Free Republic

(The following article by David Horowitz first appeared in our March 24, 2004, issue. An updated version appeared last September 11. It has been further updated to reflect information that has come to light since then. With tonight's premiere of the ABC-TV movie "The Path to 9/11," the truth impact of the Left's policies in bringing about the nation's worst terrorist attack is finally coming to light. -- The Editors) * "While the nation was having a good laugh at the expense of Florida's hanging chads and butterfly ballots, Mohammed Atta and Marwan al Shehhi were there, in Florida, learning...

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blasted the Bush administration for war and homeland security policies that he said leave Americans more vulnerable to attack. Kerry’s remarks came in a Faneuil Hall speech on the eve of tomorrow’s five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his fourth speech this year at the venue, Kerry accused the administration of using the tragedy that killed about 3,000 Americans to justify the war in Iraq. “It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn (to) excuse the invasion of Iraq,” Kerry said. “They were attacked and killed not by Saddam...

The first thing liberals fail to understand is that war is a serious business. If you are not prepared to take a side, you had better not stand in the middle of the battle field. Sit it out and remain silent, because the minute you speak, you have taken a side, whether you meant to or not, and if you speak against your own, you have chosen the wrong side. This error in judgment among liberals has earned them the current title of un-American or even Al Qaeda sympathizer.

Dear Readers: I have a new book coming out, and I think it's probably the most important book I've written so far. It's titled "Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party." And here's why I think it's so important – and why it must be read before the upcoming elections. The sad fact is that the oldest continuous political party in the world is bankrupt. While the Republican Party is far from perfect and could do much better on immigration, domestic spending, and other issues, it does stand for principles beyond winning. It is the only party...

All things considered, Democrats would rather be talking about the economy; they think it is favorable ground for them. Yet Democrats are often undone by talking about the economy — more precisely, by how they talk about the economy. That is the argument of a persuasive paper by Anne Kim and Jim Kessler for the moderate Democrat outfit Third Way. They note that, for a self-styled “party of the middle class,” the Democrats don’t win many middle-class voters. Democrats tell themselves bedtime stories about why this is so, including the thesis advanced by Thomas Frank, author of What’s Wrong With...

Appearing after Burkha Murtha's comments to the President's WOT speech this afternoon, CNN Political Analyst Candy Crowley was surprisingly sharp in her fair and balanced analysis of the Democratic response to the speech. When asked by bathroom queen Kyra Phillips for her opinion on the speech and the Dem response, eye Candy said the Dems continue to have the problem of not having any credible response, nor a plan to fight terrorism. She repeated some of Burkha's angry comments, and said it showed that apart from angry rhetoric denouncing the President, the Dems have nothing to offer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 04, 2006 CONTACT: Brendan Daly 202-226-3617 United Democratic Leaders Urge the President to Change Course in Iraq Washington, DC—Today, House and Senate Democratic Leaders and ranking members from the key national security committees wrote to the President about the continued deterioration of the security situation in Iraq. Citing the escalating violence in the five weeks since the leaders' July 30 letter to the President, the letter calls for a new direction in Iraq to include the beginning of a phased redeployment of U.S. troops before the end of 2006. In addition to again urging the President...

The Republicans are hardly the last word in human wisdom, but right now they are the only ones acting normal. Sure, Democrats think they are making sense, but that’s only when they talk to each other. There aren’t enough grey-beard loons in the country to win national elections. What the Dems don’t get is that they have flagrantly and repeatedly crossed a clear red line in American politics: The line between being for our country or against it. Forget the word “patriotism.” The question is, do Democrats favor a strong and vigorous America that protects itself—- and the entire West—-...

Coleen Rowley has penned a piece over at the Huffington Post entitled “Demagoguery won’t keep us safe.” It is “classic” in terms of characterizing the Anti-war, Liberal, and Democratic stance in the war on terror. Firstly, while it is extremely critical of the current policies that are in use in the war on terror, it fails to offer a single alternative course of action. Anyone can be a critic, but to be a constructive critic requires that at a minimum, a plan to replace that which is in use. Secondly, the accusation that the effort that is in place is...

Dear Readers: I have a new book coming out, and I think it's probably the most important book I've written so far. It's titled "Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party." And here's why I think it's so important -- and why it must be read before the upcoming elections. The sad fact is: The oldest continuous political party in the world is bankrupt. While the Republican Party is far from perfect and could do much better on immigration, domestic spending, and other issues, it does stand for principles beyond winning. It is the only party that...

CNN Poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation. Aug. 2-3, 2006. N=1,047 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. "Do you approve or disapprove of the U.S. military action in Afghanistan?" ----------------Approve--Disapprove-- Unsure 8/2-3/06----------56--------41---------3 "Who do you think is currently winning the war in Afghanistan: the U.S. and its allies, the insurgents in Afghanistan, or neither side?" ---------U.S. and Allies-------Insurgents-------Neither Side-------Unsure 8/2-3/06-------28-----------------10-------------58------------------5

Howard Dean is Destroying the Democratic Party Which is in theory a good thing, but can make for a very unbalanced American political system over the next 20 years as non-GOPers grope for a new Party to challenge the GOP for power. The latest indicator of the Dean-led Democratic melt down comes from Robert Novak (4th item): Lifetime Democratic contributors have made good on their threat to stop giving money to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) so long as Howard Dean is its chairman. Some of the party's longtime money men warned that would happen when Dean took over the...

What part of the war on terrorism do they support? Ann Coulter posted: August 23, 2006 6:23 p.m. Eastern © 2006 This year's Democratic plan for the future is another inane sound bite designed to trick American voters into trusting them with national security. To wit, they're claiming there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, and while they're all for the war against terror – absolutely in favor of that war – they are adamantly opposed to the Iraq war. You know, the war where the U.S. military is killing thousands upon thousands...

One of the most poignant moments in the presidential debates prior to the 2004 election occurred when Sen. John Kerry was pontificating about how he would halt the outsourcing of American jobs overseas. After outlining his approach—which predominantly consisted of giving incentives to American businesses to refrain from such nefarious behavior—Kerry was stopped cold by moderator Charles Gibson. To his everlasting credit, Gibson asked how Kerry could reasonably expect this to be effective when any incentives that could be offered would still pale by comparison to the amount companies would save by paying so much less per worker abroad than...

University of Chicago Law Professor Cass Sunstein calls them as he sees them, as was obvious from his analyisis of the NSA's authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of Al Qaeda contactings its U.S. operatives.Now Professor Sunstein has written a telling little essay for The New Republic, which that magazine's headline writer has misrepresented with the title "Mortal Combat: By Stoking Fear, Republicans Gain An Edge Over Democrats." The essay says almost nothing about Republicans "stoking fear," although it includes the line "So Karl Rove knows exactly what he is doing."Rather, Professor Sunstein delivers some hard news for Democrats:  When Americans are...

Since the 2006 elections are fast approaching and the war is the most important national issue, wouldn't it be helpful to prepare a simple flow chart to compare the Bush administration's policy on the war with that of his Democratic critics? One would think such an exercise would be unnecessary, since everyone knows what each side is advocating. But as ridiculous as it seems, no one has yet to flush out the Democrats on their position and the consequences flowing from it. They continue to hide behind their naked criticisms of President Bush and his policies, offering no intelligible alternative...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 — President Bush seized today on Democratic calls for withdrawal from Iraq to make an election-year case that his political rivals did not properly understand the threats to the nation and would create a more dangerous world. It was the most direct attack Mr. Bush has made yet against the Democrats from a White House lectern this election year, and it effectively marked the beginning of a more outright political season for the president and his aides as they work to help Republicans maintain control of Congress this fall. The appearance marked an early, pre-Labor Day start...

Sen. Joe Lieberman's upset loss to anti-war challenger Ned Lamont in Connecticut's primary confirms the rebirth and takeover by the Democratic Party's left wing that in the Vietnam era drove the party into the wilderness. Following the 1968 Democratic convention blow-out in Chicago and the resounding election defeat of the liberals, the party was marginalized for most of the next 24 years. Republicans appealed to the "silent majority," attracting independents as well as blue-collar and conservative Democrats who crossed the line in voting booths across America. More recently, the GOP strategy has been driven by the religious right aimed mainly...

IN the 1960s, my sister was part of the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley. She was arrested in a civil rights sit-in. Naturally, she was a lifelong Democrat. Today, she is a “9-11 Republican.” She is not alone. My sister is no less committed to civil rights than before. But she believes that not being murdered by Islamist terrorists is also an important civil right. She is not sure that the Democratic Party completely agrees with her. For 9-11 Republicans, this is the most significant political issue. The GOP “gets it,” while the Democratic Party doesn't. Many recent former Democrats...

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has recommended that Nevada and South Carolina join Iowa and New Hampshire in holding presidential nominating contests in January 2008. This ill-conceived recommendation demonstrates that the Democratic Party has not yet learned the painful lessons of 2004. Early in the 2004 presidential election cycle, Democrats in Michigan and the District of Columbia challenged the first-in-the-nation status of Iowa and New Hampshire, arguing that those two unrepresentative states had undue power in choosing the party’s presidential nominee. Both threatened to move their contests to January, in violation of national party rules. Michigan and D.C. backed off...

Blind animus for President Bush is insufficient to explain liberals' refusal to acknowledge the reality of a cruel and imperialistic jihadist push worldwide. Nor is it simply liberals' unwillingness to work with Republicans and conservatives that render them incapable of serious and active participation in the War on Terror. It is that by so doing, liberals would be forced to upend the world view and social philosophies that have animated them since the early '60s. At stake is their identity as individuals, what they do, what they believe, the need for their journals, indeed their sense of moral superiority and...

Friday, August 11, 2006 51% of Democrats Succumb to BDS Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 9:50 AM (DEAN BARNETT HERE) The latest FoxNews poll offers the typically dismal results we’ve come to expect. Bush’s approval holds in the 30’s, and Congress is less popular than I was in junior high school. But the poll also offers this stunning and revealing nugget. Fox asked, “Regardless of how you voted in the presidential election, would you say you want President Bush to succeed or not?” 51% of Democrats answered “No” to that question. 40% answered yes, and 9%, who are still apparently...

Which party is better suited to deal with terrorism? Republicans 29% Democrats 48% Both are ill-suited 17% Both are equally suited 5% Total Votes: 689

DEMOCRATS CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES Yesterday morning, hundreds of lives-- maybe thousands -- were saved, many of them innocent American lives. It should be a time of great relief....of gratitude toward the British government for foiling the plot along with anybody else who contributed. Politics should be the last thing on anyone's mind. But not the leaders of the 2006 Democratic Party. Oh no. Enter Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, intrepid leaders of the left side of the aisle in the Congress. They issued a statement: "Today's news is an urgent reminder that we must make America safer and the world...

Republicans more pro-Israel than Democrats Here's an interesting poll, conducted for the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News. Its main finding: Republicans are much more likely to back Israel over its attackers than Democrats are. Should the United States continue to align itself with Israel, adopt a more neutral posture, or align more with Arab countries? By a 50 to 44 percent margin, respondents said we should stick with Israel rather than take a more neutral posture; only 2 percent want us to side more with Arab countries. But there's a big difference between respondents of different parties. Here's a...

This may sound funny coming from me. Because I don't think it makes much difference whether we vote Democratic or Republican. Their rhetoric may be a little different, but their actions are not. However, I was struck by the results of an L.A. Times poll on Americans' views about the conflict in Lebanon published yesterday. This was the way the Times reporters wrote the story: "Most Americans consider Israel's bombing campaign in Lebanon justified, but they are divided about what role the United States should play in the crisis and how closely the nation should align itself with the Jewish...

I have already posted on Democratic Congressman John Dingell's extraordinary equivocation about the nature of Hezbollah: "I don't take sides for or against Hezbollah; I don't take sides for or against Israel." Both Dean Barnett and I have posted on the decision of Demcoratic leadership in both House and Senate to make the November campaign a referendum on cutting-and-running from Iraq. The New York Times on Sunday endorsed Joe Lieberman's challenger and Kossputin's creation Ned Lamont because of the senator's support for the war. Now RawStory reports on Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey's "The Iraq War Powers Repeal Act of 2006," which...

Today I'm going to quote extensively from an article by Chris Bowers at a Web site called MyDD (www.mydd.com), "DD" in this case standing for direct democracy. The article lays out something that I've been chaotically attempting to think about for some time, and does it more clearly than I've been able to manage. The question before the house, as it has been for some time, is: "Why are the Democrats having trouble getting elected even though their opponents lie, cheat and steal with bewildering frequency?" Below is just a partial answer, I think, but it's a darned good start....

Congressman Peter King (R- NY) was on the Mark Levin show tonight. He is one of the best guys in the House. He stated what we have been reporting on, that the Democrat establishment is in a very "akward" postion in regard to Israel. On the one hand, there is such a high level of support for Israel in the US that they are forced to toe the line. However, on the other hand, they always side with the Europeans over Bush and for the same reasons that they oppose him on Iraq they should oppose him on Israel too....

A once-great American political party has become a pesthole for socialist radicalism. The whining of its principals, people without princples, is now incessant. Take the so-called "outing" of a CIA employee, for example ...(snip) This fall, I think, all their rhetoric, all their lies, contrary to the pronouncements of their propaganda arm, the mainstream media, will come home to haunt them. All the claims of impending victory for them, including a retaking of the House, the Senate or both, may turn out to be so much whistling in the wind....(snip)

When did the Democratic nightmare take hold? Why does it keep dragging on? Who or what caused it? Not that any of this really matters, but masochism must be served: Was it the idiot design of the butterfly ballot? Was it philandering Bill, who handed W the only legitimate issue he had ("restore dignity to the White House," what a bitter laugh that brings now)? Was it Nader, who will forever deny, except in his heart, that he siphoned off more than enough votes to make the difference? Was it the professorial sigh of Al The Stiff, compared to whom...

Democratic Party Divided on IraqFriday July 7, 4:58 PM Intent on seizing control of Congress, Democrats want to keep the focus on President Bush's missteps in Iraq. Yet the war is fracturing the party in a handful of House and Senate races. Senate primary fights in Connecticut and Washington state as well as a few House contests pit the party's liberal wing _ proponents of candidates who want an immediate end to the conflict _ against moderates favored by Democratic leaders in Washington. Arguably the most high-profile and contentious case is Connecticut, where three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman is under siege...

WASHINGTON - Four months before the midterm congressional elections, Democrats are mired in a ferocious battle for control of the House and Senate. Among themselves. A feud within the ranks of party leaders is creating concern and consternation about Democrats' ability to capitalize on the bountiful political advantages the GOP has dealt them. Democrats are beset by competing messages, quarrelling messengers and conflicting visions for the future of the party, all of which could complicate and impede their fall election strategy. In Washington, the fingers of blame are wagging largely at Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who...

Issues & InsightsThe Writing On The Democrats' Wall Posted 7/7/2006 Origins Of Terrorism: The Democrats and anti-war left want us to entrust them with the war on terror in 2006 and 2008 — a war that could have been prevented when they did have the reins. The war we're engaged in did not begin Sept. 11, 2001, but during the administration of Jimmy Carter. On taking office in 1977, he declared that advancing "human rights" was among his highest priorities. America's ally, the shah of Iran, was one of his first targets, with Carter chastising him for his human rights...

WASHINGTON -- Four months before the midterm congressional elections, Democrats are mired in a ferocious battle for control of the House and Senate. Among themselves. A feud within the ranks of party leaders is creating concern and consternation about Democrats' ability to capitalize on the bountiful political advantages the GOP has dealt them. Democrats are beset by competing messages, quarreling messengers and conflicting visions for the future of the party, all of which could complicate and impede their fall election strategy.

Will President Bush's current unpopularity translate into a Democratic recapture of either the House or Senate this fall - or a victory in the 2008 presidential election? Probably not. Despite widespread unhappiness with the Republicans, it is hard to envision a majority party run by Howard Dean, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Why? All sorts of apparent and not-so-apparent reasons. First, recent events and trends have complicated Democrats' talking points about George W. Bush's purported failings. The so-called "jobless" recovery has seen low unemployment rates comparable to the Clinton boom years. Last September, many people blamed what they...

Not all House Democrats are up on their leadership’s playbookBy Josephine Hearn Three weeks have passed since congressional Democrats announced their “New Direction for America,” the domestic agenda they propose should they win control of the House or Senate, but some Democrats apparently still haven’t gotten the memo. Asked Thursday to comment on their agenda, a half-dozen House Democrats remained fuzzy on the particulars. “The new model, etc., etc?” faltered Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). “I haven’t even looked at it,” admitted Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). “I’m not very good at talking points.” “I like mine better,” Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.)...

Senate Democrats are an angry and frustrated bunch these days: While the American people are uncomfortable over the direction of the war in Iraq, they aren't exactly clamoring for arbitrary timetables for an American pullout. Senate Minority Leader Reid and senior Armed Services Committee members like Sens. Levin and Jack Reed have tried to be on the best behavior -- determined to convince the American people they're not 21st-century McGovernites looking to cut and run in the face of terrorism. So, instead of talking about troop withdrawals, the focus groups and strategists at think tanks like the Center for American...

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga is sitting on his back porch in Berkeley, Calif., listening to the hummingbirds and explaining his plans to seize control of the Democratic Party.

In one of the more lopsided decisions in recent memory, the Republican baseball team dealt the Democrats their sixth straight defeat in the 45th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game, winning 12-1.

From what I read on the blogs these days, most Democrats believe that their party's single biggest problem is that it is not tough enough. Their solution is to be ever more shrill and hysterical in attacking Republicans. As a Republican, I think this is wonderful. It just makes Democrats look like kooks, and forces moderates to vote Republican. Actually, I think the Democrats' biggest problem is simple ineptness -- they just aren't very good at coming up with politically attractive ideas and marketing them effectively. I even have a theory about why this is the case. The fact is...

It's understandable that Democrats in the U.S. Senate would use the war in Iraq to send a political message to the party faithful, as some did last week in voting for doomed resolutions to fast-track the withdrawal (or "redeployment") of U.S. forces from that country. Trouble is, the message sent to the rest of the country may be that Democrats who are more liberal can't be trusted when it comes to national security. That message is likely to stick even if the Bush administration decides on its own to draw down the U.S. presence. Over the weekend, an administration official...

They feel an increasing intellectual estrangement from and impatience with the activists who people their base of support. And this is something new. On the Democratic side, it is not just as bad but worse. They don't only think they're more sophisticated than their base, more informed and aware of the complexities. I believe they think their base is mad. You can see their problem in their inability to get a slogan. Which, believe me, is how they think of it: a slogan. "Together for a Better Future." "A Future With Better Togetherness." Today for a better tomorrow, tomorrow for...

Debate over Iraq will dominate the Senate this week, with Democrats scrambling to find a Goldilocks solution: not too hot on withdrawing U.S. troops quickly, but not so cold as to alienate large numbers of Democratic voters furious about the war and eager to bring the Americans home...

Actions still mean more than words I must admit that I do laugh every time I hear modern day socialists refer to themselves as “progressives,” as if their alleged interest in so-called “progress” is supposed to demonstrate some sort of advanced intelligence or heightened enlightenment or unusually keen sense of awareness and compassion. That's a tough sell for folks who still think the failed socialist principles of the past represent some kind of “progress” for our future, an idea that qualifies these folks for kinder-care, not national leadership. Not all Democrats are self-styled “progressives” (socialists) of course, but all current...

JOHN FUND ON THE TRAIL During last week's congressional debate over the war in Iraq, critics of the Bush administration's policy made three arguments: that President Bush more or less lied when claiming Saddam Hussein was a threat to the U.S., there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that no progress is being made in the war there. All three assumptions rest on shaky ground, so it is remarkable how much critics have seized on them with such fervor and certainty--the very vices of which they accuse the war's supporters. Indeed, one wonders how Democrats would react...

Democrats call for 'new direction' Jun. 16, 2006 at 3:57PM Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. Congress Friday announced a "new direction," with a plan that seeks affordable healthcare and fiscal responsibility. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a release claiming the "failed Bush Republican leadership has taken America in the wrong direction." "Our new direction will advance a common agenda, seek common ground, and apply common sense in the service of the common good," said Pelosi. "We know that with a new direction, we can meet our national challenges in a...

I've been wondering why there is something familiar about the behavior of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, and suddenly it dawned on me that we have our own similar insurgency right here at home -- it is called the Democrat Party. Think about it. Both are operating under the same motivation -- an unrequited lust for lost power. And both will do just about anything to retrieve it. Remember, under Saddam Hussein's long rule, his fellow Sunnis -- a distinct minority in a nation with a vast Shiite majority -- were the kings of the hill -- and incredibly cruel...

US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there. Republicans basked in the afterglow of the president's dramatic lightning visit Tuesday to meet with Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri Maliki -- an event likely to figure prominently in a daylong debate Thursday in the House of Representatives on Iraq and the US "war on terror." Bush's trip Tuesday followed last week's successes in Iraq, with the formation of the country's new unity government...

The reaction from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to Zarqawi's termination was typical of the Left's unenthusiastic response: "Zarqawi—God knows it's a hard thing for me to say about any human being, but—he got what he deserved." This must be particularly hard to say, we suppose, when it is an Operation Iraqi Freedom success story. More disturbing still was the Demo-memo reaction from Michael Berg, father of businessman Nick Berg, one of at least two Americans believed to have been beheaded by Zarqawi personally. After first dismissing Zarqawi's death as a ploy of the Bush administration, he later declared, "I...