Free Republic

Former Vice President Mike Pence blasted former President Trump on Monday for embracing the position that abortion policy should be determined by states and avoiding taking a stance on whether the federal government should enforce a national ban at a certain cutoff point. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Pence — who was Trump’s running mate in 2016 and 2020 —said Trump’s newly announced position on abortion was a “slap in the face” to opponents of abortion rights who voted for their ticket. “President Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday defended his opposition to changing the 60-vote legislative filibuster and told progressives threatening to primary him over the fight to “bring it on.” “I’ve been primaried my entire life. That would not be anything new for me. ... Bring it on,” Manchin told reporters, asked about some of his colleagues not ruling out supporting a primary opponent.

The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.

The Clinton Foundation reportedly accepted millions of dollars from a Colombian oil company head before then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decided to support a trade deal with Colombia despite worries of human rights violations. The report in the International Business Times comes as Clinton readies an expected run for president. She’s been dogged by questions about whether foreign donations to her foundations could have influenced her official decisions. The report centers on donations from Frank Giustra and the oil company that he founded, Pacific Rubiales. In a Wall Street Journal story from 2008, Giustra is described as a “friend and...

A Democratic lawmaker Wednesday clarified his opinion on the new head of the Democratic National Committee after some interpreted it as criticism. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) said he has full confidence that Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) will perform well and that he did not intend for his comments to be seen as critical of the party's choice or the congresswoman. He did reiterate that she will likely experience stress, because neither role is a "part-time job." "Clearly, some of the press would like some kind of fight in the Democratic Party,

If elected governor, Republican Meg Whitman plans to add California to the list of states suing to overturn the new federal health care law. Or maybe she won't. The most recent statements by Whitman's campaign are much more equivocal than the position she took in March, during the Republican primary. When supporters at a campaign event asked her whether she would "force (her) attorney general" to join the health care suit, she said yes. Questioned by reporters later that day, Whitman acknowledged that a governor couldn't order the independently elected attorney general to sue, but said she would "strongly encourage"...

(Reuters) - The United States reversed policy on Wednesday and said it would back launching talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales as long as the talks operated by consensus, a stance critics said gave every nation a veto. The decision, announced in a statement released by the U.S. State Department, overturns the position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed such a treaty on the grounds that national controls were better. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would support the talks as long as the negotiating forum, the so-called Conference on...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In this banking center walloped by the Great Recession, where unemployment just hit a 20-year high and as many as one in three black people are out of work, blacks could easily be frustrated with President Barack Obama's insistence that a rising economic tide for all will lift African-American boats. Yet despite surging discontent among some black advocates over Obama's refusal to specifically target rising black unemployment, it's hard to find average black folks here who disagree with the president's approach. "He has been addressing the black agenda as far as health care, education, all that," said...

(IsraelNN.com) The European Union is providing millions of shekels to organizations that promote the Palestinian Authority's claims in Jerusalem, according to NGO Monitor. In a report released Tuesday, the group detailed EU support for groups ostensibly committed to human rights and coexistence that are also overtly pro-PA on political issues. Among the offenders were Ir Amim and B'Tselem

<p>A federal appeals court on Friday ordered a judge to reconsider her refusal to block portions of a clean-truck program at the nation's busiest port complex.</p> <p>In an opinion that dismayed environmentalists and labor leaders, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco ruled that U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder should grant all or part of the American Trucking Assn.'s request for an injunction halting the implementation of new rules that apply to truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.</p>

AP ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan's leaders know what's at stake after the terror attack in Mumbai and have acknowledged their duty to evict terrorists and prevent future attacks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday. "I found a Pakistani government that is focused on the threat and that understands its responsibilities to respond to terrorism and extremism wherever it is found," Rice said following sessions with the country's powerful army chief and civilian leaders.

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed a new reaction Wednesday morning to one of President Bush's key policies: disbelief. Schwarzenegger, who campaigned for Bush's re-election's in 2004, said he couldn't understand the president's threat to veto pending federal legislation that would provide new money for children's health coverage. "When you hear decisions like that you say to yourself, ' What has happened? Why? Why would you go after children? Why would you not want to insure them?" said Schwarzenegger at a news conference promoting children's health insurance. "We all sit there and say 'Where did that come from? You can't...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2007 – Australia has earned the world’s respect for its firm stance in the war on terror, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said today in Sydney. Speaking at the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue conference, Cheney praised Prime Minister John Howard and reaffirmed the value of the U.S.-Australian alliance. The vice president recalled a speech Howard made in Washington on Sept. 10, 2001 -- the day before terrorists struck the United States -- in which the Australian leader noted the close working relationship between the two nations and their like-mindedness on the subject of freedom. “In the words...

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., warned Democratic activists Sunday that the party must take a tougher stance on national security if it wants to succeed in the November elections. "What Democrats have to do is to close the deal," said Obama, the keynote speaker at Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record)'s 29th annual steak fry. "We have got to show we have a serious agenda for change." Obama's appearance in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the presidential season, has raised a number of eyebrows about his intentions for a presidential run in 2008. Though only a...

Democrats agonise over anti-war stance By Alec Russell in Goshen, Connecticut (Filed: 07/08/2006) A political earthquake is threatening the foundations of the Democratic Party as a liberal anti-war movement prepares to topple one of its best-known senators. The drama, which has the potential to tilt the party to the Left, poses an acute dilemma for its centrist leaders, in particular Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the 2008 presidential nomination. Left-wing, anti-war Democrats have traditionally been trounced when running for the White House. The centre of events is in leafy Goshen, Connecticut, where Joe Lieberman, the party's vice-presidential candidate in 2000,...

WASHINGTON - Republican senators weighing a 2008 presidential bid united behind President Bush's Iraq policy, while potential Democratic candidates favored troop withdrawals but split over a deadline for ending the U.S. military's combat presence. "We cannot pull out and hope for the best," said Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., calling redeployments now "a significant step on the road to disaster." Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., likewise dismissed a timetable: "We have to see this through to a successful conclusion." However, Sen. Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record), D-Conn., countered: "We must no longer remain...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sharply criticized House Republican leaders Wednesday for calling summer hearings on a proposed immigration overhaul before trying to compromise with the Senate. The Republican governor said public forums across the country were unnecessary because "we know what the facts are." "It would be inexcusable, it would be ludicrous for them to say, 'Well, we can't work it out,'" Schwarzenegger said after a helicopter ride along the Mexican border to see where National Guard troops will soon be deployed. "That's their job - to work it out." His remarks highlighted divisions among Republicans on how to tackle the...

ATLANTA - Former president Carter, a Democrat and frequent critic of President Bush, sees eye-to-eye with him on immigration. Carter on Wednesday called the Republican president's commitment to immigration reform "quite admirable," saying he agrees with Bush's support of a system that would eventually grant citizenship to some illegals. The Senate is set to vote as early as Thursday on a bill that calls for tougher border security as well as an eventual chance at citizenship for millions of men and women in the country illegally. The law should secure the nation's borders while "at the same time treating those...

Murtha's Anti-War Stance Overshadows Abscam Past By Randy Hall and Marc Morano CNSNews.com Staff January 13, 2006 Read Article About Murtha's military record (CNSNews.com) - Members of the press have given extensive and glowing coverage to Rep. John Murtha's criticism of the war in Iraq, but have overlooked a number of other controversies the Pennsylvania Democrat has experienced over the past 25 years. This includes his reported role as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Abscam bribery scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Murtha has denied any wrongdoing, but Cybercast News Service has learned that one of Murtha's former...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was criticized for having a conflict of interest last week after it was revealed he vetoed a bill regulating food supplements while he had a multimillion dollar contract with magazines that profit from the industry. In an interview with The Associated Press, the governor explained why he felt there was no conflict and said his support for the magazines and nutritional supplements dates to his earliest days as an aspiring body builder. "This has nothing to do with money," he said in a telephone interview Friday from Los Angeles. "Of course, for me, it...