Why is a group of Republicans, led by Senator Marco Rubio, hell-bent on fumbling the football at the goalpost while Democrats are losing on the issue of illegal immigration? Nowhere do we find such a bifurcation between the views of those in the political class and the commonsense of the average citizen as with the issue of illegal immigration. Among the political class, even some | Read More »
It’s another day in the Senate, and another radical Obama nominee is confirmed. Last August, flustered by Jim DeMint’s Senate hold, Obama used a recess appointment to name Maria del Carmen Aponte ambassador to El Salvador. She was originally selected as ambassador to the Domincan Republic during the Clinton administration, but she withdrew her name after refusing to take a polygraph test concerning her relationship | Read More »
Here’s a novel idea: let’s stop subsidizing Big Sugar. Maybe if the government wouldn’t intervene in the agriculture sector, inducing sharp increases in the price of commodities, many of the 46 million people on food stamps would be able to afford food. Then again, why would liberal politicians abrogate their source of political power? They stand to benefit from subsidizing rich sugar farmers and keeping | Read More »
If Obamacare is the worst piece of legislation passed by Obama and the Democrats, Dodd-Frank is clearly close behind on the list. This pernicious bill, sponsored by the instigators of the financial and housing crises, will permanently alter our financial markets for the worst just as Obamacare will kill the healthcare sector if it’s not repealed. I’ve met many small business owners who are contemplating | Read More »
When observing the chaos that big union bosses have interleaved into the labor market, you instinctively think of the above-market wages that are forced upon employers (and taxpayers, in the case of public-sector unions) as a result of the monopolistic collective bargaining contracts. However, what is even more deleterious is the limitation on paying individual workers more than their contract dictates. Believe it or not, | Read More »
While most of us have been caught up in the sensation of electoral politics and the death of the union machine in Wisconsin, liberal activists have been working indefatigably to pack the courts – the unelected branch of government – with radicals who disrespect the Constitution. We might have turned over a number of congressional seats and state houses in 2010, but Obama has successfully | Read More »
Last week, Senator Jim DeMint said the following regarding the stakes between Ted Cruz and David Dewhurst in the Texas Senate race: “A Republican majority is pointless if it isn’t achieved w/ conservatives who will fight to stop the spending and debt.” His comments cannot be more oracular. If we win back control over the Senate, yet keep the same leadership intact, we will be | Read More »
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been hit with a torrent of negative economic news, portending a prolonged period of stagnation for the foreseeable future. While most recessions end with a period of robust growth and job creation, this recovery has been stymied by odious regulations and a cloud of uncertainty painted dark black with Obama’s anti-business policies. Naturally, the response from Democrats is to | Read More »
There is perhaps nothing as destructive to the free market as the federal government’s stranglehold over the agriculture sector. There is also nothing as detrimental to the GOP’s ability to draw a bold contrast on free markets, dependency, spending, and crony capitalism, as their willingness to support 5-year farm bills. Current farm policy creates inveterate dependency in some of the most conservative corners of the | Read More »
It’s another week in Washington, and another story is out containing a plethora of quotes from Republicans who are willing to “put revenues on the table.” Here are some quotes from today’s article in Politico: “Nobody wants to raise taxes, but the question is can you lower tax rates, lower loopholes and deductions and apply that to debt reduction? I think the answer is yes,” | Read More »
For those in the media who suffer mental gyrations over the lack of bipartisanship in Washington, here is a story that exemplifies the obstacle to working together. We all know that there are sharp disagreements over tax policy and immigration policy, but we can all agree that illegal aliens should not receive $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits. Can we? Last July, the Treasury Inspector | Read More »
As we’ve chronicled here in great detail over the past year, House Republicans are no pikers when it comes to conservative legislation. This is especially true when examining the records of House appropriators. Yet, even those big government types have [begrudgingly] agreed to abide by the spending and policy decisions of the House-passed budget when considering the 12 appropriations bills during committee markups. As mediocre | Read More »
You might have thought that we vanquished Dick Lugar from the levers of power a few weeks ago. But if nothing is done to stop the impending 5-year Farm Bill, he might harm us with his regressive policies long past his time in Washington. Last month, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a 5-year farm bill that continues to serve as one of the most potent | Read More »
When it comes to free-market fiscal policy, Republicans are always manufacturing excuses to exempt themselves from their own doctrine on numerous issues. There are always excuses why specific industries must be recipients of government interventions. They say that exporters cannot function without the Ex-Im Bank; farmers cannot subsist without government welfare despite record high prices; the financial markets cannot survive without bailouts. The latest exception | Read More »
Well, that didn’t take long. Just one week into the conference committee on the highway bill, Republicans are showing signs of caving on their insistence that the Keystone pipeline be approved as part of the deal. Throughout the past few months, we have been chronicling how Republicans have been apathetic to the underlying vices of the highway bill (S. 1813). They basically told the Democrats | Read More »
People often ask me what can be done to move the elected officials within the Republican Party rightward. Well, for one thing, we need to elect more conservatives. But more importantly, we need those conservatives to obtain positions of power, such as chairmanships of the committees that set our domestic policy agenda. Not surprisingly, all the relevant committee chairmen are either conduits for leadership or | Read More »
We are constantly told by the consultant class that the issue of marriage is a big loser for Republicans. If you listen to the talking points from almost every elected Republican official in recent days, you will hear them say that the whole issue is a “distraction” from the real issues. Simply put, they believe the Democrat talking points that they are on the wrong | Read More »
The big news of the night is that Richard Mourdock absolutely eviscerated John Kerry and Vladimir Putin’s favorite Republican 60-40%, an unprecedented feat going up against a 35-year incumbent. On the other hand, it’s not surprising, and yet, it serves as a potent lesson for the Tea Party going forward. Richard Mourdock wasn’t always this inexorable juggernaut. He was way behind in the polls for | Read More »
In the past, we have chronicled the cycle of capitulation that is so emblematic of Republicans in the 112th Congress. It goes like this: Democrats propose some odious and profligate legislative idea or budget bill and call for tax hikes as “pay-fors.”. Conservatives advocate that we uproot the entire premise of the destructive legislation by drawing a line in the sand on the principles that | Read More »
Here’s a rule of thumb: when you’re in the minority in a legislative body, but enjoy some sort of a check on the majority to lock up legislation, you never surrender your key – certainly not for a worthless promise from the majority. Unfortunately, Senator Lamar Alexander has not internalized that lesson. Evidently, he was serious when he said he wanted to resign from leadership | Read More »
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