Free Republic

A lifelong habit proves hard to break.By Timothy NoahPosted Wednesday, March 27, 2002, at 9:11 AM PT Chatterbox is slightly taken aback at the respectful attention some liberals have given David Brock's Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. In the New York Times Magazine, Frank Rich called it "a key document for historians seeking to understand the ethos of the incoherent 90's." In The New Yorker, Hendrik Hertzberg called it "an astounding account of fin-de-siecle Washington politics," "an entertaining backstage sketchbook of scores of eccentric and mostly obnoxious characters," and "a valuable book." In The Nation, Michael Tomasky...

Received this in my inbox tonight... Dear Friends, The Congress is continuing its work to try to get healthcare reform legislation, and I believe the prospects are reasonably good that we will produce a bill. I hope that the bill will have the public option - and a robust public option. We will have a cloture vote tonight and I believe that we should be able to get 60 Senators at least to agree to start the debate. Click below to hear my take on healthcare reform It would be my hope that my colleagues would not draw lines in...

Not too much to say about this one that the artwork doesn't already. Bye bye Dede. Don't worry you can run as a democrat, I think you'll feel better being true to who you are. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: " Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

..."I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same," she said. "In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first."...

Republican Dede Scozzafava endorsed her former Democratic opponent Sunday in the race for an upstate New York congressional seat, one day after Scozzafava dropped out of the contest. Scozzafava dropped out after Conservative Party candidate Dough Hoffman experienced a late-in-the-game surge. But on Sunday, Scozzafava backed Democrat Bill Owens -- the announcement was made in a statement send out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same," she said. "In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He...

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime friend and ally of Sen. John McCain, is now going a step further, Democrats say, and actually becoming the new McCain. Senior members of the majority party say the South Carolina Republican has displaced his Arizona mentor as the dealmaker on two big agenda items of the Obama administration: climate change and immigration. As McCain, on the heels of his presidential election defeat, has distanced himself from Democrats, Graham has moved in to fill the vacuum.

HARRISBURG — Only 31 percent of Pennsylvania voters believe Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter should be re-elected, and 59 percent believe it's time to give someone else a chance, a state poll released today shows. Specter's numbers are "staggering," said pollster Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. An incumbent typically is vulnerable if fewer than 40 percent approve of his or her re-election, Lee said. The poll of 700 registered voters, conducted Oct. 7-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. "When I see a re-elect in the low 30s, that's ... near fatal,"...

Sen. John McCain, the Republican from Arizona who ran last year against Barack Obama to become the next commander-in-chief, says he can "sympathize" with the president now over the tough choices the Obama faces in Afghanistan. U.S. commanders there have called for the insertion of tens of thousands of more American troops, but Obama is still reviewing those recommendations. "By the way, I sympathize with the president," McCain said on ABC's "This Week." "The base of his party, the left base of his party, is opposed. The American people are weary of this conflict. I do have sympathy for the...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to put his star power to work for President Barack Obama on the environment when his own term ends next year, the former movie actor said on Thursday. Republican Schwarzenegger is arguably the biggest environmentalist in his party and razzed Washington, which is struggling to pass climate change legislation and prepare for international talks, for wrangling with other countries over global warming goals rather than setting an example. "Did we say China, you go first with human rights, and we will follow you? No. We led," he said in an...

Specter wants Wilson censured Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), who's looked at POTUS from both sides now, was just on the Bill Press radio show suggesting the South Carolina firebrand Joe Wilson be censured for his heckle heard round the world. Said the Republican-turned-Dem: "He apologized immediately afterward but I don't think that’s adequate... If an apology is the consequence of an outburst I think we can expect more – that’s not a sufficient penalty that’s not a sufficient price to pay.. I'm not saying the guy should be kicked out of the House… But there ought to be some rebuke,...

Before the Senate takes its summer break, a handful of Senators are taking a chance to trash the climate bill. A group of moderate Senators wrote a letter to Barack Obama telling him that they cannot support the climate bill unless it's further weakend ease the burden of cap and trade policies. Seperately, John McCain ripped the bill while talking to Stephen Moore at the Wall Street Journal. . . . . . Over at the Wall Street Journal, John McCain takes a harder stance, saying, "this 1,400-page bill is a farce. They bought every industry off—steel mills, agriculture, utilities...I...

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey has shrunk to a tie with 45 percent for Specter and 44 percent for Toomey, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. And voters say 49 - 40 percent that Sen. Specter does not deserve reelection. President Barack Obama gets a 56 - 37 percent job approval, compared to 62 - 31 percent in a May 28 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. By a bare 50 - 43 percent majority, voters approve of the President's handling of the economy. Specter, first elected to the Senate...

I stand ready to fight against the special interests in Sacramento and make the necessary cuts and reforms needed to reduce the size of government and get California's economy back on track. But I believe one course of action must be flatly rejected - raising taxes.

SOMERSET, Pa. -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the U.S. government will not use eminent domain to seize people's land for a permanent Flight 93 memorial and instead will renew negotiations with landowners near the terrorist crash site in Somerset County. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Salazar met with families of victims and landowners on Friday in Shanksville to discuss issues surrounding the planned national memorial for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, fatal hijacking. Specter's office said Friday's meeting also focused on what still needs to be done for the memorial to be complete in time for the...

Allentown, Pa. (AP) -- Some Democrats who opened their arms to party switcher Sen. Arlen Specter have softened the embrace. Progressive grassroots activists this week posted a fundraising Web link to draft Rep. Joe Sestak to challenge Specter in next year's Pennsylvania Democratic primary. And labor leaders in the state repeatedly have warned that a decision on whether they endorse Specter depends on whether he supports a bill making it easier for unions to organize. At a recent Jefferson Jackson Democratic dinner in Pittsburgh sponsored by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, Chairman Jim Burn said the mood about Specter's switch...

Key lawmakers from both parties have held tentative talks about overhauling the Social Security system, and Congress could turn its attention to the federal retirement program as soon as this fall if a bipartisan concensus emerges, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said yesterday. "I am hopeful. It's a tough issue," Hoyer (D-Md.) said in an interview. . . . . So far, Democrats have found a willing partner in the Senate, where Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) has stated his desire to work with President Obama to make changes to keep Social Security solvent. . . . . Graham...

“If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine.”What an obnoxious statement. It’s reminiscent of when John Edwards promised in 2004 that if John Kerry were elected, Christopher Reeve would walk again. Nothing but mean-spirited, emothion-based, politically-motivated drivel. Virtually all of us, myself included, have friends and relatives with cancer and who either survived or succumbed to it. Cancer-stricken celebrities abound. But never have I heard anyone say that...

On Sunday talk shows, he says the 'big tent' party of Reagan and the late Jack Kemp has been replaced by rigid conservatism. BY MARK TRUMBULL Sen. Arlen Specter (D) of Pennsylvania and leaders of the party he bolted last week surprisingly struck a chord of near agreement in discussing the future of the Republican Party Sunday. The question of whether the party can stage a revival without welcoming Northeastern moderates came to the fore on television talk shows Sunday morning. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Senator Specter blamed the inner workings of the conservative movement for his own departure,...

Specter Calls for ‘Revolution’ and ‘Uprising’ Against Republicans 'Far to the Right' Thursday, April 30, 2009 By Josiah Ryan, Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) - There ought to be a “rebellion” and an “uprising” against right-wing elements that are trying to purify the Republican Party, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said Tuesday, shortly after he announced he would leave the Grand Old Party to become a Democrat. Specter said Republicans "far to the right" in the party, who are more worried about ideology than winning elections, have brought about one costly defeat after another for the GOP, including the tabling of 34...

On Tuesday, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania thrust America forward into a brave new world. Citing his growing rift with the Republican Party base, Specter switched parties, granting Democrats a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to go along with their overwhelming majority in the House for the first time since the Carter administration. By cravenly choosing political survival over political backbone, Specter has given radical leftists their greatest opportunity in a generation to destroy every principle America has historically embraced. Specter says that he'll still stand against cloture on particular issues. But Specter is a creature of practicality, and he...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--It appears Sen. Arlen Specter's planned party switch will restore his electoral safety but won't, at least according to a Senate colleague, come with the trappings of a chairmanship. Specter, R-Pa., who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee before Republicans lost control of Congress in 2007, will retain his seniority when he migrates from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. His nearly three decades in the Senate will catapult him above other Democrats on several committees. But although that means he now has the seniority to chair the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the departments of Labor, Health...

Today, Sen. Arlen Specter announced that he is switching parties to become a Democrat. In a statement released to the press, Specter explained that the GOP has left moderates behind and "has moved far to the right." (Indeed, today's Progress Report discusses how radical elements of the conservative movement are in the ascendancy within the Republican Party.) Republican leaders have been swift in their condemnation of Specter's move, dismissing it as an act of "political survival." But Specter's departure from the Republican Party was motivated more by the actions of radical leaders from within the right-wing establishment than by party...

Long before he became one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate — and the target of Congressman Pat Toomey's GOP primary challenge — Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania demonstrated a knack for notoriety. In 1964, as a member of the Warren Commission, he invented the "single-bullet theory" to explain how Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Kennedy. Conspiracy junkies have obsessed over him ever since. (In Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Kevin Costner's character labels Specter "an ambitious junior counselor" behind "one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people.") Between serving on the Warren Commission and becoming a...

Statement by Senator Arlen Specter I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation. Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party...

Republican State Senator Abel Maldonado isn't mincing words: he says that "hyper-partisan" events like Tea Parties and recall rallies being pushed by radio stars like KFI's John & Ken are a glaring example of a disturbing trend -- a rise in entertainment-driven, ratings-driven political gimmicks that don't provide real solutions for voters. "It's crazy. While my state melts and burns, these folks are making money selling ads,'' Maldonado told the Chronicle. "All they care about is money in their pocket.'' Maldonado last week launched his efforts with the Reform for Change Committee, to push for Prop. 1F -- which would...

What drove evangelical multimillionaire Howard Ahmanson—the man behind Prop 8—away from the Republicans? It wasn't Sarah Palin. He talks to The Daily Beast’s Kathleen Parker. Multimillionaire Howard Ahmanson, one of the nation’s top evangelical Christian philanthropists and one of three funders of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, recently joined the Democratic Party. Although Ahmanson’s support for Prop 8 earned him critics on the left, his many philanthropic interests funded through his Fieldstead Institute are most often nonpartisan and nonpolitical, from AIDS prevention to public transportation. In an exclusive interview with columnist Kathleen Parker, he explains why he switched political...

Arnold: GOP out of touch California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested that his party is out of touch with average Americans on the issue of health care. “You've got to listen to the people. If the nation is screaming out loud, ‘We need health care reform. We want to have universal health care. We want to have everyone insured. We want to bring the costs down. We want everyone to have access.’ I mean, that's what they want; that's what you do,” Schwarzenegger said on ABC’s “This Week.” Arguing that California Republicans were out of touch with the majority of...

SACRAMENTO-While tensions are rising between President Obama and Congressional Republicans, California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he is eager for more opportunities to partner with Obama on big issues like health care and energy. He's also got some advice for the new president about building inclusive "post-partisan" coalitions. Schwarzenegger is positioned to become perhaps Obama's most important Republican ally. He was among the most prominent GOP governors who backed the economic recovery plan that cleared Congress with support from no Republicans in the House and just three in the Senate. And Schwarzenegger has advanced his own state-level initiatives on health...

Harrisburg — Economic and other concerns have weighed down on the usually high approval ratings of Gov. Ed Rendell, D, as well as U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released yesterday. Mr. Rendell now has a 47 percent approval rating, while 38 percent of registered Pennsylvania voters disapprove of his job performance. His approval among Democrats stands currently at 63 percent versus 25 percent who disapprove, while his favorable rating among Republicans is now only 31 percent, with 51 percent viewing him unfavorably. He has a slight edge with Independents — 44 percent favorable and...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Maine's Susan Collins says time is getting short as House and Senate negotiators reach for a final deal with the White House on economic stimulus legislation. Conferees from the two chambers today agreed to pare the measure to below $800 billion. The $838 billion Senate bill that cleared earlier this week had the backing of only three of 41 Republicans -- but that was enough to give it the 60 votes it needed. Collins and fellow Mainer Olympia Snowe were among those who broke ranks with most Republicans. Collins told reporters today that she hopes other GOP...

more as it becomes available...

"I think America needs two parties. But I have also been saying to my Republican friends, 'We'd better get the right lessons from this election.'"

Mayor Bloomberg has begun reaching out to city Republican leaders to gauge whether he could run on the GOP line in his re-election bid this year, several sources told The Post. The maneuvering began in the past two weeks, and sources said the mayor is expected to try to run on a major-party as well as a third-party line, likely one of his own creation.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - With a close Minnesota race still undecided, Democrats will hold no more than 59 seats in the new 100-member U.S. Senate that convenes on Jan. 6. That means Democrats will need the help of at least a few Republicans to hit the 60 votes required to clear procedural roadblocks known as filibusters.

Remember the John McCain that many Arizonans grew to like over the years - the one who stuck by his principles but was not politically dogmatic or doctrinaire, and instead tried to represent the interests of people in general? Well, that John McCain seems to be back after a long journey into the dark jungle of presidential politics where he seemed to veer from his familiar middle-of-the-road approach to politics - an approach that a lot of Arizonans prefer, based on their long support for him.

In a surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday sided with President-elect Barack Obama and scolded the Republican National Committee for fanning the Illinois corruption scandal. On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked: “The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, has been highly critical of the way President- elect Obama has dealt with this. "He's had a statement every single day, saying that the Obama team should reveal all contacts they've had with Governor [Rod] Blagojevich. He says that Obama's promise of transparency to the American...

Principle: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell wants his party stripped of the Reaganite values that won it the presidency for 20 of the last 28 years. Meet the "Grand Obama Party."For many years it has been accepted that Gen. Colin Powell — who became a national icon thanks to appointments by President Ronald Reagan and both President Bushes — was more moderate than many of his colleagues. What was not known until lately is how much animus he has for the governing philosophy of those who gave him the opportunity to achieve fame and millions in book sales. In...

No excerpts for AP, summarized below.

Agrees To Testify Against Cheney About PlameSo much for Scott McClellan's claims to move beyond the partisanship of Washington. The former White House Press Secretary has agreed to tesify about the disclosure of Valerie Plame's identity before Democratic Rep. John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee. Sadly, it now appears that Scott is less of "useful idiot" than a closet liberal. The Associated Press identifies McClellan's legal team as Michael and Jane Tigar. Michal Tigar represented terrorist sympathizer lawyer Lynne Stewart, who served prison time after being convicted of assisting her client Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman, also known as "The Blind Sheikh." Rahman...

The Old Media feeding frenzy surrounding former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s “tell all” book continued unabated this week across television, radio, print and the Internet. However, something is noticeably absent from the volume that sparked a jubilant liberal orgy: Jeff Gannon. Howard Kurtz noted the omission in his Washington Post column Monday pointing out McClellan’s first cable talk show appearance was an interview with MSNBC’s Bush-hating Keith Olbermann: Olbermann hailed the book, "What Happened," as "a primary document of American history" that contained "poetry." Talk about role reversal: It was Olbermann who said in 2005 that "whenever I...

Since you're not answering my e-mails anymore, I'm writing to pose a few questions that haven't been asked on your truth, honesty and candor tour: · Was it the truth or a lie when you told me, during a series of personal discussions in your West Wing office in late 2005 and early 2006 (at the apex of what you now call your period of "disillusionment" and "dismay"), that you were happy in your job and proud to serve President Bush and that you had no intention of leaving soon? What about in April 2006, when rumors swirled about a...

Former Colleagues, White House Reporters Stunned By McClellan AllegationsMSNBC’s spittle-spewing Chris Matthews had a new “tingle running down his leg” Wednesday with the release of a “tell-all” book by former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan critical of the Bush administration. However, Matthews was only one among legions of Old Media liberals gushing about McClellan’s tome. In "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan said that the war in Iraq was “unnecessary” and sold with “propaganda” and suggested that Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and maybe Vice President Dick Cheney conspired to conceal their roles...

On accepting Scott McClellan's resignation as his press secretary two years ago, President Bush predicted that he and the outgoing aide some day would be "rocking in chairs in Texas and talking about the good old days." But maybe their days in the White House together weren't so happy after all. Next week will bring the publication of McClellan's 341-page tome, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception." It is described by Politico's Mike Allen as "surprisingly scathing."

A quote from his site: “That’s a shame - because Obama clearly represents, whatever his faults, a different racial politics than that of Jackson, Sharpton and the past.” (that’s Andy’s quote. my response below) and what are those “faults” you speak of? I’d like to know, Andrew. Really, ‘cause I haven’t seen much about that from you. And now you’re giving Democrats advice on how to heal the divide by bringing HILLARY to the VP slot?! Wow, have your priorities changed. I mean, your style hasn’t, but your priorities have. Also, after basically writing off Hillary as the devil (one...

.....I wrote a play about politics (November, Barrymore Theater, Broadway, some seats still available). And as part of the "writing process," as I believe it's called, I started thinking about politics. This comment is not actually as jejune as it might seem. Porgy and Bess is a buncha good songs but has nothing to do with race relations, which is the flag of convenience under which it sailed. But my play, it turned out, was actually about politics, which is to say, about the polemic between persons of two opposing views. The argument in my play is between a president...

"To use the adjective "egergious" in descriving this bill, is not enough. It goes without saying that this was an incredibly stupid and badly-though-out bill, but the really sad thing is, as Michelle Malkin has pointed out, there were href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1108.xml">four-- yep, count 'em, four-- Republicans who voted for this, too. Amazingly, Ron Paul and Wayne Gilchrest weren't among them. Maybe the bill was actually just too low and ill-conceived even for them."

There is a growing attitude about war and the defense of our nation, stoked by men such as Ron Paul, which proclaims that we have no business doing what we are doing. The claim is that our Constitution and the intent of our Founding Fathers should prohibit us from engaging in such activities as the war in Iraq. If you argue for the merits of the war, then the charge is made that you cannot possibly respect the Constitution. The principles of the founders, which they so eloquently enshrined in the Constitution, were never (and I will argue until I...

It’s a big green week for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s on the cover of Newsweek magazine’s save the planet issue, is the keynote speaker of the magazine’s global environmental leadership conference in Washington, and addresses the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. And the British Conservative Party chose the week of his Newsweek cover status to announce that he will headline their annual party conference this fall.

Maverick Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona... is talking with advisers about leaving the GOP and launching a third-party challenge to Bush in 2004, those close to the senator say. ... This weekend, McCain is hosting the Senate Democratic leader, Thomas Daschle , at his home. His office called it a "social event," but McCain has met privately to discuss party switching with at least three Democratic senators -- Daschle, Edward Kennedy and John Edwards. On Thursday, four McCain loyalists -- campaign strategist John Weaver, legislative director Daniel McKivergan, Weekly Standard publisher William Kristol and Hudson Institute scholar Marshall Wittmann...

Destroying a president is not much of a strategy to win a war, but it's all the Democrats have. The churls of the left don't seem to care whether their country wins the war, the important thing is to "keep hate alive." If hate worked in '06, maybe it will work again in '08, when the stakes will be considerably higher. Sometimes it's not only hate, but a bit of schadenfreude, too, taking pleasure in the woes of the enemy. "Partisan pleasure in George Bush's pain dates to the anguish of the contested 2000 election loss," observes Daniel Henninger in...