Free Republic

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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WASHINGTON, D.C. – "The President’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court raises many concerns and I intend to focus on a number of key issues during the nomination hearings before the Judiciary Committee. In 1990, Judge Alito joined the federal bench on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. During the past fifteen years, Judge Alito has taken many positions that appear to place him at odds with the protection of key fundamental rights. It is vital that the Senate carefully examine these cases as we conduct our hearings...

                           41 ALITO, Circuit Judge, concurring in the judgment. I do not join Judge Barry's opinion, which was never necessary and is now obsolete. That opinion fails to discuss the one authority that dictates the result in this appeal, namely, the Supreme Court's decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, 2000 WL 825889 (U.S. June 28, 2000). Our responsibility as a lower court is to follow and apply controlling Supreme Court precedent. I write briefly to explain why Carhart requires us to affirm the decision of the District Court in this case. This is an appeal by the New Jersey State Legislature...

WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to announce a new nominee for the Supreme Court on Monday, and conservatives close to the White House said the leading candidates appeared to be federal appeals judges Samuel Alito and J. Michael Luttig. The expected nomination comes just four days after the withdrawal of Harriet Miers in the face of intense conservative opposition. Alito and Luttig both have strong conservative credentials and would be warmly welcomed by Bush's political base. Others who were under consideration were federal judges Karen Williams, Priscilla Owen, Alice Batchelder and Michael McConnell as well as Michigan Supreme Court...

The choice of Harriet Miers to be nominated to the Supreme Court, and her subsequent withdrawal, shows that caution is sometimes the most dangerous policy.  She was obviously chosen cautiously as a "stealth" nominee -- someone without a paper trail or a judicial record that could ignite controversy -- in hopes of avoiding a confirmation fight that the Senate Republicans had the votes to win, but had neither the unity nor the guts required to make victory certain.  Harriet Miers was a choice made from political weakness. Now she is gone but the political weakness remains. So celebrations in conservative...

I have several requirements for supporting Supreme Court nominees, among them being that Chucky Schumer and Harry Reid must hate them. Let’s face it, if these two clowns support you, you have about as good a chance of being a rational human being as Al Gore has of developing a personality. With that in mind, it should not be hard to understand why I practically jumped for joy when I heard that Harriet Miers was withdrawing her nomination to the high court. Even though most of my Republican friends kept telling me that I needed to give her a chance,...

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Bush has offered no hint about his thinking on a new nominee, but he isn't starting from scratch. The president already has vetted and interviewed several candidates, and White House officials wouldn't rule out the possibility that an announcement could be made as early as Friday.

A 30-second TV ad is set to air tomorrow, Wednesday, that some believe may be as effective at helping stop the Harriett Miers confirmation as the Swift Boat ads were in helping stop John Kerry. BetterJustice.org, a conservative grass-roots organization, created and funded the hard-hitting anti-Miers (but pro-Bush) ad. The organization's board of directors includes several otherwise staunch Republican stalwarts, such as David Frum and Linda Chavez. "Miers is no more qualified to sit on the Supreme Court than I am to be a sumo wrestler!" So stated the so very un-sumo-like Ann Coulter. Video on Human Events Online

It just occured to me the Miers nomitaion might be a ruse. think about it for a moment.. why would Bush do this? there is a month to go til the process starts.. the hearings. This is already taking out a lot of hot air from the democrats.. tire them out maybe and Miers will step out on her own. bring in another nominee.. touche.

As U.S. Sen. John Cornyn helps Harriet Miers prepare for her U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the former Texas attorney general says he doesn't aspire to sit on the nation's high court. "I loved being a judge for 13 years," Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court and district court judge, told the Austin Business Journal. "I can't imagine any sort of circumstances [under which] I would be considered" for the U.S. Supreme Court. Cornyn, R-Texas, visited Austin on Friday to help the Austin Economic Club laud the city's "Hurricane Heroes." Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says President...

McClellan said Rove told Dobson that "some individuals, when the list was longer, well into the double digits, had said that they preferred not to be considered" because they did not want to deal with "the ordeal of going through the confirmation process." But he said that had nothing to do with Bush's eventual nomination of Miers. "The president made a decision to nominate Harriet Miers. That was his choice, his only choice," he said. McClellan would give no names of candidates who withdrew but a conservative federal appeals court judge, Priscilla Owen of Texas, was reportedly one of them....

Jack Kelly: Knock it off The conservatives whining about the Miers nomination are a petulant bunch Sunday, October 09, 2005 --- Bush compounded matters at his press conference Tuesday, when he said Ms. Miers was the best qualified person, a statement breathtakingly at odds with reality. He'd have been on firmer ground if he'd simply said Harriet Miers was the best qualified conservative who could win relatively easy Senate confirmation. --- I'm no happier about the Miers nomination now than when I first learned of it. But I'm more dismayed by the conservative over-reaction. It's one thing to say there...

Thursday, October 06, 2005 The Case for Miers (when things look blurry) Fear factor As with pretty much everyone on the center-right, my initial reaction to the Miers appointment was anger, disbelief, and opposition. I feared, and many feared, that Miers was another Souter--and without the credentials to match. But I decided to do some research on Miers before I vented in my blog. After looking at the evidence, I came to two conclusions: 1) she's qualified; 2) she's very conservative. 1. Why W picked Miers The pick of Miers was very unexpected: Why Miers? But in retrospect it's not...

I have in the past proudly called myself a "bushbot" on this forum. Initially I was disappointed, but supportive of this nomination. However, as time has gone by, enough has leaked out about Ms. Miers to make me seriously doubt that we can afford to take a chance on a woman who not only has no background in Constitutional Law whatsoever, but - and this is the key - has, according to reliable reports about her stint on the Dallas City Council, shown herself to be very vulnerable to the kind of "go along to get along" attitude that doomed...

Legendary conservative jurist Robert Bork is "borking" Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, trashing her nomination as a complete and total "disaster." Asked by MSNBC's Tucker Carlson Friday night if he was impressed by Ms. Miers, Bork replied: "Not a bit. I think it's a disaster on every level." The Yale-trained judge said he didn't like the Texas attorney because she hadn't developed a "constitutional philosophy." "It's a little late to develop a constitutional philosophy or begin to work it out when you're on the court already," he told Carlson. "I'm afraid she's likely to be influenced by factors,...

Justice John Paul Stevens is 85 years old, but he is said to be healthy (or not?), and hired two new clerks this summer. However, there have been rumors since the late 90's about him thinking of stepping down. Nobody is saying (that I've heard) right now that he's going to retire, but the possibility is worth considering, especially when you read more recent rumors about Stevens, for example:

AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE The SCOTUS: what is its Fundamental Duty? 10-06-05 Our President has recently announced Harriet Miers as his nominee to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States. In making this nomination, president Bush has stated: "In selecting a nominee, I've sought to find an American of grace, judgment and unwavering devotion to the Constitution and laws of our country. Harriet Miers is just such a person. I've known Harriet for more than a decade. I know her heart, I know her character. I know that Harriet's mother is proud of her today, and...

Some of those who know Harriet Miers say that she is strongly pro-life, but Mrs. Schlafly questions such assertions, observing that Miers has not taken any pro-life positions that she has heard of. "I don’t know of any pro-life positions that she’s taken. The one thing they say is that she contributed to a pro-life organization but that’s really dishonest; she bought a ticket to an annual dinner that all the politicians go to so they can be introduced – a $150 ticket - and I don’t call that something that would convince anybody that she’s pro-life.” The real question...

In an initial chat with Miers, according to several people with knowledge of the exchange, Leahy asked her to name her favorite Supreme Court justices. Miers responded with "Warren" -- which led Leahy to ask her whether she meant former Chief Justice Earl Warren, a liberal icon, or former Chief Justice Warren Burger, a conservative who voted for Roe v. Wade . Miers said she meant Warren Burger, the sources said. A Republican member of the committee, Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), said after meeting with Miers: "I think the hearings matter in her case probably more than others." Graham said...

Why Filibusters Should Be Allowed By George F. Will Sunday, March 20, 2005; Page B07 With Republicans inclined to change Senate rules to make filibusters of judicial nominees impossible, Democrats have recklessly given Republicans an additional incentive to do so. It is a redundant incentive, because Republicans think -- mistakenly -- that they have sufficient constitutional reasons for doing so.

McCain’s Blunder A liberal minority in the Senate will have the upper hand. I am hearing two primary arguments for Harriet Miers by those who are close to the president: 1. The president knows her, believes she is the best candidate, and we should trust him because his past judicial picks have been excellent; and 2. There are not enough Republican votes in the Senate to win an ideological fight over a nominee like Michael Luttig, Edith Jones, or Janice Rogers Brown. I and others have already addressed the first point at some length over the last several days. As...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - The question of assisted suicide reached the Supreme Court for the second time in eight years on Wednesday, although the profound issues of professional ethics and personal autonomy that have animated the national debate largely remained outside the courtroom. Instead, lawyers for the federal government and for Oregon, the only state to have authorized physician-assisted suicide, argued over a single question: whether John Ashcroft acted within his authority as attorney general when he decided in 2001 that doctors would lose their federal prescription privileges if they followed the Oregon law's procedures and prescribed lethal doses of...