My friend Ed Morrissey at Hot Air agrees with Byron York’s contention that Republicans seem to have missed an opportunity to do maximum damage to Obamacare by allowing the disastrous launch of the program to be overshadowed by the shutdown/debt
When the history of the debt limit fight of 2013 is written, one of the enduring questions historians will have to answer is why Republicans allowed the Democrats to negotiate with the Senate Republicans and the House Republicans separately. That
We hear constantly–it was repeated on MSNBC today, for example–that it is unreasonable to expect President Barack Obama to accept any changes to his “signature” legislative achievement, Obamacare. That was not the case when it came to President Ronald Reagan’s
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House Budget Committee, told conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes Monday morning that House Republicans had demanded a one-year delay in Obamacare’s individual mandate, along with an end to congressional exemptions, while offering
President Barack Obama is demanding a $1.1 trillion “ransom”–or else he will not allow the debt ceiling to be raised. That’s the effective offer on the table from the president and Senate Democrats. They have now refused to pass a
Throughout the government shutdown and the debt ceiling fight, President Barack Obama and the Democrats have attempted to use the specter of economic collapse to force Republicans to make concessions. On Oct. 3, President Obama even attempted to talk stock
During the last debt ceiling fight, in the summer of 2011, Republicans and Democrats were near a “grand bargain” on the long-term budget when President Barack Obama, seeing Republican poll numbers fall, made a last-minute demand for $400 billion in
Who are the “hostage-takers” now? Convinced by opinion polls that the media will let them get away with it, Democrats are now refusing to pass a “clean” continuing resolution to end the government shutdown, as well as a straightforward debt ceiling
The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, will lead a delegation from the terror group to Tehran later this week, seeking greater support from the Iranian regime. The move is described as the beginning of an
On Oct. 12, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the floor of the Senate to offer one of his typical, hyper-partisan harangues, blaming Republicans for the ill effects of the government shutdown (including the suspension of programs that the House
Conservatives seem to have identified Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as the new scapegoat for frustration at the GOP’s apparent stumbles in the fiscal battle in Washington, DC. In the space of a year or so, Ryan has gone from being
In thinking about the Republican divisions that the fiscal fight has revealed, I recalled Andrew Breitbart’s speech to CPAC in 2012, shortly before he died. It was a plea for unity in the movement: “Anyone that’s willing to stand next
Conservative talk show host Larry Elder (right, above) appeared on CNN with Don Lemon today to debate Democrat strategist Hilary Rosen (yes, that Hilary Rosen, who once mocked Ann Romney for having been a stay-at-home mother). The conversation quickly became two-against-one,
The new diplomatic effort between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Iranian regime fronted by President Hassan Rouhani continues, with Iran canceling its annual anti-Israel conference as a sign of goodwill. Israel, however, which is highly skeptical of Iran’s intention,
I’ve been concerned all week about the risks of a two-stage negotiation strategy, which other conservatives seem to have considered a good idea. That concern has been validated by the precarious position the GOP suddenly finds itself in, after Speaker
National Public Radio aired a story by Sarah Varney on Friday about the progress of Covered California, the flagship of the entire Obamacare enrollment effort. The story explores the efforts of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to enroll uninsured
The results of the NBC/WSJ poll have lifted the mainstream media’s spirits this morning. Republicans are “losing,” Mara Liasson of National Public Radio exulted, suggesting that poor poll results were the reason that House Speaker John Boehner offered President Barack
Full credit to Erick Erickson and Ben Domenech for pushing a negotiating strategy that the Republican leadership appears to have embraced–namely, splitting the shutdown and debt ceiling negotiations with a short-term debt limit offer. The GOP certainly seems to have
Gov. Jerry Brown has been signing a slew of bills designed to make Democrats happy–not just in California but nationwide. From protecting illegal aliens from deportations for minor crimes, to allowing non-physicians to perform abortions, he has checked every box
Even as the rollout of Obamacare continues to fail, President Barack Obama has rejected the Republicans’ demand for a one-year delay in the individual mandate to buy health insurance, though he earlier granted a delay to small businesses. In fact,
The New York Times has run an extensive profile of President Barack Obama’s next nominee to head the Federal Reserve, Jessica Yellin. Conservatives are worried that despite her qualifications, she’s a liberal Democrat committed to using monetary policy to stimulate the
I’ve written an extensive review at Big Peace of Kenneth Pollack’s essential new book on Iran, Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy. But here’s a summary. Pollack says that because “engagement” with Iran has failed, but war remains the
Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed AB 154 on Wednesday, legalizing non-physician abortions in the state. The legislation, which had been pushed vigorously by Planned Parenthood, had been strongly opposed by pro-life groups and some physicians, arguing that it amounted
The most embarrassing moment in Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearing as Secretary of Defense came when he misidentified the U.S. policy on Iran as “containment,” and had to correct himself. It is therefore surprising that Kenneth Pollack, one of the most
I find the suggestion that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) does not truly oppose Obamacare rather amusing. The basis of the charge is that he does not mention the word “Obamacare” in his op-ed today in the Wall Street Journal about
