Free Republic

Former governor Tommy G. Thompson said Monday that he would not second-guess Gov. Scott Walker for taking steps to greatly limit collective bargaining for most public employees. Thompson, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), also indicated he would not support so-called right-to-work legislation in Wisconsin. Right-to-work legislation forbids forcing workers to join a union or pay dues in order to get or keep a job. It has emerged as an issue in other states, including Indiana. "I think that right now we do not need any further deterioration of labor-management relationships...

When President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he had rejected for now the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast, former governor Tommy Thompson quickly issued a statement criticizing the president's action. “America needs the jobs and the oil this pipeline can help deliver," Thompson said in a statement. "It's a travesty that President Obama is choosing election year politics over good jobs and what’s in the best interest of the country. Our economic and national security are directly tied to our energy demands and supply, and the president is putting the country at greater risk by...

MADISON — Jeff Fitzgerald may be the “dark horse” candidate in the three-person race for the GOP nominations for Wisconsin’s open U.S. Senate seat, but the Assembly speaker says he can go toe-to-toe with the big dogs in this conservative contest. And the Juneau Republican tells Wisconsin Reporter his close ties with arch conservative Gov. Scott Walker make him the conservative’s conservative. Fitzgerald, who stood at the center of last year’s heated and harried Republican reform agenda, now finds himself standing in the shadows of a contest for the seat being vacated by long-serving Democrat, U.S. Sen Herb Kohl, who...

Speaking to the Regional Republican Club in Pompano Beach, Monday, Allen West answered the question about running for U.S. Senator and talks about what Congress will do to push back President Obama. (video)

In the uproar over President Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments (Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three new members of the National Labor Relations Board), one fact has gotten too little attention . Attempting to justify the president’s violation of the Constitution and 90 years of legal precedent, presidential spokesman Dan Pfeiffer claimed that the president can exercise recess appointment powers because the Senate’s pro forma sessions—conducted since mid-December—are merely “a gimmick” during which “no Senate business is conducted and instead one of two Senators simply gavel in and out of session in a matter of...

Smith Internal Poll: Smith Leads Senate Primary By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor Tom Smith of Armstrong County is leading the field of Republicans hoping to take on Senator Bob Casey, according to an polling memo released by Smith’s campaign Tuesday. The former coal company owner and former Tea Party leader boasts a 22 percent plurality in the crowded primary. “Smith’s early lead is indicative of his strong biography and message that is resonating with Republican voters. The campaign’s ability to get that message out through paid media has been important to the lead,” Republican strategist and pollster John McLaughlin said...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office is downplaying statements made by the San Francisco Representative’s filmmaker daughter Alexandra — who reportedly told a conservative website that Mom is only sticking around Congress because of pressure from her big donors. Alexandra Pelosi, 41, a documentary filmmaker, is quoted in the conservative website, Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government, as saying that her mother “would retire right now, if the donors she has didn’t want her to stay so badly. They know she wants to leave, though.” “They think she’s destined for the wilderness. She has very few days left,” the Pelosi daughter is...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The 2012 GOP primary between Sen. Richard Lugar and challenger Richard Mourdock is still more than six months away, but you can get a sense of what kind of battle it will be in this week's WISH-TV/Franklin College Poll. Lugar has a big advantage in some areas. When it comes to name identification, more than nine out of 10 voters recognize him, while Richard Mourdock's name registers with only two-thirds of the voters. Lugar also has a high favorability rating at 59 percent. Mourdock gets a positive response from just 17 percent. Yet if you place Mourdock's...

Freshman Tea Party Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is incensed that Republicans caved in the payroll-tax debate, and is putting the blame squarely on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “I don’t think there’s a revolt with respect to Speaker Boehner,” Gowdy said Thursday night on Fox’s "Your World With Neil Cavuto." "I think the license tag of the truck that just ran over us has Kentucky license tags. For the life of me, I cannot understand when the Senate is going to find something they care enough about to stand on policy and principle.”Last week, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a...

Could the US Senate campaign of Christine O'Donnell have been influenced by mysterious retirees of the intelligence services? Yeah, that sounds strange. And I look upon conspiracy theories with disdain. But hold on a minute. This is an enduring mystery, still unanswered at the end of 2011. There is still no answer to this question. It started out very simply: David Charles Keegan, Jr., claimed in a sworn affidavit that (a) he had been the Finance Consultant for the Christine O'Donnell US Senate campaign in 2008, and (b) in that capacity -- as a Finance Consultant -- he became aware...

A Georgia Republican is set to introduce on Thursday a bill that would replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a government-owned corporation that could one day be sold off to the private sector. The proposal from Sen. Johnny Isakson, a former Realtor, is the latest in a series of competing measures to address the fate of the mortgage-finance giants whose government takeover has cost taxpayers $151 billion. (snip) To take the place of Fannie and Freddie, the bill would create a new government agency that would provide guarantees on securities comprised of mortgages that meet designated standards. Unlike Fannie...

Complete title: ‘On What?’--McCain Says He Didn’t Know Defense Bill He Approved Repealed Military Ban on Sodomy, Bestiality Video at link (CNSNews.com) - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that he did not know that the 926-page Defense Department authorization bill that came through his committee and was approved by the Senate last week on 93 to 7 vote included a provision that would repeal the military’s ban on sodomy and bestiality if the bill becomes law. CNSNews.com asked McCain: “Senator, did you read the Defense authorization bill that...

Has the United States Senate voted to suspend the Constitutional right of every American citizen to due process? Over the past weeks a great deal has been reported, mainly by the NOT “legacy media,” about the National Defense Authorization Act, or Senate bill S 1867, passed yesterday by a vote of 93-7. From highly respected bloggers to the highly agenda driven ACLU, stated opinions on the content of the legislation and its effect on our rights have varied widely. At issue is whether Senate passage of the bill and the concomitant signature of Barack Obama will allow the Executive branch,...

During a Tuesday Senate hearing, Attorney General Eric Holder refused to apologize to the family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, who was murdered last December with a gun “walked” to Mexico as part of Operation Fast and Furious.. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn asked Holder if he has apologized to Terry’s family for what happened to him because of the DOJ’s controversial program. Holder replied that he hasn’t. “I have not apologized to them, but I certainly regret what happened,” Holder said. Cornyn followed up, asking if Holder has “even talked to them.” “I have not,” Holder replied.

LAS VEGAS — For most Republican politicians, there is no smear more loathed, more insulting or more politically perilous than to be called a RINO — a Republican in Name Only. Not for Linda Lingle. “I’ve been called a RINO before, which I don’t mind,” the former Hawaii governor told a crowd of diehard Republican activists huddled in a Las Vegas ballroom. “There are a lot of people who support these RINOs, whether it’s me or [former New York Mayor] Rudy Giuliani or [former New Jersey Gov.] Christine Todd Whitman.”(snip) And from Lingle’s point of view, moderate Republican candidates such...

“Let’s Get Wisconsin Working Again” was the winning message that helped elect Frank Lasee to a state senate seat in Wisconsin last fall, and he was part of the conservative Republican majority that pushed through reform legislation and balanced the budget under Gov. Scott Walker. A veteran legislator with a business background, first elected to the state assembly in 1994, Lasee describes himself as a limited-government, constitutional, fiscal conservative. Two weeks ago, Lasee announced that he will seek to bring that kind of message to the U.S. Senate, forming an exploratory committee to enter the GOP primary for 2012. With...

The Senate will move forward with another piece of President Obama’s jobs bill the first week in November, following the failure of two separate pieces of the bill Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced in a conference call today that the next part of Obama’s jobs bill that they will now move to is a $70 billion bill to rebuild roads bridges and infrastructure. The Rebuild America Jobs Act, Reid said, would create “hundreds of thousands” of new jobs. The bill invests $50 billion in immediate projects for roads, rails and airports and another $10 billion for a...

It's been awhile since we've harped on this unlawful, cowardly, and politically-calculated failure of Democrats in the Senate -- but the 900-day mark seems like as good an opportunity as any to refresh everyone's memory about just how derelict Reid's posse continues to be. Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Jeff Sessions pre-emptively mark this pitiful milestone with a scathing indictment : America is greatly in need of strong, competent leadership. Our nation’s total debt is now larger than our entire economy. Unemployment is painfully high and growth is painfully slow. Since taking office, the president has accelerated Washington’s reckless...

Senate Republicans vow they will retaliate for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision to unilaterally change the Senate’s rules Thursday without prior warning or negotiation. Republican aides say their bosses will now be even more reluctant to allow the Senate to conduct routine business by unanimous consent, forcing Reid to gather 60 votes for even the most mundane matters. “Reid fired a major salvo and it’s hard to imagine a return shot won’t be fired. Maybe over the weekend they’ll come up with something and try to make it less worse than it already is,” said a Senate...

In a shock development Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) triggered a rarely-used procedural option informally called the “nuclear option” to change the Senate rules. The surprise move stunned Republicans, who did not expect Reid to bring heavy artillery to what had appeared to have been a hum-drum legislative knife fight. Reid appealed a ruling from the chair that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) does not need consent to force a vote on a motion to suspend the rules to consider an amendment after cloture has already been approved. The maneuver is highly arcane but momentous. If...

Michael Reagan has ruled out a candidacy, and Republicans are still looking for a challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein next year. . . . Could the GOP have a chance, even in this bluest of blue states?

Openly gay Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin says her bid for a Senate seat won't be about her sexual orientation, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported. Baldwin on Tuesday became the first Democrat to formally declare her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Herb Kohl. She is the first openly gay Senate candidate with a viable shot at winning. During a conference call on Wednesday, Baldwin insisted she's always been open about her sexual orientation, but added that the race will focus on other issues. “I have always since the beginning of all my adult life...

MADISON, Wis. — Former two-term Republican congressman Mark Neumann announced Monday that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl. Mr. Neumann is the first to officially announce his candidacy in the 2012 race, but several other prominent Republicans and Democrats are expected to announce soon. One of them, former Gov. Tommy Thompson, a Republican, released a statement welcoming Mr. Neumann into the race and urging him to focus his campaign on the policies of President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “Republican voters deserve a primary campaign based...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday definitively ruled out a 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate after ending his Republican bid for the White House a few days ago. Some Republicans, including state GOP chairman Tony Sutton, were hoping Pawlenty would get right back into the ring and take on freshman Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar next year. "I don't know what I will be doing next," Pawlenty said in an email to The Associated Press. "However, I will not be running against Amy in 2012."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senators and former presidential candidates say Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating speaks to the need for more bipartisan compromise — but they also say the blame lay with the other party.

Most Voters Fear Debt Deal Will Raise Taxes Too Much, Cut Spending Too Little Friday, July 22, 2011 While Washington wrangles over how to avoid defaulting on the government’s massive debt load, voters are worried the final deal will raise taxes too much but won't cut spending enough. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 62% of Likely U.S. Voters are worried more that Congress and President Obama will raise taxes too much rather than too little in any deal to end the debt ceiling debate. Just 26% fear they’ll raise taxes too little. Twelve percent (12%) aren’t...

Congressional Democrats are set to meet with President Barack Obama on Thursday evening at the White House, and if it’s anything like the “volcanic” intraparty sessions that took place earlier in the day, it could be quite the contentious affair. Senate Democrats were huddled for lunch with Jacob Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, when news broke of a possible deal between Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). The reports of the “grand bargain” — potentially worth $3 trillion in savings over 10 years with no upfront revenue raisers — started filtering into the Mansfield Room,...

On Fox News “Hannity” on Monday night, USA Senator Marco Rubio, (R/FL) in an interview with Sean Hannity on the United States of America’s federal budget debt and debt ceiling “crisis”, Sen. Rubio was very BLUNT in his opinion on the course of the direction America has taken since President Barack Hussein Obama took office: “Every aspect of life in America TODAY is worse than it was when he took over” The word I had made bold, TODAY, is the real center of that quote, because Sen. Rubio speaks truth to power in that. IMHO, I second what Sen. Rubio...

Failed California GOP Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was named on Tuesday as the vice chair of the Republicans' effort to retake the Senate in 2012. ... "I'm pleased to welcome my friend Carly Fiorina to the NRSC team, where her many business and civic achievements will make her an invaluable leader and fundraiser during this critical election cycle," said the committee chair, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, in a statement. "I look forward to working with Carly to elect strong Republican Senators who will finally put a stop to President Obama’s failed tax-and-spend agenda, and instead promote the economic growth...

Bill - S. 1323: "Mr. REID introduced the following bill; which was read twice and ordered to be placed on the calendar" "Sense of the Senate- It is the sense of the Senate that any agreement to reduce the budget deficit should require that those earning $1,000,000 or more per year make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort." The Final Vote was 69-27 in favor. 17 "Republicans" joined Reid in support of his Class War ideology propaganda game (a vote which carries not weight). 24 Republicans wanted no part of this (along with 1 Dem) So who...

Republicans are looking strong going into the 2012 election, poised to pick up enough states to create a four-seat majority and possibly a filibuster-proof lead if the eventual GOP presidential nominee routs President Obama, according to party leaders and a new election analysis. "Barring an unexpected reelection landslide by President Obama, Republicans are at least slightly favored to take the Senate. It's just a basic matter of numbers," says Larry Sabato, the University of Virginia political analyst, in a new report. He predicts that Republicans are likely to win Republican Senate seats in North Dakota, Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska. He...

Washington -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's popularity has plunged by double digits from her previous re-election ratings, according to a new Field Poll survey, demonstrating the toll that the anemic economy is taking on incumbent Democrats, including President Obama, heading into next year's elections. Campaigning for a fourth full term, Feinstein enjoys a four-point edge, 43 to 39 percent, among registered California voters asked if they would vote for her - even as a strong majority, 46 to 31 percent, approves of the job she is doing. Eighteen percent of voters have no opinion on whether they'd vote for her,...

SALT LAKE CITY — A majority of Utah voters believe Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has been in office too long and should be replaced, a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows. The poll by Dan Jones & Associates found only 38 percent of registered voters agree that it's important to re-elect Hatch in 2012 because of his seniority. Fifty-nine percent said after 36 years, it's time for someone new.(snip) Hatch's most likely GOP challenger appears to be Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. In a primary race, 40 percent of poll respondents said they would vote for Hatch and 41 percent for Chaffetz....

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday that any Republican-backed plan to raise more government revenue would have to come from eliminating subsidies and tax deductions, not by raising taxes. "No one on the Republican side is going to vote to raise taxes, but I think many of us would look at flattening the tax code, doing away with deductions and exemptions and take that revenue and help pay off the debt," said Graham on NBC's "Meet the Press."

A bipartisan resolution introduced on the Senate floor Wednesday offered a strong rebuke to President Obama for failing to consult Congress on the mission in Libya. Sponsored by Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the measure admonishes Obama for failing to offer a good argument for the use of armed forces against the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. "The president has failed to provide Congress with a compelling rationale based upon United States national security interests for current United States military activities regarding Libya," it reads. The resolution also...

Patrick Exploring GOP Senate Run In Texas Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick (R) announced Friday on Laura Ingraham's radio show that he is forming an exploratory committee to run for the seat being vacated by retiring-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchsion (R-TX), potentially joining an already crowded Republican field. Patrick, a Houston-based conservative talk show host, brings another Tea Party-friendly voice to the race. "If I decide to enter the race I will be the only candidate with a proven conservative voting record and a long history of fighting for conservative causes," Patrick said in a statement to Hotline On Call. Speculation...

WASHINGTON — Officials in the Democratic Party are wooing Elizabeth Warren to run for the Senate against the Massachusetts Republican Scott P. Brown rather than have her continue to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Ms. Warren has become a lightning rod for controversy over the new agency, which she conceived and is helping create. Consumer groups and some Democrats have demanded her appointment as its first director. A group of 44 Senate Republicans, with applause from the financial industry, has promised to block any nominee.

Former Virginia Govs. George Allen and Timothy Kaine are tied in the race for retiring Democratic Sen. James Webb’s seat. Both are polling at 46 percent among registered Virginia voters 18 months before the election, The Washington Post reported. The Democratic Kaine shows strength in the powerful and populated Northern Virginia, while the Republican Allen polls well in the rest of the state. Both must overcome negatives: Kaine for his close association with President Barack Obama’s policies as head of the Democratic National Committee and Allen for his “macaca” comment that derailed his 2006 Senate re-election bid , the Post...

A day after the White House said it will not release the official photo of Usama bin Laden’s body, many are wondering how a handful of lawmakers were duped into believing they saw it. The Obama administration said Wednesday it will not make public the images of the dead Al Qaeda chief, arguing the pictures could incite violence and be used as propaganda by terrorist leaders. White House officials also say DNA evidence confirming the body as Bin Laden’s provides sufficient proof of his death. The announcement came after at least three U.S. lawmakers claimed to have seen what they...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday evening that he and a group of negotiators have “nailed down” language on a Libya resolution and are waiting for instructions from leadership on how to proceed. The measure would serve as a symbolic gesture of support for President Barack Obama’s use of military force in the North African country. Under the War Powers Act, Congress must authorize continued military presence in Libya after a May deadline if American troops are still active there, but it’s unclear if the Senate needs to act. “We pretty well got the resolution nailed down and now we’re...

Kudos to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, for finally figuring out that he should not run for re-election. I don't care if he is not facing criminal charges. Ensign's woes began with an affair with staffer Cindy Hampton. Hampton's husband worked for Ensign and was a close friend. After Mr. H. found out about the affair, Ensign's parents paid the Hamptons $96,000 and helped the husband find work. The whole story stank . . .

AP story, link only.

Paul: Well, I think competition makes things better. You have to compete with other late-night comedians; I have to compete with other physicians. I think competition makes us better. Think if you didn’t have that guy, what’s his name, you have to compete with?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic officials say Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico intends to retire next year rather than seek a new term. Bingaman would be the latest in a string of departures to hit Democrats as they look ahead to the 2012 election season.

Rep. Jeff Flake will announce on Monday that he is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Jon Kyl, who said last week that he is retiring and will not seek reelection in 2012. Flake, who like Kyl is a Republican, is expected to make his announcement in Phoenix at 10 a.m. ET, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday afternoon. A six-term congressman who represents Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, which includes Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Flake is a member of the House appropriations committee. After Kyl announced his retirement on Thursday, eyes quickly turned to Flake. One source told POLITICO...

Any discussion of who’s likely to succeed outgoing Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona needs to factor in the following: If Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wants the seat, it’s hers. The three-term Democratic congresswoman explored the idea of running for the Senate seat in the event of Mr. Kyl‘s retirement before she was shot Jan. 8 at a constituent meet-and-greet in Tucson. Her rehabilitation from a gunshot wound to the head reportedly is proceeding faster than expected. Mr. Kyl announced Thursday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2012. If Ms. Giffords decides she’s game for a Senate run and...

New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman generally cruises to re-election, and if he chooses to go for a sixth term, he would start off as a heavy favorite. But there has been some speculation he will instead retire. In his stead, Democrats should still be in strong shape to hold his seat unless popular former Governor Gary Johnson declines a run for president to make a bid for Congress’ upper chamber instead. With a 56-27 approval-disapproval margin, Bingaman is more popular at home than all but four of the 77 colleagues which PPP has measured in the last year or so....

Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2012. Webb's decision, long anticipated by many in Virginia politics, will make his seat more difficult to hold for his party. Ex-Sen. George Allen (R), who lost the seat in 2006 to Webb, is running to win it back, and a handful of other GOP candidates are also running. Some Democrats hope ex-Gov. Tim Kaine will decide to run for the seat, but he has given no indication yet that he is interested.

ABC News' Gregory Simmons reports: It looks like former Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is positioning herself to play a Palinesque role in the upcoming election cycle.  In a letter to supporters today, O’Donnell announced she is establishing ChristinePAC to “investigate and counter attack leftwing groups” and to help pay for her expenses as she travels around the country speaking. “This is a way that will help me counter attack our opponents and bring the battle to them,” she wrote. O’Donnell, whose name has become synonymous with the Tea Party Movement, says she won’t submit to the Left who attack her because...

Bernie Sanders, the “independent” but self-described socialist senator from Vermont, told MSNBC yesterday he has a novel idea for reforming health care — get rid of all the private health insurance companies: "I hope to be able to get waivers from Congress and the White House to allow us to do so. At the end of the day, if you are going to provide health care to all of our people in a cost effective way, you have to get rid of the health insurance companies, not profiteering and bureaucracy,” he said.