Free Republic

My sentiments exactly, as I’ve made clear more than once before. We already knew who his top pick was; his second choice will come as no surprise, given his reasoning. Who he means by “boring, normal, mainstream Republican white guys� is left unsaid, but I think we’re all on the same page.

Reason number 4,080 why conservative Republicans who don’t really like John McCain should consider sucking it up—or keeping it down—and voting for him anyway: if Barack Obama wins the Presidency, the Republicans may decide to roll over and play dead instead of jumping up and biting him. Let’s face it, there are only two chances for a President Obama to face the sort of strong GOP opposition President Clinton faced in the mid-1990s: Slim and None…and Slim hasn’t been seen or heard from the past few days. It’s highly unlikely we will ever again see the dynamic that existed in...

You may have heard his name mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate, but if you don't know anything more about Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, you should. Governor Jindal is leading a revolution of conservative reform in Louisiana. He is the most transformational young governor in America today. The principles that motivate his Louisiana Revolution are the same pro-innovation, pro-competition, anti-bureaucracy and anti- big government principles that I urge each week in this newsletter - the same principles that are so desperately needed in Washington, D.C. For those of you who don't yet know him, I'd like to...

This week I want to do something a little different. Although my Winning the Future message has always been directed at all Americans, whether they consider themselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents, today I am directing my message specifically to Democrats. And my message is this:The American people have spoken. Are your leaders listening?Over 1.1 Million Americans Call on Congress to "Drill Here, Drill Now" We really had no idea, just 35 days ago when we first posted the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition here, that we would provide the spark that has ignited a fire among frustrated, struggling...

Here's how not only John McCain, but the GOP can win the White House and Congress in November...

AMERICANS don't like paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline or $5 for a gallon of diesel. Not one bit. Nearly 1 million Americans have signed our "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." petition at AmericanSolutions.com. The language is simple but powerful: "We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the US Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline (and other fuels derived from oil including diesel) prices by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries." The choice for our elected leaders is simple: Either take action...

Newt Gingrich was on Face the Nation yesterday, where he discussed the general election. Newt contends that McCain and the Republicans will not win if they run on an anti-Obama message. What I found more interesting, though, is when he spoke about the recent Supreme Court decision conferring Constitutional rights on detainees, saying it may "cost us a city..."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is “far and away the best candidate” for John McCain’s running mate on the Republican ticket. Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Gingrich said former congressman Jindal has been a “spectacular” governor and predicted he would be a presidential candidate in the future. Asked if Jindal, 37, would be ready to take over the presidency if he had to replace McCain, Gingrich said Jindal’s “experience in the executive branch and in the legislative branch is greater than” that of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Gingrich opined: “It strikes...

This year, the days set aside for honoring fathers and flags fell on the same weekend. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 of every year. Father’s Day the third Sunday of June, fell on June 15 this year, as close as is possible to Flag Day. This close alignment of seemingly different days provides us with the opportunity to ponder the significance of remembering and honoring fathers and flags, and to contemplate the intersection of the symbol of our nation (the flag) with the person who, without which, we would not be here today (our father). While the 13-star...

As gas prices continue to increase, Congress continues to blame others while ignoring practical steps to stop the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. To lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges. Sign the Petition Now! E-mail 10 friends to sign the petition. Download Petition & Collect Signatures...

An official Declaration of War has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), along with eight of his colleagues in the House. "Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (that) pursuant to Article 1, section 8 of the United States Constitution, the Congress hereby declares that a state of war exists," a draft of the resolution states. Co-sponsoring Rep. Virgil Goode (I-Va.) explained his support for the measure. "I firmly believe that, if we don't stop them now, they will come after us again,...

Saving the best for last, Gov. Sonny Perdue “sealed his legacy as one of America’s foremost ‘education governors’ ” last week. That’s the view of Lori Drummer, director of state projects for the Washington-based Alliance for School Choice, the nation’s largest nonprofit promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs. “Georgia is now a national leader in a school choice movement that is gaining momentum,” she said. The reason for her exuberance? On the final day allotted to deal with legislation passed by this year’s General Assembly, Perdue signed a bill authored by State Rep. David Casas (R-Lilburn) that will...

WOODSIDE, Calif. -- Here, he's from another planet. Here in Silicon Valley, David Kralik is, let's face it, some strange import. That's why he's attracting such buzz one recent afternoon inside Buck's, the legendary eatery, while lunching on a pulled-pork sandwich. -snip- Yep, that's Kralik. A lifelong Republican in the land of liberal Democrats. Who relocated from uptight, Brooks Brothers Washington. And works for Newt Gingrich. Then after giving an abbreviated history of Buck's (Hotmail, Netscape, PayPal, et al., scribbled their first business plans here; Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Al Gore stop by sometimes), MacNiven goes for the kill:...

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s petition to Congress demanding the removal of government obstacles to increasing our energy supplies is gathering momentum by the minute, while the Democrats’ do-nothing Congress wants to raise fuel prices. Actually, labeling Congress a bunch of “do-nothings” is almost right, but not quite. They’re doing their best to create more obstacles to growing our energy supply. And while the price of energy is already unreasonably high, they’re working hard on a liberal agenda that will raise the prices consumers pay for gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas and home heating oil. With the summer upon us (and...

Pelosi Climate Ad May Have Violated Campaign Laws, Experts SayBy Fred Lucas CNSNews.com Staff Writer May 21, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may have inadvertently violated federal campaign finance laws by appearing with Newt Gingrich in a television commercial that ran in her district less than a month before a contested primary, according to campaign finance experts. On April 17, the commercial began airing nationwide. It featured Pelosi sitting on a sofa with Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker, in front of an image of the U.S. capitol. They both introduced themselves and said they...

. . . Democrats will control Congress. If they also control the White House, we will have a series of legislative packages that will make the Great Society look like a libertarian government. . . . The country is in trouble. We have forgotten our founding principles, and we move inexorably toward a European style socialist state, with the only winners being an enormous bureaucracy. This will accelerate the economic decline. The argument is to give the Democrats their head, and pick up the pieces after the inevitable crash. I think that overlooks the resilience of tax and tax, spend...

While Newt Gingrich is correct in warning that Republicans in Congress face formidable odds in November, his proposed nine-point "action plan" does not measure up as a solution to the crisis. Some of Newt's assumptions are undeniably sound, such as the folly of hitching congressional campaigns to McCain’s non-existent coattails. And it is true that the Republican Party's crisis is the result of "catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans." What are missing from Newt's plan are policy measures that match his apocalyptic rhetoric. Of Newt's nine proposals, only a few attack major problems. Yes, declaring English our official language would...

The American people favor legal immigration, control of the border, ending illegal immigration with an emphasis on employer responsibility, immediate deportation of felons who are here illegally, a requirement to return home to become legal temporary workers, assimilation of those who sincerely want to become American, and a sophisticated, technologically advanced temporary worker system. SPECIFICALLY: ★ The American people want to increase the number of visas for highly-educated immigrants or those with special skills, the so-called H1B and H2B visas. (63 to 29) ★ The American people believe border control is a security issue. Terrorists are trying to enter the...

The starting point of any discussion of America's energy future has to be this: Shortsighted politicians have created the current energy crisis. For decades left-leaning politicians have advocated higher prices and less energy. They were going to save the environment by punishing Americans into driving less and driving smaller cars. Now their policies have succeeded with a vengeance. The very left wing politicians who favored a policy of no oil and gas exploration, no use of coal, no development of nuclear power, and no aggressive development of new technologies are now panic-stricken that their policies of higher prices have led...

The Club for Growth Political Action Committee has long been attacked for intervening in Republican primaries and targeting the party's most economically liberal incumbents. In 2000, Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Greenwood called the Club "cannibals." When the Club ran ads against Ohio Sen. George Voinovich and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe for resisting President Bush's 2003 tax cut, Karl Rove deemed the ads "counterproductive." And Newt Gingrich, the man who ushered in a conservative Republican majority in 1994, once denounced the Club. "Their strategy is explicitly wrong," he said. "The key is to elect more Republicans and have a bigger majority and...

Anteiglesia is not a term with which today’s politicians are particularly familiar. But, perhaps, they should be. In the Spanish Basque country, in the Middle Ages, anteiglesia was the name given to the periodic meetings of the local townspeople who gathered “in front of the church” to robustly discuss the important issues of the day and vote the people’s will. It was in some ways similar to the “town meetings” some politicians stage today – but not really. At the ancient anteiglesia, what was said actually mattered. This was brought to mind earlier this week when former House Speaker Newt...

The Republican loss in the special election for Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District last Saturday should be a sharp wake up call for Republicans: Either Congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November. The facts are clear and compelling. Saturday's loss was in a district that President Bush carried by 19 percentage points in 2004 and that the Republicans have held since 1975. This defeat follows on the loss of Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois. That seat had been held by a Republican for 76 years with...

Wonder why the Republicans seem dead and dispirited? Why not look at Kemp and Gingrich? Fox puffs these two as authorative Republican voices. Jack Kemp had 17 years in the House but he quit 20 years ago. He seemed to run for VP and finally Dole decided (1996)he should have this chance. Both were easily defeated by a younger and more personable man. What Kemp has to offer is allegedly some supply side economics. Actually, if you listen to him he has a series of platitudes that would place him left of center in the Republican Pary. Besides being dull,...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is calling on Republicans to seek "real change to avoid a real disaster" in the wake of another Democratic victory in a special election on Saturday. In a letter to House Republicans posted on www.newt.org, Gingrich urges House leaders to call an “emergency meeting” of House Republicans to address what he describes as a “catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans.” “If a majority of the House Republicans vote for real change, they should instruct Republican Leader John Boehner [Ohio] and his team to come back with a new plan by the Wednesday before the...

If you happened to be in Philips arena last week, you might have seen me at the Bon Jovi concert.  I was one of a group of eight women walking around in pink Bon Jovi T-shirts.  Yes, we did draw quite a few stares, and I did catch one lady pointing us out to her friend.  Luckily, being stared at a bit does not bother me much. Normally, I don’t listen to Bon Jovi’s songs, but wow - is lead singer Jon Bon Jovi a great performer.  He gives his all - and the audience reacts.  Here is what I...

“The climate crisis is both urgent and solvable [so] our ultimate aim is halt global warming,” proclaims an Al Gore website and ad campaign. But conservatives, among whom former Speaker Newt Gingrich proudly counts himself, believe hardly a single word of that statement. So it’s hard to fathom why Gingrich is appearing in TV spots with Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi, promoting the campaign. In a damage control letter, Newt claims he is merely trying to engage the climate debate and keep the right relevant, without granting the left’s premise “that we have conclusive proof of global warming [or] that humans...

My esteem for the political intellect of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is second to no one's. That said, by appearing in the latest Al Gore propaganda commercial, he joins a disturbingly growing number of ostensibly green-turning Republicans -- our president among them -- who thereby cast doubt upon their own conservative resolve. Harder still to reconcile is this: unlike that given by George Bush last week, Newt's explanation for his apparent duplicity rings excruciatingly hollow and ultimately fraudulent. Leaving dumbfounded admirers to wonder whether they'll ever learn why -- and why now? The ad by Gore's Alliance...

This is an excerpt from an e-mail we received from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich on why he participated in an ad for WE. Many of you have written to me to ask why I recently taped an advertisement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for The Alliance for Climate Protection, a group founded by former Vice President Al Gore. I completely understand why many of you would have questions about this, so I want to take this opportunity to explain my reasons. First of all, I want to be clear: I don't think that we have conclusive proof...

I just saw a TV ad starring Newt Gingrich and his pal Nancy Pelosi pitching their bipartisan solution to the nonexistent "climate crisis". You can join Newt and Nancy at http://wecansolveit.org/, if you wish to join their delusional bipartisan crusade. "The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance." Michael Crichton

The political odd couple of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich has teamed up to film a new TV ad urging U.S. leaders -- yes, that's aimed at you, President Bush -- to take immediate action on climate change. It's the second of the "Unlikely Alliances" spots filmed as part of former Vice President Al Gore's $300 million "We" advertising and online activism campaign designed to get the American public to pressure their elected officials to address global warming. The first ad featured left-leaning Rev. Al Sharpton and conservative Rev. Pat Robertson sitting on...

Gingrich interpreted these words, and the rest of the speech, as calling for a real dialogue, not a political debate, about what real change would seriously address these and similar problems throughout modern American society. So that is what he offered in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute on March 28. Gingrich began effectively saying to Obama, I know exactly what you mean, quoting Lincoln: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must...

27 March 2008 The Obama Challenge: What Is the Right Change to Help All Americans Pursue Happiness and Create Prosperity? Introduction – Steve Hayward If we could please come to order, we shall begin. I want to welcome everyone to the American Enterprise Institute this afternoon, and especially those on TV joining us by the indispensable medium of C-Span. In his first speech in the well of the House after becoming speaker in 1995, Newt Gingrich invited his colleagues and fellow citizens to think anew about the challenge of transforming the welfare state into the opportunity society, about having, and...

Announcement:Watch me respond to Sen. Obama at 12:30pm ET today By Newt Gingrich As promised last week, I'm responding to Senator Obama's recent speech from Philadelphia with a speech at the American Enterprise Institute today. You can read more about the speech here. We just found out that C-SPAN 2 will be covering the speech, LIVE. You can watch it on your TV or at the c-span website, www.c-span.org.

"Intellectually and fundamentally dishonest."

That was one of Newt Gingrich’s most important messages in a brilliant speech delivered to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last month. While the message may seem incongruous amid the fury of a presidential campaign, it is wise counsel nonetheless. Though he does not minimize the importance of the presidency, Gingrich rightly notes that, as the standard bearers for limited and local government, conservatives “should believe in a decentralized United States, where every elected official has real responsibility.� In light of this vision, Gingrich urges conservatives to devote energy, resources and intellectual capital to contests for the some...

While hard work gets us ahead, there appear to be limits. It’s often the times of rest and recovery that provide us with the energy we need to work hard. In today’s ultra-connected worlds of Blackberrys, iPhones, e-mail and Twitter (an internet service that allows people to constantly text where they are and what they are doing to the universe at large or a group of friends) – it is often hard to get even a few moments to oneself. The constant feeling of connectedness and activity might lead some people to become anxious and stressed.  Possibly it is the...

Thank you all for that remarkable welcome.  I’m deeply, deeply grateful, and Callista and I are delighted to be back here once again at the most important single meeting of the conservative movement in a historic time.  <Applause>  Many of you know that my background includes being a teacher, and I am going to try in the next few minutes to offer a little bit of a lesson.  My Dad was a career soldier, served 27 years in the infantry, and when I was very young, he convinced me that leadership and courage and a willingness to think deeply...

Gingrich Talks 'Real Change' By Kevin Mooney and Josiah Ryan CNSNews.com Staff Writers February 12, 2008 Watch video interview with Newt Gingrich. Exclusive Interview (CNSNews.com) - Republicans should reject red vs. blue campaign models for a positive vision for America that appeals to the nation's natural center-right majority on key issues, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) declares in his latest book and in an exclusive interview with Cybercast News Service. In "Real Change: From the World that Fails to the World that Works," Gingrich explains that the divide in America is not between red and blue states but between...

In a rousing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for a conservative “declaration of independence” from the Republican Party. He also warned that Republicans face a “catastrophic” election this year unless the GOP changes course. Gingrich pointed out that on Super Tuesday, 14.6 million voters took part in the Democratic races, compared to 8.3 million Republicans. “There were 14.6 million Democrats who thought the presidential nomination was worth voting for, and there were 8.3 million Republicans on Super Tuesday,” Gingrich said. “That is a warning of a catastrophic election. I was...

In a rousing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for a conservative “declaration of independence” from the Republican Party. He also warned that Republicans face a “catastrophic” election this year unless the GOP changes course. Gingrich pointed out that on Super Tuesday, 14.6 million voters took part in the Democratic races, compared to 8.3 million Republicans. “There were 14.6 million Democrats who thought the presidential nomination was worth voting for, and there were 8.3 million Republicans on Super Tuesday,” Gingrich said. “That is a warning of a catastrophic election. I was...

"We are at the end of the Reagan era." Or, at least, that is the claim of voices as diverse as Newt Gingrich and Ed Rollins on the right and Sen. Chuck Schumer and pollster Stanley Greenberg on the left. It is true the Republican Party is having difficulty retooling its message for the 21st century. But so is the Democratic Party. Every presidential election is about change, and no more so than at the end of a two-term president's time in the White House. Parties have to constantly update themselves if they hope to remain relevant. The difficulty for...

If the primary season reveals no decisive front-runner, and if conservative delegates head toward the GOP convention with the nagging feeling that our best candidate wasn't in the race, we urge them to consider acting on what so many Republicans and Reagan Democrats are thinking. Drafting Newt Gingrich is a real solution to the current leadership problem. Even as a vice presidential choice, Gingrich would solidify the ranks and reinforce the GOP's position as the party of bold ideas, but as a presidential choice he could bring about a truly needed Second Reagan Revolution.

“You are born alone and you die alone. Don’t dump on anyone else for your decisions. You’re a big girl and you make them yourself,� was the quote that I remembered at the end of the night. These were words from a Jewish great grandmother based on more than 90 years of living. Not stated as a cliché, but heartfelt and serious. Good advice.It reminds us that, in the end, no matter what, we have to be comfortable with who we are, with who we have become.  We have to be comfortable in our own skin.Recently, my kindergartener used the...

  The last of two excerpts of the book Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works. Click here to view the first excerpt.Our current immigration troubles are almost entirely problems of success. Our challenge is to seize that success and turn it into a boon for America, rather than allow bureaucrats to turn it into yet another failure.America has the best economy in the world. America has the greatest opportunity for hardworking people to be upwardly mobile and to dream that their children can have even better lives. America creates jobs on a scale that...

The Talk Shows Sunday, January 13th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., and former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Romney, Huckabee, former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.; Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, Iraqi defense minister.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered the following remarks to a Jewish National Fund meeting Nov. 15 at the Selig Center : I just want to talk to you from the heart for a few minutes and share with you where I think we are. I think it is very stark. I don't think it is yet desperate, but it is very stark. And if I had a title for today's talk, it would be sleepwalking into a nightmare. 'Cause that's what I think we're doing. I gave a speech at the American Enterprise Institute Sept. 10 at which...

I am informed that Dick Morris and Newt Gingrich are helping Huckabee behind the scenes. Morris has been everywhere today promoting Huckabee.

We began getting ready for Christmas the first Friday of December with the purchase of our Christmas tree from our children’s elementary school. The tree went up the next day in the center of the windows in the back of our living room. My husband carried all the Christmas boxes down from the attic and our children Maggie and Robert and I spent the weekend decorating the tree and the inside of our house while my husband strung the outside lights. While unpacking one of the boxes, I ran across one of my favorite movies - “White Christmas� starring Bing...

SNIP. . . . .... A possible arrangement: McDermott's legal bills are paid off. Something gets named after him. And a new posting, possibly meaningful, allows the globetrotting congressman to pursue his interests in HIV/AIDS and South Asia. Discretion is vital. McDermott's "amen corner" will entertain no criticism of our quixotic man of principle in Congress. And Seattle needs re-education on potential benefits of having an effective liberal doing its business in Washington, D.C. McDermott is a voice. At times, it is courageous. Often it irritates. The voice is usually oblivious to words that will change minds or win allies....

Published: November 29, 2007Sleepwalking Into a NightmareSpeech by Newt Gingrich Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich delivered the following remarks to a Jewish National Fund meeting Nov. 15 at the Selig Center. I just want to talk to you from the heart for a few minutes and share with you where I think we are.  I think it is very stark. I don't think it is yet desperate, but it is very stark. And if I had a title for today's talk, it would be sleepwalking into a nightmare. 'Cause that's what I think we're doing. I gave a speech at the American Enterprise...