Free Republic

Tuesday’s elections swept Republicans across America into office, but what do freshly elected Republicans need to do next? 1) Realize They’ve Not Sold the American People Victorious Republicans should enjoy their election victory, but they should also understand it does not mean that the American people have bought wholesale into conservative political philosophy, as is so tempting to believe after a big election. After George W. Bush’s victory in 2004, Hugh Hewitt wrote Painting the Map Red. After 2008, James Carville wrote 40 More Years: How Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation. Both books turned out to be overly optimistic...

Top Republicans in Washington and in the national GOP establishment say the 2010 campaign highlighted an urgent task that they will begin in earnest as soon as the elections are over: Stop Sarah Palin. Interviews with advisers to the main 2012 presidential contenders and with other veteran Republican operatives make clear they see themselves on a common, if uncoordinated, mission of halting the momentum and credibility Palin gained with conservative activists by plunging so aggressively into this year’s midterm campaigns. There is rising expectation among GOP elites that Palin will probably run for president in 2012 and could win the...

Top Republicans in Washington and in the national GOP establishment say the 2010 campaign highlighted an urgent task that they will begin in earnest as soon as the elections are over: Stop Sarah Palin. Interviews with advisers to the main 2012 presidential contenders and with other veteran Republican operatives make clear they see themselves on a common, if uncoordinated, mission of halting the momentum and credibility Palin gained with conservative activists by plunging so aggressively into this year’s midterm campaigns. There is rising expectation among GOP elites that Palin will probably run for president in 2012 and could win the...

As vote counting continues in the Philippines, all indications are that Liberal Party candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino will become the next president. With more than half the votes counted by mid-day Tuesday, Aquino holds an almost unassailable lead over his nearest rivals. Former President Joseph Estrada trails a distant second while businessman Manny Villar has conceded defeat in Monday's election. An Aquino victory is in line with expectations. The son of former President Cory Aquino, who died last year, led the opinion polls throughout the campaign. Pete Troilo is director of business intelligence for risk consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments....

The Tories Will Lose The Next Election If They Enter Into A Coalition With The Tainted Lib Dems Norman Tebbit May 8th, 2010 What a mess! What an unholy mess! The unloseable election against the worst government in British history finishes in talks to establish the terms on which the losers’ party with only 23 per cent of the votes and only 57 seats might graciously allow the party with 36 per cent of the votes and 307 seats to form a government. This was the election in which the poisonous legacy of Blair’s NuLab plan for the irreversible change...

The President Will Again Have To Consider A Complicated Political Calculus It didn't take President Obama very long to pick Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter, but he may face the same difficult choice again soon. With Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens likely approaching the end of their tenures, Obama could end up naming at least two more justices to the high court. What would he be looking for in his second and third nominees? Court observers predict he will seek out consensus candidates -- or at least non-provocative ones. In...

After they vote to take over the Health Care of the United States later today, what shall we do then? What are you going to do to stay mobilized? I propose we engage in a new campaign, call it 44 Days of Rage, in Honor of TOTUS 44. Non stop phone calls to the Congress and the Senate for 44 days, all of them directed at the Yes Votes. Let them know every day, for more than a month, that they will be defeated in November. The Left thinks that once this vote is cast, that its over, that it...

What Is Your Next Step? The news saddens me as I peruse the different articles people have selected to post on Free Republic each day. I see fraud and lies exposed in the controversy of climate change. I see references to fraud in what Congress calls health care reform. I see constant evidence that the President lies, constantly. I see deficits that will result in a terrible burden on the nation’s children. I see news of more recession and possible depression. I see that the government has provided government employees with immunity from any recession. I see more news of...

'John Kerry's Next' Is the VERY loud chant here in Browntown.

Speculation on the conservative side is that Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas may join Democratic senators Byron Dorgan and Christopher Dodd in retiring instead of seeking re-election this year. A Rasmussen Poll released today showed every single Republican candidate — well, the 4 polled — ahead by 8 to 12 points as she is unable to crack 40% support. Blame Obamaccare. “Just 35% of Arkansas voters favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Sixty percent (60%) are opposed. Those figures include 17% who Strongly Favor the plan and 51% who are Strongly Opposed. Bleak...

What should be next on the agenda of anyone who is opposed to the Reid health bill is to get involved with the Scott Brown for US Senate campaign in Massachusetts. http://www.brownforussenate.com Whether you live in the state or not, you can help! We have the chance to TAKE AWAY HARRY REID’S 60TH VOTE! The health bill will need at least one more vote to pass the combined bill, and that won’t be until February. The special election for US Senate is January 19. WHEN SCOTT BROWN WINS, HARRY WON’T HAVE 60 VOTES! We need to get involved, send support,...

Last week Democrat held a Economic Forum behind closed doors. The Economist came out and held a news conference providing evidence to the discussion, it is linked at the bottom here for the full text. Robert Kuttner "you need to think about reduction of debt relative to the GDP as a 10-year project and in order to get the economy back on track, we may well need, we do need, more deficit spending now and in the next year but with a pre commitment to deficit reduction over 10 years through progressive taxation, one of the things we seem to...

Former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones is gone, along with his views about whites directing poisons to minorities, his obscene condemnations of Republicans and his affiliation with the idea the U.S. government was behind 9/11. Now critics of the cadre of unvetted political appointees charged by the president with "advising" on a broad range of critical issues are looking at some of the other names with White House access. Jones' midnight-on-a-holiday-weekend resignation came after pressure over his extremist history first exposed in WND reached critical mass, set off by a tape of him in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking...

Former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones is gone, along with his views about whites directing poisons to minorities, his obscene condemnations of Republicans and his affiliation with the idea the U.S. government was behind 9/11. Now critics of the cadre of unvetted political appointees charged by the president with "advising" on a broad range of critical issues are looking at some of the other names with White House access. Jones' midnight-on-a-holiday-weekend resignation came after pressure over his extremist history first exposed in WND reached critical mass, set off by a tape of him in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking...

Hmm. I wonder which of the many glorious aspects of Mother Gaia it was that first attracted President Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones to the environmental movement. Was it, perhaps, his love of fluffy bunnies - especially those ones with the long floppy ears and the sweet pink noses? Was it the sight of the mighty redwoods in Northern California or the sea otters frolicking amid the kelp off Big Sur or the manatees basking so cutely amid the shimmering propellors of the Everglades?

According to Susan Ferrechio of The Washington Examiner, there is bipartisan support for Vicki Kennedy to take over Ted Kennedy's office. Indeed, says Ferrechio, some think she would be "perfect for the job." Ferrechio quotes Orrin Hatch as saying that Kennedy is a "brilliant lawyer" and "a solid individual." She also quotes Chris Dodd as saying that if Kennedy wants the position, he will back her up. There are only two problems with this picture. 1. Kennedy has stated that she does not want the position 2. It's not legal for her to take it. But not to worry! The...

(CBS) Although Sen. Ted Kennedy had sought to expedite the process of choosing his replacement to the U.S. Senate, it appears the process will be at least three to four months away. As CBS chief political correspondent Steve Chaggaris reports, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick must set a date for a special election to occur between 145 and 160 days from now to fill the vacancy created by Kennedy's death. The two likely dates for a special election would be on the Tuesdays that fall within this range: January 19, 2010 and January 26, 2010. Thanks to a law change in...

TED KENNEDY is right: Massachusetts needs two voices and two votes in the US Senate. Related Special section Ted Kennedy Editorial: Don’t let Senate seat be vacant Scot Lehigh: Who should fill Kennedy’s seat? 8/20/09 Kennedy, looking ahead, urges that Senate seat be filled quickly Scot Lehigh: Letter recognizes what we hesitate to say PDF Read Senator Kennedy's letter to state leaders On Tuesday, the state’s senior senator sent a letter to the legislative leadership and Governor Deval Patrick, asking that they revise the current law to allow for an interim Senate appointment during the special election to fill a...

Democratic congressional leaders are vowing to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year that would give amnesty to an estimated 11 million immigrants living and working the United States illegally. The votes are there, they say. All they need now is time to push it through. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that he has the votes to pass such legislation, which also would create a new guest-worker program for employers. The stumbling block is persuading senators to deal with such a politically charged issue, he told reporters.

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell will arrive in Israel next Monday to meet with Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials. Mitchell will reportedly meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and wants to know in particular why Israel has refused to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and recognize the need for a PA state.