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January 1, 2015

GOP, Stop Making Excuses for Scalise by Joe Conason

The unsavory story of Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican and House majority whip, should serve as a clear warning to the leaders of the Republican Party. They need to ask why their message attracts some of the most despicable elements in American society -- and why they can't effectively reject those extremists.

Despite many fervent vows of "outreach" and "inclusion" by top Republicans, they keep making the wrong choices. Both House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy have expressed their confidence in Scalise despite his "mistake." And the excuses they now offer on behalf of the man chosen for the third-highest position in their congressional caucus are rapidly eroding.

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December 31, 2014

Ignorance By John Stossel

No wonder Cuba wallows in poverty.

Last week, the New York Times reported that the Castro brothers opened a special business zone where foreign companies "would be given greater control over setting wages at factories. ... (P)roposals would be approved or rejected within 60 days."

What? If I want to give someone a raise, I have to wait up to two months for government approval! That's absurd.

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December 30, 2014

Hollywood, Women and Angelina by Froma Harrop

Was Angelina Jolie unqualified to direct the big-budget World War II saga "Unbroken"? The movie tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, a champion runner and champion survivor -- of his bomber's crash, 47 days on an ocean raft and torture in a Japanese prison camp.

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December 30, 2014

Comparing the two Most Republican Houses in 70 Years by Michael Barone

Before Christmas, Arizona finished its 2nd Congressional District recount, showing Republican Martha McSally beating incumbent Democrat Ron Barber by 167 votes. This means there will be 247 Republicans in the House in the 114th Congress -- one more than was elected to the House in the 80th Congress in 1946. It's the most Republican House since the one elected in 1928, a year when very few of today's voters were alive.

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December 26, 2014

Behold, the Magic Kingdom of Dynamic Scoring By Froma Harrop

While most citizens were distracted by the holidays, the enlarged Republican majority in Congress was laying golden pavers for its magical kingdom -- a fabulous place where taxes are cut, military spending is not and budgets balance effortlessly. The coat of arms reads, "Tax Cuts Pay for Themselves."

And to think the rubble has hardly been cleared from the ruins of the most recent magical kingdom, that ruled by George W. Bush. Not only did the Bush tax cuts not pay for themselves but tax revenue as a share of the economy today isn't even close to what it was in 2000.

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December 26, 2014

Washington Power Is Flowing Away By Michael Barone

Too much power being grabbed by Washington -- Obamacare, environmental regulations, education standards. That's a constant complaint of conservatives not only during Barack Obama's presidency but during George W. Bush's as well.

But power is also flowing out of Washington, largely unnoticed, and back to the states and localities. You can see that if you look at transportation policy, which is following the same path as the little remembered federal revenue sharing program enacted in the Nixon years and phased out during the Reagan presidency.

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December 24, 2014

Up-Lyft-ing Xmas Tale By John Stossel

This Christmas Eve, if you see a fat man in a sleigh distributing presents, tell him he is in violation of several government regulations.

The Federal Aviation Administration is upset about his secret flight path, and his gift bag violates charity tax rules.

In real life, government barely lets people give each other rides in cars. But now the Internet has given birth to exciting businesses that challenge the rules.

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December 23, 2014

The Rape on Campus Epidemic By Michael Barone

The total discrediting of Rolling Stone's story on rape at the University of Virginia has shined a light on one of the least palatable features of American life: the so-called epidemic of rape on campus.   

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December 23, 2014

Unzipping the Elizabeth Warren Package By Froma Harrop

They like her style. Many liberals adore Elizabeth Warren's populist passion for denouncing predatory conduct by Wall Street -- and her linking it to growing income inequality.

Though the senator from Massachusetts insists she's not running for president, her fan base has set up camp in Iowa, fueling the fires for a Warren candidacy. They want her to challenge Hillary Clinton, a likely contender viewed as more lenient toward the captains of finance.

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December 19, 2014

Ending a Policy That's Failed for 50 Years by Joe Conason

Listen carefully to the Republican leaders and presidential hopefuls roaring with outrage over President Barack Obama's courageous decision to normalize relations with Cuba; listen very carefully, because no matter how long or how closely you listen to them, there is one thing you will surely never hear.

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December 18, 2014

Pottersville Goes Online By Froma Harrop

What is it that makes the holiday movie classic "It's a Wonderful Life" feel so ancient? It's the relationships, but which ones? 

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December 17, 2014

Governing vs. Giving By John Stossel

It's the season for giving.

That doesn't mean it's the season for government.

Government creates loyalty in the minds of citizens by pretending to be Santa Claus, doling out gifts and favors. Politicians claim they help those unfortunates who aren't helped by coldhearted capitalism.

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December 16, 2014

Charity Versus Panhandling by Froma Harrop

I'm paying up at this discount store, and the nice woman at the cash register asks me something like, "Do you want to support a program to help homeless teenagers get drug counseling?"

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December 16, 2014

Don't Look for Culture War Arguments in Campaign 2016 By Michael Barone

In an earlier column, I looked at the role the abortion issue would play in the 2016 election -- not very much, I concluded -- and promised another column on other cultural issues. Here goes.

On anyone's list of cultural issues that have been debated over the last decade, same-sex marriage ranks just behind abortion. And unlike abortion, opinion on same-sex marriage has changed dramatically in recent years.

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December 12, 2014

What 2014 Means for 2016 by Michael Barone

The defeat of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu by Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy in last weekend's Louisiana runoff ends an election year that has been very successful for Republicans -- and has implications for 2016. 

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December 11, 2014

Do You Vote What You Drink? By Froma Harrop

Did you know that Democrats drink more than Republicans? Or that they are likelier to choose clear liquors, whereas Republicans tend toward the darker ones? That voters who skew most Republican favor Jim Beam? That those who skew most Democratic go for Seagram's gin?  

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December 11, 2014

Crimes Without Punishment by Joe Conason

With the release of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on the use of torture by the CIA after 9/11, the final defense of the indefensible by its perpetrators, advocates and publicists is falling apart before our eyes.

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December 11, 2014

Senate 2016: The Republicans’ 2012 Homework By Kyle Kondik

After playing offense in 2014 and netting nine Senate seats to set up a 54-46 majority in the 114th Congress, Republicans will mostly be playing defense in 2016. That probably means the GOP will end up losing seats, but recent history suggests that we should not be certain about that.

Heading into the 2016 Senate cycle, Republicans find themselves in a position similar to the Democrats going into 2012, with a Senate map dotted with vulnerabilities created by victories won six and 12 years prior.

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December 10, 2014

Climate Catastrophe by John Stossel

People argue about whether the "consensus" of scientists is that we face disaster because of global warming. Instead of debating whether man's greenhouse gasses will raise temperatures, we should argue about how we gauge disasters. 

If you take most environmentalists and climate scientists at their word, the Earth heated up about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century, not much more than it heated up the century before that. Warming may increase, but no one can be certain of that.

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December 9, 2014

Don't Look for Much Emphasis on Abortion in the 2016 Campaign by Michael Barone

Americans are divided politically along cultural, not economic, lines. Partisan preference is highly correlated with views on non-economic issues and only loosely related to economic status.

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