The public reaction to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) overreach and lack of even minimal sensitivity should stand as a lesson to those who believe the government always knows best and think Americans are a malleable bunch who will ultimately
As Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his team prepare for the next Congress, they are wrestling with a number of leadership and committee leadership contests that create a minefield for all involved. Any House Speaker hopes his committee chairmen and
In a perfect world, candidates vying for public office would debate issues and contrasting philosophical approaches to the problems confronting the nation and her citizens. Historians like to point to the Lincoln/Douglas debates as an example of how campaigns ought
It’s déjà vu all over again. In the early fall of 1992, George H.W. Bush was running for reelection, the economy was in recession and the Democrats had the incumbent president on the ropes. Bush was, they said, out of
In the lead-up to the 1972 elections, then-Vice President Spiro Agnew headed up something called “Operation Switch” at President Nixon’s request. His mission was to help get Southern Democratic elected officials more comfortable with Republican conservative values than their own
In early October 2006, as it was becoming more obvious by the day that Republicans were going to lose big in November, I was approached by a nervous young presidential aide at a White House meeting. He reminded me that
One of the promises every president since Richard Nixon has failed to deliver on is the recurring pledge to somehow free the nation from its ever-growing “dependence on foreign oil.” Until fairly recently, the need to find other ways to
Presidents tend to get upset when they discover that their agenda isn’t a carbon copy of the agenda of the voters who put them in office. Some presidents adjust to reality; others seem willing to resort to almost any means
Politicians on the losing side of an issue or argument tend to look for a way to change the subject or redirect the debate to put their opponent on the defensive. In today’s politically correct world, liberals invariably try to
Greece, Portugal and President Barack Obama have at long last combined to turn the common Washington wisdom about government spending on its head. Washington insiders insisted for decades that those who say they favor fiscal restraint in the abstract really
As incumbent Utah Sen. Bob Bennett (R) was losing the right even to run in the primary for the seat he’s held for 18 years, word from California was coming in that Meg Whitman, long considered a shoo-in in the
Mexican President Felipe Calderon asked for it when he attacked Arizona’s new immigration law as a “violation of human rights.” Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (R) and others responded to Calderon’s attacks by pointing out the hypocrisy. Anyone who has compared
When I came to town in the early seventies “transparency” was a photographic rather than a political term. Legislation was written in back rooms by Congressional grandees, votes were traded for bridges, highways and no one outside Washington was much
With this vote, the U.S. House has chosen big government over freedom; bureaucracy over people. The American Conservative Union has opposed this bill from the start because of its massive cost and red tape. The more we learn and Americans
David Brooks is the very embodiment of a New York Times editor’s picture of a “responsible” conservative. He supported Obama in 2008 and dismisses Sarah Palin as an ignoramus without table manners. He considers Glenn Beck a clown and disdains