Free Republic

<p>Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - Making a rare Capitol Hill appearance, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday encouraged the GOP's newest members of Congress to embrace compromise and common ground as they shift to a governing role following their party's midterm rout. The Republican governor, who is contemplating a 2016 presidential bid, addressed newly elected House Republicans and their spouses during a closed-door orientation luncheon inside the Capitol. The often-outspoken Christie declined to answer questions from reporters afterward, but attendees said offered a distinctly bipartisan tone. "He did talk about compromise and finding common ground," said incoming Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J....

Texas' two Republican Senators disagree on what Republicans should prioritize if the party regains control of Congress. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is considering a 2016 presidential run and is seen as the conservative voice in Congress, wants Republicans to try to repeal Obamacare and stop President Barack Obama's executive grants of amnesty. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who may become Majority Whip if the GOP wins a net of six Senate seats this year, believes Republicans will only win the White House in 2016 if conservative stalwarts like Cruz water down their bold conservatism and compromise. Cornyn recently said "that...

Arizona Sen. John McCain is expecting a low voter turnout in next month's midterm elections because he says voters are skeptical of both the Obama administration and the Republican Party. “What I’m hearing from my pollster friends is that people don’t like Republicans and they don’t like Obama," McCain said in an interview on Pivot's "TakePart Live," a show co-hosted by his daughter, Meghan McCain. "And they're very, very turned off. And I’m afraid we are going to see a very low voter turnout in this election, and that’s not healthy for, obviously, any of us.” According to the latest...

We do not always agree with Texas Sen. John Cornyn, and, as he is in Senate leadership, it’s difficult not to lay some of the blame at his feet for the gridlock that has seized Congress. We recommend him for re-election nonetheless, based on a long record of achievement — but also on a hope. Through his decades of public service to Texas as a state district judge, a state Supreme Court justice and attorney general, we’ve seen a John Cornyn who might not have been as comfortable as he appears today in the Beltway’s toxic politics. This, of course,...

Last night Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn took to Twiiter to attack former Texas House candidate and popular Tea Party activist Katrina Pierson. "That tweet was completely unprovoked," Pierson told Breitbart Texas. "With all the tweets Cornyn gets, why would he respond to that one? He was digging at me personally." It is unclear if the tweet was written by a staffer or by Cornyn himself, but according to Pierson, Cornyn said in the past that he controls his own account. "We all know that John Cornyn runs his own Twitter account," Pierson said. "He tells people, 'Just contact me,...

(CNSNews.com) - At a news conference on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner said there had been "no mocking" in his much-publicized characterization last week of House Republican colleagues who oppose legislation that would give legal status to illegal aliens. "There was no mocking," Boehner said. "You all know me. You know, you tease the ones you love. But some people misunderstood what I had to say, and I wanted to make sure the members understood that the biggest impediment we have in moving immigration reform is that the American people don't trust the president to enforce or implement the law...

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement after voting against raising the debt ceiling. “After five years of out-of-control White House spending, including a jobless, trillion-dollar stimulus, now is hardly the time to give the President carte blanche to continue his spending spree. I voted against raising the debt ceiling because we need sensible reforms to cut down on spending and restrain Washington going forward.”

The debt ceiling will be raised and the country will not default on its debt, Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn said “unequivocally” on Thursday. “We will raise the debt ceiling. We’re not going to default on our debt,” Cornyn (R-Texas) said to the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board. “I will tell you unequivocally, we’re not going to default,” he added.

One week into the Senate’s immigration floor fight, Senator John Cornyn of Texas has emerged as one of the most polarizing figures on the issue: a Republican leader from a border state brandishing a border security plan that he says is meant to salvage the measure but that is seen by others as a surreptitious attempt to scuttle it. -snip- One thing is certain: the role of Mr. Cornyn, who has snowy white hair and a visage that looks more British tea-sipper than Texas two-stepper, is sure to have ramifications for him in the Republican leadership, in the Senate itself...

Incumbent should emulate former colleague Kay Bailey Hutchison in approach to service. For the second state election cycle in a row, a Republican primary race will be the main event in the election of a United States senator from Texas. Texas Democrats are effectively spectators, as they have been far too often since 1994. Five relative unknowns have declared to challenge the GOP winner in November. Two years ago, the retirement of veteran U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison triggered a four-person GOP campaign that eventually led to the election of dark horse Ted Cruz. In November, Cruz cruised to victory...

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never put Chris Christie together again if New Jersey’s governor fails to refute the accusation that he knew of the George Washington Bridge lane closures as they were taking place. In that event, Christie’s governorship is over and he should prepare to face a federal criminal probe as a private citizen. Resignation would be a must. Otherwise, impeachment would be a snap. Christie stands on the brink of ruin thanks to David Wildstein, the high school pal who, as his Port Authority enforcer, ordered the closures that plunged Fort Lee...

“I think conventional wisdom is that time is not on our side,” McCain told reporters on Monday after an event in Chicago. “But there are a number of members of Congress who have primaries and when those primaries are done, they may be more inclined to address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform.”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday that Republicans need to craft a positive agenda and can’t just rail against Washington, D.C. “We have to have an agenda, we just can’t be against what’s in front of Washington, D.C.,” Bush said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday. -snip- Taking one last dig at lawmakers on the Hill, Bush called on them to pass immigration reform and hoped it would set a precedent of lawmaking.

President Obama phoned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday as senators worked to finalize a deal that could reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Neither White House nor congressional aides would provide details of the discussion, which came despite the president cancelation of a planned afternoon meeting with McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Texas Sen. John Cornyn condemned President Barack Obama’s nomination of Janet Yellen as the head of the Federal Reserve. The Senator feels the reason why America finds its self in a fiscal predicament is due to stimulus “obsession”, and that the last thing the nation needs is someone who intends more “quantitative easing” because that will further harm the economy. “Ms. Yellen subscribes to the liberal school of thought that the best way to handle to our nation’s fiscal challenges is to throw more money at them,” Cornyn wrote in a press release. Not supporting Cornyn’s opposition of Yellen, is...

As Ted Cruz continued to hold the Senate floor, his senior GOP colleague from Texas was calling in to local radio stations expressing general support for the effort while noting a significant tactical disagreement. “Ted’s been a great addition to the United States Senate,” Sen. John Cornyn said on KTSA. “He and I were dove hunting in Hondo this weekend together and we both agree that we need to defund and delay and defeat Obamacare to protect the American people.” But Cornyn, the Republican whip, is in the camp along with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that plans to support...

As he moves across Florida this week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is keeping two schedules. The public one, where he tells friendly, pro-business crowds what he sees as the dangers of Obamacare. And the invite-only one, where he seeks to reconnect with grass roots conservative activists who have questions — and some outrage — over his involvement in immigration reform. It's a two-step plan designed to repair Rubio's image, which has taken a beating in recent months, darkening the glow of his 2016 presidential The redemption tour continued Tuesday with stops in Tallahassee and Panama City and concludes today in...

Mitt Romney got the next best thing Friday to an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, he got validation. "I think Mitt Romney is a conservative and if he's president, he'll govern as a conservative," Toomey, R-Pa., told reporters after a speech to the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, the annual gathering of conservatives in the state. Toomey made his mark in Washington hunting down and replacing Republican moderates in Congress with Republican conservatives as president of Club for Growth, a powerful anti-tax group. A tea party kingmaker, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., also affirmed Romney's conservatism after meeting with him Thursday...

ONLY ONE CANDIDATE IS RIGHT ON THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES December 28, 2011In the upcoming presidential election, two issues are more important than any others: repealing Obamacare and halting illegal immigration. If we fail at either one, the country will be changed permanently. Taxes can be raised and lowered. Regulations can be removed (though they rarely are). Attorneys general and Cabinet members can be fired. Laws can be repealed. Even Supreme Court justices eventually die. But capitulate on illegal immigration, and the entire country will have the electorate of California. There will be no turning back. Similarly, if...