The agencies are the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the...

Republican candidates now have an eight-point lead over Democrats, their biggest lead of the year, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Support for GOP candidates held steady over the past week, but support for Democrats slipped by a point. Perhaps this helps to explain why Parker Griffith, a freshman congressman from northern Alabama, is expected to announce today that he is switching parties. Elected as a Democrat, he is...

My fellow Americans you all are overlooking the obvious or refuse to accept the premise that we are not dealing with Americans. I read that it is unconstitutional; it flies in the face of the rule of law; a legal body cannot bind its equal. I agree whole heartily with all of these arguments, but again I repeat, you are denying the obvious. Until you accept the obvious, who we are really dealing with and after accepting that realization you’ll understand what needs to be done next and it has nothing to do with waiting for elections next November. These...

Many good, honest conservatives want to fire all of Congress. One of the latest efforts is a website called goooh.com (as in GetOutOfOurHouse.com). Believe me, I understand the feeling. Congress has miserably failed to satisfy the voters. They've been arrogant, they've spent more time accumulating personal wealth than legislating, they've casually ignored the entirety of the Constitution, they've lied, stolen and become so filled with hubris that even when they stand silent people assume they are lying. Yes, I get it when people say that we should "fire 'em all." But unfortunately the righteousness of the populist anger doesn't make...

AMERICAN.COM A Magazine of Ideas A Keystone Election By Michael BaroneTuesday, December 22, 2009 Filed under: Government & Politics, Culture, Numbers, Public Square A lot of attention has been given to the results of the November 3 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. But another recent election, in Pennsylvania, also deserves attention. A lot of attention has been given to the results of the November 3 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. But another election worthy of some attention was held in Pennsylvania, which has been a target state in the last three presidential elections. Pennsylvania elects its...

- Big Government - http://biggovernment.com - Posted By Bob Parks Obama: A Republican Plant? Many of us had no idea the Republican Party had it in them, but to devise and implement such a plan was ingenious. Think about it; party leadership acting totally inept while a charismatic young Democrat presidential candidate captures the imagination of the normally lethargic youth vote, captures the senior vote, women, and even sends a thrill up the leg of the media.And within a few short months after attaining the presidency, he conducts himself in a manner (personally and in office) that had not only...

The Democrats are VERY happy they got the 60-40 Health Care Reform (HCR) vote, but instead of thinking that they have a political victory, the Dems should wait until... ... Until more voters notice that some Senators voted for the bill mainly because they secured special treatments for their State on the backs of others states. ... Until State taxes and fees will go up for everyone (including the poor) in most states, due to higher Health Care costs that this bill puts on most States. ... Until seniors notice that Medicare will go through very steep cuts in the...

I was over at The Bean Walker and noticed an op/ed by David Mastio at The Des Moines Register. Who is David Mastio you may ask? I’m not familiar either, but (see update below) He is the “Senior Editor for Online Opinion” at The Washington Times, and obviously he thinks we should care about his opinion regarding who Iowa Republicans support in 2012 and who we give our money to. He chastises Iowa Republicans, and what is our crime? Not only did Iowa Republicans give Sarah Palin a high approval rating in a recent Iowa Poll, but we also spent...

Here are some thoughts on where things stand in the aftermath of the certain passage of the Senate health-care bill. 1. Few Democrats understand the depth and intensity of opposition that exists toward them and their agenda, especially regarding health care. Passage of this bill will only heighten the depth and intensity of the opposition. We’re seeing a political tsunami in the making, and passage of health-care legislation would only add to its size and force. 2. This health-care bill may well be historic, but not in the way the president thinks. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen anything quite...

14-TERM CONGRESSMAN ENDS SPECULATION OVER RETIREMENT Congressman John Spratt has ended months of speculation over whether he will resign or run to retain his seat next year. On Monday, the 14-term Democrat officially filed for re-election with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC filing showed Spratt, 67, with nearly $600,000 cash-on-hand. He is currently South Carolina’s longest-serving Congressman. A number of media outlets had been probing Spratt’s intentions of late, which likely pressured him into making a decisive move before he lost the support of his 5th district base. “Washington is sort of like an echo chamber,” Spratt told...

Call it the Wages of ObamaCare. When only 30% of a state’s likely voters support the one piece of legislation on which the incumbent has worked for most of the year, they tend to get a little chippy about the idea of sending him back to Washington. When paired up with Republican Governor John Hoeven in a 2010 midterm election, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan trails by 22 points, 58%-36%: Incumbent Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan may have a serious problem on his hands if Republicans recruit Governor John Hoeven to run for the U.S. Senate in North Dakota next year. The...