By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
Rep. Paul Ryan could be Mitt Romney's olive branch to voters who want to see illegal immigrants gain legal status, with the Wisconsin Republican having repeatedly backed legalization efforts and cast himself in the mold of former President George W. Bush, who fought a battle with his own party on the issue.
A seven-term congressman, Paul Ryan is well-known — and well-regarded — in Washington circles as an articulate and passionate advocate of fiscal responsibility and limited government. But for many Americans, the 42-year-old Wisconsin lawmaker, named this weekend as Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, is a relative unknown.
Sen. Marco Rubio must be weary of the phrase "I'm not going to be vice president." He's said it enough. The affable Florida Republican has spent months dissuading fans, voters and rabid journalists from speculating on the possibilities. Now Mr. Rubio is down to this stark seven-word phrase to get his point across.
Most people intuitively understand that job creation requires capital investment, but many in the Obama administration and in Congress seem to have missed this basic fact of economic life. As the late Jack Kemp used to say, "How many truck drivers would you have if nobody had money to buy trucks?" There are numerous studies that try to measure the cost of the average job, but a figure of $225,000 on average is in the ballpark.
Newt Gingrich has moved to capture some Republican voters who lean toward Ron Paul and other Republicans who were Jack Kemp followers by naming two gold bugs to the Gingrich future team of advisers.
Republicans have been casting about for a viable alternative to Mitt Romney. Many now believe Newt Gingrich should be the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee. They are wrong.
Fred Charles Ikle, one of the key Pentagon strategists who helped win the Cold War during the Reagan administration, died Nov. 10. He was 87.
Herman Cain's upset victory in the GOP's Florida presidential straw poll shocked political pundits and party activists alike. It's too early to tell if this was a one-time fluke or the start of an astonishing political story. What's clear is this political earthquake was a wake-up call for Republicans and could be the most important result of the entire primary season.
However the current debt-limit battle plays out, Washington lawmakers in the next phase of financial policymaking should move beyond simple accounting and focus primarily on economic growth.
The Democratic victory in upstate New York on Tuesday seemed to be about the unpopularity of the Republican Medicare plan. Democrat Kathy Hochul beat Republican Jane Corwin 47 percent to 43 percent to win the open seat in New York's 26th Congressional District, a shocking turn of events in a district that long had been a Republican beachhead in a blue state. The special election focused the last few weeks on the GOP's proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
A day after watching Democrats use Republicans' Medicare plan to score an upset victory in a special congressional election in New York, the GOP regrouped, retooled its message and saw most of its troops rally behind the plan in a key test Senate vote.
A certain billionaire is getting ambitious support in the heartland from a rockabilly hero, far from the glittering avenues of Manhattan.
An independent campaign to draw Rep. Mike Pence, Indiana Republican, into the 2012 presidential race is under way, with a veteran of the Reagan White House launching a petition drive on Monday urging him to enter the primary contests.
Superior communication skills make an important difference even in the most ordinary settings, says Timothy J. Koegel, who has worked with some of America's top public speakers.
As the late Jack Kemp used to say, "How many truck drivers would you have if nobody had money to buy trucks?"
Kemp warned about this void in 1979 when he wrote, "If one political party concentrates on increasing public spending and the other party concentrates on decreasing public spending, who is left to concentrate on economic growth, and the expansion of opportunities that can come only from such growth?"
