Free Republic

Senate Republicans Tuesday accused Democrats of reneging on deal that would give President Obama "fast track" authority to approve trade pacts. Senate Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats broke an agreement struck in committee that Trade Promotion Authority legislation would move separately from two provisions dealing with trade enforcement and preferences. "This demand materialized last week and came from the Senate Democratic leadership, virtually all of whom oppose TPA and their president outright," Hatch said, moments after Democrats voted to block the trade bill. Democrats said Tuesday they opposed the bill because they wanted the legislation to include...

With Democrats Like Him, Who Needs Dictators? MIAMI--We expected broken promises. But the gap between the soaring expectations that accompanied Barack Obama's inauguration and his wretched performance is the broadest such chasm in recent historical memory. This guy makes Bill Clinton look like a paragon of integrity and follow-through. From healthcare to torture to the economy to war, Obama has reneged on pledges real and implied. So timid and so owned is he that he trembles in fear of offending, of all things, the government of Turkey. Obama has officially reneged on his campaign promise to acknowledge the Armenian genocide....

Senate Democrats have scrapped a "good-faith" agreement they made two months ago to allow the Judiciary Committee to vote today on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. "This is a new low in our confirmation process," said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican. "Not only because it is virtually unprecedented, but also because it reflects a breach of trust." According to Judiciary Committee rules, either party can stall a nomination in committee for only one week, meaning that Judge Alito's nomination will likely be approved by the panel during an executive committee meeting next Tuesday. The entire...