Free Republic

Now that the GOP is taking control of the Senate in 2015, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., offered up a resolution of sorts for the opposing party to abide by next year: Get Ted Cruz under control. Durbin’s suggestion comes days after Cruz’s disastrous maneuver last week that brought the Senate into session on Saturday, unwittingly opening the door to the approval of dozens of President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees. That infuriated Republicans, leading Cruz to apologize days later. “It was classic Cruz. He knew how to get the headline, but he didn’t know how to close the deal,” Durbin...

One of the Senate’s leading liberals is borrowing a page from the playbook of Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pushing to strike out language from the “cromnibus” spending bill unveiled Tuesday that would roll back restrictions on “swaps” transactions included in the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul known as Dodd-Frank. Repealing the “push-out” provision would mean that certain derivatives could again be held in bank units with federal deposit insurance. Using a strategy sometimes employed by Cruz for entirely different policy reasons, Warren said that with the $1.013 trillion spending package first being considered by the...

On Friday, President Barack Obama flew Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) on Air Force One with other Democrats to a speech at a Las Vegas high school (Del Sol) where he delivered a speech to celebrate and promote his executive amnesty. Others aboard Air Force One, according to the White House, were Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NB), Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers, Marc Morial, the president of the National...

Luis Gutierrez 2016? It could happen. Left-wing Latino activists are reportedly getting ready to launch a "Draft Gutierrez" movement to lure Rep. Gutierrez, the 10-term Democrat from Illinois who has been one of the most vocal proponents of massive amnesty legislation, into the presidential race if President Barack Obama does not go big enough on his executive amnesty. "I'm not running for president," Gutierrez told ChicagoBusiness.com. But the outlet noted that "he repeatedly declined to say whether he might change his mind if the Chicagoan who now holds the job, Barack Obama, fails to deliver on his promise to enact...

Orwellian fun via RCP. You trust a guy who openly admits his only loyalty is to the immigrant community to do what’s best for the country at large, don’t you? The fireworks come in the last minute although I’ll be candid and confess I don’t really understand what the point of disagreement is. Hannity says we should secure the border; Gutierrez replies that securing the border won’t stop ISIS operatives, who are more likely to enter the U.S. through airports than by sneaking across from Mexico. (Jihadis with British or, of course, American passports wouldn’t even need visas.) Could be,...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)There are 65 prominent people who might run for president in 2016. The Democratic and Republican fields contrast sharply. Hillary Clinton is the clear front-runner, while there is no front-runner on the Republican side. Twenty-three Democrats have been mentioned as a candidate or are eyeing a bid, according to an analysis by The Hill. The GOP side has 42. Most of the people on this list won’t run, and some have adamantly claimed that they’re not interested. But many politicians have changed their minds on seeking the White House. Before mounting his 2008 bid, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said he...

New York Times best-selling author and long-time journalist Ed Klein said that Valerie Jarrett has been engaging in secret meetings with Sen. Elizabeth Warren in recent months, giving rise to speculations that the Massachusetts political newcomer is actually the administration’s choice to head the White House in 2016. “President Obama has authorized Valerie Jarrett, his most important political adviser, to hold secret meetings with Elizabeth Warren to encourage her to challenge Hillary Clinton because the Obamas do not want to see the Clintons succeed them in the White House,” Mr. Klein said during a broadcast interview on “America’s Forum” on...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the weekÂ’s top news, including the struggle on Capitol Hill to find a resolution to the political division on the border crisis before Congress leaves for August recess, as well as how these events will affect the November election, plus the outlook for ending the war between Israel and Hamas. (AUDIO-AT-LINK)TRANSCRIPT JUDY WOODRUFF: In Washington, House Republicans were racing to pass something on the border crisis after a day of confusion and chaos on Capitol Hill Thursday. For a taste of what went on...

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) believes the House of Representatives will immediately begin impeachment proceedings if President Barack Obama unilaterally grants work permits and amnesty to millions more illegal immigrants by the "end of summer." Appearing on Breitbart News Saturday with co-hosts Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon and Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, King said that if Obama "completely destroys the rule of law with the stroke of a pen" and "Congress fails to act," there will be "enough Republicans who didn't have a desire to do this" that will be "immediately activated" to consider...

A leading supporter of Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn said that Republican voters are backers of the Ku Klux Klan and members of militias, according to local reports. Outspoken Chicago Pastor Walter “Slim” Coleman made the controversial remarks while standing beside Quinn, who was present to receive the reverend’s endorsement. Quinn’s support for divisive and racist rhetoric has been causing his campaign problems. The governor’s campaign came under fire in April after it tweeted messages urging backers to read an article comparing black Republican voters to Jews who collaborated with the Nazis. Quinn stood by silently as Coleman compared Republicans...

Jim Messina, President Barack Obama’s former campaign manager, is still making $7,000 per month from Obama’s 2012 campaign, Politico reports. While the campaign ended nearly a year-and-a-half ago, Messina has not entirely finished “winding it down.” The lengthy Politico article reports on how Messina is attempting to become a Karl Rove-like figure for the Democratic Party. Messina—like Rove before him—has gravitated away from the party and campaign system in which he cut his teeth toward the unlimited-money outside infrastructure that reshaped politics after the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision. It’s a notable shift, given that Democrats up...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/02/15/president-election-2016-hillary-clinton-column/5340999/

State senator Jim Oberweis---who has run twice for U.S. Senate and once for governor---is going to make a run again for the Senate seat now held by Dick Durbin. Obeweis said this morning, "Though a number of groups had encouraged me to run for the U.S. Senate against Dick Durbin, I had pretty much decided not to, believing it to be almost impossible to win. Then Ron Gidwitz contracted a poll. ... The results stunned me. I expected to trail Durbin about 60 percent to 30 percent. Instead it was 49 percent to 38 percent with me leading among younger...

A top Senate Democrat said on Sunday that ObamaCare is “on its way to be a substantial success.” Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, defended the rollout of the healthcare reform law in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” while noting that “it’s off to a rough start with the website.” Critics of the law have been quick to point out problems in the website that the Obama administration launched on Oct. 1, which is designed to help consumers shop for health insurance on new marketplaces, called exchanges. Glitches and delays at the website have...

In his second term, Richard Nixon had Watergate, but also the rescue of Israel in the Yom Kippur War. In his second term, Ronald Reagan had Iran-Contra, but also a treaty eliminating U.S. and Soviet missiles in Europe, his "tear-down-this-wall" moment in Berlin and his lead role in ending the Cold War. In his second term, Bill Clinton had Monica, but also came close to a peace treaty between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat. Obama's second-term scandals — IRS, Benghazi, wiretapping The Associated Press and Fox — are in the low-kiloton range compared to the resignation of Nixon or the...

Illinois Republicans have just forced state party chair Pat Brady to resign because of his support for gay marriage. What is this, Alabama? Brady, rather famously, came out in support of gay marriage in January of this year, and even made phone calls to lawmakers urging them to support gay marriage legislation before the Illinois legislature. And now he’s politically-dead, killed by a Republican party so permeated with hate and intolerance that even in a moderate-Republican state like Illinois, the GOP just couldn’t stomach having a fag-lover as party chair. This is why I, an Illinois Republican, left my party...

CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel gave Rick Perry a Chicago-style greeting Monday, challenging the Texas governor to remember the reasons for his visit to Illinois — a jab at Perry's presidential debate forgetfulness. "I hope when he comes he remembers all three of his reasons," Emanuel said. "Because it will be a real test for him." Perry was in Illinois Monday to encourage businesses to move to Texas and was scheduled to address a Chicago business convention Tuesday. Emanuel made pointed reference to a campaign gaffe Perry committed while running for president. At a Republican debate late in 2011, Perry...

I want my money back. Last October, I gave $2,500 to support Heidi Heitkamp’s campaign to become North Dakota’s junior senator. A few weeks later, she won a surprise victory. I have had a long career in government and politics, but I don’t donate heavily to political campaigns. When I contribute, it’s because I know the candidate well or am really impressed with the person. Heidi Heitkamp was one of the latter: She struck me as strong-willed, principled and an independent thinker. But this week, Heitkamp betrayed those hopes. She voted to block legislation to make gun background checks more...

LaGrange, IL— This weekend’s epic showdown between movement conservatives and more moderate elements of the Illinois Republican Party ended with a split result. Embattled Party Chairman Pat Brady remains at the helm of the State Central Committee but the committee is beginning the process of lining up a successor in the event Chairman Brady resigns or his detractors can garner enough votes to oust him while simultaneously navigating party rules to make it happen. Brady’s term runs through the 2014 primary season when a new, 18-member central committee, selected under the downsized 2011 congressional map, will organize itself and elect...

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) told host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that supporters of new gun control legislation do not yet have the votes to pass it, despite defeating a Republican-led filibuster attempt last week. Durbin is the Senate Majority Whip, responsible for counting his party's votes on key legislative proposals. The specific bill facing the Senate is the Manchin-Toomey compromise on background checks, which would expand such requirements to gun shows, among other provisions. Currently, private sales between individuals at gun shows do not require background checks--just as private sales anywhere do not require them. The following is...