http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/issues-gop/ en-us Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:53:21 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2421545/posts Democrats and Republican are scared to death of Sarah Palin because they think she is "not one of us." That is to say, she is not one of the pampered, prep school, Ivy League elite who have dominated our politics for almost two centuries. Truman being a possible exception, she is the first real populist political figure since Andrew Jackson to arrive upon our political scene. She is a real person who has faced real personal and family problems similar to what so many common Americans face every day. She is a breath of fresh air in the still, smoke-filled... The San Bernadino Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2421545/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:53:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2421287/posts As Barack Obama approaches the end of his first year as President of the United States, the weaknesses many observers warned of during the campaign are readily apparent. Among the criticisms leveled against him were his lack of executive experience and holding political office long enough to have benefitted from it, and his radical leftist ideology, the latter backed up by evidence both in word and deed, and through his associations with radicals like Weather Underground member Bill Ayers and the anti-America preacher Jeremiah Wright. A majority of the electorate, however, displeased with the Republican/Bush administration, ignored those negatives, overcome... Annuit Coeptis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2421287/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 13:29:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2420990/posts I want to like Sarah Palin. But to borrow a title from Hitchcock, I feel like The Man Who Knew Too Much—about The Woman Who Knew Too Little. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care that Palin is not a policy wonk. In some ways, that’s a plus. It is her strengths that concern me. For example, is Palin’s populism real or imagined? Or perhaps real but compromised? And, as the mother of a son on active duty, why is she so enthusiastic about unwinnable wars? Where is that famous common sense when it comes to minding our own business?... The American Conservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2420990/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jan 2010 00:45:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419332/posts -The Race42012 staff was asked to take look ahead and share their predictions for the coming new year. Our readers are encouraged to post their own predictions in the comments. Adam Brickley Sarah Palin continues her recovery and cements herself as de-facto leader of the GOP after vigorously campaigning through 2010, after which she begins work on a second and more issue-oriented book. Mike Huckabee decides that he rather likes being a media figure and veers away from presidential politics – he pursues either a nightly show on Fox News or a daily radio program. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty... Race42012 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419332/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:17:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419050/posts Picking the worst or most disappointing people of 2009 is the task that should require sincere thought, deep investigation, and fair judgment over myriad objective data. However, naming the Republican Party as the most disappointing ‘person’ in 2009 posed no reflective issues whatsoever and brings the most distaste as a third generation member of the party. Republicans continue to work toward no apparent goal except to disrupt, obstruct and demonize anything the new administration proposes. They embrace and employ Fox News to foment hatred and vitriol for issues that Republicans know are lies. When Sarah Palin lies, she lies as... The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2419050/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 18:21:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2418202/posts In response to national and local liberals who continually bash former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, I, as a conservative along with millions of conservatives across the country, would like to set the record straight. Palin has more common sense solutions regarding the problems facing our country than the entire administration of President Barack Obama. An example: Palin understands that the health care system needs to be fixed, but also understands as do most people that the Nancy Pelosi-Harry Reid 2,000-pages of smoke and mirrors is not the answer. Common sense says you don't destroy the system to fix it. Palin... The Evansville Courier & Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2418202/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:17:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417952/posts Or come pretty darned close to doing so, at least, argues James Pethokoukis for Reuters. The problem facing Democrats is not just the normal midterm correction, although that’s part of it. It’s not just ObamaCare, although that’s a large part of it, too. There are a number of problems that Democrats simply have not done anything to address, and they’re rapidly running out of time to do so: The trend is not the Democrats’ friend. At least not in 2010. The party of the sitting president almost always suffers losses in midterm congressional elections. To that time-tested dynamic now add... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417952/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:52:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417661/posts Pennsylvania's self-inflicted traffic snarls become more expensive, Jan. 3, when the Turnpike Commission raises the rate by 3 percent. The PTC raised the rate by 25 percent last January. BillLawrenceOnline.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417661/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:41:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417559/posts It is always difficult to distinguish "real leftism" from "fascist or faux leftism". This brings up the question of how do you define the former. Secondly, any definition must yield to history. What has been done in the name of the left to date? It should be judged by results. The left has accomplished many good things such as workers rights. But at the same time it denies rights. In ways, it fights for group rights over individual rights. This points out the clash between the two. Never easy to negotiate. A balance must be found. This clash has been... ISRAPUNDIT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417559/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:10:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2416987/posts Former Pa. Gov. Dick Thornburgh is the latest to call for ending the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. He notes that the " top-heavy" PTC, with more than 2,000 employees, manages 537 miles of turnpike highways; compared to PennDOT which manages nearly40,000 highway miles along with tens of thousands more miles of localroads, railways and bridges. BillLawrenceOnline.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2416987/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:04:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2416906/posts Opponents of so-called health care reform believe terrible things will happen if some version of it passes and gets signed into law. Most of the damage will occur in obvious places, such as to doctors and hospitals, to those who are happy with their existing health insurance, and to everyday Americans, whose taxes and cost of living will rise. But it will also affect areas outside health care, like private charity. “How can reforming the health care system and health insurance industry affect charities,” you may wonder? It may seem like a weird disconnect, but it does because, like so... Annuit Coeptis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2416906/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:12:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415583/posts Add your name to the group of 18704 people who have already signed using the Internet! NO Abortion Funding for Health Care The Senate passed a version of the health care bill includes mandatory coverage for abortions. Now it is time to turn up the pressure on both houses of Congress and oppose this dangerous health care bill in its entirety. The ACLJ achieved an important victory — with your strong support — in removing abortion funding from the House bill. Now, stand with the ACLJ to send a powerful message to the entire Congress: NO abortion funding for health... ACLJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415583/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:08:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415407/posts Do you feel better about your prospects for 2010 than you did this time last year for 2009? Yes, I feel a lot better about the upcoming year. 2010 will be great! Yes, 2010 looks to be a bit better than 2009. 2010 will be the same as 2009. No, I feel 2010 will be a bit worse than 2009. No, 2010 will make 2009 seem like a picnic. 2010 will be horrible. No Opinion. The Journal of Business http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415407/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:20:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415073/posts "The only cure for the presidential virus," Congressman Morris Udall once observed, "is embalming fluid." And, it's increasingly clear, Sarah Palin has got the bug. In her memoir, Going Rogue, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for vice president sees the hand of providence everywhere. "As every Iditarod musher knows," Palin tells us, "if you're not the lead dog, the view never changes." She's ready, it seems, to head to the Midwest to prepare for the election of 2012. Palin is a compelling political - and pop culture - phenomenon. She knows how to present herself, on... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2415073/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:15:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2414156/posts I’ve argued before, and I will continue to argue, that there is nothing terribly unique about Sarah Palin as a politician other than the way in which her opponents and the media play right into her hands by treating her as if she is somehow uniquely important and/or devious. Today, Dave Weigel documents another set of examples of this, demonstrating the ways in which the media’s (and, for that matter, Palin’s opponents’) insistence on paying attention to her Facebook and Twitter ramblings, making them into major stories, even if with the intention of disproving those ramblings. The entire post is... The League of Ordinary Gentlemen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2414156/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:57:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413586/posts Time magazine may think U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is 2009’s “Person of the Year,” but Time is wrong: 2009 was dominated by Barack Obama, even though it wasn’t a great year for him. Obama’s human frailties surfaced. Words, not deeds, are his forte. Critics and fans tended to agree that, so far, his presidency is one of great intentions (if not great expectations). He’s good at saying what he’d like to do, but has difficulty doing (or being able to do) very much. Cheerleaders confuse rhetoric with results. Obama is the most accessible president in recent times. He’s... The Frum Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413586/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:27:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413039/posts Amid the furor over how Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., would vote on the health bill, there was little talk regarding Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. Since switching from Republican to Democrat in April, Specter has been a reliable vote for his new party’s health plans. His main objections to the final Senate health bill were its lack of a public option and its restrictions on abortion funding. Now maybe he would have voted yes even if he were still a Republican. But party-switchers tend to shift their voting patterns significantly. After all of the left-liberal gnashing of... IBD's Capital Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2413039/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:32:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412867/posts Observing the spectacle in the U.S. Senate the last couple of weeks, and particularly last weekend, has really highlighted the confusion and desperation gripping the leadership in the U.S. Senate. The manic effort to push through a (so-called) health care reform bill is truly remarkable, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is going to extraordinary lengths to make sure some sort of bill is passed before Christmas. Millions of Americans, watching in astonishment as this tawdry episode unfolds, want to know, “What’s the hurry?” It’s not as if there is an urgent need for health care reform – the situation... Annuit Coeptis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412867/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:40:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412559/posts How To Lose A House Seat Winning Back The House Means Finding The Right Candidates To Run. Not Living In A State Is Bad, Being Tied To George Soros Is Worse Weekend Special-December 18, 2009 Main Article Follows Below The Blog Of Michael P. Borgia One of the most important lessons Republicans should have learned from the disaster of the New York 23 special election in November is that in order to win, you have to have the right candidate. A man or woman who is in tune with the district or state he represents. Someone who shares its values... The Daily Borg http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412559/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:18:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412187/posts Rob Mitchell, congressional candidate for PA's 8th District responds to this weekend's Senate deliberations on sweeping health care reform legislation.... Rob Mitchell http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2412187/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:13:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2411925/posts Senior White House adviser David Axelrod on Sunday brushed aside expert predictions that Democrats will suffer steep losses in next year’s midterm congressional elections. “I think we're gonna have a good result next – next November,” Axelrod told David Gregory, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Though Axelrod quickly added “I'm not gonna predict where we are,” he roundly dismissed suggestions that Democrats will pay the price at the ballot box for their efforts to push through health care reform legislation, and suggested that President Obama’s sub-50-percent approval rating in most polls is unrelated to his heavy investment in the... The Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2411925/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:32:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2411401/posts In a late night posting on her Twitter feed, Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continued to blast climate change believers Friday, calling the talks in Copenhagen, Denmark a representation of man's "arrogance," for believing people have an impact on nature. "Arrogant&Naive2say man overpwers nature," Palin tweeted. "Earth saw clmate chnge4 ions;will cont 2 c chnges.R duty2responsbly devlop resorces4humankind/not pollute&destroy;but cant alter naturl chng," the former Republican vice presidential nominee wrote. Palin's latest comments come after weeks of tangling over climate change with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former vice president Al Gore, and President Obama. In an op-ed in the Washington... CNN Political Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2411401/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:05:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2410927/posts The health care destruction effort in the U.S. Congress has been a humiliating mish-mash of incoherency and chaos from the beginning, with Democrats missing one of President Obama’s deadlines after another. Opposed on principle by Republicans, these outrageous bills in the House and Senate have split off significant factions of Democrats, who have run away from them as fast as they can. After weeks of chewing gum- and duct tape-patching, the Senate is still so divided that the bill either may not come to a vote, or may not have the necessary 60 votes needed. Majority Leader Harry Reid and... Annuit Coeptis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2410927/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:10:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2410130/posts Republican Senators are lining up in support of Colorado State University students, who are defending their right to carry a concealed weapon on campus. While CSU does not allow weapons of any kind in its residence halls, individuals are allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus as long as they have a properly issued concealed weapons permit. Last week, however, the CSU Board of Governors voted 9-0 to implement a policy that would leave the specifics of the school’s weapon control policy up to campus presidents. The policy shift is predicted to result in a campus wide ban, with most... GOP of Colorado http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2410130/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:35:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2409227/posts The latest running debate between Al Gore and Sarah Palin reveals once more the absurdity behind today's Republican Party, which looms increasingly as a far right pressure group rather than a viable political entity. The Republicans indicated the direction where they were heading when Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele dared to speak of right wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh as an "entertainer," which was construed to mean that he was undermining his stature as a serious political analyst. A furious Limbaugh demanded an apology. The blustery talk show host had declared himself to be the titular head of... Political Cortex http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2409227/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:51:38 GMT