Free Republic

For at least the last 10 years, we’ve noticed a trend that Congress does not support the will of the American people. Voters have sat back and re-elected the same people who are not heeding the wishes of the people, but have led the country deep into socialism and all its dilemmas. Even now, while we hang on the verge of a depression, the Congress approves bailouts which will cost almost a trillion dollars with the earmarks that have been attached. Congress treats the American people as if the voters are dumb children unable to think or take care of...

SENECA — What happens in Washington, D.C., these days doesn’t translate well back home. That’s a message Sen. Lindsey Graham’s media coordinator can take back to his boss. Kevin Bishop faced a tough crowd with tough questions Thursday as he tried to explain recent goings on in the nation’s capital to the Oconee Alliance, a public-private partnership organization that promotes the county. “Does Sen. Graham and the rest of Congress realize the American people are ticked off?” Ray Stamm, a retired Fortune 500 CEO who has lived in Oconee County for 19 years, asked Bishop. “Washington seems to think it’s...

Muslim vote is powerful, group told Examples are cited in Dearborn BY ZACHARY GORCHOW FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER December 24, 2006 Muslims played a critical role in some key elections this year. But elected officials won't take them seriously if they don't continue to organize and turn out Muslim voters, two politically active Muslims said Saturday at a convention in Dearborn. If there are efforts to register Muslims to vote, educate them about the candidates and get them to the polls to vote for one candidate, politicians will court their support, Jameel Johnson, an aide to U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks,...

On RFFM.org you will find a list of those Congressional members who voted "yea" for a nearly $1 trillion rape of the American taxpayer: http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/10/the-bipartisan-boondoggle-which-members-of-congress-voted-yea---putting-the-us-nearly-1-trillion-in-more-debt.html I am not an economist. I am simply an American citizen who knows when it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and defecates like a duck, it's a duck. Late last week, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a bill that will put the U.S. government nearly $1 trillion deeper in debt. Earlier in the week, the House of Reps. found some political backbone and rejected the $700 billion pork-laden bailout...

Akaka (D-HI), Yea Alexander (R-TN), Yea Allard (R-CO), Nay Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Baucus (D-MT), Yea Bayh (D-IN), Yea Bennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), Yea Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Bond (R-MO), Yea Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Yea Brownback (R-KS), Nay Bunning (R-KY), Nay Burr (R-NC), Yea Byrd (D-WV), Yea Cantwell (D-WA), Nay Cardin (D-MD), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Clinton (D-NY), Yea Coburn (R-OK), Yea Cochran (R-MS), Nay Coleman (R-MN), Yea Collins (R-ME), Yea Conrad (D-ND), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Nay DeMint (R-SC), Nay Dodd (D-CT), Yea Dole...

In the campaign for the hearts of the heartland - from Independence, Mo., to Lacrosse, Wis. - the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, senators both, are attempting to explain today why the financial bailout - for which they are returning to Washington -- deserves the support of voters. "Even with all these taxpayer protections, this plan is not perfect,'' Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said today, campaigning in Wisconsin. "Democrats and Republicans in Congress have legitimate concerns about it. I know many Americans share those concerns. But it is clear that this is what we must do right...

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Just back from Washington, D.C., South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham painted a very bleak picture of what he expects for the country if the bailout plan fails. Graham spoke in front of a foreclosed home on Avondale Drive in Greenville. He said if the plan doesn't pass soon, more banks will fold. Businesses will close and people will lose their jobs. As least twice he mentioned that the economy could be headed for a depression.

WASHINGTON - In a surprise move to resurrect President Bush's $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, Senate leaders slated a vote on the measure for Wednesday — but added a tax cut plan already rejected by the House.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement after the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives against the financial rescue plan. He said: “I have never been more disappointed in the Congress than I am today. I hope every member of the House of Representatives—Republican and Democrat—who voted against this legislation will work in the next twenty-four hours to improve the bill. Now is the time to put the national interest above the self interest. “Speaker Pelosi’s partisan comments before the vote obviously did not help matters. Now is not the time for extreme partisanship...

NEWS RELEASE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms 12500 N.E. Tenth Place Bellevue, WA  98005 CCRKBA URGES SEN. REID TO ALLOW SENATE VOTE ON DISTRICT GUN LAW For Immediate Release: September 24, 2008 BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is today calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to allow a House-approved bill on the District of Columbia’s gun law to face an immediate Senate vote. “Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and 46 of her colleagues have asked Sen. Reid to do this before the end...

Statement By McCain Campaign On Negotiations John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign was made in the hopes that politics could be set aside to address our economic crisis. In response, Americans saw a familiar spectacle in Washington. At a moment of crisis that threatened the economic security of American families, Washington played the blame game rather than work together to find a solution that would avert a collapse of financial markets without squandering hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ money to bailout bankers and brokers who bet their fortunes on unsafe lending practices. Both parties in both houses of Congress...

Phone number: 202-224-4343 United States Senate, Washington, DC Friday, September 26, 2008 Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to speak about the current economic situation and the bailout bill that will soon be coming to the Senate floor. Let me start by saying that I am just as concerned about what is going on in the financial markets and the economy as everyone else. I know there are extreme tensions in the credit markets and those problems could soon have an impact on businesses and individuals who had nothing to do with the mortgage mess. However, I do not agree...

$56 billion stimulus bill fails in Senate Fri Sep 26, 2008 1:31pm EDT By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Friday blocked a $56.2 billion economic stimulus package that would have extended unemployment benefits, increased food aid and funded new construction projects to create jobs. The 52-42 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate for Democrats to clear a Republican procedural hurdle and move toward passage of the bill, which backers said would give the ailing U.S. economy a needed boost. The House of Representatives plans to consider a slightly different stimulus package...

Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid seems to be doing all he can as the Senate’s most powerful member to cause trouble for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Reid indicated Thursday that he will not hold any votes in the Senate on Friday so McCain has “no excuses” to skip the debate scheduled for that day. Reid’s move is curious since several news outlets reported earlier this week that Reid told the White House it was essential McCain take an active role in crafting the bailout—something that would certainly keep McCain off the campaign trail. “We need now the Republicans to...

By Lisa Mascaro · September 25, 2008 · 4:35 PM WASHINGTON -- It won’t be votes in the Senate that keep Republican presidential candidate John McCain away from Friday night’s debate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today he would not be scheduling any votes to “make sure there’s no excuses to not go forward with the debate.” “If ever there was a time in the history of our country … American people need to hear this.” Republican National Committee spokesman Bill Riggs said: “It’s clear that Harry Reid and Barack Obama would rather score cheap political points with Washington...

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a plan by Democrats to pump $56 billion in government spending into the economy through public works projects, help for the jobless and money for states struggling with their Medicaid bills. The 52-42 tally fell well short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a GOP filibuster. The White House promised a veto anyway, saying the measure would not work and would cost too much. The House was expected to have better luck with a companion $61 billion House plan later in the day.

The White House meeting was in part the result of McCain's stunning pronouncement Wednesday that he would stop campaigning to return to Washington, where he had urged Bush to convene a summit to address the crisis. But for most of the afternoon, McCain has not visibly been part of the action on the issue. He was not present when House and Senate negotiators emerged from a two-hour meeting to declare success. That announcement was made by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Robert F. Bennett (Utah) and Frank. McCain, by contrast, spent some time...

I didn’t hear it personally, but I have it from a reliable source, that Sen. Joe Lieberman told Sean Hannity the following on the radio this afternoon. SEN LIEBERMAN: [Laughs]. Yeah, I mean it is true, it’s odd in terms of the typical stereotypes of the two parties. Senator McCain I’m not saying hasn’t gotten some money from Wall Street but the major recipient of the contributions from Wall Street executives and employees has been Sen. Obama. I’m disappointed, I think this is a great act of leadership by John McCain, this is the guy I’ve come to know and...

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) said, “Sen. Reid’s move to reinstate the ban on oil shale energy production is an insult to the American people and yet another example of Democrats acting to make energy more expensive for working families and small businesses," in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "At a time when our economy is struggling, it’s outrageous that Sen. Reid would attempt to block efforts to open up responsible oil shale development, which would create good-paying jobs and help lower energy costs."

Villain PhilBy the Editors Barack Obama wants to tell a tale about turbulence in the financial markets, and like any good melodrama this story needs a villain. Sen. Obama believes he has found his mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash in the person of Phil Gramm, the candid-to-a-fault former senator from Texas who presided over a major reform of American banking laws a decade ago. Obama here displays a signal failure to understand the convulsions in the markets. And he also fails to identify the guilty parties — which is odd, since some of them used to sign his paycheck back in his...

Harry Reid (D-NV) thinking the public and Senate are both distracted by the Paulson plan to bailout Wall Street intends to sneak the drilling ban back in the continuing resolution. He is doing it right now.

In Washington these days, an 11-figure expenditure barely attracts notice. With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial Wall Street bailout plan—includes $25 billion in loans for the beleaguered Detroit automakers and several of their suppliers. "It seemed like a lot when we first started pushing this," says Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, one of the...

 Washington, DC—Nevada Senator Harry Reid delivered the following statement today at a hearing before the Commerce Committee regarding the safety and security dangers associated with the proposal to ship 77,000 tons of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.  Both Reid and fellow Nevada Senator John Ensign spoke about the Department of Energy's unpreparedness to begin a massive nuclear waste shipping campaign.  Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery: "I want to thank Chairman Inouye, Senator Hutchison, and the members of the Committee for scheduling this important hearing.  It has been a long time since the Senate has looked closely at plans...

Congress took on the $700 billion bailout on Tuesday with what Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, called “the most palpable sense of national crisis since we gathered here in this building immediately following the 9/11 attacks.” That’s not exactly how it looked to those trying to follow the testimony of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Crisis connotes rolled-up sleeves, pots of coffee and the casting aside of protocol, ceremony and partisan grandstanding. Instead, what viewers saw was Washington as usual: senators pontificating while behind them aides whispered and...

Reid to McCain: Don't Come Back to Capitol September 24, 2008 5:14 PM A Democrat tells ABC News that, in a phone call late this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that it would NOT be helpful for him to come back to Washington, D.C., to work on the Wall Street bailout bill. McCain this afternoon suspended his campaign and said he would skip the first presidential debate in order to return to Capitol Hill to work on the log-jammed Bush administration legislation, which, as of Wednesday afternoon, was in peril. McCain had phoned...

As Allahpundit already noted in an update to his excellent post on John McCain’s suspension of his campaign, Harry Reid went out of his way to tell him, “don’t bother”. However, as John McCormack notes at the Weekly Standard, that’s just a day after Reid’s insistence that McCain return to support the Bush administration’s bailout plan. How soon they forget: But yesterday, Reid demanded that the White House made sure the legislation had John McCain’s backing, and Reid floated this bogus piece of news clearly intended to force McCain’s hand: “I got some good news in the last hour or...

Congressional Republicans line up behind McCain call While congressional Democrats, including Harry Reid, urge McCain to not return to Washington, the GOP nominee's colleagues line up behind the move. In a coordinated move, the Republican congressional leadership has issued statements on McCain's decision. "I strongly support Sen. McCain’s proposal for a bipartisan leadership meeting of both Houses of Congress, including Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama," said House Minority Leader John Boehner. "Given that it is only a few months before a new president takes the oath of office, it is vital that the next president play an active role in...

A Democrat tells ABC News that in a phone call late this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that it would NOT be helpful for him to come back to Washington, DC, to work on the Wall Street bailout bill. McCain this afternoon suspended his campaign and said he would skip the first presidential debate in order to return to Capitol Hill to work on the log jammed Bush administration legislation, which as of Wednesday afternoon was in peril. When contacted, the McCain campaign did not have any comment.

Reid: Bush ???absent??? on bailout Andy Barr 24 minutes ago Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called out President Bush Wednesday over what the Nevada Democrat is characterizing as a lack of leadership in steering the proposed $700 billion government bailout of financial companies through Congress. “President Bush has been absent from what may well be the most important debate on economic policy in a generation,” Reid said during a speech on the Senate floor. “Other than two brief statements to the press — and a press release admonishing the Congress to accept his bailout plan immediately — President Bush has...

One of the BEST 10 min speeches I have seen on the floor of the U.S. Senate in YEARS !! Tom Coburn GETS IT FOLKS !! If anyone has a better quality video of this speech to post please do so ! This is a speech that BOTH McCain and Obama need to hear !! It is exactly what WE THE POEPLE would be saying if we had a camera and mic ! FReegards, David

Last week Speaker Pelosi and the Senate Majority Cadaver dodged two dangerous admissions: Pelosi denied that Democrats owned any responsibility for the nation’s banking crisis, and Harry Reid arose from his slab long enough to deny the Senate a resolution honoring American troops. Never in history has partisan petulance flapped so proudly on a flagpole. Even Obama has come forward — gritting his porcelain caps — and congratulated the troops, admitting that his predictions of military failure in Iraq might have been premature. When Nancy Pelosi was asked, “Do Democrats deserve a share of the blame for the current crisis...

There was a time when Dick Cheney could turn back a Republican revolt on Capitol Hill. That time is gone. House Republicans rose up en masse against their vice president on Tuesday morning to blast an administration proposal that would grant Treasury historic authority to start buying hundreds of billions of dollars in devalued mortgage-related assets, according to members present. The lines to speak were long, the questions many and sentiment in the Cannon Caucus Room Tuesday swayed heavily against the Treasury proposal. Afterward, Texas Rep. Joe Barton took the unusual step of telling reporters that he had politely given...

  In case you missed it:   Don't do it Durbin's wayDennis ByrneSeptember 23, 2008 When the public's loathing of Congress is soaring, why is the re-election of Sen. Dick Durbin, an architect of that body's many disorders, thought to be a cinch? How low is Congress' job approval rating? While President George W. Bush's is a dismal 32 percent, according to RealClearPoli- tics.com, Congress' is an even more wretched 21 percent. As the Senate majority whip and second in command, Durbin can't escape blame. One can find many reasons why Durbin shouldn't be re-elected and his Republican rival...

Says it'll require sacrifice and statesmanship. Oklahoma U.S. Senator Tom Coburn says as Congress moves quickly this week to approve a $700 billion bailout on Wall Street, its not a time for bipartisanship in Congress but one of common sense, sacrifice and statesmanship. "Members of Congress should put their pet projects on the chopping block and come together to eliminate billions in wasteful Washington spending," said the Republican Senator who's picked up the Congressional nickname of 'Dr. No'. Coburn contends congress knew of the financial problems for years but chose to do nothing. "We were so obsessed with short-term politics...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday he expects Congress will likely extend this month’s session or come back for a lame-duck session in order to finish its work. In morning comments on the chamber floor, Reid said, "It looks like more every day that the Senate is going to have to return after this weekend." The Senate is juggling a Wall Street bailout bill as well as a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, among several other measures. Reid specifically mentioned the debate over an omnibus of 34 bills that is being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn...

Three Democratic senators demanded "bare-minimum" civil rights protections Tuesday for Americans who might be targeted in FBI national security investigations without any evidence of wrongdoing. In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the senators also urged the Justice Department to delay still-tentative rules that would expand FBI powers to seek out potential terrorists. They said the new policy could allow surveillance of Muslim- or Arab-Americans based, in part, on their race, ethnicity or religion. "The Justice Department's actions over the last eight years have alienated many Americans, especially Arab and Muslim Americans," wrote Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Russ Feingold...

Democrats in the Senate and House believe that if they can string out negotiations on the federal financial markets bailout through Tuesday, "we can get everything we want and more, including solidifying the Obama campaign," says a Senate Banking Committee staffer working for the majority. "Let's see what the White House has to say when the market is cratering again." The aide said that that opinion, while shocking, reflected a belief among many Democrats that Wall Street "isn't our friend, and we really don't gain much from bailing them all out." On the other hand, senior Democrats, including Senate Majority...

Paulson and crew are being grilled on C-Span 3 for all that are interested. I am watching on Real Player here.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a warning to the White House Monday, saying Congress will not “rubber stamp” a proposed $700 billion bailout proposal because of pressure from the administration. “We are prepared to do what is necessary to avoid [an economic crisis] — but we will not let haste abandon good judgment in the process,” Reid said in a statement. “The Bush administration has called on Congress to rubber stamp its bailout legislation without serious debate or efforts to improve it. That will not happen. “The legislation sent to Congress by the Treasury Department recognizes the scope of...

Everything that you are about to read might be wrong. Roll Call’s annual attempt to rank the riches of Members of Congress is hampered by one fundamental flaw: It is based on the lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms, which are extraordinarily unreliable sources of information. The disclosure rules allow Members to report assets in broad categories, so there is no way to tell the difference between a $20 million investment and a $5 million investment. The top category on the Members’ forms is “over $50 million,” so it is impossible to accurately account for anything worth more than that — like...

Blame Rests With Dodd Sen. Christopher Dodd's tiresome tactic of affecting outrage when his integrity is questioned is getting stale. Typical is his questioning the oversight of the Bush administration in relation to the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac debacle [Commentary, Sept. 14, "Rein In Fannie, Freddie? Not Dodd"]. Despite numerous warnings, over a number of years, about the weakness in Fannie and Freddie's capital structure, our senator, chairman of the Senate banking committee, did nothing. He, of course, did have the time to collect more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from Freddie and Fannie and managed to get himself a sweetheart...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks next to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (R) after meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (2nd L), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (L) and other congressional leaders in the U.S. Capitol in Washington September 18, 2008. US President George W. Bush on Monday warned lawmakers wary of his 700-billion-dollar debt bailout scheme that "failure to act would have broad consequences" for the battered US economy. "We will not simply hand over a 700 billion dollar blank check to Wall Street and hope for a better outcome." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seen here in Denver,...

The most fascinating political development of the summer has occurred with little notice. Republicans are respected again. Wait, what? Believe it or not, entering the final quarter of the eighth year of the George W. Bush presidency, Republicans are ascending in popularity, Politico.com reported yesterday. Half of registered voters and half of independent voters have a favorable opinion of the GOP, according to a new poll from the Pew Center for the People and the Press. Democrats hold a slight edge in favorability among registered voters (55 percent to 50 percent), but they are statistically tied with Republicans among independent...

A bipartisan group of senators who sought a compromise in the rancorous energy debate won't introduce their bill before lawmakers adjourn for the elections, several Senate aides said Thursday.Instead, the so-called Gang of 20 will offer a statement of principals outlining their agreement on a host of divisive issues, including expanded offshore drilling. They plan to offer legislation once the political season has ended, according to an aide to a Democrat involved in the discussions. The aide said that the election-year environment has poisoned the atmosphere and hampered the chances of passing a bill on such a controversial campaign topic....

Even Barack Obama, who opposed the Iraq troop surge, has finally acknowledged its success. But some of his fellow Democrats in Congress apparently remain unconvinced. Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin teamed up to block a vote on a bipartisan resolution "recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq" and thanking our men and women in uniform for their efforts. (snip) Citing General Petraeus by name, the resolution, which is sponsored by Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman and Republican Lindsey Graham, "commends and expresses the gratitude to the men and women...

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, which closes a loophole in current law that allows some dog breeders to escape acceptable care and exercise standards by selling directly to the public – a practice especially prevalent over the internet. The sale of dogs and puppies online has increased dramatically in recent years. While many of the dog breeders online are very responsible business people, the internet has become a haven for puppy mill operators because they can bypass laws governing the safe and humane treatment of animals. “Sadly, finding your puppy online...

Nevada Senator Harry Reid this week joined low-income families and Medicare recipients to discuss continued Republican blocking of legislation to lower the high costs of living and to help Americans struggling to make ends meet. Nevadans continue to struggle as Republicans squander every opportunity to help revive the economy. As Nevadans face a weakened economy, record-high gas prices and increasing foreclosures, Republicans are blocking important help for the current economic crisis. “We’ve given Bush-McCain Republicans every opportunity to address the biggest challenges Americans face, but they have squandered every opportunity,” said Reid adding, “Think of all the good we could...

About a third of the ignored amendments would have improved military quality of life or the management of service personnel programs.

This Congress hasn't accomplished all that much, so you'd think they'd be eager to pass a no-brainer such as bipartisan legislation to protect kids from online predators. You'd be wrong. Last December, the House passed the Securing Adolescents from Exploitation Online Act by a resounding margin of 409-2. The bipartisan bill expands reporting requirements for child sex exploitation and child pornography, requires providers to disclose the identity of anyone who appears to have violated child pornography laws, directs the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to report child pornography violations to law enforcement, and grants service providers and NCMEC...

Senate Majority Leader on Economic Woes: 'No One Knows What to Do' September 17, 2008 2:03 PM ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Capitol Hill: Don't look for any legislation in the near future to address the financial crisis. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asked today what new regulatory actions Congress can take, said, bluntly, "No one knows what to do."