Republicans
February 26, 2021 — John Hinderaker
What is strange about our current political climate is not, in my opinion, polarization per se. It is not surprising that people with different interests and philosophies have different policy preferences and priorities. What is remarkable is that increasingly, liberals and conservatives don’t even seem to be living on the same planet. Their political concerns and agendas are largely ships that pass in the night. Thus, check out the results
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February 16, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Joe Biden and the Democrats plan to go it alone on stimulus legislation in response to the Wuhan coronavirus. Apparently, they will not compromise in order to pick up Republican support. There’s nothing wrong with that. The Dems have a majority in the House and the functional equivalent of one in the Senate. They can do whatever they want on stimulus, thanks to the miracle of “budget reconciliation.” What Biden
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February 13, 2021 — John Hinderaker
Congressman Tom Emmer represents Minnesota’s Sixth District and is part of the GOP leadership team in the House. He heads the NRCC, which had a hugely successful cycle in 2020. Yesterday my organization hosted a zoom event with Congressman Emmer. He talked about the 2020 election and the GOP’s prospects for 2022, about the first three weeks of the Biden administration, and about what we can expect going forward. Emmer
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February 4, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
I like Liz Cheney and respect that she followed her conscience by voting to impeach Donald Trump. There was a case for impeaching him, though not one that I found persuasive. But there’s little to like in Cheney’s remarks to colleagues at last night’s closed-door GOP House conference meeting, as reported here. Cheney lectured the caucus, saying: I have to tell you I am really, deeply, deeply concerned about where
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February 4, 2021 — John Hinderaker
I know, the year is young. But today’s tweet by new Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is a contender: Hypocrisy 101: @IlhanMN cites my legitimate mileage reimbursements while she paid her husband* over $1 million in campaign consulting fees. *Not her brother, the new husband. — Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) February 4, 2021 Congresswoman Boebert represents Colorado’s 3rd District. From her official web site bio: Congresswoman Boebert is 34 years old and is
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January 27, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Most conservatives I know are disgusted that the Senate is going to try Donald Trump even now that he’s no longer president. At the same time, most think that holding the trial will either benefit Republicans or be a political wash. However, Andy McCarthy believes that it’s the Democrats who will come out as winners. He argues that the trial will “unite the Left while intensifying the Right’s internecine conflict.”
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January 22, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
On Election Day 1964, I handed out pro-Lyndon Johnson leaflets to voters at Connecticut Park Elementary school in Wheaton, Maryland. My friend Bruce stood nearby handing out pro-Barry Goldwater material. As he offered his literature, Bruce’s would say, “Good afternoon, sir (or ma’am), vote for Senator Goldwater.” The sirs and ma’ams seemed disinclined to follow Bruce’s advice. Most were stone faced. Some pushed back. “You’ve got to be kidding” and
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January 14, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Republican House Rep. Brian Mast represents Florida’s 18th Congressional District. Yesterday he had the temerity to vote against the impeachment of President Trump. CNN’s Jake Tapper, need we say, disapproved, and in the process called Mast’s commitment to democracy into question. Tapper is apparently incapable of embarrassment. Rep. Mast is an Army veteran who lost two legs in the course of his service in Afghanistan. He did not take Tapper’s
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January 10, 2021 — John Hinderaker
During our live podcast/VIP/whiskey hour Friday evening, Steve commented that the Republican Party is “reeling” following the D.C. demonstration and riot last week. Given what I know of the Republican Party establishment I expect he is right, but still I was taken aback. Why in the world should Republicans be reeling? Because a handful of demonstrators invaded (or, in some cases, were ushered into) the Capitol and some of them
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January 6, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
There will be plenty of commentary about what looks to be the Democrats’ sweep of the Georgia runoff elections. Scott has already provided an insightful take. However, I think the most concise analysis came a week before the election from my Georgia source, a well-placed Republican in that state. He told me: In a 50/50 state where some percentage of Republicans are refusing to vote because they think their vote
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December 29, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I suggested that President Trump gained nothing by delaying the implementation of the relief in the stimulus bill passed by Congress. However, I did allow that, as a result of his criticism of the bill, it’s possible that Congress will up the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. In that case, of course, Trump will have gained something. On reflection (and this should have been obvious to me without
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December 7, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. Chris Coons hoped to become Secretary of State in the Biden administration. Instead, his old boss has given him a far less appealing job — “ambassador” to Senate Republicans. Politico has the story. It notes that Coons “has spent a decade developing relationships with Senate Republicans across the spectrum.” “Those partnerships,” it says, “will be more important than ever as Biden faces the real possibility of at least two
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December 7, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
There’s a cottage industry of liberal analysts who write about the alleged descent of conservatism and/or the Republican Party. Typically, these commentators yearn for the days when “responsible” conservatives like Dwight Eisenhower, or Mitt Romney, or (in some cases) even Ronald Reagan were the face of the Republican Party. We are expected to overlook the fact that these figures were viciously attacked by liberals in their time. I’m not aware
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December 1, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote an update on two of the three House races I discussed on Sunday — Iowa-2 and New York-22. Today, there is definitive news about the third of these races. In California-25, Republican Mike Garcia is the winner. Democrat Christy Smith has conceded. This seat traditionally has been held by Republicans. Katie Hill won it for the Democrats in the Democratic wave of 2018, but resigned due to
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November 20, 2020 — Scott Johnson
After noting the strong women candidates who contributed to the Republican pickups in the House when I wrote about them this past weekend, I thought it might make sense to speak with Rep. Elise Stefanik. She had a hand in all those races and kindly gave me a telephone interview this afternoon. Indeed, she stayed on with me until she had answered all my questions. Do you have anything more,
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November 15, 2020 — Scott Johnson
As of this morning, with five races yet to be called, RealClearPolitics notes that Republicans have picked up a net of 9 House seats. RCP projects that Republicans will pick up a net 10-13 seats when the counting is done. A few more excellent candidates helped the GOP hold House seats where there was no incumbent. I am thinking, for example, of Beth Van Duyne, one of the successful candidates
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November 6, 2020 — John Hinderaker
The presidential election seems to be going South and a Joe Biden administration may be in the offing. It is a bitter pill to swallow and I am profoundly depressed. Nevertheless, here are a few mostly-optimistic observations on the current scene. * My guess is that in a perfect world, where only legal voters vote, and everyone votes only once, President Trump won the election. The problem is that, while
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