I’m not sure that Stu Rothenberg is correct, here: …it isn’t clear how much of an impact, if any, the controversies will have on the 2014 midterms. Even if (when) those controversies fade, however, there could be short-term consequences for both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the area of recruitment. Largely because it doesn’t look like either organization | Read More »

Rupert Murdoch took some heat for observing on Twitter, “Growing IRS scandal makes perfect case for flat tax and abolition all deductions.  Nothing could be fairer and abuse free.” Several responses took Murdoch to task because the abusive treatment of certain groups applying for tax-exempt status, based on their politics, doesn’t have any direct relationship with the progressive income tax system, or plans to replace it. | Read More »

(Promoted from the diaries) The story of Jay Gatsby can impart wisdom to our life goals in a particularly powerful manner. Though I was not disappointed by the new adaptation of The Great Gatsby, neither was I enthralled. Instead, the movie seemed to begin with a forced storytelling of rough scene cuts that eventually found itself understanding the deeper meaning. It must be admitted that, by many accounts, | Read More »

(H/T: Hot Air Headlines) This is not going to end up being a windmill joust against Barack Obama. Much to the Democrats’ secret displeasure. GOP leaders will help coordinate various House investigations into controversies involving the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the State Department. But the key Republican lawmaker with jurisdiction on all these matters said that a rerun of | Read More »

                The late, great Lewis Grizzard attended the University of Georgia with a man named “Joe,” where they developed a lifelong friendship.  Joe grew up poor in rural Southwest Georgia.  He was only a boy when he found the body of his dead father who had taken his own life with the family shotgun.  Joe became the man | Read More »

(Promoted from the diaries) The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan has correctly characterized the Obama administration’s Benghazi and IRS scandals for what they are: gross failures of leadership that ultimately include a bold—even boastful—policy of criminal activity (my words, not hers). But the Washington Post’s Richard Cohen jeered at conservatives’ concerns about Benghazi, and the Columbia Journalism Review’s Ryan Chittum said Noonan has “lost it”. She has | Read More »

Well, let us not ignore the upcoming election cycle simply because the Obama administration has decided to go utterly mad this week*. Below for your dubious delectation is a video from the New Mexico Republican party on one Tim Keller, who is being pushed out as a stealth liberal challenger to Governor Susana Martinez next year. I say “stealth” because – well, watch: Short version | Read More »

No, seriously, this is the angle that they’re going to run with: “We’re portrayed by Republicans as either being lying or idiots,” said one Obama administration official who was part of the Benghazi response. “It’s actually closer to us being idiots.” Personally, I take the position that the administration needs to embrace the healing power of ‘and,’ here. But as the philosopher once put it: | Read More »

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss a DHS reaction to Bitcoin, a CBO report on a shrinking deficit and why liberals think deficits are a good thing.