In the last few days there’s been a lot of debate over how much health care ‘reform’ will cost. Democrats have talked about the latest estimate from CBO. Liberals have cheered about the reduced cost of the revised bill. They don’t mention that Senate Democrat leaders have been pressuring CBO to be ‘more creative’ with their health care score. Nor do they point out that | Read More »
This is a time of great opportunity for conservatives. Americans are beginning to render a verdict on the ‘stimulus,’ the economy, and the Obama administration’s approach. The nation continues to shed jobs, and unemployment shows no signs of leveling off any time soon. The American people are growing more and more concerned about the deficit. And the Obama administration seems split on whether another ‘stimulus’ | Read More »
According to Gallup, despite the election of Barack Obama and the Democratic strength in Congress (or because of it), Americans say they are becoming more conservative. For those who may not have realized it, this again emphasizes the importance to Republicans of restoring their credibility as the party of conservatism. While the mainstream media continues to ask how Republicans will moderate their views to compete | Read More »
My latest column for the American Issues Project focuses on a surprising phenomenon: while the mainstream media keeps asking how the GOP needs to change to survive, Republican candidates are leading in a host of races around the country. In fact, if you set aside for a moment the unified Democratic control in Washington (admittedly, a heavy lift) you might think it was the Democratic | Read More »
As I’ve noted before, the left has found its hill to die for, at least when it comes to Obamacare: they demand a government-run plan. That’s because they recognize that a government-run plan will swamp private-sector competitors, and eventually lead to a single-payer federal program. With that in mind, it makes sense that they’ll do their best to destroy the reputation of anyone who points | Read More »
From Gallup: The sharp decline in Gallup’s Index of Investor Optimism in June — particularly the plunge in expectations for the economy — suggests that investors may be losing some of their hopes for an immediate improvement in the U.S. economy later this year. This is consistent with the leveling off of consumers’ mood over the past few weeks and the drop in the consumer | Read More »
Here’s an interesting tidbit: before Republicans lost control of the Congress, they banned most lobbyist-funded travel. Since Democrats took control of Congress, taxpayer-funded travel has gone up dramatically: Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands…. | Read More »
If all you’re doing is looking at the rules of the Senate, it certainly appears that Senator Conrad is right. He’s also being very politic – inasmuch as Democrats would pay a heavy price if they passed a costly, tax-raising health care plan, which went on to become a political liability in the midterm elections. That said, the liberal activists who animate the Democratic party | Read More »
I suppose there are few of us who hadn’t guessed this, but it would have been nice to have it reported before the administration committed to a bailout: It’s sure to be a stretch. For the United States to fully recover its investment, the value of General Motors stock will have to reach levels it has never before attained. “I’m not going to predict it | Read More »
George Bush would have killed for coverage like this. Considering the surprising strength of the economy in the wake of the September 11 attacks, he’d be posing for Mount Rushmore if the press had treated him the way they are treating Obama: Job market shows some improvement …Automatic Data Processing, a payroll-processing firm, said private-sector employers cut 473,000 jobs in June, a 2.5% improvement from | Read More »
According to a poll released yesterday, the first elected African American governor of Massachusetts is extremely unpopular and in danger of losing his re-election bid next year: When matched against Christy Mihos, the Democratic governor picks up 40% of the vote and trails the potential GOP nominee by a single point. If Charlie Baker is the Republican nominee, Patrick’s support is little changed at 41% | Read More »
Paul Krugman seems to the mastermind behind Democrat economic policies. With that in mind, will Democrats listen to him, rather than repeating nonsense about cap-and-tax creating new jobs? There will be more wind farms built. There will be people retrofitting power plants to reduce their emissions. There will be people weatherproofing housing and commercial buildings.” What economists would say is that employment would be just | Read More »
The conventional wisdom among liberals seems to be that the economy is improving – even if it has nothing to do with the ‘stimulus’ – but because employment is a lagging indicator, another massive spending bill may be needed to improve the unemployment picture. The New Republic’s John Judis argues for such a spending package. But unlike the upbeat liberals who argue that unemployment is | Read More »
Take this one with all the usual caveats – the election is far away, who knows if this is a good sample, Gillibrand has months to improve her name ID, etc. Still, Carolyn Maloney has the ability to raise lots of money and there is no doubt that her views are more in line with the extreme leftist views of New York Democrat primary voters. | Read More »
I can’t say I blame them; it’s hard to have confidence in a crook. WHEREAS Senator Dodd has violated either in fact or in appearance or both, in the several ways herein elaborated, the trust placed in him by his constituents, THEREFORE We the members of the Kent Democratic Town Committee conclude that it is the legitimate responsibility of the people to intervene and to | Read More »
Of course, worrying about something and doing something about it are two very different things. But do you suppose Peter Orszag would be getting a grilling about the massive loopholes in PayGo if they weren’t worried about losing seats in 2010? During the House Budget Committee hearing, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) noted the exemptions will cost more than $3 trillion over 10 years. Policies that | Read More »
Check out this video of Representative Debbie Halvorson (D-IL) bragging that Barack Obama could not pressure her into voting for cap-and-trade legislation: This video is very helpful for several reasons.
If you head tune in to CSPAN (and let’s admit it: what better way is there to spend a Friday evening), you’ll see House Republican Leader John Boehner reading the Democrat energy bill. We have received the following statement from Boehner’s office: Subject: The “Fili-Boehner” on Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax Folks – Last night, at 3 AM, the House Democrats released a 300-page amendment | Read More »
There was an extraordinary development in Congress this week that got little attention. More than 100 Democrats have signed on as original cosponsors to legislation that could well start a major trade war. The bill effectively blocks all future U.S. trade negotiations, and could lead to retaliation by many of our major trading partners. And while it’s tempting to say that Barack Obama would not | Read More »
Roll Call carries the most detailed account of the incident: The confrontation began with the two talking in each other’s faces and gesturing animatedly with their hands. Obey then attempted to walk away, but Waters kept following him. Obey then put his hand on Waters arm and shoulder, and Waters became irate. Obey again turned away, dismissing Waters by throwing up his hands, but Waters | Read More »
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