The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of America's original and most important laboratories of democracy. Its motto, Sic Semper Tyrannis - "Thus always to tyrants" - offers a poignant rallying cry for national elections this year as contemporary patriots try to thrust off the yoke of oppressive government to make our country more free. With the crippling burden of trillions in debt, the socialist government takeover of health care and new taxes on the way to pay for it all, the American people are threatened by government tyranny now more than ever. Virginia has statesmen standing ready to defend our liberty.
Is the world's balance of power shifting away from the West and moving over to India and China? That's what a number of geopolitical sages are discussing in think tanks from Moscow to Beijing to London to Washington. In a joint SOS piece in the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman and the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard N. Haass, warn U.S. leaders to curb "the current debt addiction - or global capital markets will do it for them."
With only days to go until Election Day, most Beltway reporters and bloggers are focusing on races that will affect what will go on inside the Beltway. Will Republicans come up just short in the House, or will there be a complete landslide? Is the Senate within reach for the GOP? What does a Republican Congress mean for President Obama's chances in 2012?
D.C. conservatives and Republicans deserve a voice in Congress. Unfortunately, that voice is resonated by lawmakers and policymakers who don't even live in the nation's capital.
Spooky election campaigns jump-start Halloween this year. Christine O'Donnell, a Republican from the Tea Party running for a Senate seat from Delaware, is looking for a metered space to park her broomstick. "That's the kind of candidate Delaware hasn't had since 1694," cracked a player on "Saturday Night Live" as a skeleton in the background played the piano with bony fingers.
As a member of Congress, I know firsthand how dangerous it would be to give us the opportunity to "paper over" our complete lack of fiscal discipline, a practice also known as "quantitative easing."
Look at the thousands of political ads being run this fall. Scarcely more than a handful mention the volatile world beyond our borders - unless it's a reference to foreign competition for jobs. Even though the top priority for the president and Congress next year will be to revive America's stagnating economy, we cannot afford to ignore the national security challenges that cloud our future.
Two years ago, it would have been unthinkable that both seats held by Kennedy family members could be won by Republicans.
I find a certain irony in Bill Clinton's stumping for Democratic candidates. When he reminds voters of the prosperity and declining deficits during his two terms, he neglects to mention the Republican majorities in Congress from 1995 through 2000.
