Free Republic

A few weeks ago seven of the eight incumbent Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates who lost their seat to a Republican had one other thing in common - a lower National Rifle Association (NRA) rating that their opponent . . . [and] the disparity in support for gun rights between the parties seems to have sharpened.

Senator Landrieu and Senator Lincoln have announced they would give their vote to Senator Reid and the White House to allow ObamaCare to the Senate floor. For the group of U.S. Senators up in 2010 — the ones facing the independent voters that turned 2:1 against the Democrats in the New Jersey and Virginia elections — they will each be tagged all election cycle with providing the one vote needed for ObamaCare to come before the Senate. They could have stopped it, but they did not. The vote on cloture on the motion to proceed needs 60 votes, and therefore...

Every time I call attention to anything in the Carly Fiorina-Chuck DeVore GOP primary fight in California, I know I can count on more e-mail from each side's dedicated supporters. But this (HT: GOP12) jumped out at me, and warranted the inevitable, "why are you writing about X but not about Y" e-mails... Nonetheless, asked what he thought of Brown’s ideas, DeVore didn’t take the chance to denounce “birther” rumors or the movement itself–which has been heavily active in California.

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and purveyor of the GOP "Contract With America'' that helped his party win control of the House after President Bill Clinton's election, says GOP chairman Michael Steele has started work on a new framework for 2010 that he is calling "First principles.'' "I've been talking with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, '' Gingrich said today, speaking with students at C-SPAN's Cable Center Class. "He is developing a first principles model that I think is a very exciting , positive step in the right direction,'' said Gingrich, who has said that he will...

A week and a half ago, Conservative Douglas L. Hoffman was appearing on a nationally syndicated conservative talk show while Democrat William L. Owens was in New York City, attending a fundraiser with...Obama. "I was in a dairy barn that night," said Republican Dierdre K. Scozzafava. "I was talking to a constituent about the dairy crisis." "It struck me at the time that there was a little irony in it. Our congressional race had become a referendum on issues far from here," Ms. Scozzafava said...after announcing earlier in the day that she was suspending her congressional campaign. "Our area had...

Third parties don't work, the Republicans are as bad as the Democrats, most of the existing politicians are universally corrupt. How and who is anyone going to plan, organize, determine new candidates and accomplish taking back our government from all of the corrupt bunch in Washington, D.C. I do not see leadership, organization or any serious effort to keep all of us going in a direction that will get us the candidates and the votes to win...any thoughts out there guys and gals?

For President Obama and his party, last week brought another stiff dose of pain: the announcement of 263,000 more jobs lost, while unemployment ticked up to 9.8 percent. And by all indications, Democrats must endure that form of political torture for at least several more months. Whatever the fate of health care legislation, persistently high unemployment has made “Where are the jobs?” the most potent Republican campaign argument as next year’s midterm elections come into view. Publicly, White House aides and Congressional leaders have responded with incessant attempts to highlight benefits from the $787 billion economic stimulus package they enacted...

But let’s be realistic. Being, in essence, the white party makes the GOP uncool. And that’s only going to get worse as the impact of decades of indoctrination in the uncoolness of white people by the school system and Main Stream Media continue to pile up. Further, contra Karl Rove, the GOP will never be able to shake its white party image. It will either increase its share of the white vote or it will go out of business as a party capable of winning national power. My suggestion: the only long-term option for the Republicans, the de facto white...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government will have issued $7 trillion in bonds by the time the current fiscal year ends next week, but it expects the debt deluge to stabilize by mid 2010, a Treasury official said on Wednesday. Though markets and the economy are improving, efforts to provide a firm foundation for recovery will require increases to the U.S. Treasury's conventional bonds going forward, as well as debt securities that are indexed to inflation.

What is the issue that we all can rally around? Is it healthcare? Guns? Taxes? Spending? The IRS? Corrupt politicians? etc, etc, etc. Folks, how can we become a force to be reckoned with if we are all over the map on the issues? Please remember that these folks in Washington have very short attention spans. If you can't get to the point and/or you don't have a pocket full of cash they won't hear you. These elected officials can not even read the bills that they are passing. How about this, The Constitution of the United States! Lets rally...

It appears the reason high level Obama appointee Van Jones has such a deep seated hatred for America has been found: He was a nerd who was bullied in school and was "always picked last" in team sports.In an undated interview published at Collage Foundation, Jones spoke of his growing up as a nerd and how he scammed a graduate degree from Yale:When you were younger, what were you interested in? I was mainly interested in journalism and poetry and writing. I read a lot of comic books, James Bonda lot of good guy vs. bad guy type of stuff....

This summer brought a significant shift in voter preferences in the Generic Congressional Ballot. As Republican Congressional candidates once again lead Democrats by a 43% to 38% margin this week, this is now the ninth straight ballot the GOP has held a modest advantage. Over the past nine weeks, Republicans have held a two-to-five point advantage over Democrats every week. It is important to note, however, that the recent shift is not only because Republicans have been gaining support, but that Democrats have slipped in support. While support for Republican candidates ranged from 41% to 43%, support for Democrats ranged...

Sarah Palin is calling for Tort Reform to be the hallmark of any kind of health care reform: President Obama's health care "reform" plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all. However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what...

For the first time in over two years of polling, voters trust Republicans slightly more than Democrats on the handling of the issue of health care. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that voters favor the GOP on the issue 44% to 41%. Democrats held a four-point lead on the issue last month and a 10-point lead in June. For most of the past two years, more than 50% of voters said they trusted Democrats on health care. The latest results mark the lowest level of support measured for the party on the now-contentious issue. Public support for...

Sarah Palin finally came out and made her stance on illegal immigration clear. She is pro amnesty for illegal aliens. In an interview to Univision she stated unequivocally that she is for a pathway to citizenship. In the same interview she says she is against amnesty for illegal aliens. Have your cake and eat it to, I think that is called. Back on the same day that John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate I started investigating Palin's past on illegal immigration. I invited others to send in anything they found. There was nothing on the record. Many...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will nearly double to 48 percent in 2011 from 26 percent at the end of March, portending another blow to the housing market, Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday.

Fifty-four percent (54%) of U.S. voters say tax cuts for the middle class are more important than new spending for health care reform, even as President Obama’s top economic advisers signal that tax hikes may be necessary. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, taken Monday and Tuesday nights, finds that 34% disagree and say new spending for health care reform is more important. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. It is important to note that this question asked about new government spending for health care reform rather than about the overall concept of health care reform itself. The partisan...

The results of the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll are a major warning sign for Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. On some key issues, the gains that Democrats had made on Republicans in the last couple of years have disappeared, and the GOP has begun to reassert itself. In other policy areas, traditional Democratic leads are diminishing. The results are found in the answers to the Journal's questions about whether respondents believe the Democratic or Republican party would do a better job of handling a particular issue. In the past, Democrats have usually led in areas like health...

The National Rifle Association said Thursday it will count the Senate vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as part of its influential legislative score card on how members of Congress stand on gun-rights issues. The NRA opposes her, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another powerful lobby not prone to siding with the White House on every issue, endorsed Judge Sotomayor Thursday. The politically potent gun-rights group said it is concerned about Judge Sotomayor's stance on Second Amendment rights and her rulings as an appellate judge, including one upholding a New York law that barred a man from...

Democrats ran against Herbert Hoover for decades. Republicans ran against Jimmy Carter for years. Can Democrats make 2010 another referendum on George W. Bush, or at least use the unpopular former president to demonize Republicans in competitive races? Democratic operatives assert that running against the former president next year isn't going to be the focus of their efforts, but they are obviously more than willing to fall back on an anti-Bush message when they think it is effective. Last week, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a Web video, "Insider," and an accompanying press release hanging the former president around...