Republicans
September 11, 2019 — John Hinderaker
It is no shock that most Americans, most of the time, disapprove of politicians and political parties. Thus, the task of a party is not to be universally beloved, but rather, not to be disproportionately disliked. Pew Research has some interesting numbers in this regard: According to the poll, 45 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Democrats, compared with 52 percent who hold an unfavorable view. Those
»
July 23, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia is up for reelection in 2020. Warner is a formidable candidate, but he shouldn’t be considered unbeatable. Ed Gillespie came very close to defeating him in 2014. Even so, Republican politicians in Virginia have not seemed eager to challenge Warner. To my knowledge, the only one to enter the race so far is former Rep. Scott Taylor. He threw his hat into the ring earlier
»
April 3, 2019 — Scott Johnson
Largely as a result of unprecedented Democratic obstructionism in the United States Senate, President Trump has yet to staff many executive positions in his administration or fill many judicial vacancies. This afternoon comes word that the Republican majority has finally altered Senate rules to reduce debate time on most presidential nominees by reducing post-cloture debate. They have done so by exercising what the media refer to as the “nuclear option”
»
March 13, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
For many months, we (along with many other conservatives) have been urging Senate Republicans to reduce the number of hours permitted to debate nominees. This step is necessary because Senate Democrats have used the 30 hours now permitted to stall nominees. The result is an unacceptable backlog of qualified, confirmable nominees. Consequently, judgeships and key administration jobs remain vacant. Now it finally looks like Majority McConnell will pull the trigger.
»
March 10, 2019 — John Hinderaker
I am currently reading Andrew Roberts’ biography of Winston Churchill. So I followed, with interest, the link that someone (probably Scott) put up as a Power Line Pick to this piece by Roberts in the Spectator about his book tour in America. His theme is that Americans, in general, esteem Churchill now more than ever. Which is a good thing. I want to comment on a single paragraph in Roberts’
»
February 21, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
The headline of this article by Byron York is: “Dems’ hard-left turn poses dilemma for ‘Never Trumpers.” Actually, I don’t believe the Democrats turn to the hard left is creating a difficult decision for hardcore Never Trumpers. They are determined to bring Trump down whether it means a Joe Biden presidency, a Kamala Harris presidency, or even a Bernie Sanders presidency. Their overriding objective is to see Trump repudiated and
»
February 14, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Democrats have hoodwinked Republicans on the border compromise legislation that would end the dispute over funding the government. That’s the most charitable interpretation of what has happened. It’s possible that the Republicans who agreed to the deal know about the “landmines” that will undermine the Trump administration and simply don’t care. Mark Krikorian blows the whistle. He writes: The bill is disappointing in many respects, but if it had been
»
January 20, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland, reportedly is considering running against President Trump for the Republican nomination. According to Politico, “the second-term Maryland governor has been implicitly going after Trump in speeches, meeting with Never Trump Republicans, and planning a March trip to Iowa as vice chair of the National Governors Association.” Hogan is an old fashioned “good government Republicans” and a political centrist. That’s fine for a Republican governor
»
December 25, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
On Christmas, Thomas Friedman delivers a column better suited for April Fool’s Day. He recommends that Republicans “threaten to fire” President Trump. Friedman writes: I believe that the only responsible choice for the Republican Party today is an intervention with the president that makes clear that if there is not a radical change in how he conducts himself — and I think that is unlikely — the party’s leadership will
»
December 19, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Late last night, the Senate passed First Step, the leniency legislation that will free many thousands of felons from federal prison and shorten the sentences of many thousands of future felons. The vote was 87-12. Here are the 12 courageous Republicans who resisted pressure from the Trump administration and from big-money interest groups like the Koch Brothers, and voted to protect the public from the hardened criminals who populate federal
»
November 30, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
FIRST STEP, the leniency for federal felons legislation being supported by President Trump, may or may not pass the Senate this year. Either way, it has split the Republican caucus. This Washington Post report leaves no doubt about that. The division is encapsulated in dueling National Review articles — one by Sen. Tom Cotton opposing the jailbreak and the other by Sen. Mike Lee supporting it. In another NRO article,
»
November 27, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Tonight, Cindy Hyde-Smith easily defeated Mike Espy, a member of President Obama’s cabinet, in a run-off election in Mississippi. The margin of victory looks to be about 8 points. Hyde-Smith’s win means that the new Senate will consist of 53 Republicans. Consequently, President Trump may be able to nominate (and see confirmed) highly conservative judges and cabinet members he might have shied away from during the past two years. Contrary
»
November 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post states: “While [President] Trump has blasted Democrats as ‘an angry left-wing mob’ and the ‘party of crime,’ researchers have identified just one fatal attack in 2018 that may have been motivated by left-wing ideologies.” By contrast, “researchers say at least 20 people have died this year in suspected right-wing attacks.” These counts may be accurate, though I’m not prepared to take the word of the Washington Post
»
November 17, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In his press conference following the midterm elections last week, President Trump unloaded on Utah Fourth District Rep. Mia Love. Trump scolded or mocked her, saying that that Love “gave me no love.” He added: “And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that Mia.” Trump’s comments implied a cause and effect relationship between Love’s lack of enthusiasm for Trump and the difficulties she faced in her district. This has the
»
November 3, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier today, John wrote: By historical standards, the Democrats’ performance in this year’s midterm elections won’t be good. The current consensus–which may be wrong, but let’s go with it for now–is that they will net at least 23 House seats, enough to gain control of that chamber, and probably a few more, while losing a seat or two in the Senate. This is sub-par for the first midterm election of
»
October 26, 2018 — John Hinderaker
I am in Washington to attend Turning Point USA’s first-ever Young Black Leadership Summit. Today’s highlight was a visit to the White House, where President Trump addressed the group in the East Room. We arrived at the East Entrance to the White House around 9:30, started going through security at 10:00, and were in the White House proper by 10:30 or so. The event was scheduled to begin at 11:00;
»
October 21, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The interview of Senator McConnell by Laura Ingraham below dates back to October 5, in the immediate aftermath of the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Senator McConnell explicitly discusses the mobs opposing confirmation that Republican Senators faced at their homes prior to the vote. It is worth pausing over this interview and reflecting further on the Democrats and their supporters. This is the new Democratic normal. Quotable
»
