Free Republic

On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that including a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants in any comprehensive immigration bill would jeopardize the likelihood of the legislation passing. “I think if instead the bill includes elements that are deeply divisive--and I would note that I don’t think there is any issue in this entire debate that is more divisive than a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally--in my view, any bill that insists upon that jeopardizes the likelihood of passing any immigration reform bill,” Cruz said at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing, according to CNS News....

The Republican plan to block debate on Senate Bill 649, which requires background checks on almost all gun purchases and transfers, failed spectacularly Thursday morning when sixteen Republican Senators joined almost all of the Democrats to vote in favor opening debate on the bill. Among those voting to defeat the filibuster were 9 Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, and 12 A-rated Republicans (out of 16 Republican “ayes”). Two Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), joined the majority of Republican Senators who tried to prevent debate, much less a vote, on the bill....

On this Sunday's "Meet the Press," guest-host Chuck Todd was interviewing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) about the current status of the Senate's gun legislation, specifically what is being called the "Universal Background Check" which Democrats and their media counterparts favor as a "common-sense measure" in reaction to the Newton murders a few months ago. Forget the fact that a background check would have had absolutely no impact on Newtown, or Aurora, or Tucson, or Columbine, or Virginia Tech, or any other high-profile crime; progressives are bound and determined to use these massacres to slowly whittle away at Americans' constitutionally protected,...

<p>Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Sunday he believes it’s “inevitable” that there will someday be a GOP presidential candidate who supports same-sex marriage, and that he could back such a candidate, even as he opposes gay marriage.</p> <p>“Could you support a Republican presidential candidate someday who supported same-sex marriage?” NBC News “Meet The Press” guest host Chuck Todd asked Flake.</p>

Freshman Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, appears to be bending from pressure in the media to "do something" to infringe on Second Amendment Rights. Given the rumors about Senator John McCain, one wonders if John may be giving his younger colleague advice. On Sunday, 20 January, this was published in the Arizona Republic: Echoing many of his lower-chamber colleagues on Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he likely would have a hard time supporting a new federal ban on “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines but suggested there may be common ground on universal background checks. “I’ve always said we’ve got...

Most Americans will focus on election results in Ohio and Florida to see who rides those states’ Electoral College votes into the White House. But the winner of the presidential race will not automatically control the 2013 legislative agenda. Congress still matters. The battle for control of the U.S. Senate is vitally important and just as hard-fought as the top-of-the-ticket contest. Currently, a caucus of 51 Democrats and two liberal Independents rule the upper chamber. Since the Vice President can cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate, Republicans would have to pick up three seats to gain a working majority...

Democratic Candidate Tells Male Debate Moderator He Is 'prettier Than' Candy Crowley By TOBY HARNDEN 19 October 2012 19 October 2012 A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate joked with the male moderator of a televised debate that he was 'prettier' than Candy Crowley, the CNN who refereed this week's presidential debate. After an intense exchange during Thursday’s Senate debate in Arizona, moderator Brahm Resnik quipped: 'Now I know how Candy Crowley felt, Jeez..' Richard Carmona, former U.S. Surgeon General, responded to the reference to Crowley's difficulties officiating between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney by saying: 'You’re prettier than her.'...

Despite being outraised by his opponent, Flake, a six-term congressman, had seen strong backing from both establishment and tea party Republicans in his quest to win the open seat soon to be vacated by retiring Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl....

Bucking her tea party predilection yet again this cycle, Sarah Palin on Monday endorsed Republican Rep. Jeff Flake over Wil Cardon in the Arizona Senate primary. … Palin earlier this year rankled tea partiers when she chose to back sitting Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch over tea party challenger former state Sen. Dan Liljenquist. Hatch easily bested Liljenquist in the June 26 primary. …

Some big names in Phoenix business are offering financial support to both U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake and Mesa philanthropist and businessman Wil Cardon in the Republican race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl. Click the image to the right to see high-profile Phoenix business donors backing Flake and Cardon. Cardon just launched his first television ad in the race, in which Flake is the favorite in the primary and general election. Cardon has close to $1.3 million of his own money into the GOP race. Flake has raised $3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. Flake has financial...

“I have learned to live with trash,” said fifth-generation Arizona rancher Jim Chilton.He saw his once-beautiful ranch, just a few miles from the border with Mexico, is now dotted with clusters of crushed trees and cactus, whole hillsides have been turned into charred eyesores, years worth of his award-winning conservation projects obliterated — and the whole thing is littered with trash, tons and tons of trash. And some of the trash was dead bodies. Chilton had the misfortune of settling in the path of what would become a dangerous drug- and human-smuggling route on the U.S.-Mexican border, parallel with the...

"The legislative cannot transfer the power of making laws to any other hands... The power of the legislative, being derived from the people... [is] only to make laws, and not to make legislators." — John Locke, “Second Treatise of Government”Here, however, is a paradox of sovereignty: The sovereign people, possessing the right to be governed as they choose, might find the exercise of that right tiresome and so might choose to be governed in perpetuity by a despot they cannot subsequently remove. Congress did something like that in passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. The point...

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday that Republicans have done so well in cutting spending that he declared an “ongoing victory,” and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget. Mr. DeLay was defending Republicans’ choice to borrow money and add to this year’s expected $331 billion deficit to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief. Some Republicans have said Congress should make cuts in other areas, but Mr. DeLay said that doesn’t seem possible... Asked if that meant the government was running at peak efficiency, Mr. DeLay said, “Yes, after 11 years of Republican majority...

Rove, Palin Call 'Birthers' a Distraction February 18, 2011 Sarah Palin and former Bush adviser Karl Rove suggested this week Republicans should admit President Obama was born in the United States and move on. Rove, speaking Wednesday on Fox News, went so far as to suggest the Obama camp is trying to keep the "birther" issue going as a distraction. "We need the leaders of our party to say, 'Look, stop falling into the trap of the White House and focus on the real issues,'" he said. Palin, speaking in New York, called claims Obama was born in Kenya or...

A Kyl-less Arizona U.S. Senate race is a bit like the open race in Texas. There is a wide, deep bench of ambitious Republican talent -- John Shadegg, Jeff Flake, state legislators who have now run the place with supermajorities. So this is significant -- the Club for Growth is already urging Flake to make the race. (Conservative donors have, for years, floated the possibility of Flake challenging or replacing John McCain, who isn't up again until 2016.)

Rep. Jeff Flake will announce on Monday that he is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl, who said last week that he is retiring and will not seek reelection in 2012. Flake, who like Kyl is a Republican, is expected to make his announcement in Phoenix at 10 a.m. ET, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday afternoon. A six-term congressman who represents Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, which includes Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Flake is a member of the House appropriations committee. After Kyl announced his retirement on Thursday, eyes quickly turned to Flake. One source told POLITICO...

Following a contentious vote Tuesday night, the House Appropriations Committee will move forward with a GOP proposal to cut tens of billions in federal non-security spending for the remainder of the fiscal year (through September). The move puts Republicans one step closer to bringing a continuing resolution to the floor that will replace the one that expires on March 4. The 27-22 vote broke down by party, with two notable exceptions: GOP Reps. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R., Wyo.) joined with Democrats and voted ‘no’ in protest over cuts they viewed as insufficient. Republicans very nearly lost...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is praising the House for passing legislation to end the Pentagon policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military. The legislation awaits Senate action now. The House passed the measure 250-175. Obama says the legislation permits a smooth transition from the Clinton-era 'don't-ask-don't-tell' standard. Obama says the legislation will give the military "the clarity and certainty it deserves."

Do the congressional Republicans get the message of the 2010 election? The House Appropriations Committee will be a key test. Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) has been a thorn in the side of congressional appropriators — both Democratic and Republican — for years. That this “anti-earmark crusader” has been recommended for a seat on the House Appropriations Committee seems to be a clear indication that Republicans are listening to the American public’s concerns over wasteful spending by Washington. “I don’t see how you can view it any other way,” Flake tells National Review Online. “People expect us to go in...

The two Republicans who didn’t vote: Jeff Flake (AZ) and John Sullivan (OK). Here’s why: Flake had a “family conflict” (his daughter is reportedly in a beauty pageant in Alabama tomorrow) and Sullivan is undergoing alcohol treatment. FYI - Dem. Rep. Patrick Kennedy was pulled out of rehab to cast his vote.