Free Republic

For the past 14 years, North Carolina’s Seventh Congressional District has been held by Democrat Mike McIntyre, who, lacking any significant challengers, has managed to maintain his grip on this culturally conservative district. But this fall McIntyre faces his first serious threat when he battles top-tier Republican candidate Ilario Pantano. A decidedly Republican district with a strong conservative base, the Cook Partisan Voting Index for the Seventh District is R+5. Located in the southeastern corner of North Carolina, this district stretches from Sampson and Duplin counties to Columbus and Brunswick in the south, covering nine counties in total. It includes...

If North Carolina’s Pantano wins in November, he will owe his victory in large measure to his identity as a Marine. Pantano’s story is simply remarkable. After attending an expensive New York prep school on scholarship, he astonished his teachers and classmates by deciding to enlist in the Marines rather than go to college. He went to sniper school and took part in the first Gulf War. At the end of his four years in 1993, he enrolled at New York University. After graduation, Pantano took a job at Goldman Sachs and later started his own consulting business. His future...

Kelsey Grammer, the five-time Emmy award winner, is scheduled to be the star attraction at a fundraiser next week for Ilario Pantano, the Republican who is challenging Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre. Grammer is best known for playing the psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane in the sitcom "Cheers" and later starred in the spinoff "Frasier," Rob Christensen reports. He is a Republican who campaigned for Sen. John McCain in 2008 and has said he may run for Congress one day. Grammer will appear at a private fund raiser on Monday, August 2nd at the Lumberton home of Linda and Don Metzger.

“It’s no surprise political analysts are starting to take notice of Ilario Pantano’s strong challenge to Mike McIntyre. After all, he already has, as evidenced by his unusually early TV ads. After recently being outraised by Ilario by an almost 2-1 margin, it’s clear that McIntyre’s support for Nancy Pelosi and inability to create jobs has finally caught up to him. The people of southeastern North Carolina are ready for someone who will fight for them, and Ilario Pantano has proven throughout his life that he’s that person.”

Political handicappers at The Cook Political Report have changed their assessment of North Carolina’s Seventh Congressional District from “Solid Democrat” to “Likely Democrat.” That’s a positive sign for the Ilario Pantano camp, who faces incumbent Democrat Rep. Mike McIntyre in the November election. Here’s a comment from National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Jon Thompson, who sent out an email about the switch: It’s no surprise political analysts are starting to take notice of Ilario Pantano’s strong challenge to Mike McIntyre. After all, he already has, as evidenced by his unusually early TV ads. After recently being outraised by Ilario by...

“These fundraising numbers clearly show that momentum is on our side. The citizens are fed up, they are voting early and they are doing it with their pocket books. As I travel across the district, the voters are responding to my message of conservative values and fiscal responsibility. The people of the 7th District are tired of politics as usual with a Congress focused on the needs of special interest groups instead of the needs of the people.”

“Why do these numbers matter?” Pantano continued. “These fundraising numbers clearly show that momentum is on our side. The citizens are fed up, they are voting early and they are doing it with their pocket books. As I travel across the district, the voters are responding to my message of conservative values and fiscal responsibility. The people of the 7th District are tired of politics as usual with a Congress focused on the needs of special interest groups instead of the needs of the people.”

Facebook Sabotage Results in Pantano SURGE! Friends and Supporters- Over the holiday weekend, our popular campaign Facebook page was sabotaged. Remember, we were fresh off a massive BUNKERBUSTER moneybomb that raised four times as much money as we initially hoped for - and our Facebook initiative was a big part of that overwhelming success. Well, someone on the other side thought they would take that advantage away from us, by hijacking and deleting our entire account. On July 3rd our account disappeared. Everything was gone - all 2500 supporters, photos, video, links, articles, etc. We've had zero customer support from...

-the June 24th, 2010 episode of "America's Nightly Scoreboard" with David Asman- Pantano discussed the ideals of service and sacrifice with respect to public office and was joined by Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes. David Asman introduced the segment with Ilario by saying, "We are separating the phonies from the heroes in public service. Most politician enter politics because of the perks. But there is a new breed of politicians winning at the polls. These are true public servants who understand the meaning of sacrifice." Video and podcast included.

"Cordoba Center" sounds comfortably Latino and almost familiar in a multi-ethnic city like New York. The name’s Spanish origin has a little bit of history too: the Cordoba Mosque in Spain symbolized a gateway to Muslim conquest of Western Europe – a conquest that today is unfolding in real time. But as disturbing as the sharia invasion of the European Union might be, my concern is the new $100 million mosque that will sit smugly just 600 feet from Ground Zero in New York City. This new Cordoba Mosque will occupy a building that was literally struck by pieces of...

...Could it really happen here? Our guide is a political refugee from Bulgaria, Dr. Boyan Georgiev, who practices medicine here in Wilmington NC. Having escaped the heavy hand of government authority with his wife, Dr. Georgiev came to America for the dream of freedom and opportunity. Hear what this survivor has to say about the grim reality of socialized medicine. "Communism is a fearful existence, and is damaging to the individual...and I can see trends (here) that are leading in that direction..." -w/video

Ilario Pantano, former USMC officer and current candidate for Congress in NC-07 leaves no doubt about where he stands on DADT. In fact, he doesn't just have an opinion based on his combat experience, he accuses standard-bearer Congressman Patrick Murphy of selling his military oath for hard Leftist special interest money - he names names AND amounts! He charges hard as a Marine ought! After Jack Murtha, another Pennsylvania all-star, made an art form out of shoving our troops under the bus for his own career, I never thought I’d live to see what Congressman Patrick Murphy has just done:...

In this new series focusing on the impact of ObamaCare, Ilario Pantano asks questions to doctors "on the ground and in the trenches." Through a series of candid and unscripted conversations, this ongoing special report will focus on all aspects of the healthcare system: from caregivers to patients. Questions will be answered about the true impact of this bill, its effect on healthcare, its constitutionality and what we, the people, can do about it. Includes video.

It is with great honor that we introduce you to one of the "Bravest of the Brave", a Medal of Honor recipient, Major General James Livingston. Please read the story of his boundless courage and fortitude in combat, and of the lives he saved. This story is about more than military history, it is a national legacy entrusted to our generation, and a challenge to uphold the standards of honor, loyalty, and selflessness demonstrated therein, no matter our walk of life.

Illogically high expectations about pinpoint accuracy and target discrimination in a fire-fight are the fantasy of armchair-academics and videogame players. Men on the ground know that war is sloppy and rough. Combat is not a noun or a place that you are “in,” but rather a verb, a thing that you “do” to other people. Principally, combat is imposing your will on the enemy by violence of action and the ugly truth is that the process kills all kinds of people: good ones, bad ones, and yes, even our own. When our expectations of success and precision are unrealistic it...

Despite being a blue dog seat for 140 years, this recent shift in vulnerability puts U.S. Congressional district NC-7 on par with other competitive North Carolina seats (NC-11 Shuler, NC-8 Kissell) that have been Republican as recently as two years ago. Jim Geraghty of The National Review Online noted, "Mike McIntyre, North Carolina: This seven-term Democrat would be safe in an ordinary year, but he felt enough pressure back in his district to vote against the health-care bill. GOP challenger Ilario Pantano, a [former] police officer, raised $103,000, which is more than McIntyre did

Wilmington, NC - First we give thanks and glory to God. “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Next we thank our tireless volunteers and supporters. You labored non-stop for ninety days to literally build a grass roots campaign from scratch. In the process our little team broke a few records! Countless thanks go to the folks behind the scenes who made our success possible. You have shown the country that a common sense conservative approach to promoting job creation by reducing taxes and cutting spending, protecting the homeland, and preserving conservative values can actually succeed in a district...

The Fuller Campaign Committee has released the first exit poll from early voting. The poll, which was conducted Saturday, May 1st, included results for races from U.S. Congress, State Senate, and New Hanover County Commissioners. In the U.S. Congressional race, numbers are looking good for Will Breazeale. The results show Breazeale leading his nearest primary challenger, Ilario Pantano, 51.7 to 41.4%. "We are very pleased that the early numbers are trending our way," observed Breazeale. "However, this race is still a long way from being over. We need each and every one of our dedicated voters to get out on...

Watching Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein testify yesterday brought me back to the day he hired me. It was 1995 and I remember calling my parents from a pay phone in front of the stock market. This son of an immigrant was living the American dream! But after three years of a "results-based" culture that found me trading electricity with unsavory characters like Enron and AIG, I decided to walk away. It was a decade before we would all learn that tax-payers were the ultimate "hedging instruments," and that hard decision to leave easy money didn’t come without consequences. My...

Conservatives have a historic opportunity to lead this country back from the brink and onto a path to prosperity, but will we rise to the challenge? Or, will we succumb to our baser political instincts and lose sight of our mission to serve the American people? It's not enough to see things as they are and say "no," we need to see things as they could be, and say, "Follow me."