Free Republic

The Washington Post reports that failed establishment Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is gathering his “political brain trust” at a swanky Park City, Utah ski chalet later this month. If political brains were a prerequisite for an invitation it seems like Romney could have held the gathering in the broom closet of one of his mansions, but conservatives should not dismiss the threat to the prospects for a conservative victory in 2016 that Romney revanchists represent. As The Post reports, and we hear from time to time with incredulity, there is chatter among some powerful GOP donors about another Romney...

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (D) said Sunday that President Obama’s controversial healthcare law has been “great” for residents of his state. Crist has sharply criticized the healthcare law in the past. But the former Republican governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential short-lister is running for his old post this year as a Democrat this year. Crist said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he would have no problem running on the healthcare bill, which is known colloquially as ObamaCare, as he seeks to regain his former office. “I don’t think so at all,” Crist said when...

As you might of heard, the UAW went down to Chattanooga, Tenn. and took a bullet a few weeks ago when non-unionized workers at the Volkswagen plant told them to pack their carpet bags and head north. Now the question is: Why would a Southern man trust his future to a German company and not an American union? We deserve an explanation, since we not only bailed out the auto companies but also the pension fund of the UAW. In this edition of The Americans with Charlie LeDuff, the crew takes us on a journey that starts at the UAW...

Ahead of meeting with Netanyahu, president says unprecedented ‘aggressive settlement construction’ detrimental to peace process Israel can expect to face international isolation and possible sanctions from countries and companies across the world if Benjamin Netanyahu fails to endorse a framework agreement with the Palestinians, US President Barack Obama cautioned on Sunday ahead of a meeting with the Israeli prime minister. In an interview with Bloomberg, Obama stressed that time was running out for Israel to achieve a peace deal, and added that he believed Netanyahu had the capacity to rally Israel’s citizens behind an agreement. But if Netanyahu “does not...

I am done. This site has broken me. I am as staunch a conservative as you will find. After returning from Iraq, injured and upset, I turned here and found a welcoming community that shared my thoughts. I am a proud Gadsden Flag waiving man of the Tea Party movement. But because I don't think Sarah Palin is as historically important as other GOP women in the past, I am now considered an idiot, a RINO, ass-kisser and whatever negative connotation you can throw my way. This site has changed so much since that dictator want to be became President...

The North Atlantic Council condemns the Russian Federation’s military escalation in Crimea and expresses its grave concern regarding the authorisation by the Russian Parliament to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine. Military action against Ukraine by forces of the Russian Federation is a breach of international law and contravenes the principles of the NATO-Russia Council and the Partnership for Peace. Russia must respect its obligations under the United Nations Charter and the spirit and principles of the OSCE, on which peace and stability in Europe rest. We call on Russia to de-escalate tensions....

“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon will be swimming with the fishes of Lake Michigan thanks to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: The comedian has agreed to participate in the city’s Polar Plunge fundraiser this weekend. The former White House chief of staff and mayor had initially challenged Fallon to participate in the annual jump into the lake’s frigid waters in response to what Fallon had described to the media as an open invitation for the mayor to appear on...

A day after U.S. intelligence said there would be no Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s troops started coming over the border. On Thursday night, the best assessment from the U.S. intelligence community—and for that matter most experts observing events in Ukraine—was that Vladimir Putin’s military would not invade Ukraine. Less than 24 hours later, however, there are reports from the ground of Russian troops pushing into the Ukrainian province of Crimea. It’s hardly a full-blown invasion. But it’s not quite the picture U.S. analysts were painting just a day before. There was good reason to think Putin wouldn’t do it....

In a Wednesday interview with Andrea Mitchell, Secretary of State John Kerry resisted Mitchell's assertion that "genocide" was taking place in Syria: QUESTION: I want to ask you about Syria. For three years, we have watched horrific pictures. You spoke of this when you were a senator. Obviously, now you’ve got the lead role on it. Horrible pictures. I looked at video of a child weeping over his mother’s body after a barrel bomb was dropped on her and other civilians by the regime. Just today, this picture on the wires from Yarmouk, from the refugee camp in southern Damascus....

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Mitt Romney on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of Republicans urging the Arizona governor to veto a bill that would allow business owners to cite their religious beliefs in refusing service to gay people. The former Massachusetts governor tweeted at Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), saying it “is right” to veto the bill passed by the state legislature last week. Mitt Romney ✔ @MittRomney .@GovBrewer: veto of #SB1062 is right. 3:41 PM - 25 Feb 2014 1,578 Retweets 831 favorites Brewer has not said whether she will sign or veto the measure. However, a number of media outlets have reported...

For the first time, a majority of Americans think President Barack Obama is not respected among world leaders, according to a new poll that found opinion has plunged “dramatically” in the past year. Fifty-three percent now say Obama is not respected on the international stage, up from 43 percent a year ago, the Gallup poll on Monday shows. And the number who say they believe the president is respected has dropped to 41 percent from 51 percent over the same time, the poll found.

One of the Naval warships assigned to the Black Sea for U.S. protection during the Sochi Winter Olympics ran aground last Wednesday in a Turkish port as it was attempting to refuel. The port was 240 miles from Sochi.

Over seven in 10 Obama voters, and 55 percent of Democrats, regret voting for President Obama's reelection in 2012, according to a new Economist/YouGov.com poll.

If it’s Friday on PBS, it’s time for “conservative” pundit David Brooks to bash the real conservatives. One of his favorite targets is Sen. Ted Cruz. On Valentine’s Day, PBS anchor Judy Woodruff announced “We watched this drama play out this week, David, in Congress, which ended up in the Senate with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas essentially hanging some of his fellow Republicans out to dry. What was he trying to accomplish, and did he -- did he do it?” Brooks shot back: “Nothing says Valentine’s Day like Senator Ted Cruz, our national aphrodisiac.” Then he said the conservatives...

How this guy even got people to help him make a music video kind of makes you wonder. Does he really think he sounds good? RIP Hip Hop.

Yutu entered a controlled hibernation mode despite mechanical problems on Jan. 24 to weather the 14-day lunar night cycle, but should have woken up days ago. China's mission control has yet to offer an official statement of failture, though it did report that Yutu did not wake up on schedule and was not responding to stimuli.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois is turning it’s Obamacare sales pitch into a joke. To get more people to sign up for health care, the state is bragging it will spend $150,000 on ads for the satirical news site The Onion. “We know that to effectively reach Young Invincibles – who are 53 percent of our uninsured residents in Illinois – we have to work with non-traditional, and especially digital, sources for news and entertainment. That’s where The Onion fits right into our outreach strategy,” Jennifer Koehler, executive director of Get Covered Illinois said in a news release. Neither Koehler nor...

HOUSTON — Sen. Rand Paul on Saturday predicted that Texas would turn blue within a decade if the Republican Party doesn’t become more inclusive. “What I do believe is Texas is going to be a Democrat state within 10 years if we don’t change,” Paul (R-Ky.), who grew up in Texas, said at a dinner held by the Harris County GOP. “That means we evolve, it doesn’t mean we give up on what we believe in, but it means we have to be a welcoming party.” -snip- The senator, whose father was a longtime congressman from Texas, acknowledged that immigration...

It would seem that if one place in the country could get a working health-care insurance exchange up and running it would be progressive Oregon. As the old tourist campaign used to say, “Things look different here.” No, that’s not a Portlandia episode. That’s a real slogan. Gov. John Kitzhaber is a former doctor who had pushed the implementation of the Oregon Health Plan during his first term. This was going to be the signature achievement this time around. The state, which received a $300 million grant from the Obama Administration to implement the plan, possessed all the ingredients to...

If GOP consultant Karl Rove is trying to figure out why he’s struggling to rally support for his causes, maybe he should remember an old truth: that the Republican Party’s true strength is its conservative base. Donations to Rove’s three political groups have dropped an astounding 98 percent since he waged his war on the tea party. Much of that decrease may be because 2013 was not an election year. But the plunge can also be attributed to donors’ realization that Republican candidates generally win elections only when they act Republican and not “Republican light.” In 2012, Rove-founded groups took...