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January 8, 2018

Results Matter: If Rasmussen Is “Republican-Leaning,” What Does That Make Everyone Else? By Richard Baris

Gallup announced last week that they are discontinuing their daily presidential approval tracking poll, opting instead to provide topline numbers weekly on Monday and detailed demographics monthly.

Since 2008, the well-known firm had been tracking presidential approval as a question in their privately sponsored Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index. Rather than conducting landline- or cell phone-based interviews, more of those responses are instead being gathered by mailer.

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January 8, 2018

Mitch McConnell, a Swamp Creature That Trump Can Count On By Charles Hurt

Since the earliest rise of the modern tea party, no political pastime has been more joyous than doling out savage ultra-violence against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

You know, in “A Clockwork Orange” kind of way.

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January 5, 2018

Fire Bell in the Night for the Ayatollah By Patrick J. Buchanan

As tens of thousands marched in the streets of Tehran on Wednesday in support of the regime, the head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps assured Iranians the "sedition" had been defeated.

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January 5, 2018

The 2010s Look More Like Trump's Ideal America Than Obama's By Michael Barone

One of my favorite Christmastime presents is the Census Bureau's release of its annual population estimates for all of the states. Comparison of the April 1, 2010, Census Bureau enumerations and the June 30, 2017, estimates for the states shows how each state fared in the Obama years, seeing as this period includes 82 of the 96 months of the Obama administration and only five months of Donald Trump's presidency.   

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January 4, 2018

For New Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Lesser Form of Incumbency By Geoffrey Skelley

On Tuesday, now-former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) officially resigned from the U.S. Senate following allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women. As we discussed in our last newsletter for 2017, Franken’s resignation means that Minnesota will hold a special election for Senate this coming November, which will take place at the same time as the regular election for the state’s other Senate seat (a “double-barrel” election).

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January 3, 2018

An Unfond Farewell to Un-statesman Orrin Hatch By Michelle Malkin

The longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history announced this week that he will finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally, finally retire.

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January 3, 2018

The Times Rides to Mueller's Rescue By Patrick J. Buchanan

What caused the FBI to open a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in July 2016, which evolved into the criminal investigation that is said today to imperil the Trump presidency?

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January 3, 2018

Election Odds By John Stossel

President Trump is up 3 percent!

I refer to the betting odds. Gamblers (mostly in Europe because political bets are legal there) now give the president a 53 percent chance of finishing his first term.

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December 30, 2017

If Hillary Clinton Had Won, We'd Be Even Worse By Ted Rall

What if Hillary Clinton had won 114,000 more votes in four key states? Or, what if she'd picked up the two to three percent of the vote she lost because Bernie Sanders' supporters sat on their hands on election day? She'd be "Clinton 2" or "Clinton 45" or "the second President Clinton" -- and the world would look very different.   

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December 29, 2017

Trying to Take Trump Seriously By Michael Barone

016 turned out to be a year in which it was wise to take Donald Trump as a political candidate seriously but not literally, in the inspired words of syndicated columnist Salena Zito. As 2017 is on the point of vanishing, it's worth asking whether it's time to take Trump seriously, if not literally, as a maker of public policy.

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December 29, 2017

Trump’s First Year Accomplishments Compiled In Shockingly Long List By Richard Baris

Looking back on President Donald Trump’s first year in office, he has compiled a shockingly strong record and long list of accomplishments. As was also the case with his rise to the presidency, President Trump has broken several records for a first-year commander-in-chief and fulfilled many of his key campaign promises.

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December 29, 2017

Will War Cancel Trump's Triumphs? By Patrick J. Buchanan

Asked what he did during the French Revolution, Abbe Sieyes replied, "I survived."    

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December 27, 2017

Honoring 2017's Bulldogs By Michelle Malkin

There are talkers and doers, sowers of dissatisfaction seeds and agents of lasting change. Much of my column work over the year is dedicated to exposing the worst crapweasels in politics, pop culture, media and the policy arena. But to ring out 2017, I'm raising a toast to some of my favorite bulldogs -- vigilant citizens, independent journalists and bloggers, and dedicated activists who work tirelessly to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.   

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December 27, 2017

With This Tax Cut, Trump and the GOP Are on the Side of the Growth Angels By Lawrence Kudlow

With President Trump's signing of the big tax cut bill, the Republican Party snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Suddenly, the political and economic landscapes have changed. The GOP has turned the tables on the Democrats.

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December 27, 2017

Did the FBI Conspire to Stop Trump? By Patrick J. Buchanan

The original question the FBI investigation of the Trump campaign was to answer was a simple one: Did he do it?

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December 22, 2017

Republicans Bet the Farm By Patrick J. Buchanan

President Trump, every Republican senator, and the GOP majority in Speaker Paul Ryan's House just put the future of their party on the line.   

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December 22, 2017

Republicans Have Reformed Taxes; Will They Fix 1970s Budget Rules Next? By Michael Barone

The Republicans have passed their tax bill, without a single Democratic vote, despite low to dismal poll ratings. It's reminiscent of the passage by Democrats, without a single Republican vote, of Obamacare in March 2010.

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December 22, 2017

Lost Opportunities For Women: Sexism Sucks, but Blame Capitalism More By Ted Rall

One of the points many women have made since the beginning of the current national discussion about sexual assault and harassment has been that sexism and misogyny have cost women countless opportunities to achieve their full potential. Probably because this began with Harvey Weinstein, much of the mourning of opportunity costs focused on Hollywood: New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd mentioned her reaction to research she did on the topic: "I got more and more angry as I realized that these women were being systematically excluded based on ridiculous biases."

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December 21, 2017

The Minnesota Twins: A Complete History of Double-Barrel Senate Elections By Geoffrey Skelley

Sen. Al Franken’s (D) impending resignation due to sexual harassment allegations will create a vacancy in Minnesota’s Class II Senate seat, precipitating a special election in the North Star State next November. Gov. Mark Dayton (D) announced last week that he would name Lt. Gov. Tina Smith (D) to the post, and Smith said that she intends to run in the 2018 special election for the remainder of Franken’s term (the seat is due to be regularly contested in 2020). Because Franken did not immediately resign, there was some speculation that he might reconsider leaving office — among others, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) wants Franken to remain in the Senate — but his spokesman said on Wednesday that Franken intends to resign on Jan. 2, 2018, and that Smith will be sworn into office on Jan. 3. This article is based on the assumption that Franken will indeed resign.

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December 20, 2017

Deadly Isms By John Stossel

People want politics to be simple. Left vs. right. Clinton vs. Trump. My side vs. your side. Elect the right guy, and things will be good!

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