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Today, the Obama White House announced the nomination of Mari Del Carmen Aponte as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. It is not Ms. Aponte’s first brush with an ambassadorship. In 1998, President Clinton nominated her to be Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She was forced to withdraw her name from consideration over allegations of ties to the Cuban spy agency. From Washington Times, January 25, 1999: Miss Aponte’s withdrawal from consideration for the Dominican Republic post came after she was questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her contacts with Cuban government employees or agents. She told the panel...

President Obama's nominee to become commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission signed a manifesto praising polygamy and arguing traditional marriage should not be privileged above other forms of union. Chai Feldblum, an outspoken homosexual rights activist and Georgetown University law professor, is a signatory to an online petition entitled "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision For All Our Families and Relationships."

Snippets: President Obama's nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research. Analysts say the lack of disclosure reflects a potential loophole in the policies for the Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent. They also question lobbying laws that allow such a group to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars without the public knowing exactly how much money each of the companies...

President Obama's nominee at the Department of Homeland Security overseeing bioterrorism defense has served as a key adviser for a lobbying group funded by the pharmaceutical industry that has asked the government to spend more money for anthrax vaccines and biodefense research. But Dr. Tara O'Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, never reported her involvement with the lobbying group called the Alliance for Biosecurity in a recent government ethics filing. The alliance has spent more than $500,000 lobbying Congress and federal agencies -- including Homeland Security -- since 2005, congressional records show.

So much for my prediction of 75 votes to confirm; with Sessions, Kyl, and now even Maverick against her, she’ll be lucky to break 70. I’m honestly stunned, for the same reason Hotline is: McCain voted against Sotomayor’s nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in ‘98, so his decision is not entirely surprising. But like his friend and GOP colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), McCain has decried the politicization of judicial nominations that led to a failed Dem filibuster of Justice Samuel Alito. Graham, citing a desire to “start over” on the Senate’s advise and consent role, was...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican senator is blocking the nomination of a top Environmental Protection Agency official over what he calls a flawed study of the climate bill recently passed in the House. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said Wednesday that the hold is unrelated to the qualifications of Robert Perciasepe, nominated to become the EPA's deputy administrator. Voinovich said the EPA analysis of the House climate bill fails to thoroughly review its impact on the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he will nominate Aaron Williams, a career international development specialist, to be director of the Peace Corps.

Sonia Sotomayor has stated her case for a place on the US Supreme Court to the Senate, saying her judicial philosophy is "fidelity to the law". The nominee said during her 17 years as a federal judge she had sought to serve the interests of "impartial justice". Ms Sotomayor - nominated by President Barack Obama - will be the first Hispanic to serve on the court if she is, as expected, confirmed in the post. Some Republican senators want her to explain past rulings and comments. These include her remark that a "wise Latina" could reach better legal conclusions than...

The criminal defense lawyer nominated by President Obama to be the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey is declining to identify more than half of his private clients on government forms designed to help the public guard against potential conflicts of interests.

Whether the object of their dictatorial pedantry is based upon what “empathic” judges, politicians, and social activists weave according to rules laid down by a penumbra, fashion from the love of power, or create from leftist ideology, liberals have something new and ridiculous to teach us every day. However, on a number of days since the election of the most leftist president and Congress in the nation’s history, we have been sent reeling by so many madly perverse liberal lessons that, frustrated beyond patience, we have no other option but to avail ourselves of the cathartic effects of an especially...

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said Thursday he does not plan to vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, becoming the first Republican to explicitly state his opposition to President Obama's pick for the high court. "With all due respect to the nominee and nothing personal, I do not plan to vote for her," Roberts told talk radio host Christ Stigall on Kansas station KCMO. Roberts also noted he was one of the 28 Senate Republicans in 1998 who voted against confirming Sotomayor to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Sotomayor was ultimately confirmed to that court...

Focusing on specific candidates for the nation's highest court, President Barack Obama is considering a diverse list dominated by women and Hispanics. The six names confirmed as being under review by Obama include three judges, two members of his administration and one governor.

Listening to the mainstream media, cable news shows, Democrats and the Left all practice “racial profiling” and “identity politics” to the highest degree in their debate over who should replace Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court – while conveniently avoiding that pesky term “qualifications” – I am convinced that President Obama’s choice is obvious. “Daffy Duck” should replace Justice Souter. Here are seven (7) reasons why: We have never had a duck sit on the Supreme Court. I am sure that our nation has a history of insensitivity toward “duck rights.” Daffy is a black duck. Therefore, Daffy’s...

3 with University of Chicago ties expected to be on Obama's short list for Supreme Court Ever since Barack Obama's election as president, there has been anticipation among scholars at the University of Chicago's Law School that one of their own could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court bench in the next few years. That anticipation was heightened late last week with news that Obama, who taught constitutional law at the school from 1992 to 2004, soon will be making his first Supreme Court pick. Almost every short list of possible nominees to succeed Justice David Souter includes three...

'Weak' Barack Obama loses another nomineeTom Baldwin in Washington March 13, 2009 President Obama is facing accusations that he failed his first test on the Middle East by allowing America's pro-Israel lobby to force out the nominee for a top intelligence post. Charles Freeman, picked to chair the National Intelligence Council (NIC), withdrew after an internet-led campaign branded him as harbouring Arabist sympathies or being influenced by foreign governments. In a furious message posted to friends and colleagues, Mr Freeman said that the “tactics of the Israel lobby plumb the depths of dishonour and indecency and include character assassination, selective...

[VIDEO] EXCERPT: Another week, another Obama nominee bites the dust. But at least this one had paid his taxes. President Obama’s controversial choice to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post. Charles W. Freeman blamed the “Israel lobby” for his problems. Others said the withdrawal had more to do with questions about Freeman’s financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia. Financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia? Who does this guy think he is, Bill Clinton? Speaking of Bill Clinton,

We would say “Would the last honest Democrat please turn out the lights,” but we fear the eternally-burning bulbs would impact global warming. Ron Kirk, the president’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, has agreed to pay $10,000 in back taxes. Kirk played a little fast and loose with past speaking fees, took an improper deduction for the cost of his Dallas Mavericks season tickets, and claimed exorbitant charitable deductions. Adolfo Carrion, the president’s nominee for ‘Urban Czar’ is also in hot water. He’s accused of receiving kickbacks from developers whose projects he approved while serving as Bronx Borough President. An...

What do you get when you mix a legal degree with a whole lot of crazy? Answer: Obama’s Department of Justice nominee, Dawn Johnsen. As the former legal director for NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League), Dawn Johnsen is already far more liberal than most conservatives hoped for; however, after reading Andrew McCarthy’s article in the National Review, I’m afraid she’s far more fanatical than most of us imagined. In the article, McCarthy discusses Johnsen’s Supreme Court brief written for Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. The case centered on a Missouri law that did not prohibit abortion, but did restrict...

Trade nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Reuters WASHINGTON – Ron Kirk, nominated as U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to make his payments, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday. The committee said the taxes arise from Kirk's handling of speaking fees that he donated to his alma mater, and for his deduction of the full cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team. The disclosure made the former Dallas mayor...

President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question. Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration with a Deputy Defense Secretary nominee who lobbied for Raytheon, Obama interrupted with a knowing smile on his face. "Ahh, see," he said, "I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I can't end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I'm going to get grilled every time I come down here." Pressed further by the Politico...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal grand jury is investigating how a California firm that contributed to the political activities of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nominee to head the Commerce Department, won a lucrative government contract. A person familiar with the proceedings told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the panel is looking into possible "pay-to-play" dealings between CDR Financial Products and someone in a position to push the contract through with the state of New Mexico. The person asked not to be named because the proceedings are secret.

Washington, DC -- When the time comes for Barack Obama to make his first selection for the Supreme Court, Harold Hongju Koh, the dean of Yale Law School, is one of the people on his short list. A Koh nomination would be a severe blow to the pro-life movement as he would assuredly vote to uphold Roe v. Wade.

Remember all the moaning and groaning during the 2000 presidential election when the Democrats accused the Republicans of stealing the election? Remember how lawyers for Al Gore attempted to disenfranchise Floridian U.S. servicemen and women overseas by asking the courts to toss out their absentee ballots? Well, Democratic “superdelegates” could disfranchise half of their own voters this election year. This summer, almost 800 so-called superdelegates will occupy smoke-filled rooms of cigar bars in Denver as they mull over their choice for the Democrat presidential nominee. Never mind that Barack Obama will in all likelihood have won the majority of votes...

Well, "Bittergate" is a Wright-size problem. To recap, at a fundraiser in San Francisco last week, Obama said: "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then, that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like...

With John McCain as the likely GOP nominee, his supporters are turning to the difficult task of figuring out how to win California, a state that has not gone Republican in the presidential race in 20 years. In primary elections held in other states, the Arizona senator has proved he can appeal to independent voters much the way Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, did in his 2006 re-election. His supporters say he will do the same in the California general election. "This senator will sell himself well in California, because people believe in his integrity, honesty and his track record,"...

Well, it looks like John McCain will be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Mike Huckabee is hanging in there, but he does not really have a shot. Many true conservatives do not like McCain, and for good reason: He is not a conservative!! He co-sponsored the McCain-Feingold bill, which puts limits on free speech during an election. He attacks Republicans any chance he gets. He loves the liberal media fawning all over him, and so often goes against his party to get those rave reviews from the New York Times, etc. He believes in global warming, and wants...

Conservatives Frustration with McCain - - Former House Majority Leader Tom "still The Hammer" Delay (R-TX) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), who endorses and is Virginia co-chair for John "Soros Shadow Party" McCain for 2008 President, debate whether Conservatives will unite behind the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Whether you like Tom DeLay or not this is a very good issues discussion video. VIDEO - 8:24 minutes See related Free Republic Thread:Video Interview from CPAC: Tom DeLay Hammers John McCain After John McCain's speech at CPAC, Tom DeLay said in an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC "Hardball", that Mr....

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following remarks by John McCain as prepared for delivery tonight in Phoenix, Arizona: Thank you. Tonight, my friends, we have won a number of important victories in the closest thing we have ever had to a national primary. We've won some of the biggest states in the country. We have won primaries in the west, the south, the midwest, and the northeast. And although I've never minded the role of the underdog, and have relished as much as anyone come from behind wins, tonight I think we must...

http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/mccain_myth.htm http://www.usvetdsp.com/nov07/mccain_deceit.htm http://www.newsmax.com/john_leboutillier/john_mccain/2007/11/19/50610.html http://www.realchange.org/mccain.htm http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/09/mccain-dialogue- http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14188.htmlrespect/ http://www.slate.com/id/2139775/

It appears that McCain stand a good chance to be the nominee. No, he is not the conservative that some were hoping for, but is he better than Obama or Hillary? For all the problems that conservatives have had with McCain, he seems to be strong on a number of issues near and dear to conservatives: Health Care, Defense, and Abortion. He is demostrably bad on others; like illegal immigration. Will you "hold your nose" and vote for him, or is it better to lose this election to a radical leftist to gain the real conservative nominee in the next...

“Front-runner.” “Winner.” “Inevitable.” Since Saturday’s South Carolina primary, this is how the mainstream media have been describing Sen. John McCain and his bid for the GOP nomination. And once again, the mainstream media is wrong. John McCain isn’t “inevitable.” He’s not even “likely” at this point in the race. To see why, just look at his vote totals from the primaries thus far. John McCain is the incredible shrinking candidate. In 2000, McCain was just another senator running as a maverick against the GOP establishment’s legacy candidate, George W. Bush. His huge 49 percent to 30 percent clobbering of Bush...

FredHeads will play a vital role in this race and WILL end up choosing the nominee, though, to their obvious chagrin, it will not be for their first choice candidate. I've been watching and analyzing this race for two years now, reading and commenting nearly daily at forumns such as RedState, FreeRepublic, and Race42008. I've seen the slow dance of Fred's entrance, his surge in popularity and polls, and his steady decline. I've debated with FredHeads about both Fred and Mitt, their strengths and weaknesses. Interestingly, there has been a significant "warming" to Mitt among FredHeads and vice-a-versa over...

DOT's Peters Applauds Move ANN REALTIME REPORTING 10.23.07 1400 EDT: When searching for a replacement for former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, President George W. Bush apparently didn't look very far. On Tuesday, reports surfaced the President plans to nominate Bobby Sturgell, currently the Acting FAA Administrator and previously Blakey's deputy, to take on the job full-time.

The Iran question was a very, very important one. A chance to show a willingness to defend us at any cost, or to show indecision and wimpyness that encourages our enemies. McCain nailed the Iran question better than anyone else. BUT his shamnesty rules him out, and his idiotic idea somehow 60 years of history will be reversed, and kind treatment of our enemies will result in kind treatment of our boys. Unlawful combatants are subject to summary execution in the field. Holding them and giving them any sort of hearing is already above and beyond in humanitarian terms, and...

     RNCLife.org  |  New  |  FaxNotes  |  Reports  |  Shop  |  Links  |  Feedback www RNCLife.org         about RNC/Life | RNC/Life PAC | Candidate Questionnaire | Brochure | Request Info    2006 Elections 2004 Republican Platform BLOG Do you support the pro-life and pro-family principles the Republican Party has represented since 1976? A Publication of the Republican National Coalition for Life WINTER 2007 — No. 62 Will the Republican Nominee Respect Us in the Morning? -- Winter 2007 (PDF) Will the Republican Nominee Respect Us in the Morning? (The morning after the 2008 Republican National Convention, that is) Pro-life Republicans are being wined and dined, courted and wooed by an ever-growing assortment...

White House Withdraws Nominee Fox - Gave to 2004 Anti-Kerry 'Swift Boat' Group WASHINGTON (March 28) - President Bush on Wednesday withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of businessman Sam Fox after Democrats denounced Fox for giving money to a controversial conservative group that undermined Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Kerry, D-Mass., had criticized Fox because of a $50,000 contribution that Fox made in 2004 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Many Democrats blame the group for sinking Kerry's presidential hopes that year after it aired a series of controversial ads that impugned Kerry's military record in the Vietnam War.

KEENE – Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., tapped into the heart of the conservative base by addressing concerns of a lagging economy due to Chinese trade and his hopes of building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border during a campaign stop yesterday. "Right now there is a small green line between that border," said Hunter of the current border patrol. Hunter, who has represented San Diego in Congress since 1980 and is a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Cheshire County Republicans yesterday he fought to build a fence on the California border and saw human and narcotic...

Presidential candidates such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have been campaigning in South Carolina, but only one has stopped into Greenwood so far. Duncan Hunter, a Republican congressman from California and presidential candidate, visited Calvary Chapel in Greenwood Friday morning. Students from nearby Greenwood Christian School and well-wishers from the Upstate came to hear Hunter talk about what he thinks are the important issues, including trade with China, illegal immigrants and the war in Iraq. Hunter came to Greenwood after John McCravy, chairman of the board of directors for Greenwood Christian School, saw him announce his candidacy...

The GOP Should Dump Its Litmus Test By Michael Reagan FrontPageMagazine.com | February 16, 2007 The philosopher Diogenes is said to have wandered around ancient Greece holding a lantern and seeking to find an honest man. My fellow Republicans, sans lanterns, are now wandering around the political landscape seeking to find the perfect Republican presidential candidate. I don’t know if Diogenes ever found that honest man, but I do know that those Republicans are never going to find the perfect candidate, simply because he does not exist. Some Republicans insist that the only perfect candidate would be a clone of...

There is a nice new Hunter article entitled "Hunter out to capture White House" at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-02-01-duncan-hunter_x.htm

http://conservativepresident2008.blogspot.com/2006/12/constitution-party-to-select-candidate.html The Constitution Party, a conservative third party founded in 1992 to serve as a possible ticket for Pat Buchanan to run on, plans to have nominated its candidate for President by July 2007, World Net Daily reports. The party held a national committee meeting last weekend where Howard Phillips, who is the party's founder and three time Presidential candidate (1992, 1996 and 2000), told World Net Daily "The time has never been better for a third party dark horse candidate to grab the White House." Phillips said that the party will nominate candidate next year and among the possibilities...

I promise, this is my last vanity (for a while!)...but I'm very keen to know FReepers views on this one. With (former) Senator George Allen now on the electoral rotiserie and clearly not a contender for 2008, who is going to keep Hitlery out of the White House? Is there another Ronald Reagan lurking somewhere in the Republican Party? Who can inspire the conservative masses to renew their faith in the GOP and get off their bums and vote? Who can bring those people who elected Dubya twice back to the polls, and free the Congress from 'Rat control? No...

Democratic lawmakers have denied David Crane, one of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's friends and economic advisers, a seat on the California State Teachers' Retirement System board. The Senate Rules Committee voted 3-2 along party lines Wednesday to reject the Republican governor's appointment of Crane to the board. Democrats said they were concerned he would not protect teachers' pensions. Schwarzenegger last year was forced to withdraw an attempt to alter public employee pensions after police and firefighters launched an ad campaign against it. The governor wanted to shift retirement plans for teachers and other public employees to a defined-contribution system - one...

Why is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State who has said that she will not run for president in 2008, the GOP's best option to win the White House in said year? The polls have consistently shown that there are only three Republicans who can beat the major Democratic contenders in 2008. Those three Republicans are Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Condoleezza Rice. However, there is only one candidate that is acceptable to the GOP out of those three: Condi Rice. Giuliani could win the general election hands down, but he is a notoriously hardcore social liberal who would...

HONOLULU (AP) _ Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka says he opposes blocking a vote on Samuel Alito's nomination to serve on the U-S Supreme Court. Akaka said today he wouldn't support a filibuster because the Senate has heard Alito's positions in confirmation hearings. Akaka says he would vote against confirming Alito to the court because he has concerns about whether Alito would uphold anti-discrimination laws allowed under the Constitution. Akaka also says he's worried Alito would work to give the president more power.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made it clear time and again she has no desire to run for president in 2008. But based on a poll of more than 11,000 readers of HUMAN EVENTS, the national conservative weekly, Rice is their choice to be the GOP’s nominee. Rice leads 11 other potential candidates in the unscientific poll, which began tracking the Top 12 contenders for the Republican nomination on January 6, 2006. The poll is available on HumanEventsOnline.com and was e-mailed to subscribers. First Lady Laura Bush had mentioned Rice as a possible contender for the presidency when responding...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Democrat who plans to vote against Samuel Alito sided on Sunday with a Republican colleague on the Senate Judiciary Committee in cautioning against a filibuster of the Supreme Court nominee. "I do not see a likelihood of a filibuster," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "This might be a man I disagree with, but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court." She said she will not vote to confirm the appeals court judge, based on his conservative record. But she acknowledged that nothing emerged during last week's hearings to justify any organized action by Democrats...

When National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler gave his group's blessing to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, he didn't just say Alito was a good pick. Engler said Alito was one of the best nominees ever. "Judge Alito clearly has one of the most distinguished records of any nominee to the Supreme Court in our time or any other time," he said earlier this month.

Yeah, DoctorZIn at Regime Change Iran needs your help to win the contest! DoctorZIn has been working as an advocate of the Iranian people here on FR and on blogsphere. He has been speaking up for the Iranians on several issues such as Nukes, Human Rights, Democratic change and freedom for the Iranian people. Recently the info he provided on the Anti-Israeli remarks of the Iranian president was heard by the US senate and a panel of influential people testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs That would be great if we show him our...

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