Free Republic

A brief glimmer of sanity among Congressional Republicans has been followed, almost immediately, by a return to the more traditional Washington insanity. Last week, every single Republican in the House of Representatives voted against the Obama administration's "stimulus" package — which had stimulated an orgy of runaway spending by Congressional Democrats on everything from sports arenas to sexually transmitted diseases. This was a rare smart move by the Republicans. If the Republicans had gone along, pursuing the will o' the wisp of "bipartisanship," then if the stimulus had by some miracle succeeded, it would have been a bill for which...

Democratic Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse repeatedly used the president and the Republican Party to hammer Sen. Lincoln Chafee in their second TV debate, while the incumbent accused the former prosecutor of going easy on public corruption. "I didn't vote for him. Rhode Island didn't vote for him," Chafee said Thursday. The campaign is among the nation's most closely watched as Democrats seek to win a majority in the Senate. The candidates met in an hourlong debate taped at WLNE-TV that is scheduled to air Sunday.

Cornyn: 700 miles of border fence won't happen Senator says plan isn't practical, doesn't have the necessary funds. By Eunice Moscoso WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, October 04, 2006 WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and key liaison to the White House on immigration, said Tuesday that 700 miles of fencing approved by Congress for the United States' southern border will probably not be built because of a lack of money and other practical considerations. "It's one thing to authorize. It's another thing to actually appropriate the money and do it," he said.Cornyn predicted that some fencing would be built...

Like the famous racehorse Silky Sullivan, Sen. Rick Santorum is known as a great closer. Yet, months ago, he had been virtually given up for dead by pundits in his race against Bob Casey, Jr., son of the popular, pro-life, former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania. One poll early this year had Santorum down 23 points, an almost insurmountable deficit. A Strategic Value poll had Santorum down 16 points. Now the senator who had been written off is finishing fast. An average of all polls monitored by the RealClearPolitics.com website finds him trailing by 6 points. The most recent Strategic Value...

Alaska Republican Ted Stevens admitted Wednesday that he used a parlaimentary maneuver to secretly block legislation that would open federal spending practices to public scrutiny. Stevens used a procedure known as a "secret hold" to derail the legislation, which was introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), said Aaron Saunders, a spokesman for Stevens. Speculation over who placed the hold on the measure, which would create a searchable database of $2.5 trillion in government contracts, grants, insurance, loans, and financial assistance, has been swirling around Capital Hill as well as the blogosphere.

They Shot the Wrong Lincoln by Ann CoulterPosted Aug 30, 2006In addition to supporting Democrat Joe Lieberman over Republican Alan Schlesinger in Connecticut, President Bush is supporting the Democrat over the Republican in Rhode Island, too. In the Republican primary, Bush supports Lincoln Chafee -- who votes with Bush on the important issues less often than Sen. Lieberman does -- over the only actual Republican in the race, Stephen Laffey. Apart from Bush, the only person who hasn't figured out that Lincoln Chafee is a Democrat is Lincoln Chafee. As the expression goes, if Chafee switched parties, the average IQ...

Washington, DC -- The estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), released Friday, that the Senate-passed guest worker amnesty bill (S. 2611) would cost the country a net amount of $127 billion over the next ten years is misleading and grossly underestimates the real fiscal impact, contends the Federation from American Immigration Reform (FAIR). According to FAIR, the CBO estimate includes only the fiscal impact at the federal level, but ignores the much greater impact S. 2611 would have on state and local governments. An estimate of the fiscal impact at the local level by FAIR identifies a cost of...

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) -- A town hall meeting with Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, dissolved into angry shouts and walkouts when Craig began discussing the controversial issue of immigration. "I am sick of listening to these lies," one woman said, interrupting Craig as she left the Tuesday meeting, the Coeur d'Alene Press reported. Stan Hess, candidate for the North Idaho College Board of Trustees, screamed at Craig as others booed. Before leaving, Hess yelled at a woman, his face inches from hers, as several people tried to separate them. Craig planned eight town hall meetings in three days during a...

Washington D.C. ­– Conservative U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) issued the following statement regarding the suggestion of Don Goldwater, candidate for Arizona governor, to incarcerate illegal immigrants in forced labor camps: "I strongly denounce Don Goldwater’s deeply offensive suggestion that illegal immigrants should be incarcerated in concentration camps along the border, and pressed into forced labor. That Mr. Goldwater is either unaware of or indifferent to the loaded symbolism, injustice and un-Americanism of his “plan” to address the many serious issues caused by illegal immigration reveals his flaws as a candidate, and a stunning lack of respect for the basic...

When Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter stepped into the shower yesterday, it was an elusive immigration overhaul, not a slippery bar of soap, that he most hoped to keep within his grasp. The Pennsylvania Republican wanted a way to counter the House GOP’s unusual post-passage hearings on the bill, which are sure to delay negotiations and give a platform to critics of the Senate’s “path to citizenship” for millions of illegal immigrants. “I plan to hold some hearings of our own,” he told surprised reporters in the Capitol later in the day. “I just developed the idea this morning in...

WASHINGTON - Texas Republican John Cornyn is unhappy with Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader from Tennessee, and he makes no secret of his displeasure. "We could do better," Cornyn said last week. The Texan's criticism came after the Senate approved an immigration bill that includes provisions to allow most illegal immigrants to stay in the United States while seeking citizenship. Cornyn considers this amnesty and favors requiring illegal immigrants to return home before they could apply for legal status. Frist, who may seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, helped shepherd the bill through the Senate, and President Bush...

Vice President Dick Cheney Thursday defended himself against accusations by a leading Republican senator that he worked to thwart Senate plans to make telephone executives testify at a hearing about a U.S. domestic spying program. A day after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter rebuked Cheney for trying to head off subpoenas of the phone company executives, Cheney acknowledged that he had spoken to Senate leaders and members of Specter's committee. He said in a letter to Specter that he acted when the administration became concerned about a "compulsory process to force testimony" in a matter that could involve classified...

Senators voted Thursday to reject a Republican effort to abolish taxes on inherited estates during an election year with control of Congress at stake. GOP leaders had pushed senators to permanently eliminate the estate tax, which disappears in 2010 under President Bush's first tax cut, but rears up again a year later. A 57-41 vote fell three votes short of advancing the bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the Senate will vote again this year on a tax that opponents call the "death tax." "Getting rid of the death tax is just too important an issue to give...

I watch each day as my Country continues its leftward spiral out of control and find myself at a loss for words. The very pillars that form the foundation of this great nation are being shaken by both the Liberal Democrat Party and the increasing number of moderate Republicans. In the middle we find a President who once stood with a backbone of steel in the face of terror, who now panders to both sides in a weak kneed attempt to please everyone. Those of you who visit this site regularly know that I have been a staunch supporter of...

Sen. John McCain called on Orange County Latino leaders Wednesday to support his immigration bill, saying it was time for them to "speak for people who cannot speak for themselves." "You are the role models," McCain said to a mostly Latino audience of 340 gathered at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. McCain (R-Ariz.) came to Orange County — a hotbed of opposition to illegal immigration — to garner support from the Hispanic 100, a 3-year-old organization that has organized events with President Bush, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and gubernatorial candidates. ... In Orange County, McCain said Latino leaders must press Congress to...

Quick: What do 61% of Republican and 10% of Democrat Senators have in common? They represent America—at least on the issue of immigration. These numbers, drawn from the recorded vote on last week’s disastrous amnesty-granting immigration “reform” bill in the Senate, starkly illustrate two related insights about the ongoing illegal immigration crisis. One is that, despite gleeful media reports that “Congressional Republicans” are at odds with most of their supporters on the immigration issue, the great majority of Republican congressmen are not. The Republican leadership of the House of Representatives refused to even consider amnesty, legalization, or a guest worker...

On May 24, 2006, against the will of the vast majority of American citizens, in defiance of prudence, fairness, logic, and common sense, and with total disregard of American national interest (see footnote 1), the majority of the U.S. Senate (all but four Democrats and almost half Republicans) passed the so-called "Comprehensive Immigration Reform” Act (CIRA) of 2006. The Act, also known as S. 2611 bill, would (if enacted into the law) Mark Andrew Dwyer One would hope that this despicable act of betrayal of American voters by their elected "representatives" in the Senate, in which the consenting senators promptly...

A first in Northwest Indiana HISPANIC SERIES: Illegal immigrant sets sights on attending college through new program BY JERRY DAVICH jdavich@nwitimes.com 219.933.3376 This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, May 29, 2006 12:16 AM CDT Chapter two: Reaching for the dream HOBART I Frances Vega cried when she heard the news. On Nov. 23, the day before last Thanksgiving, she heard about Sen. Dick Lugar's formal introduction of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act. The still pending measure would help young, undocumented immigrants in the United States earn legal status by obtaining an education and...

PHOENIX (AP) - The Legislature approved a bill Thursday that would criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona and provide $160 million to help authorities in the nation's busiest illicit entry point with their immigration crackdown. The legislation also would set fines for businesses that continue to employ illegal immigrants after receiving warnings, require local police agencies to train officers in enforcing immigration law and deny education benefits to immigrants. The bill, which was approved 33-22 by the House and 16-9 by the Senate, now goes to Gov. Janet Napolitano. Spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer declined to say whether the governor...

RUSH: Now, folks, as I say, I've got all this figured out, and when I told you this wasn't about immigration, I was right; and when I told you that what this is really all about is the Democrats wanting and needing some new victims, I was right; and when I said this was all about politicians, particularly Democrats wanting new voters, I was right. But I was not a hundred percent right. I was close. To sum this up -- very simply -- what this bill is, this is not an immigration bill. What is being done here is...

O.K. Freepers, here’s the list of Pubbies who voted with the Dems Thursday to give Social Security benefits to Illegal Aliens. Brownback (KS) Chafee (RI) DeWine (OH) Graham (SC) Hagel (NE) Lugar (IN) Martinez (FL) McCain (AZ) Specter (PA) Stevens (AK) Voinovich (OH) I must admit that I was shocked by Brownback’s and Lugar’s votes.

Senate Nearly Nixes Railroad to Nowhere The vote came out 49 to 48 in favor of tabling an amendment to the supplemental (text not yet on Thomas) sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn. N.Z. Bear is despondent: Bad news from the Hill: an amendment introduced by Senator Tom Coburn challenging the Railroad to Nowhere has been defeated by a 49-48 vote. Voting against $700M for the Railroad to Nowhere: Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader Voting in favor of $700M for the Railroad to Nowhere: Senator Bill Frist, Senate Republican Leader Welcome to the fiscally conservative Republican revolution! Somewhere, Newt is turning...

President Bush and a group of senators yesterday reached general agreement on an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for many illegal aliens. But left out of the closed-door White House meeting were senators who oppose a path to citizenship. The meeting even snubbed two men who had been considered allies of Mr. Bush on immigration -- Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee, and Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican. Mr. Bush in brief remarks to the press said there was agreement to get "a bill that does not grant automatic amnesty to people,...

The government should consider a tax on oil companies if they make excessive profits amid rising gasoline prices, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a windfall profits tax, along with measures to stem concentration of market power among a few select oil companies, could offer eventual relief to consumers hurting at the gas pump. "I believe that we have allowed too many companies to get together to reduce competition," Specter said. "They get together, reduce the supply of oil, and that drives up prices," he said. "In the short...

WASHINGTON - When the U.S. House passed a bill in December making it a felony to be in the country illegally, the ''get-tough'' message became the flash point that has drawn millions of protestors into the streets. With the Senate failing last week to finish a bill that would have rejected some of the harshest language in the House version, Republicans are expressing regret that the punitive House measure stands as the most recent congressional action on immigration. ''There are demonstrations all over America, and the House bill is the only bill out there,'' complained Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. His...