Free Republic

...The GOP gains, which were particularly extensive in coal-producing regions, all but assure that Trump’s rigid brand of politics will persist in state capitals, becoming incubators for a new generation of politicians who reject compromise and bipartisanship. Republicans picked up a net 295 state legislative seats nationwide last year, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislators — giving the GOP complete legislative control in 31 states, including veto-proof majorities in at least 15.... ...Those gains were made just as Wyoming and many other states are facing massive budget shortfalls fueled by the coronavirus pandemic and shifting economic...

While Congress and the president fight over funding a border wall, they continue to ignore the coming economic tsunami caused by the approximately 22 trillion dollars (and rapidly increasing) federal debt. President Trump may not be troubled by the debt’s effect on the economy because he believes he will be out of office before it becomes a major problem. However, the crisis may come sooner than he, or most people in DC, expects. The constituency for limited government, while growing, is still far outnumbered by those wanting government to provide economic and personal security. From lower-income Americans who rely on...

Even as Perry requested the Recovery Act money, he railed against it. On the very same day he asked for the funds, he set up a petition titled "No Government Bailouts." "Join our fight and add your voice to a growing list of several thousand Americans who are fed up with this irresponsible spending that threatens our future," Perry wrote on his blog on Feb. 18, 2009.

It’s high noon for ethanol subsidies and import tariffs, but not for the ethanol industry.After more than three decades, the U.S. ethanol blenders’ tax credit and the ethanol-import tariff that was put in place to offset it are set to expire at the end of the year. The way things are looking, we may finally be rid of these indefensible and parochial market distortions. The ethanol tax credit alone costs taxpayers over $6 billion per year. The expiration of these policies will have little, if any, impact on the U.S. ethanol industry, because the Renewable Fuel Standard requires Americans to...

Washington (CNN) -- There is a looming rift on the right as many newly elected Republican congressional members want defense spending on the chopping block as they head to Capitol Hill, a position not shared by some of the old school Republicans in Congress. Military and foreign policy analysts see the incoming group as game-changers in the Republican party. "Within the Republican party, with the rising Tea Party caucus, you're going to see, I think, very confusing but interesting politics on this issue over the next couple of years," said Gordon Adams, a professor of foreign policy at American University....

A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda. In a letter to be released Monday, the group GOProud and leaders from groups like the Tea Party Patriots and the New American Patriots, will urge Republicans in the House and Senate to keep their focus on shrinking the government. "On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement," they write to presumptive House Speaker...

Keeping Obama honest By IkeonicObama said the following as he closed his inaugural address:"America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of...

Turning Keynesian economics on its head By IkeonicFor decades, John Maynard Keynes' policies have been used with arguable success to moderate the effects of the bust part of the bust/boom cycle. It's a very simple concept. When individuals and business stop spending and afraid to invest, the government is the only party left that can spend money to create jobs and get the economy moving again.Time Magazine famously declared in December 1965, "We Are All Keynesians Now". In lauding the accomplishment of applying Keynesian policies, Time said:In Washington the men who formulate the nation's economic policies have used Keynesian principles...

Every Wednesday in Washington, conservatives gather in the conference room of Grover Norquist's pressure group, Americans for Tax Reform, to hash out arguments and promote their projects. The off-the-record meetings are notorious among liberals: proof of the shudder-inducing organizational powers of the right. In late September, a White House economist arrived at Norquist's salon to sell a proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street firms whose investments in worthless mortgage-backed securities had sparked an international financial crisis. In a tense meeting, the president's emissary was turned into a piñata. Pro-market activists and economists with decades of experience battered him with...

BY now you've probably heard: The GOP is becoming too regional, too white, too old to compete nationally. Democrats look like the cast of "Rent," while Republicans look like diehard fans of "Matlock" and "Murder, She Wrote." Fine. The GOP needs to win over more Hispanics, young people, suburban women. That sounds plausible. But what does "win over" mean? To listen to many pundits, it means Republicans must become Democrats. The GOP has become too socially conservative, and if it wants to win the support of mainstream voters, it will need to become more socially liberal. If only the party...

On tax policy, Alaska governor Sarah Palin has a rather uninspiring, albeit brief, record. The following is some information gleaned from State Tax Notes. Palin supported and signed into law a $1.5 billion tax increase on oil companies in the form of higher severance taxes. One rule of thumb is that higher taxes cause less investment. Sure enough, State Tax Notes reported (January 7): “After ACES was passed, ConocoPhillips, Alaska's most active oil exploration company and one of the top three producers, announced it was canceling plans to build a diesel fuel refinery at the Kuparuk oil field. ConocoPhillips blamed...

RFFM.org Commentary Most of us who fall within the category of baby boomers can explain why small government and low taxation served our nation very well. At least we should be able to. A little more than a quarter century ago, the norm included one parent who brought home an income which supported an entire family. Of course, government programs, including the GI Bill, made it possible for millions of families to join the middle class after World War II. But, all the same, jobs in manufacturing were sufficient to bring reality to the well-turned phrase, "a rising tide lifts...

This is addressed to conservatives - if, in the last few months, you have used the phrase "because he is the only one who can win against Hillary" (some "victory"...), or some variation, don't bother reading this, it will not do you any good. You and your ilk, by helping engineer a putrid path of least resistance for the lumbering political bureaucracy to follow, are responsible for the leftward drift of the American conservatism movement, and will be as long as it is aligned with the Republican party. Go advertise the latest poll. Forward: (tone) There is a whiff of...

The following remarks were made on the Senate floor today. Mr. President, in the past week, the Senate has voted to reduce the overall cost of H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, now totaling nearly $110 billion by a mere $15 million. I’m delighted that President Bush has pledged to veto this bill because Congress has, once again, been unable to resist the temptation to load up a must-pass bill with pork. Mr. President, I offered several amendments to eliminate non-emergency items in this bill. I appreciate the...

Over the past two weeks, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has outlined short- and long-term spending increases that have some wondering if he has turned his back on his roots as a fiscal conservative. Schwarzenegger campaigned on budget responsibility at a time when the state was facing a multibillion dollar budget deficit. But with the state's economy improving, the governor has proposed spending $1.7 billion more on education next fiscal year than is constitutionally required and has plans to borrow $68 billion through general obligation bonds over the next 10 years. "There is no question this is a U-turn from the fiscal...

In the latest Cato Tax and Budget Bulletin, Stephen Slivinski uses revised data released during the summer by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make side-by-side comparisons of the spending habits of each president during the last 40 years. While the data show that all presidents presided over net increases in spending, George W. Bush is shown to be one of the biggest spenders of them all, even outpacing Lyndon B. Johnson in terms of discretionary spending. An excerpt from the report: "The increase in discretionary spending - that is, all nonentitlement programs - in Bush's first term was 48.5...

Thoughts on fiscal conservatism, eminent domain abuse in gilroy, California. enjoy.. Some Republicans are starting to get it! It may be just election year politics (or the lead up to it) but some Republicans in Congress are calling for cuts in spending to pay offset the cost of Katrina and Rita reconstruction. I'll ask the question . . .

TOKYO - Japan's government debt, already the highest in the industrialized world, rose 1.7 percent to a record high of 795.8 trillion yen ($7.1 trillion) at the end of June, according to a report released by the Finance Ministry. ADVERTISEMENT The latest figure marked an increase of 14.3 trillion yen from the end of March , the ministry said Thursday. The amount is equivalent to about 6.24 million yen ($55,900) for every Japanese. Japan has relied on government bond issues to make up for falling tax revenues, turning into one of the world's most indebted countries. Japan's public debt burden...

he time has now come for fiscal conservatives to publicly admit the truth: the Republican complicity in the great spending spree of the early 21st century has placed our agenda on life-support. By failing to cut spending while implementing tax cuts and fighting a war, we now find ourselves in a predicament. The beast has not been starved, the deficit has once again become a political issue, and the chances of acceptable Social Security reform, overhaul of the tax code, and the permanence of the previous tax cuts are all in jeopardy. This dismal situation harkens back to events in...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A drive by President Bush and top congressional Republicans to make modest Medicaid cuts is hitting a buzz saw in the person of a moderate GOP senator from Oregon. The Senate seemed likely to vote Thursday on an effort led by Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., to eliminate all $14 billion in five-year savings the chamber's budget proposes in the health care program for the poor and elderly. That would be a 1 percent reduction from the $1.12 trillion Medicaid is projected to spend over that period. The vote was expected to be close, with Smith and co-sponsor...