Free Republic

If my heart is with Paul Broun, my head is with Karen Handel. Whoever the nominee is will face Michelle Nunn, the great white hope of the Georgia Democratic Party. A unified front — the Democrats don’t even have a gubernatorial candidate — and a bankrupt party will throw its full weight behind her family name with a helping hand of Barack Obama’s organizational skills. Her early reviews have captured the imagination of the geriatric press corps (those still with a pulse) who swooned over her father in his day as well as the younger, liberal reporter cubs on the...

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP -- The day U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg died, Alieta Eck was treating a patient at the free health clinic for the poor and uninsured she operates with her husband in Somerset County. The patient, she said, had just learned her minimum-wage job was being cut from 37 to 29 hours a week, with her employer blaming the costs associated with President ObamaÂ’s health care overhaul. "She didnÂ’t know what she was going to do," Eck said. "I realized: Obamacare is going to hurt people. How are we going to stop it?" Eck paused. "Then," she said, "I got...

Newark Mayor Cory Booker appears to be a slam dunk to win next week’s Democratic primary for the US Senate in New Jersey. Booker got an overwhelming 54 percent of the support — compared with 17 percent for nearest rival Rep. Frank Pallone and 15 percent for third-place Rep. Rush Holt — in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. The winner will run in October’s special election to replace Frank Lautenberg, who died in June at age 89 — and Booker leads that poll over GOPer Steve Lonegan by 25 points.

"They have to pick up 6 seats. I wasn't a genius with math, but those numbers are hard to come by," Reid said. Reid went on to predict that the McConnell's Democratic challenger, Alison Grimes, and another Democratic challenger in the South would win seats now held by Republicans, including McConnell, in two red-leaning states. "We have competitive seats in Kentucky, We are ahead in the polls in Kentucky. We are ahead in the polls in Georgia – Michelle Nunn, Sam Nunn's daughter is ahead of everybody. Alison Grimes is ahead of the Republican leader and so that's two we're...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday that if House Republicans end up sending their collection of immigration bills to a conference with the Senate, Democrats would win. “If we go to conference, we would win,” Reid told a Nevada radio station.

Photobombed: McConnell Holds His Nose To Campaign As Conservative Friday, August 9, 2013 | CR PAC Staff | Constitutional Rights PAC This morning McConnell Instagrammed this picure in response to reports that Jesse Benton, his campaign manager said: “Between you and me, I’m sort of holdin’ my nose for two years because what we’re doing here is going to be a big benefit to Rand in ’16, so that’s my long vision...” But it appears that this isn't the first time Mitch McConnell has been caught on camera holding his nose. It seems that he holds his nose every...

In his first formal interview since launching his campaign, McFadden told MinnPost where he stands on a handful of matters the Senate’s considered this year, what type of campaign he wants to run, and which senators he’d try to model himself after if he's elected to the Senate next November. MP: Would you have supported the Senate immigration bill? MM: First of all, the status quo is not acceptable, having 11 million illegal immigrants in this country is de facto amnesty, and that doesn’t work, so we need to find a solution. I applaud members of the Senate for trying...

The Senate has cut funding for 20 Light Air Support aircraft meant to backfill the precision fire support role for the Afghan Army once we have pulled the vast majority of manned airpower out of the Afghan theater.

Sen. Lindsey Graham’s primary challenger retweeted a tweet that calls him “Nancy boy,” according to the Sunlight Foundation’s Politwoops, which monitors politicians’ deleted tweets.

Republican Senate candidate Matt Bevin launched a Facebook petition Tuesday to demand that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sign a letter by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) vowing to block legislation to keep the federal government open unless it defunds the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. “Over the past couple of days, Sen. McConnell has been asked repeatedly whether he will support Sen. Mike Lee’s effort to defund Obamacare before its implementation on October 1st, and each time, Sen. McConnell has refused to answer," Bevin said. "It is truly sad to see the minority leader of the U.S. Senate so...

Here’s a riddle: How do you make it easier to push through legislation in Congress that is overwhelmingly opposed in the public without any political consequences? SecrecyAnswer: Keep the votes secret. That’s exactly what’s happened to an Obama administration plan to provide weapons directly to the Syrian rebels. The Senate committee that approved the plan was, unusually, allowed to classify their votes, presumably in order to insulate themselves from any repercussions from their constituents. Because really…why should elected representatives have to tell the people they supposedly represent how they are doing the job they were elected to do!?...

<p>SPARTANBURG, S.C. - State Sen. Lee Bright has brought his campaign website online as he considers a Republican primary challenge against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham next year.</p>

When U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R (at right) announces his candidacy for Senate at a barbecue this evening, he will be doing so as an early frontrunner in a 2014 race that could ultimately determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Downers Grove business owner and West Point graduate Doug Truax (True-axe) will announce Monday morning he is seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for Illinois’ senate seat currently held by Dick Durbin. “Dick Durbin and his crew have been in charge in Illinois and the United States for years. Their policies are not working, yet they continue to pursue them again and again as we sink deeper into economic stagnation,” Truax says in an announcement video posted to Youtube.

Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise and Senate hopeful Rob Maness bookended the last day of this year's RedState gathering. The annual meeting, held this year in Louisiana's bluest city, New Orleans, brings together conservative bloggers, activists and candidates to discuss political strategy and key policy initiatives. Conspicuously absent from the gathering this weekend was U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, whose conservative credentials failed to pass muster with the event's host, RedState blog founder and editor Erick Erickson. "I'm just not a big fan of Bill Cassidy," Erickson said in an interview Saturday, confirming that an invitation was not extended...

Picture in your mind’s eye a day when GOP senators ignore the only slightly veiled public threats of Obama, and the rants of a corrupt media. Imagine a Democrat senate judiciary committee chairman who privately, quietly lets the president know that any nominee with the slightest history of opposition to the 10th Amendment will be rejected for a seat on the federal bench. These are all possible. Among the senate’s unique duties is that of consenting or not to presidential secretarial, judicial and ambassadorial nominees. As opposed to what the left-media and Dingy Harry would have us believe, the senate...

Sen. Lindsey Graham may be getting another primary challenger this weekend. According to South Carolina and conservative news reports, Nancy Mace, a small business owner and the first woman to graduate from the state’s military college, is expected to announce her bid on Saturday. POLITICO’s phone call seeking confirmation was not immediately returned. “I am looking forward to a special announcement this Saturday in my home town of Goose Creek, S.C..” reads a post at NancyMace.net. “Please join us at 9:00am at the Berkeley County GOP Breakfast at the American Legion Post, 116 Howe Hall Road.” Graham (R-S.C.) has weathered...

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard this fall, Bettina Poirier, a Democratic committee aide, told The Hill on Wednesday. The announcement raises the specter that changes to the nearly decade-old biofuel-blending mandate could be in the offing. The planned hearing comes as members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working on legislation to overhaul the rule. The mandate, approved by Congress in a 2005 energy law and expanded two years later, requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuel with conventional petroleum by 2022. Some Democrats on...

Just before the Senate failed to advance a transportation and housing bill Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to give Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who was presiding over the chamber at the time, a little help.

Do you believe that Mary Landrieu has performed her job as US Senator well enough to deserve to be reelected or do you think it is time to give a new person a chance? TOTAL RE-ELECT 39.2% TOTAL NEW PERSON 50.6% See here the complete poll results. Magellan Strategies BR surveyed 1,800 likely Louisiana voters between July 29th and July 30th, 2013. The margin of error was 2.3% at a 95% confidence interval. This survey was not authorized or paid for by any campaign or political organization. The survey was conducted using automated telephone technology.

It's going to take a lot more than one California state Senate seat chaging hands to alter the political fortunes of Republicans in California,, but hope is a precious thing, and the surprise - even shocking - victory last week of a white, conservative rancher in a 60% Hispanic district might be a turning point for a party that has been virtually shut out in state politics for more than 15 years. From Washington Times: According to the logic of politics, Leticia Perez should have handily won the heavily Democratic and Hispanic district in California's central valley, and her failure...

Oprah Winfrey is lending her star power to Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s Senate bid. The talk show queen is set to host a fundraiser for Booker in New Jersey on Thursday. The event, flagged by the Sunlight Foundation, will be held at Liberty House restaurant, and tickets start at $1,000. Booker and Oprah have been pals for a while. The mayor made an appearance on Winfrey’s show “Oprah’s Next Chapter” last year. And Winfrey gushed about him in a Time magazine feature....

WASHINGTON — The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reportedly gave its approval last week to an Obama administration plan to provide weapons to moderate rebels in Syria, but how individual members of the committee stood on the subject remains unknown.

WASHINGTON -- Senator Dianne Feinstein of California introduced a bill Tuesday night that would have the Senate resolve itself to supporting Secretary of State John Kerry's push for a two-state solution. The bill hit the Senate floor just hours after direct negotiations began in Washington between Israel and the Palestinians. The two parties agreed to negotiate in earnest over the next nine months— with the United States facilitating— addressing final status issues with the aim of establishing two independent states side by side. Calling the two-state solution the only way to "ensure the State of Israel's survival as a secure,...

Gotta figure her lead would be even bigger without Joe Miller in the field here. Her nomination for the taking? Alaska should be a top tier pick up opportunity for Senate Republicans next year…but their top choice of a candidate is Sarah Palin. 36% of GOP primary voters in the state say they’d like Palin to be their standard bearer against Mark Begich to 26% for Mead Treadwell, 15% for Dan Sullivan, and 12% for Joe Miller. Palin leads mostly based on her strength with ‘very conservative’ voters where she gets 43% to 20% for Treadwell, but she also leads...

Alaska should be a top tier pick up opportunity for Senate Republicans next year...but their top choice of a candidate is Sarah Palin. 36% of GOP primary voters in the state say they'd like Palin to be their standard bearer against Mark Begich to 26% for Mead Treadwell, 15% for Dan Sullivan, and 12% for Joe Miller. Palin leads mostly based on her strength with 'very conservative' voters where she gets 43% to 20% for Treadwell, but she also leads him 28/25 with moderates. The problem for Republicans with a Palin candidacy is that even though she is in good...

Meet the conservative who is challenging Mitch McConnell. By Katrina Trinko Louisville, Ky. — This isn’t the first time Matt Bevin has been fed up with the Republican establishment. Last week, the Kentucky businessman announced he would challenge Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell in next year’s Republican Senate primary. This will be Bevin’s first entry into the political rodeo. But the longtime Republican has often been a frustrated party member.

The Senate confirmed James Comey to head up the FBI with an 93-1 vote Monday. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) – the only senator who voted nay – lifted his hold on the nominee to succeed FBI Director Robert Mueller late Monday afternoon, minutes before the vote, after receiving more information from the agency on the domestic drone program. Paul had maintained that he would delay the nomination until his questions were answered. “The FBI today responded to my questions on domestic use of surveillance drones by saying that they don’t necessarily need a warrant to deploy this technology,” Paul said...

U. S. Senator Mike Enzi has served Wyoming well. He is likable and effective in working with both Republicans and Democrats in our nation’s capital. But competition in politics can often bring out the best in candidates. And that’s why we welcome the news that Liz Cheney will be challenging Enzi in Wyoming’s Republican Primary. Quite simply, the political process works better when there is a competition between able people presenting forceful arguments. Voters deserve a real choice. We consider unopposed races to be detrimental to the entire process.

Polling suggests Republicans drawing a line in the sand over Obamacare funding in the continuing resolution would be unpopular with the American public. Instead of trying to find a way to convince the American public this is the right thing to do, the Republican consultant class wants to run rapidly away from the idea. They have convinced Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner that the GOP must not allow the Democrats to shut down the government by the GOP refusing to fund Obamacare. It is important to note that the same Republican consultants who oppose a strategy...

Tax reform is apparently so treacherous for senators these days that they require the utmost protection from the public -- half a century's worth. The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee last month asked senators to submit written proposals detailing tax breaks they'd like to see preserved once the tax code is reformed and explain why. The point was to help inform committee leaders in their efforts to craft a tax reform bill. The request apparently wasn't embraced, and the committee has now promised skittish senators that their proposals will be kept secret for 50 years. A memo sent out...

Time to seek absolution from the base for the recent immigration-related “unpleasantness.� All is forgiven? Some is forgiven?A tiny little bit is forgiven, maybe? “If someone else would like to do it instead of me, I’m more than happy to consider it. But I’d like to be the lead sponsor,” the Florida Republican said. “I feel very strongly about this issue. And I’d like to be the lead sponsor on it if we can find language that we can unify people behind.”…Rubio said “certainly” the Constitution would allow a federal law banning abortions after 20-weeks — it’s just a question...

"With 100% of precincts reporting, the Hanford-area grower holds a nearly 6,000 vote lead over Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez in the contentious 16th State Senate race. According to the California Secretary of State's office, Vidak has 54% of the vote with a total of 39,085 votes. Perez has 46% of the vote with a total of 33,252 votes. As with May's special election for the seat -- which was vacated by Michael Rubio -- Vidak enjoyed strong support. from Kings and Tulare counties................"

There is a divide in the tea party movement over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election efforts, as two national tea party groups have already endorsed the Kentucky senator and local groups push for a potential primary challenger. The United Kentucky Tea Party group condemned the move of TheTeaParty.net and Tea Party Nation who have already endorsed McConnell, and said that United Kentucky will support Louisville businessman Matthew Bevin, who is expected to announce his candidacy Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. "We see him a lot in the same vein as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz," said Scott Hofstra, spokesman...

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Samantha Power, President Barack Obama's nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, clearing the way for a vote in the full 100-member Senate. All but three of the panel's 18 members voted in favor of Power, who was expected to win confirmation easily by the full Senate. Venezuela said last week it was ending efforts to improve ties with the United States after Power vowed during her confirmation hearing to oppose what she called a crackdown on civil society in the "repressive" OPEC nation. In an echo of the many...

Christine O’Donnell is considering a new bid for the Senate. The conservative activist who rode a tea party wave to victory in a Delaware special election primary four years ago is interested in challenging Sen. Chris Coons (D) in 2014, the Wilmington News Journal reports. O’Donnell would have difficulty winning over skeptics in the Delaware GOP, many of whom see her as a liability. After beating moderate Republican Rep. Mike Castle in the 2010 primary, O’Donnell lost in a landslide to Coons amid a series of missteps and damaging revelations about her past.

A Super PAC playing in the New Jersey Senate race, American Commitment Action Fund, introduces you to a couple folks in the city of which Cory Booker is actually mayor, who have some opinions about him and the job he’s done there. Contrary to popular belief, Booker’s not just a fixture on national campaigns and Sunday shows.

A former senior policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza supervised the drafting of a U.S. Senate bill, passed on June 27, that would give an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if the House of Representatives goes along. And La Raza figures to enlarge its budget significantly, thanks to slush funds buried deep in the legislation. A bombshell report published Thursday by Investor's Business Daily shows that the immigration reform bill would set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for La Raza and other liberal immigrants' rights groups, which the federal government would contract...

THOMSON – Thomson prison is one small step closer to opening. Thursday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved $166 million to reactivate Thomson and two other prisons, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, said in a news release. In October, the federal government paid $165 million for the prison in Thomson, a town along the Mississippi River in Carroll County. The state built the 1,600-cell, maximum-security prison a decade ago, then decided it couldn't afford to run it. It had been looking for a buyer for years. The prison is expected to bring 1,100 jobs and...

The Tuesday Senate deal cut by Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday to avoid the “nuclear option” just keeps getting better and better…for union bosses. You may recall that on Tuesday, the only “victory” that Republicans could lay claim to (in exchange for their giving Harry Reid nearly everything Democrats wanted) was that two of Barack Obama’s constitutionally-challenged “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board would be let go. Well, as it turns out, while Operating Engineers’ chief counsel Richard Griffin is being tossed from his seat on the NLRB as a member, he is now being offered the position...

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) admitted Wednesday that under the Senate immigration bill, forging up to two passports is not a crime, adding that the bill leaves the decision whether to charge someone with passport fraud up to the discretion of prosecutors. On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked Leahy, “One of the provisions has to do with passports; that’s an important component. Do you know how many passports someone is able to forge before it’s a crime?” Leahy said, “Well, it depends upon which interpretation is being used. You could have one form which is two, but then there are...

Rand Paul is formally endorsing Sen. Mike Enzi as he faces Liz Cheney in a Wyoming GOP primary next year, Paul told POLITICO in an interview Wednesday. “I’ve told him I’ll do anything I can to help him,” the Kentucky GOP senator said. “In fact, somebody asked me today if they could use my name, and I said I’d be happy to sign on and do a fundraiser for him.” Paul said he isn’t sure why Cheney decided to challenge Enzi, but said she might end up picking up some grudges for doing so. “I don’t think it probably will...

Liz Cheney Would Be Fourth Republican Senator To Back Gay Marriage Sen. Mike Enzi, her GOP primary opponent, opposes it by David Mark Editor-in-Chief Liz Cheney, 2014 Republican Senate candidate in Wyoming, and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. • AP There are few policy differences between Wyoming Republican Senate candidate Liz Cheney and the incumbent she's trying to oust in 2014, Sen. Mike Enzi. Except for one issue: Gay marriage. Unlike Enzi, the 46-year-old daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney supports the right for states to legalize gay marriage. At least that's what she said in...

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul mocked Liz Cheney’s newly announced Senate campaign Tuesday, questioning her Wyoming residency in a barbed statement. “When I heard Liz Cheney was running for Senate I wondered if she was running in her home state of Virginia,” Paul said. Cheney declared this afternoon that she would run in Wyoming’s GOP primary against incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi. Asked last week about the brewing matchup, Paul told POLITICO he viewed Enzi as a solid conservative. Paul and Cheney stand at opposite poles of the conservative national security debate, with Cheney supporting a hawkish foreign policy and Paul openly...

Republicans might be close to winning control of the Senate after next year's elections, according to New York Times statistician Nate Silver. Writing in his "FiveThirtyEight" blog on Monday, Silver said this weekend's announcement by former Montana Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer that he would not run for the Senate "represents the latest in a series of favorable developments for Republicans as they seek control of the chamber." The GOP, which holds 46 seats in the Senate, likely will lose New Jersey's special election in October to replace the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, according to Silver. The loss will leave Republicans...

Well, the fix is in–and, frankly, it looks as though Senate Republicans have caved in on everything–and have little to show for it. In their effort to “save” the filibuster, according to Politico, Senators John McCain (RINO-AZ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) brokered a deal that gives Democrats nearly everything* they wanted. In sum, here’s how it shakes out: Harry Reid gets to keep the threat of using the nuclear option at some later point. In exchange, the GOP gets to keep the pretense of having the ability to filibuster in return for caving in on five out of seven of...

Senate leaders struck a deal on Tuesday to avoid the “nuclear option,” as Republicans relented and allowed a series of President Barack Obama’s stalled nominees to move forward toward confirmation. As a sign of a break in the stalemate, Republicans allowed a vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Richard Cordray to permanently lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, passing 71-29. In exchange, Democrats backed off their threat to unilaterally change Senate rules—the so-called “nuclear option”—to allow for presidential nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority vote, an historic rules change which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,...

There aren’t a lot of details on the deal cut by the Senate to stop the nuclear option, but both sides are emerging from talks heralding the agreement: Senators have reached a tentative deal on averting the constitutional showdown over confirming President Obama’s agency nominations. “We may have a way forward on this, I feel fairly confident,” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday morning. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) signaled enough Republicans would support breaking a filibuster on the first test vote on the showdown, for Obama’s pick to lead the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau. “I think everyone will be...

The Senate appeared closer than ever to undertaking the so-called "nuclear option" on Tuesday — but early this morning, Senators were on the verge of a breakthrough deal to avoid the significant rules changes. After an unusual 3.5-hour, closed-door meeting on Monday night, the Senate did not have a deal to avert the "nuclear option" that would lead changes in voting on President Barack Obama's executive nominees. What will change if the "nuclear option" is invoked later this morning? Practically, not much. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is carrying out the fight strictly on behalf of seven of Obama's executive...