1. The Extraordinary Nature of the Texas Runoff

2. AP: Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms Wisconsin job growth.

3. Don’t Bring Back Earmarks!

4. Law of Sea Treaty A Back Door For Cap And Trade

1. The Extraordinary Nature of the Texas Runoff

It is hard to overstate just how extraordinary Ted Cruz’s underdog entry into the Texas runoff is and just how the odds are still stacked against him unless conservatives rally quickly with lots of money.

David Dewhurst has been Lt. Governor of Texas for more than a decade. He has massive name ID throughout the state. Ted Cruz started this race with a three or four percent showing in polling.

More so, Dewhurst is a multimillionaire who can write large sums of money to fund his campaign. Ted Cruz cannot. Texas has several of the most expensive media markets in the country and the state is too large to go door to door across the state.

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2. AP: Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms Wisconsin job growth.

Readers might remember – certainly The Weekly Standard [TWS] did – that beleaguered Democratic Wisconsin gubernatorial recall candidate Tom Barrett has called into question Republican Scott Walker’s contention that the Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS] had reported Wisconsin had actually gained jobs in 2011, instead of the loss of jobs that had been previously reported from another source. Actually, ‘called into question’ is too mild a term; Barrett more or less called Walker a liar.

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3. Don’t Bring Back Earmarks!

Some members of congress are trying to reopen the earmark ban through an obscure legislative process. For many conservatives, the two-year moratorium on the practice of earmarking was the signature accomplishment of the new House majority elected in 2010. Yet, the current legislative push by involving Miscellaneous Tariff Bills (MTBs) is being used by the Washington establishment to reopen that moratorium and roll back conservative advances.

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4. Law of Sea Treaty A Back Door For Cap And Trade

Conn Carroll had an excellent piece at the Washington Examiner yesterday titled “Obama’s Lame Duck Plan To Pass Cap And Trade.” Carroll makes the case that Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) may use the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) as a back door to implement cap and trade regulations on United States citizens.

Mike Brownfield of The Heritage Foundation (my employer) wrote a short history of LOST the day before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last Wednesday.

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