Free Republic

Ron Paul on Monday created some distance between himself and his fellow libertarians on abortion, telling a gathering of social conservatives in Iowa that protecting the unborn is integral to his philosophy. Continue Reading Speaking for the Iowa Family Leader's presidential lecture series in Sioux City, Paul said that he is troubled when he hears libertarians advocate for abortion rights. Describing conversations with supporters, the Texas congressman and presidential hopeful said he often here a “libertarian type of argument” along the lines of “it’s the woman’s body. She can do whatever she wants. She can have an abortion.” “I don’t...

In 1980 Margaret Thatcher famously declared she was “not for turning”, and admirably stuck to her guns as prime minister through thick and thin. In contrast, Barack Obama’s presidency has been filled with the kinds of U-turns that would have made even Jimmy Carter blush. President Obama’s decision last week to do a 180 degree about-turn on the issue of military tribunals is the latest policy reversal by a presidency that has become increasingly adept at making them, usually without batting an eyelid. Below, I outline ten of the biggest policy flip-flops by the Obama administration since taking office in...

Republican Presidential Primary voters: Test your knowledge of Mitt Romney’s principled stands on issues important to you. (Answers below - No peeking!) 1. Amending the Massachusetts Constitution to define marriage as one man and one woman A. When running for Governor, Romney denounced the marriage amendment as “extreme” and refused to support it. B. When running for President, Romney supported the marriage amendment with great enthusiasm. C. Both A and B. 2. Homosexual Civil Unions A. Romney stated that he has never supported homosexual civil unions. B. Romney lobbied for a state constitutional amendment that would create homosexual civil unions....

Newt Gingrich Acknowledges ‘Contradictions’ On His Libya Views, ‘I Was Trying To Follow Obama’ March 26, 2011 12:06 PM ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports: DES MOINES, Iowa -- Potential 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich defended his shifting positions on whether the U.S. military should have intervened in Libya on Saturday, saying that he was responding to President Obama’s changing views. “The fact is that on each day I was on television I was responding to where the president was that day,” Gingrich told a gathering of conservative Iowans. “And so obviously there were contradictions.” “It’s true,” he added, “I was...

After years of supporting immigration reform, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has started emphasizing a border-security-first approach as he makes a run for Senate. Flake's views on a guest-worker program and other immigration issues were considered his main vulnerability in a GOP Senate primary. But after watching Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) successfully tack to the right during his primary fight last year, Flake is now following that playbook. "In the past I have supported a broad approach to immigration reform — increased border security coupled with a temporary worker program. I no longer do," Flake said in a statement published by...

“Hope” and “change” may have been the twin messages of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, but the pledge that best embodied the central theme was his promise to shutter the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba within one year of taking office. For the American and international left, Gitmo was the most powerful symbol of everything that was wrong with the Bush presidency and the U.S. war on terrorism. They maintained it was an evil place, where innocent bystanders who had been caught up in America’s imperialist aggression in the Middle East could be held indefinitely, incarcerated without cause...

Sitting in on a March 1 Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) press conference regarding global warming and heavy snowfalls, I couldn’t help feeling like the chairman of the Senate committee questioning mafia capo Frank Pentangeli in Godfather II. The chairman, listening incredulously as Pentangeli contradicts a sworn written statement he had earlier given to the committee, waves the written statement in the air and protests, “We have a sworn affidavit — we have it — your sworn affidavit…. Do you deny that confession, and do you realize what will happen as a result of your denial?” The UN Intergovernmental Panel...

After many feints in this direction dating back to 1996, Newt Gingrich seems to be finally preparing a run for president. Generally, he is not being taken as seriously as potential candidates like Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee—or even D.C. insider heartthrobs such as Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, and Chris Christie. I agree with this assessment of Gingrich’s potential, to an extent; he’s the opposite of a fresh new face, and the guy’s baggage rivals Charlie Sheen’s. Yet having carefully watched Gingrich up close since he was a Rockefeller Republican in the 1970s, I also know that he...

Gibbs: indefinite detention of terrorists regrettable White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that it was unfortunate that some terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay need to be held indefinitely without trial. "Some would be tried in federal courts, as we've seen done in the past. Some would be tried in military commissions, likely spending the rest of their lives in a maximum security prison that nobody, including terrorists, have ever escaped from. Some, regrettably, will have to be indefinitely detained," Gibbs said on CNN's "State of the Union" as he described Obama's beleaguered plan for closing Guantanamo. The press...

Do insolvent states actually believe other states should bail them out? In June 2009, I was invited to introduce Michael Reagan at an event in Anchorage. In my remarks as Governor of Alaska, I warned against President Obama’s debt-ridden stimulus bill and its effect on all our state budgets. I believed that the bill’s benefits would be limited because government would grow exponentially, and I warned that the package was equivalent to a federal bribe with fat strings attached that created new unfunded mandates for state governments. At the time, most state legislatures, including Alaska’s, chose to ignore that warning....

Houstonians should be prepared to pay more to fix their cars, make minor home repairs and renew neighborhood association dues now that the City Council has voted to raise more than 150 fees by an average of 25 percent, according to a handful of contractors and business associations. Johnny Gibbs, owner of Lighthouse Electric, predicted Houstonians will balk at paying the higher fees for simple jobs like changing out a ceiling fan or replacing a light fixture. He usually charges only $50 to $75 for that kind of work, but now the minimum permit fee for the contractor, which went...

(snip) Mr. McCain, who previously expressed support for repeal providing that it had the military leadership’s approval, should listen. His clout could be decisive. Failure to enact repeal would be a personal rebuff to troops now serving in two wars. It would also fly in the face of the public’s overwhelming support of repeal. (snip) Senator McCain has a chance to do right by the military and country he championed as a war hero. He should find a reasonable way to forgo a filibuster and end this grave injustice.

The Obama administration reiterated its support Monday for repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worked to strip language repealing the ban from the annual defense authorization bill. "The White House opposes any effort to strip 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' from the National Defense Authorization Act," said White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer. The written statement came as gay rights groups working to end the ban and liberal bloggers raised concerns that McCain would succeed in stripping repeal language from the massive defense policy bill. McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services...

(snip) Aid to the housing market should have been included with the plan to bail out the banks, McCain said. But several in Congress felt that once the banks were bailed out, the banks would turn around and offer loans and other help to the real estate market. That didn't happen, McCain said. The real problem is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he said. The federal government has dumped $45 billion into the two programs, the same outfits that caused the housing crisis by giving out loans to people who couldn't afford to pay them back, he said."I want everyone...

Tuesday's primaries in Arizona and Florida appear likely to deliver a few surprises -- surprises, that is, for anyone who accepted the conventional wisdom of just a few months ago. Back then, Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) was considered in danger of becoming the next victim of a tea party uprising that was threatening Republican candidates who were seen as straying from conservative orthodoxy. In what was taken as a sign of his nervousness, he brought in his 2008 vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who vouched for his conservative bona fides. Now he enjoys a double-digit lead in the...

John McCain holds a comfortable lead in the contentious Arizona Republican Senate primary, according to the most recent public polling, making him the strong favorite against former Rep. J.D. Hayworth on Tuesday. But it’s been a costly road to a fifth term for the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, and the experience is likely to leave a lasting and unsightly stain on his legacy. It’s not just the $20 million he’s spent already this election or the scorched earth campaign that he’s run. Rather, it’s the choices he’s made and the positions he’s embraced — and what it reveals about him...

Former presidential nominee slams 'Eastern press' QUEEN CREEK, ARIZ. — It's dark, but still an oppressive 102 degrees, when Sen. John McCain agrees to talk to me in a parking lot next to his campaign SUV (flex-fuel and energy efficient, I'm assured). It's revved and running, no doubt for the air- conditioned comfort of those inside, but perhaps also for a quick getaway if needed. I have a feeling our time will be short, so I plunge quickly into questions about the upcoming Aug. 24 Republican Senate primary . "Why are you spending so much money?" I ask ( nearly...

Mayor Bloomberg brushed aside a question about whether President Obama has tried to backpedal on his comments about building a mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero, comes the report from our invaluable Erin Einhorn: First, President Obama took some heat for the speech he made last week that included what sounded like a defense of the Park51 project. Then he took some more heat for saying that he was commenting more generally on religious tolerance, not the "wisdom" of the location. Tempest in a teapot, Mayor Bloomberg said today. "You know, you try to read nuances into different...

WASHINGTON -- A White House spokesman said today that politics wasn’t a factor in President Obama’s remarks about building a mosque near the World Trade Center site. Deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton said it was “not politics” but Obama’s feeling that he had the obligation as president to “make sure people are treated equally” under the Constitution. Obama has said that religious freedom allows the mosque to be built, but without commenting on the wisdom of building one two blocks from ground zero. Republicans have pounded him for his comments, making it a prime midterm election issue. Burton...

Brett Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Wednesday that he has not made any decision about returning to play for the Minnesota Vikings this season and says he will play if healthy. Favre's agent, Bus Cook, said in a statement to the NFL Network on Wednesday that the quarterback has an appointment with Dr. James Andrews next week and will know more at that time. Andrews performed surgery on Favre's ankle in May. Favre denied sending text messages to Vikings teammates and club officials that might have indicated he had decided to retire. Favre told ESPN that...