Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) in Critical Condition After Being Shot at Congressional Baseball Practice

US Congressman Calls for Scrutiny of Le Pen’s Russian Financial Links

American intelligence has been asked to look into French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's links to Moscow, according to reports. This comes after she allegedly asked for a 30 million dollar loan from a Russian bank, in order to fund her campaign.

WIKI: Mike Turner (Republican) »

Le Pen 'facing US enquiry after begging Russian banks to fund French presidential charge' »

Obama's Former Senate Seat Goes Republican
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Republican Rep. Mark Kirk defeated Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias Tuesday to win the Senate seat formerly held by President Barack Obama. Here is an excerpt of his victory speech.

Republican New York Candidate Says 'Homosexuality' Is 'Not Acceptable'
THE TELEGRAPH: The Republican candidate for the governor of New York state has been condemned by both conservatives and Democrats for saying that he did not want his children "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality" was "an acceptable option".

New York Republican candidate Carl Paladino in the Williamsburg neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Photo: The Telegraph
Carl Paladino, a property developer-turned-politician, was accused of raising the risk of attacks on homosexual men after several recent anti-gay crimes in New York, including an assault at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village and a brutal anti-gay gang attack in the Bronx.

Mr Paladino, 64, who has received strong support from conservative Tea Party activists, made his initial comments at a Brooklyn synagogue.

He was trying to strike a contrast between himself and Andrew Cuomo, his Democratic rival, who once took his young daughters to a gay pride parade.

In a television interview yesterday, Mr Paladino said that he did not discriminate against gays, and employed a gay nephew.

But he repeated his opposition to gay marriage and, referring to homosexuality, added: "That's not how God created us, and that's not the example that we should be showing our children."

He also said young children shouldn't be exposed to gay culture, and singled out pride parades. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monoday, October 11, 2010

U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) walks towards the Senate Chamber in Washington. Photograph: The Globe and Mail
Naked Ambition: Ex-Cosmopolitan Centrefold Is Now a Congressional Powerhouse
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Republican Scott Brown’s legislative vote is a key to deal makers on both sides of the aisle

As captain of his Senate office softball team, Scott Brown wears the number “41” on his uniform. But the figure applies only episodically to the Massachusetts Republican’s batting record in Congress.

Instead of hewing faithfully to the Tea Party forces that fuelled his January election as the 41st GOP senator needed to block Barack Obama’s ambitious legislative program, Mr. Brown can regularly be found lining up with Democrats – or at least talking to them – to become the critical 60th Senate “yea” in favour of the President’s agenda.

In today’s Washington, where rabid partisanship rules, that makes him highly unorthodox. It also makes him indispensable to deal makers on both sides of the congressional aisle, not to mention the head honcho in the White House.

“He is definitely one of the most powerful people in government right now,” Gabriel Lenz, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in interview. “If you put senators on a spectrum from the most liberal to the most conservative, the 60th most liberal member just has so much power. And he’s that person.” >>> Konrad Yakabuski | Tuesday, July 2010

Related articles and video here, here, here, here, here, and here

General David Petraeus Tipped as Republican 2012 Presidential Candidate
THE TELEGRAPH: Speculation is mounting that Gen David Petraeus could run as the Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

General David Petraeus with President Barack Obama. Photograph: The Telegraph
The shrewd and articulate military commander, credited with turning around the Iraq war, will deliver a speech at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire next week, a traditional staging post in the state where the first presidential primaries are held every four years. Each of the last eight presidents has spoken at the college on their way to victory.

It will be the latest in a series of speaking engagements where the head of the US Central Command region, which covers the Middle East and Central Asia, has veered well into foreign policy discussion and often faced questions about his political ambition.

His stock response is the same as any potential aspirant at this early stage - a flat no. But for someone who professes to have no interest in running for president he has a way of talking about it even when he hasn't been asked directly.

In a recent appearance at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Gen Petraeus turned a question about whether or not he planned to write a book upon retiring into an opportunity to deny he had political ambitions. On other occasions he has laughed off the notion of a White House bid in a slightly disingenuous manner. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Friday, March 19, 2010

Next President Must Understand Challenge of Radical Islam, Former Senator Says
CNS NEWS: To keep America free from terrorist attacks in the post 9/11 world, it is imperative that the next president have an acute understanding of radical Islam and the need for a forceful response that extends beyond mere criminal prosecution, said former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.
 


He made the comments at a debate focusing on the 2008 election.
 


The Pennsylvania Republican also credited the Bush administration for pursuing effective counter-terrorism measures, re-affirmed his vote in favor of the Iraq war and suggested that Iran could be on verge of inciting a major conflict. 
 


Santorum teamed up with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, on the campus of Regent University in Virginia Beach. The Republicans made a case for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other Republican candidates in this year’s election, addressing the question of “Which Party is Best Suited to Lead America?”
 


The Democratic side was represented by Geraldine Ferraro, a former congresswoman from New York, who was the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1984; Donna Brazile, the campaign manager for the Gore-Lieberman ticket in 2000; and Alan Colmes of Fox News, all of whom spoke in favor of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the more desirable presidential nominee.
 


Although the war in Iraq has had its problems, the Republicans in power have demonstrated that they have a firm grip on the challenge presented by radical Islam and the will to pursue necessary albeit unpopular polices, Santorum argued. 


“The bottom line is that the United States has been safe since 9/11,” he observed in his opening statement. “Not one person on this panel, not one person in this audience, would have predicted on September 12, 2001 that we’d be sitting here today without another terrorist incident. That is not a mistake.” >>> By Kevin Mooney, Staff Writer | Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Is Fred Thompson, the Man Who Understands that the “Jihadists” Are Trying “to Bring the West to Its Knees,” America’s Best Hope?
THE TELEGRAPH: The Democratic party is so alarmed by the prospect of competing against Fred Thompson, a Republican who portrays himself as a successor to Ronald Reagan, that it is advising campaigners how to attack the former actor and Tennessee senator. Democrats spooked by the rise of ‘new Reagan’ (more) By Alex Spillius in Washington

We must blockade Iran, says Republican hope

Fred Thompson

Mark Alexander