Free Republic

Is it worse for a Republican to have been caught naked on camera or to support gay marriage? Meghan McCain weighs the hypocrisy of the Carrie Prejean scandal. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN If you’re a Republican, is it better to be in favor of gay marriage or to make a sex tape? That is the question. At least that’s the question that comes to mind after the reaction to the news that anti-gay marriage champion Carrie Prejean made a sex tape. After watching several of Prejean’s media appearances this week, it was not her incredibly uncomfortable threat to walk out on...

CLEMSON — While political supporters of Sen. Lindsey Graham continue to be widespread, the criticism he’s facing now may only get worse down the line, especially in 2014 when he’s up for re-election. David Woodard, a political scientist at Clemson University, said times now are different, and voters aren’t crazy about moderates. “Moderates generally don’t do well in S.C.,” Woodard said. “The electorate here likes people who are more ideological and willing to ‘take a stand.’ Look at Jim DeMint, he is waltzing to re-election without any opponent, and is likely to win overwhelmingly. He is perceived as ‘strong’ while...

Despite his recent request for help from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and renouncing his past support of prominent environmental legislation, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk on Wednesday denied he is moving to the right to try to coalesce support in the Feb. 2 primary election. "I think I am who I am," Kirk, a member of the Naval Reserve, told reporters after a Veterans Day ceremony at the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center in Chicago. "I am a social moderate, fiscal conservative. But this is a big race, and we are building a broad coalition, and it...

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who led an effort last week to prevent the Obama Administration from doing just what it did today in directing prosecution of the alleged Sept. 11 plotters into federal court, says he's keeping mum about that decision for now at the request of the White House. "I have been asked by the White House to withhold comment about today’s Guantanamo decision until I can meet face-to-face with the President after he returns from Asia," Graham said in a statement released by his office. "As our Commander in Chief, I will honor his request. I look forward...

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...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is pushing back against home-state conservative critics who have sought to censure the independent-minded lawmaker, arguing that he will not allow the criticism to block his efforts to find common ground with others in the Senate. The Charleston County Republican Party this week formally censured Graham over his repeated efforts to work across the aisle on the economy, climate change and immigration. The county party also asked the state party to rescind a resolution commending Graham. Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop issued a statement defending the Senator’s legislative work and his track record on conservative issues. “Senator...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, will be in New Hampshire next month, raising speculation that he is preparing for a presidential run. Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for the Republican Senate Majority Committee, which will be held Dec. 16 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord. . . . . . Mike Dennehy, a former adviser to McCain's 2008 campaign and a political consultant for Senate Republicans, is helping to organize the event, which will cost $50 a ticket."We set the price to attract as many people who would like to come," Dennehy said.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Republican leaders in a South Carolina county have censured their own U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for working with Democrats on a climate bill and other legislation. The Republican has often worked with Democrats in Congress, but Charleston County Chairwoman Lin Bennett says his work on climate legislation is the last straw. The party resolution passed Monday says Graham has weakened the Republican brand. Bennett expects a similar resolution to be introduced at the state GOP convention next year.

Congressional candidate Rob Wasinger, R-Cottonwood Falls, gained the endorsement of U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the GOP's presidential nominee in 2008. "Rob Wasinger has the right experience, vision, and values to lead Kansas into an era of economic growth and prosperity. He is an exemplary public servant we can trust," McCain was quoted saying in a news release from the Wasinger campaign. "I am humbled to be supported by Sen. John McCain, an American hero who has served our country with honor and integrity both in uniform and in Congress," Wasinger said in the same release. Wasinger is the former...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he is “angry” and “disappointed” with President Barack Obama for delaying his decision on increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. “The fact is we already have men and women over there, and the longer we delay in sending them the needed resources they need the greater danger they are in,” McCain said during an interview on Fox News’ Fox & Friends program. “That’s just a fundamental fact of warfare and so I’m past being a bit angry.” “I’m disappointed that we haven’t made the decision,” he said.

During two heated Democratic challenges, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park was targeted by millions of dollars in TV ads painting him as a far right Republican in his north suburban district. Much of the time, it was the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee paying for and writing those ads. Kirk spent millions of dollars himself on ads to cultivate a moderate, independent brand in the 10th District. Now it seems the DCCC agrees with him. DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen said during a C-SPAN interview Sunday that Kirk is a "moderate," contradicting his own organizations efforts to paint him...

Based on the media’s treatment of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, Meghan McCain asks: Will we ever have a female politician who is good enough to lead? BY MEGHAN MCCAIN I have admired Hillary Clinton for years. Though we disagree on nearly everything politically, I respect the barriers she has broken as a woman in American politics, and what she’s had to go through to get there. Those “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling” will hopefully make other women’s journeys in politics easier in the future, but sometimes I am not so sure. During her years in the White...

WASHINGTON — When it comes to combating global warming, Sen. Lindsey Graham is right where he loves to be — ahead of the curve, in the mix on a major issue, at the table for high-level, bipartisan talks behind closed doors. Graham, a South Carolina Republican, is working with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to craft a climate change bill. They face the dual challenge of overcoming widespread GOP opposition and withstanding relentless attacks by Big Oil and allied energy interests. "Our goal is to create a vision that not only will...

Billionaire gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman gave away just $125,000 of her charitable foundation's $46 million in assets in its first year of operation — and tax records show the bulk of the money went to a surprising place. The Griffith R. Harsh IV and Margaret C. Whitman Charitable Foundation in 2007 contributed $100,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, which is now at odds with Whitman over water policy. The foundation also invested $3 million in hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands — a Caribbean tax haven that's been the subject of political controversy. ... But it's the $100,000 to...

WASHINGTON -- House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., both sons of the segregated South, grew up in parts of South Carolina that were much farther apart than the mere 175 miles between them. Thursday, the two men - a black Democrat and a white Republican - will share an honor that the Jim Crow laws of their youth would have prohibited. The Columbia Urban League will present to Clyburn and Graham its annual Whitney M. Young Award in recognition of their efforts to advance race relations in South Carolina.

Carly Fiorina (R) on Thursday announced the endorsements of eight Republican senators for her just-launched California Senate campaign. After primary opponent Chuck DeVore annonced the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this week, Fiorina fought back with Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), John McCain (Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia Snowe (Maine).

Even as a Senate global-warming bill remained in limbo with Democrats refusing to delay a committee vote until an economic analysis was completed, hopes rose for a potential bipartisan compromise. The Senate, meanwhile, appears to be moving away from the bill, authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., which would require a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 and would have the government sell the right to emit carbon dioxide. Even as Boxer conducted an unusual one-sided hearing on her bill in the Environment and Public Works Committee, Kerry, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and...

The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country. “To those people who are pursuing purity, you’ll become a club not a party,” Graham told POLITICO in the Capitol Wednesday. “Those people who are trying to embrace conservatism in a thoughtful way that fits the region and the state and the district are going to do well. Conservativism is an asset. Blind ideology is not.” Graham, who has sparred with his party’s right wing...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, today announced his endorsement of state Sen. Jeff Denham for lieutenant governor of California. "He has a proven record of independence, integrity and fiscal responsibility as a state senator," McCain said in a release from Denham's office. "He also offers valuable life experiences as a successful businessman and veteran who has served his country admirably. "As a farmer, business owner and legislator, Jeff Denham has worked hard to create and save jobs in California. He is a committed reformer who has aggressively promoted innovative ideas to restructure and modernize state government...

(snip) The latest matchup: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele vs. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and a likely frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Steele cast doubt on Romney's conservative credentials Friday and said the Republican base rejected Romney because "it had issues with Mormonism" and was unsure of Romney's commitment to opposing to abortion rights. Romney's camp took issue with the suggestions that the most reliable Republican voters are intolerant and fired back Tuesday, with spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom saying, "Sometimes when you shoot from the hip, you miss the target." Sen. John McCain, Romney's former rival...

I am as sick to death of RINO apologists as I am the RINOs themselves. Too many real conservatives took a lot of flack here on FR during the last mid term and presidential election cycles for expecting Republicans to actually legislate like Republicans rather voting for every Obama-lite candidate with an “R” after their names who just might be electable. To too many, elections are about partisan score keeping and not about the direction and future of the country. Many conservatives received a lot of undeserved criticism because they refused to vote straight party line or choose the lesser...

I normally don't stay up late enough to watch Late Night with David Letterman, but I happened to catch a little of it Thursday night, when Sen. John McCain was on. David Letterman make a rude joke about Gov. Sarah Palin, and John McCain laughed at it. That is when I realized I am done with John McCain. . . . . . If I were Rod Blago, I'd use some nice four-letter words to describe how I feel about Sen. McCain, but I'm not, so I won't. . . . . . I'm glad Sen. McCain didn't win the...

Now the daggers come out. The paleocons and Obamacons and many others will plunge them into the back of John McCain. This is shameful. The American people have issued a referendum on the 2008 mutation of the Republican Party, whose ticket John McCain had the misfortune to lead. Let's recount briefly: enough bribe taking, page preying, foot tapping felons and filchers to fill the local jail; a record deficit; a financial crisis; a badly managed war; an incompetent response to a hurricane; an incumbent in the White House with record-low levels of approval. Against all this and into a headwind...

Dear Michelle, I attended the townhall meeting earlier today in Polk City and asked John McCain: Your Hispanic Outreach Campaign Advisor, Juan Hernandez, has written a book referring to illegal immigrants as “New American Pioneers.� Hernandez has also stated that illegal immigrants who use social security numbers of American citizens really don’t steal, they have no choice but to make up a number. Are you aware of his statements? Do you agree with him? If not would you consider removing him from your staff? John McCain answered that he supported Juan Hernandez because he holds the same views as he...

Shamnesty peddler John McCain; top entry in the McCain-spearheaded Reform Institute’s “Design Your Portion of the Border Fence” art contest; McCain’s open-borders Hispanic outreach director Juan Hernandez Reader Joan e-mailed me today. She’s in Valrico, Florida, and confronted John McCain this afternoon about his open-borders outreach director, Juan Hernandez. She didn’t get straight talk: Dear Michelle, I attended the townhall meeting earlier today in Polk City and asked John McCain: Your Hispanic Outreach Campaign Advisor, Juan Hernandez, has written a book referring to illegal immigrants as “New American Pioneers.” Hernandez has also stated that illegal immigrants who use social security...

Just when the dust was beginning to settle following President Bush's latest assault on common sense, in which he accused conservatives of "spreading fear" by being honest about amnesty, Senator John McCain decided that fear mongering was not such a bad tactic after all. In fact, McCain decided that fear mongering was essential in trying to sell his amnesty snake oil to a skeptical and increasingly suspicious public. On June 2, McCain rolled out his fear-based defense of amnesty on the campaign trail in Le Mars, Iowa. Responding to a question about deportation of illegal aliens, McCain delivered the following...

President Bush has reached the lowest approval rating of any president as his disapproval rating is averaging almost 60 percent among Americans. Immigration issues, the war in Iraq, rising gasoline prices, a growing dissatisfaction among his base are all said to be factors in the dismal figures.