Free Republic

The Republican brand was built upon fiscal responsibility. It's not the State's money. It's our money. You and me. Simple Oregonians. The following message comes from House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna: “The shortfall in the current budget is a product of the Legislature’s massive overspending in 2007. If Democrats had made the tough decisions and spent our tax dollars at sustainable levels, we would have avoided the painful cuts that are being proposed today.

I have Been seeing so much Post Mortem on the Decline of the Republican Party. Our POST ELECTION First Task was to Identify the ROOT PROBLEM...we agree that it was the RINO Philosophy. Next Since we will have to go out and replace these RINOS with people of true Conservative Principles . Now It is time to identify those RINO's who are Elected to Office be it Federal, State, County and City elected Officials. Appointed, Judicial, The RINO's in Media,Radio Talkers TV, Cable, Print, and Blogs... We need to Identify the RINO talking heads who POP up everywhere when a...

In the wake of the 2006 congressional elections, in which Republicans received a well-deserved drubbing at the polls, Republican members of Congress spent a weekend together at an east coast resort. Either as testament to their mind-numbing political insensitivity, or as a cruel joke on their constituents, they even had the temerity to call their weekend meeting a “retreat.” With the political “earthquake” of 1994, Republicans were given the opportunity for leadership that millions of activists had worked toward since the close of World War II... the opportunity to lead the nation according to time-honored conservative principles. They went to...

If you knew that a recent Zogby International survey found 59 percent of the respondents described themselves as "fiscally conservative and socially liberal," and if you were a head of a political party wanting to put together a winning platform, what would you do?The question is not all that tough, but both Republican and Democrat leaders have yet to get it right. The Republicans, after losing three straight, off-year special congressional elections, are in a panic about what to do to renew their "brand." The Democrats naively think they are in great shape, even though they only have an...

McCain Walks The Walk On Pork Congress spent $17.2 billion of taxpayer money on pork-barrel projects, according to the Citizens Against Government Waste. The nonpartisan, nonprofit group released its annual book detailing congressional spending for the 2008 fiscal year. For the first time, the names of members of Congress were added to the projects. The top three spenders were Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., with $892 million; Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska with $469 million; and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., with $465 million. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., was No. 13 on the list with $296 million in pork-barrel projects and her...

$9,128,000,000,000+. That is what our national debt sits at as I write this article. I can’t put the actual number because it is increasing so fast it would be wrong within minutes. In fact, the debt is increasing at a rate of one million dollars a minute. That’s about $1.36 billion dollars a day, according to the U.S. National Debt Clock. We are spending money like there is no tomorrow. And if we don’t stop, there might not be a tomorrow for our republic. Why are we spending so much money? Our elected leaders have warped the phrase “general welfare”...

Former Massachusetts Governor and current Presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be among those to address hundreds of grassroots activists at Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s (AFPF’s) first ever “Defending the American Dream Summit” at Washington’s historic Mayflower Hotel on October 4-5, 2007. Romney, who will speak at the Summit’s “Tribute to Ronald Reagan Dinner” on Friday, October 5, joins an all-star lineup of the nation’s foremost free-market leaders including Senators, Congressmen, TV news personalities, columnists and economists. “We’re looking forward to hearing Governor Romney’s message for us and excited to share our message of free-markets and fiscal restraint with him. I...

The 2008 presidential election may seem light years away. But when it comes to who will be the Republican and Democratic nominees, the race will be decided in less than nine months. Georgia, along with several populous states, has moved its presidential primary to early next winter. By Feb. 5, 2008, we will likely know who will win the Republican nomination for president. With two GOP presidential debates behind us, including one in South Carolina this week, only one candidate has emerged for conservative principles of cutting taxes and reducing the size of government. He is former governor Mitt Romney...

Rudy Giuliani: Take Me or Leave Me -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Roger Simon Apr 12, 2007 CHARLESTON, S.C. — Rudy Giuliani says that the standard for judging his troubled personal life should be how it affected or did not affect the job he did as mayor of New York. "We all have personal lives, we all have things that go right and wrong in our personal lives," he told me. "The real question is: How does it affect how you can perform?" "Does the fact that I may have had some problems in my personal life mean that I don't perform my...

A new Republican presidential poll shows former mayor beating McCain; Clinton tops the Democratic roster WASHINGTON - Rudolph Giuliani navigated the first choppy waters of his campaign to sit atop a new Republican presidential poll yesterday that shows him easily beating one-time front-runner John McCain, the Arizona senator who tumbled to third place over Iraq. But the Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg poll also suggests conservative skeptics are still casting about for an alternative to the moderate Giuliani, with a second-place showing by someone who isn't even in the race - actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson. On the Democratic side,...

March was undoubtedly a rough month for Rudy Giuliani (and April's not shaping up so great, either). But, the fact is he's still doing extremely well in the polls. Much was made of Mr. Giuliani's drop to 31% in the Gallup poll at the end of March, from 44% in the same poll at the beginning of March. However, in the first Gallup poll taken in April, Mr. Giuliani's back up to a quite-robust 38%. John McCain is still on his way down (to a low of 16% in the Gallup poll). And Mitt Romney is still a flat line...

At home and abroad, America faces a new generation of challenges. From illegal immigration to increased global competition to the threat of radical Islam, we must remain strong if we are to meet and overcome these challenges. What our country needs is a strong, tested leader who has the vision and energy to pursue innovative new solutions. Only one candidate stands out as ready to lead us in the fast-evolving world of the 21st century: Gov. Mitt Romney. As a lifelong fiscal conservative, I feel the greatest dangers to our country's continued strength and influence are easily found in our...

The same Beltway experts who declared Sen. John McCain of Arizona the GOP front-runner, even as he under-polled fellow presidential contender Rudolph Giuliani, now parrot equally dodgy concepts. When Republicans meet "the real Rudy," they will abandon New York's former mayor like cattle fleeing a burning barn. Then, the wobbly Washington wisdom continues, Giuliani's three marriages, and his less-than-solidly-right-wing views on gays, guns and gametes will torpedo his buoyant presidential hopes. These seers now detect unhappiness with the GOP aspirants. They cite a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in which 26 percent of Republican primary voters were dissatisfied with...

Former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff is joining Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. A source in the campaign told UnionLeader.com that the former Jackson innkeeper “will help with federal and New Hampshire issues as an adviser and will help raise money in Washington, D.C.” Zeliff, a Republican, was first elected to New Hampshire’s 1st District U.S. House seat in 1990. He left the House after three terms and ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination for governor in 1996. Zeliff has been a Washington lobbyist for the past 10 years, currently employed by The Livingston Group, headed by former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston...

Rudolph Giuliani's wife, Judith, will ``continue to play an important role'' in his presidential campaign, his spokesman said -- despite grumbling from within the ex-mayor's circle that her involvement is creating tensions in the organization. Friday's statement of solidarity came from campaign spokesman Michael McKeon one day after Giuliani's third spouse confirmed publicly that she has been divorced twice, not once, as widely reported when they wed. She was married to a man named Jeffrey Ross, now of Florida, from 1974 to 1979. ``She's going to continue to play an important role in the campaign, traveling with her husband, introducing...

For the moment, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani sits on double-digit leads over the rest of the Republican presidential-hopeful pack in several national polls. Why? "It appears to me that Rudy is going aggressively after the conservative vote," says Pennsylvania Republican and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. "He has not ceded that ground to anybody." Santorum, known nationally for his social conservatism, says Giuliani does a good job of reminding people how he governed as a conservative on crime, welfare and taxes in New York City. Santorum also believes Giuliani has scored points on social issues with his comments...

The other night I was having dinner with two friends in an Upper West Side restaurant when an extraordinarily loud group of about a dozen people settled into the next table. THE LONG KNIVES HAVE BEEN out for Giuliani ever since he started proving liberals wrong in the 1990s, and it's only going to get worse. "Him?" was the one-word headline on the cover story in New York last week, followed by, "New Yorkers may be surprised by how far Rudy Giuliani has come already. But that's only because we know him." As a footnote, it should be pointed out...

Mayor Giuliani Announces Theodore Olson as Chair of Justice Advisory Committee New York, Mar 1 - The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee today announced that former Solicitor General Theodore Olson will chair the Mayor’s Justice Advisory Committee. In supporting the Mayor’s candidacy, Olson said Giuliani has the strength and conviction to lead the country. “I’ve known Rudy Giuliani for over 25 years and I trust his principles and his judgment. Since our days working together in the Reagan Administration, I’ve been able to see firsthand Rudy’s strength of character and demonstrated leadership. I am confident Mayor Giuliani is the proven...

Rudy Giuliani’s candidacy for president is a paradox. He comes out on top in Republican primary polls, leading in the most recent national surveys by Fox, CNN, ABC, and Gallup, yet hardly anyone thinks he can win the Republican nomination. Strength in early polling sometimes masks the inherent limitations of a candidacy. The pervasive skepticism about Giuliani’s chances, however, is not rooted in a nuanced view of poll numbers. Nor does it stem from doubts about his fundraising ability, candidate skills, or level of experience. Rather, it is widely believed that he cannot win the GOP nomination because of his...

Earlier this week, Simon — who previously worked with Giuliani in U.S. attorney’s office in New York in the late 1980s — signed on as a Giuliani domestic-policy adviser. Unsurprisingly, the conservative Bill Simon has in his portfolio of duties outreach to his friends and colleagues on the Right. Simon explained why conservatives should be — and are — considering Giuliani: “As people get to know Rudy and people get to know his record, they realize things they sometimes didn’t know. And for conservatives like us, I think often what they realize is that his fiscal record is extraordinary. He...