Free Republic

The protests that have rattled Iran this weekend are in many ways an echo of the near past. In the summer of 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest the reelection of President Ahmadinejad. The opposition believed his reelection victory was fraudulent. They chanted slogans demanding a recount of the votes. Others denounced the regime and its highest authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Hardliners and security forces confronted the crowds with anti-riot gear and harsh condemnation, often labeling them agents of foreign powers. It was a huge moment and seemed, at the time, to portend an irreversible...

Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana offered a piece of advice to fellow Republicans: “Lay down the philosophical swords” to begin rebuilding the party and tackle the nation’s immense challenges. But he urged Republicans to not become too emboldened by the discontent in the electorate. “Somebody said anger is not a strategy,” Mr. Daniels said in an interview today with editors and reporters from The New York Times. “We have to preach that in our own congregations.” Mr. Daniels, who is in the middle of his second term as governor, said the politics of a midterm election year would likely prevent...

When a president suffers a sharp decline in popularity early in his term, it seems safe to conclude he has badly misjudged the mood of the electorate, pushed the wrong policies and set himself on the path to becoming a one-term president. That, it's widely agreed, is the sad tale of Barack Obama, who has managed to demoralize liberals while inspiring a wave of gloating among conservatives. A new CNN/Opinion Research poll finds that already, most Americans want to vote him out in 2012. But both Democrats and Republicans are jumping the gun. They forget that this storyline also describes...

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson seems to have set a precedent Wednesday night when he called the president a liar during a joint session of Congress. That's the official word from House Deputy Historian Fred Beuttler, who says that though cheering and jeering between parties are commonplace, a single individual seldom steals the floor. Yet, there was Wilson, red-faced and alone, jabbing the air with his index finger and shouting to Barack Obama, "You lie!" As we say down South, "What in tarnation?"... This is not to excuse Wilson's behavior, which caused him to become an overnight Twitter sensation. His...

I am usually quite proud of being a conservative. I know in my heart that the only way to enjoying liberty under the law AND equality of justice is through the application of conservative principles to government and society. And I am usually proud of the rational, reasonable basis on which most conservatives see the world and evaluate people and events. That’s why it embarrasses me to no end to see fellow conservatives who actually believe that Barack Obama is some kind of “Manchurian Candidate” sent by Muslims to undermine American society. Or that Obama is a closet Muslim just...