Free Republic

Snared in a contentious primary fight, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted on Wednesday to end debate on debt-limit legislation in a move that’s already fueling criticism from conservatives. The vote on cloture passed 67-31 but took more than an hour, highlighting the arm-twisting going on behind closed doors, as few Republicans wanted to be seen as casting the deciding vote for the bill. It went on to pass on party lines, 53-44, with only Republicans voting no. McConnell left the Senate floor without answering questions, but minutes after he logged his vote his primary challenger, businessman Matt Bevin, was already...

A bill allowing the U.S. government to keep borrowing money for at least a few more months, beyond its record $16.4 trillion debt limit, won final congressional approval on Thursday, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign it into law. The Democratic-led Senate passed the bill, 64-34, a week after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved it, 285-144. Both votes were bipartisan. The legislation would put off until at least May 19 a showdown over the debt limit between Republicans, who demand more spending cuts to shrink deficits, and Democrats, who favor reducing deficits with a mix of...

As was revealed in a breathtaking New York Times opinion piece today, many of Barack Obama's top advisers feel alienated from him. There is a sense within the White House that President Obama's theory of government is that "he is the government". Apparently, President Obama has personalized the presidency to such an extent that it is now seen as more about the man than about the position. Certainly that is not how the American Founding Fathers viewed the presidency. The author of this article, David Rothkopf, characterizes the president as a poor manager who is also aloof and a poor...