Free Republic

With Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) beginning his run for the Presidency today, I should make public the question I've suggested to reporters in private. Senator Cruz is for certain going to be joined by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who will announce in a few weeks. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who I think is underrated in his bid for the Presidency even though Jeb Bush is intent on locking up Florida, will also most likely declare his candidacy. All three of these men would make excellent Presidents. I know them personally. I backed them when they were at single digits in...

Pic - Mayor Bill de Blasio, at Gracie Mansion with First Lady Chirlane McCray, activist Van Jones, and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, plans to dip his toe into presidential politics with the launch of a push for income inequality to become a central issue of the 2016 national elections. "All of this is focused on the notion that we are not having a discussion on income inequality in this country and we are not having that discussion at our peril." GRACIE MANSION — Mayor Bill de Blasio, who supporters describe as a "national hero" among progressives, has dipped his his...

The Obama Justice Department has filed its much anticipated corruption indictment against Senator Robert Menendez. He is the New Jersey Democrat who, from his powerful senior seat on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, has vehemently opposed President Obama’s negotiations with the jihadist regime in Iran, as well as his outreach to Castro’s Cuba. Two things about the Obama administration cannot be denied. First, the president is desperate to cut a deal with the mullahs on their nuclear program, so much so that he has erased virtually every red line he ever purported to draw and has not been shy about...

A new Quinnipiac poll has Rand Paul tied for 5th. That’s eight different polls since November showing Paul in 4th place or worse. There was a moment in 2013 when political realignment was within our grasp– a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite conservatives and progressives under the banner of classic Jeffersonian liberalism. That window is closed– squandered by the mind-boggling incompetence of senior adviser Doug Stafford. I know what you’re thinking: It’s still early! Polls don’t matter until [some arbitrary future date]. (SNIP) Rand could meet with Al Sharpton again. Because that went over so well the first time. Rand could...

Christianity’s tent is not big enough to accommodate both the supporters of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Rutgers professor Brittney Cooper, who in a Wednesday piece for Salon blasted both the state’s pre-fix RFRA and the religious right in general. “This kind of legislation is rooted in a politics that gives white people the authority to police and terrorize people of color, queer people and poor women,” declared Cooper. “That means these people don’t represent any kind of Christianity that looks anything like the kind that I practice…This white, blond-haired, blue-eyed, gun-toting, Bible-quoting Jesus of the religious right is...

How do you know The New York Times is all in for protecting Barack Obama? When its editorial board turns on a fellow Democrat who bucked him on the Iran deal. "The New York Times is calling for New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez to resign in the face of criminal charges of bribery."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is the only major Republican likely 2016 presidential candidate who hasn't weighed in on the controversy over Indiana's "religious freedom" law that erupted this week — and his explanation for avoiding the issue is questionable.

Shaneen Allen, a single mother of two young children, had a concealed carry permit in her home state of Pennsylvania. But when she crossed the line into New Jersey and was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction, the ensuing discovery of her weapon, which she disclosed to the officer, meant she was facing a mandatory 3-5 year sentence in prison if convicted. Allen worked as a phlebotomist in Pennsylvania and had been robbed twice during the course of the year, leading her to purchase a firearm to protect her family. She had no prior convictions.Gun activists rushed to...

Republican presidential hopefuls are united in blasting President Obama for his chaotic enforcement of marijuana laws, but the unity quickly breaks down when they are asked how they would handle things if they were in the White House. Some have sent mixed signals, saying state decisions should be respected while questioning how Mr. Obama has respected those decisions. Others have refused to say how they would wield the federal bureaucracy against marijuana. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is one of the few potential candidates to take a firm stance, saying he would insist on following federal statutes that outlaw the drug....

Yesterday, the Department of Justice offered a curious contrast in their fight against corruption, with actions in two cases sending competing messages. Apart, each case has its own highlights, and cover very different kinds of alleged corruption. Put together, though, it seems to tell an intriguing story about how this Department of Justice views its mission, and its targets, which is the subject of my column today at The Fiscal Times: Nearly eleven months later, the Department of Justice has decided to pass on enforcing the contempt charge. Even though Lerner offered testimony in her opening statement and her...

For high-profile politicians who are indicted by federal prosecutors, there’s something akin to stages of grief. First comes shock, then anger, defiance and, sometimes, after juries convict and judges are ready to impose a sentence, a bit of contrition.Having been on notice for months that his mutually beneficial friendship with a wealthy Florida doctor was the subject of a corruption probe, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey blew right past the state of shock on Wednesday, after authorities unveiled a 68-page indictment.“For nearly three years I’ve lived under a Justice Department cloud and today I am outraged that this cloud...

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plays a key role in the corruption indictment of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), handed down by a Newark, New Jersey grand jury. Reid’s involvement centers around efforts by Menendez to intervene with Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius on behalf of his friend and donor Dr. Salomon Melgen in an $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute.The 68-page indictment devotes a full 8 pages to a section entitled “After MELGEN Receives More Unfavorable Rulings, MENENDEZ Enlists the Office of the Senate Majority Leader to Assist MELGEN in His Medicare Billing Dispute.”

WASHINGTON — Senator Robert Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges on Wednesday, setting the stage for a bitter court fight and putting his political future in doubt. Mr. Menendez was charged with eight counts of bribery, which carry up to 15 years in prison on each charge. He was also charged with conspiracy, fraud, and making false statements on government documents, the Justice Department said. Mr. Menendez is the first senator to face federal bribery charges since another New Jersey Democrat, Harrison A. Williams Jr., was indicted in 1980 in the Abscam scandal. The charges had long been expected...

Today U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, the former Union City mayor, was indicted on charges that include conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud. Here's a list of some Hudson County politicians and power brokers who were charged and convicted on corruption counts:

Sen. Bob Menendez has been charged with using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor. […] Prosecutors had been investigating whether Menendez improperly advocated for the business interests of Dr. Salomon Melgen, including by intervening on the doctor’s behalf in a medical billing dispute. …

Juan Williams: Boehner’s Trip to Israel is RacistPosted By Daniel Greenfield On March 31, 2015 @ 1:03 am In The Point | No Comments “Something something racist.” A Democratic argument from 2008 to 2016.Juan Williams is back and he wants you to know that Boehner’s trip to Israel is racist. Also all trips are racist. And all planes. Especially white planes. The real issue here is the way Boehner is recklessly sowing division along party lines on Israel. He is also — intentionally or not — heightening the silent but simmering racial tensions that increasingly divide Americans on the subject.The...

Less than a week after leaving the Republican Party, Glenn Beck had something to say about how Ted Cruz should approach the primaries. Leave Scott Walker and Rand Paul alone. Otherwise, Beck warned, “we’re just going to end up with Jeb Bush.” (Bill O’Reilly was skeptical about Beck’s whole GOP-leaving business.) Cruz professed his admiration for Paul and Cruz, but didn’t quite commit to refrain from criticizing them. That’s because he can’t. The Republican presidential race can be split into the conservative primary and the establishment primary. Beck isn’t wrong that a divided conservative vote could benefit Bush, but there...

AMMAN, JORDAN – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and a delegation of senior lawmakers met with His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday during a visit to Jordan where talks focused on Iranian-backed violence in the region and the growing terrorist threat. King Abdullah hosted the delegation for a luncheon at Beit al-Urdun Palace. Lawmakers also met with U.S. Ambassador Alice Wells, Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s Foreign Minister, as well as senior embassy officials. Discussions focused on two major trends in the region: the violence caused by Iran’s allies and proxies, and the spreading of the terrorist threat. There was also...

A New York City law firm known for filing class action lawsuits on behalf of chain restaurant workers is going after Dinosaur Bar-B-Que for what it says is the systemic underpayment of tipped workers like servers and bartenders. The law firm of Fitapelli & Schaffer said it has filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York involving all six New York state Dinosaur Bar-B-Que locations, including the one opened in Troy in 2010. Dinosaur has made tipped workers spend at least 20 percent of their time doing non-tippable work — like rolling...

A New Jersey girl had a once in a lifetime thrill this week when she went to the White House to meet President Barack Obama and even had a chance to sit in his chair in the Oval Office. "I'm trying to be a community organizer," Sparkle Prevard, of Atlantic City, told Obama. Prevard visited Washington D.C. with several other young women who were all named Youth of the Year winners. The South Jersey teen, who graduated from Atlantic City High School, plans to attend Richard Stockton State College in the fall, according to the Boys & Girls Club in...