Free Republic

McCain’s selection of Palin was certainly a bold and risky move. It will either work wonders or it will very seriously backfire. However, it’s fair to say that, based on what was the then-current trajectory, Obama was quite likely to win the White House in November if McCain did no more than make safe and traditional moves. McCain really needed to put all his chips on the table and go for all-or-nothing. There seems to be no doubt, among liberal and conservative pundits alike, that this is exactly what McCain has done. We’ll just have to see if it works....

A public-interest law firm wants the Department of Justice to investigate a new liberal political group that is allegedly threatening donors to conservative advocacy organizations. The official-looking document comes on the letterhead of "Accountable America" and begins with the large, ominous word "WARNING" in all capital letters. The document goes on to promise public exposure and criminal investigations of those who financially support conservative political action committees, even though their anonymity is protected by federal law. Tom Fitton, president of the public-interest law firm Judicial Watch, says intimidating voters or political donors is illegal. Fitton says his group believes the...

Late Night Call to Sign the Petition Urging Congressmen Back To The Hill Callbackcongress.Com

But a Catholic with a well-formed conscience will know that our moral values must be prioritized if we are to apply them wisely to the social order, and the "right to life," as the Church clearly teaches, must come first. For this reason, after wrestling with this quandary myself over the past few weeks, and sharing my thoughts with you (my readers) here in print, there is no longer any doubt in my mind that as things now stand, if Sen. Obama does not change his mind and heart on the abortion issue, then I think those who understand and...

Voting-rights advocates have been predicting New York would not be able to roll out new voting machines by September 2009, as ordered by federal court, but the state Board of Elections has now made it official. In its latest update to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe, the board said it will not have enough time to complete testing and certifying voting machines (to replace its 20,000 or so mechanical-lever ones) before next year’s primary. The Board of Elections wrote in its weekly report (July 25) that its “activities and progress toward HAVA (Help America Vote Act) compliance are in...

I was talking to a friend yesterday afternoon (yes, people can still have a private conversation after church) about the political situation here in Illinois; told her that there were more registered Republicans than Democrats in the state. "Then why do they keep winning all the elections? she asked. "Because not enough Republicans get up on election day with a burning desire to make a dash to the polls to vote." The late Richard J. Daley said probably the only thing I ever agreed with him: some reporter asked him why so and so hadn't gotten elected. "Simple," said Daley....

A total of 24 states allow voters to change laws on their own by collecting signatures and putting initiatives on the ballot. It's healthy that the entrenched political class should face some real legislative competition from initiative-toting citizens. Unfortunately, some special interests have declared war on the initiative process, using tactics ranging from restrictive laws to outright thuggery. - Snip - The initiative is a reform born out of the Progressive Era, when there was general agreement that powerful interests had too much influence over legislators. It was adopted by most states in the Midwest and West, including Ohio and...

You heard it here first. John McCain will scuttle his campaign. Don’t know how, where or when, but all signs point to a health issue. That’s just a hunch. Something, however, is wrong. The man can’t seem to put it together. He’s shrinking by the minute and getting invisible. Barack Obama will have this match handed to him by disqualification. The opponent could not answer the bell. Or, the GOP, in emergency session, will have to step in to provide a candidate that is new, improved and lucid. As Obama sizzles over there, McCain fizzles over here. The man is...

…After reading the comments on “The Lesser of Two Evils” I realized most of them could be divided into two groups: The “Strugglers” and The “Settlers”. Good.This perfectly describes the conditions before and after the founding of America. The only problem in this case is that the settlers of that time came after the struggle, not before. As long as there have been elections there have been those making the claim in one form or the other that, “this is the most pivotal election in history”. Strangely enough, they were probably all correct! Each time we have the opportunity to...

......far-left radical activist group ACORN is embroiled in financial corruption and cover-up.... The NY Times reports that Dale Rathke - whose brother started the group back in 1970 to help low-income people - embezzled nearly $1M back in 1999 and 2000. ACORN disguised it on the books as a loan and let Rathke's family make restitution at $30,000 a year. (An anonymous donor reportedly has agreed to pick up the remaining $800,000 tab.) ACORN also kept Rathke on the payroll at $38,000-a-year.....the Times reports most of the people who covered-up the embezzlement are still working for ACORN. Michelle Malkin wrote...

Amid all the talk of new voters becoming involved in the election, hopefully one group of voters will not vote in November — non-citizens, many of whom are illegally registered to vote all over the country, particularly in the southwest. Although there is no reliable method to determine the exact number registered aliens, there is evidence that this is a significant and growing problem. The Government Accountability Office estimated that up to 3 percent of individuals called for jury duty from voter registration rolls in just one U.S. district court were not U.S. citizens. While that may not seem like...

In November 2004, Christian Wheeler stood in line at a local church and waited to cast his ballot in the US presidential election, which pitted President George W. Bush against the democratic candidate, John Kerry. As Wheeler waited, his thoughts began to wander. “I was thinking about the election and how Bush was highly affiliated with religion,” says Wheeler, “and it occurred to me that this church couldn’t possibly be a neutral location. This has to be affecting people’s thoughts.” So Wheeler, a professor of marketing at Stanford University in California, decided to study whether the location of a polling...

A new video on YouTube is taking the Internet by storm. Entitled "I'm Voting … Republican," the satirical clip depicts actors playing conservative Americans of all shapes and sizes explaining why they would vote for the GOP. "Arnold Jones" says he's voting Republican because "all other countries are inferior to us" -- and his wife, "Trudy Jones," adds, "and we should start as many wars as we need to keep it that way." A soldier in Iraq states that he's voting Republican "so I can stay in Iraq" -- and a young boy, labeled "future draftee," points a fake gun...

The residents of a Romanian village knowingly voted in a dead man as their mayor in Sunday's municipal election, preferring him to his living opponent. Neculai Ivascu, 57, who ran the village for almost two decades, died from liver disease just after voting began -- but still won the election by a margin of 23 votes.

This is a short, supposedly humorous video showing artificial "real Americans" telling why they are voting Republican. I am linking to it just to show you the utter lack of imagination on the left. They actually believe their own propaganda. The reasons they use to vote Republican run the full spectrum from stupid to racist AND stupid.

One hundred forty-three years ago, women's suffrage advocate Elizabeth Cady Stanton faced a conundrum: With the Civil War over, Stanton had to decide whether to support the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which enabled black men to vote -- at a time when white women such as herself still did not have that right. Stanton decided to oppose the amendments: "As the celestial gate to civil rights is slowly moving on its hinges, it becomes a serious question whether we had better stand aside and see Sambo walk into the kingdom first." The question of what to do...

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe's top casino executive encouraged tribal members to vote early last week by offering free meals at Casino del Sol worth up to $20 per vote. Like laws governing Arizona and federal elections, the tribe's code makes it unlawful to give anything of value to someone as an incentive to vote or to refrain from voting. CEO Wendell Long issued a memo on the eve of early voting for the Tribal Council that urged tribal gaming enterprise employees to clear it with supervisors and then "leave their work post to cast their vote." "As a small token...

By Burt Prelutsky If I am asked one question by my readers far more frequently than any other, it’s why do so many American Jews insist on aligning themselves with the far left. Believe me, being Jewish myself, it’s the question I most frequently ask myself. It’s certainly not because Jews are stupid, evil, unpatriotic or dependent on government handouts for their survival, four reasons that certainly explain why millions of my fellow Americans will eagerly line up to vote for any political crackpot so long as he or she is running as a Democrat. Having given it a great...

As the Indiana polls opened at 6:00 am on May 6, opponents of Indiana’s Photo ID law eagerly anticipated word from our more than 5,500 precincts that the state’s requirement that all voters show a photo ID at the polls was causing havoc. It’s what they told the United States Supreme Court would happen. To them, it was time to watch Indiana’s most highly anticipated presidential primary in generations collapse under the weight of the requirement. In Indiana, our election officials and voters are fully committed to increasing confidence in and the integrity of our elections. We have invested a...

Are women really discriminated against in politics? Sen. Hillary Clinton surely thinks so. Indeed, she believes this year's presidential campaign has shown that sexism limits women's influence in politics. She claimed last week that "every poll I've seen shows more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman [than] to vote for an African American." It's possible that Democrats are particularly sexist, but with women making up the majority of voters, one would think that politicians were ignoring women at their own peril. In 2004, women made up 54 percent of voters. At least through early February of this...

The government of the Netherlands has banned electronic voting machines from future elections because of a risk of eavesdropping. The nation will return to paper voting. "Research indicates that a secure voting machine that is immune to the risks of eavesdropping can't be guaranteed. Developing new equipment furthermore requires a large investment, both financially and in terms of organization. The administration judges that this offers insufficient added value over voting by paper and pencil," the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Friday evening. In its decision, the government also banned so-called voting printers. Because they leave a paper trail, the printers...

Biting the Bullet: It’s Either McCain or Obama By Rene Guerra Never, ever, in her 232 years of illustrious existence, has America been at such a dire juncture where her enemies and rivals--domestic and foreign--are so determinedly poised and so advantageously positioned to undoing her. Islamofascism has vowed to destroy America, at any cost; “Death to America� the frenzied, mouth-foaming, suicidal Iranian throngs cry. Our brave troops in Iraq and Afghanistan keep fighting day in and day out the terrorists that the Saudi Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Iranian Shiite fundamentalists, and the Syrian Baathists would otherwise be sending to...

We have been told for as long as we can remember that voting is a god given right in this country. To be politically incorrect “One man, one vote” is what we are told. How could anyone disagree? What a wonderful world we live in with our wonderful democracy here in the U.S. Well I, the WhiteDevil, will now disagree. We already put some limitations on voting. We may not vote until we are 18. Not all people living in America can vote such as legal or illegal immigrants. Felons cannot vote in most places. A judge can remove the...

The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote. The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card. Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting...

Cannot be posted due to copyright issues: http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS01/805110367

I apologize for the vanity, and hopefully this ends up in the right forum. My interest was really piqued though and I'm pretty sure there are a few folks here who can give me opinions. I was reading the Constitution this evening and noticed that the 24th Amendment states in part: "[Voting privlidges] shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax." The part of the Amendment which I found intriguing is the last three words, "or other tax". The Federal Income Tax, and...

Election fraud driven by immigrants practising "village politics" of the Indian sub-continent could be a crucial factor in deciding the future control of Birmingham City Council, a major report warns today. Family loyalties, the dominance of men and the existence of the "biraderi" clan system among British Asians provides perfect conditions for widespread rigging of postal votes and other electoral malpractice in Britain’s major cities, according to the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. In a 94-page report called Purity of Elections in the UK – Causes for Concern, the trust argues that the UK’s election system is close to breaking point...

CRAWFORD v. MARION COUNTY ELECTION BD. (Nos. 07-21 and 07-25) Web-accessible at:     http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/07-21.ZS.html  Argued: January 9, 2008 -- Decided: April 28, 2008* Opinion author: Stevens ===============================================================   After Indiana enacted an election law (SEA 483) requiring citizens voting in person to present government-issued photo identification, petitioners filed separate suits challenging the law's constitutionality. Following discovery, the District Court granted respondents summary judgment, finding the evidence in the record insufficient to support a facial attack on the statute's validity. In affirming, the Seventh Circuit declined to judge the law by the strict standard set for poll taxes in Harper v....

The Supreme Court gives us more good news this morning: Indiana's voter ID law has been upheld. Half of the states have passed similar laws. The race-mongers and open borders lobby will be in an uproar. CQ summarizes:

WASHINGTON - U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan can speak to their families by Web camera and fight insurgents using sophisticated electronic warfare. Yet when it comes to voting, most troops are stuck in the past. Communities in 13 states will send overseas troops presidential election ballots by e-mail this year, and districts in at least seven states will also let them return completed ballots over the Internet, according to data compiled by The Associated Press and the Overseas Vote Foundation. That still leaves tens of thousands of service members in far-flung military bases struggling to meet voting deadlines and...

I don't know who played in the Super bowl this year. I don't even know when the Super bowl was or where it was. I once scheduled a seminar at a church for the Sunday evening of the Super bowl and didn't find out until the following day why no one showed up for our usually well-attended events. I almost never know who is playing in the World Series. When Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger's death made the headlines, I had never heard of him. Football fans, baseball fans, and movie fans could scarcely imagine that there are millions of...

Voters from Southeast Rashid raise their hands in favor of a candidate during elections at Joint Security Station Doura in southern Baghdad, March 5. The elections were the first of their kind, providing the people with seven representatives to the Government of Iraq. Photo by Pfc. Nathaniel Smith, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. BAGHDAD — In the United States, “Decision ‘08� is getting into full swing with political parties holding primaries and caucuses in states around the Nation. In southern Baghdad, the story is no different as the people of East Rashid held elections this week to determine...

I agree with J. Douglas Allen-Taylor’s (does he have a shorter name ?) recent column that progressives are left with an embarrassment of riches—two credible, serious candidates, either of whom would be a good choice for president. We are in a win-win position having two Democrats running for office against an opponent, John McCain, who has little or nothing compelling, professionally or personally, that would make someone vote for him besides his service in Vietnam. What might derail a Democratic victory would be unfair and untrue attacks on the part of the candidates and the unspoken competition that exists between...

With all of the acrimonious dissension and vitriol among many Freepers aimed at Rush as well as those Republicans/Conservatives who crossed over and voted for Hillary (YES MYSELF INCLUDED) claiming among other allegations, that he/we were/are “stupid,” “morons,” “idiots;” “turncoats,” “don’t know what we are doing;” “will rue the day and be sorry;” had an opportunity “to bury The Witch once and for all”; that Barrack ("Peace Be Upon His Middle No Name") Obama “would be much easier to beat in November,” etc., AND, what this displayed was underhanded as well as disgraceful and something the Dhumies would do; “we”...

Winston Churchill said that 'the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.'

Save for a few sputters in troublesome Ohio, voting appeared to run smoothly in four state primaries that could decide whether Hillary Rodham Clinton abandons her quest to be the first female president. A bomb threat stopped voting at a middle school in one northeast Ohio precinct for about 90 minutes. After trained dogs found nothing, the polls were reopened. Heavy rain, sleet and ice forced at least 10 precincts to request permission to move, and a few polling spots were running on generators because of power outages. But election advocates worry that final counts from primaries held Tuesday —...

A new website has just launched that truly puts Democracy in Your Hands! The site ‘creates’ democracy by allowing citizens to literally ‘vote’ on any piece of legislation being considered by Congress. E-VotingBooth.com’s database then submits ‘election results’ to Congress and the President before Final Bill votes. e-VotingBooth drastically changes the dynamics of Congressmen and the President of how to vote for a congressional bill by adding the collective citizens’ voice to their voting consideration. “Congress’ original job, as defined and envisioned by our Founding Fathers, was to learn what citizens wanted legally and convert their desires into legislation,” said...

Would having elections on a Saturday or Sunday encourage more people to vote and would it be better for the country? I was wondering how many people don't vote because they have to work. Consider that they have to get up early, get ready for work and commute during morning rush hour. The polling place may be in another direction from their route to work and they may have a long distance to their jobs. If someone is working a full day, they have to take travel time plus 8 1/2 to 9 hours on the job, then the commute...

BALTIMORE - Maryland election officials got a judge to give voters an extra 90 minutes to get to the polls Tuesday after icy weather created traffic gridlock in parts of the state. The polls were scheduled to close at 8 p.m., but hours were extended to 9:30 p.m. Voter turnout had been expected to be high in Maryland's Democratic primary between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, but the inclement weather made elections officials question whether the turnout would remain high. Accidents were reported along busy U.S. 50 and Interstate 97 in central Maryland, said state elections chief Linda Lamone....

Never before have I had to stop and think during voting! But today some of the delegates I would have voted for belonged to McCain, so I had to stand there and think if this could become a brokered convention, what difference could all of this play out to for the chance of getting someone else elected. PLEASE THINK TODAY during your voting for delegates and alternate delegates how this could make a difference in your CONSERVATIVE future.

| If John Koza gets his way, American voters will never again have to worry about the inner workings of the Electoral College and why it decides who sits in the White House. Koza is behind a push for states to circumvent the odd political math of the Electoral College and ensure that the presidency always goes to the winner of the popular vote. Basically, states would promise to award their electoral votes to the candidate with the most support nationwide, regardless of who carries each particular state. "We're just coming along and saying, 'Why not add up the votes...

I've been on FR for over ten years and to my best recollection, this is only the second vanity thread I've ever posted. Like most here, I've been angry. Frustrated. Disgusted. Fed up to my eyeballs. Pick your favorite adjective to describe the lack of a good, solid conservative candidate in this election cycle. What I need now is not an outlet to vent my spleen, but ideas to help make something positive happen. I listened to Rush during the 1PM hour and he made a point that was pure common sense -- we need to concentrate on making sure...

SIERRA VISTA — Long lines and not enough poll workers at one presidential preference polling place in Cochise County are leading officials to find more help, County Elections Officer Tom Schelling said. Precinct 13 at the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church was experiencing problems in processing people who are showing up to vote, Schelling said late Tuesday morning. Only one person was available to check if people are authorized to vote at the polling place at 3225 S. St. Andrews Drive, he said. “We’re trying to find more people to help,” he said. One man left the church’s area claiming...

It's not just grown-ups who vote today. Thanks to Kids Voting Arizona, they too get to choose their educated picks for the presidency. My kindergardener called me a few hours into class to ask who daddy voted for and why. I told her Romney, then she had to quickly get off the phone. (Since when do they let five-year-olds tie up the phones?) When she arrived home, I asked who she voted for in the mock election. "Well, some of the people say that poor people are lazy. I don't want to vote for them because they're mean." Ah, I...

Don't know much about history By: SUNANA BATRA - For the North County Times Sunday's piece on MiraCosta College offering a citizenship program (Jan. 27, "MiraCosta honors 69 new Americans") allowed me to wax nostalgic about my own experience becoming a naturalized American. But while we insist would-be citizens have the ability to speak, read and write in simple English and also pass an exam in which they must demonstrate a basic understanding of U.S. history and government, we don't require the same from graduating California students. State Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad) plans to introduce legislation to ensure California high...

TALLAHASSEE - Florida voters on Tuesday gave their resounding approval to a constitutional amendment that overhauls the state's property tax laws and saves the average homeowner $240 a year.

One thing that irritates me of media coverage of the primaries has been the analysis of exit polling and reporting of demographic trends based on this polling. They all race to announce their guess of the primary winner and then they break down how this race voted for that candidate or how this age group felt about the economy, etc. The naive viewer might assume all this stuff came off the ballots. I never hear mention that this comes from exit polling, the sample size, the error rate of exit polling etc. Curious how serious we should take this kind...

If any recent day typifies life in this crazy modern world, it was probably this past Tuesday. World financial markets were in a meltdown and the Federal Reserve held an emergency meeting to cut the interest rate a massive three quarters of a point in an attempt to stave off a precipitous stock market drop. President Bush was working with congressional leaders on an economic stimulus package to reduce the likelihood of a recession. Meanwhile the U.S. presidential campaign was in full swing with Hillary and Obama having just ripped each other to shreds at a debate, and Fred Thompson...

The people in general ought to have regard to the moral character of those whom they invest with authority either in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches. " John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. IV, p. 267. "Look well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. " Matthias Burnett, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk, An Election Sermon, Preached at Hartford, on the Day of the Anniversary Election, May 12, 1803 "Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character...

Representatives from the MSM will have a news conference Monday evening to declare Hillary Rodham as the new president to be sworn into office in January, ’09. Media spokespersons representing FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC and C-SPAN explained their rationale for this historic declaration. “We feel actual voting is a disservice to our tried and true method of polling to determining the election in advance. In doing our polling of likely voters, our panel of independent experts, their donations to the DNC aside, have found that the people prefer Hillary. We did our polling across a broad range of Americans...