By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
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The press already has billed President Obama's first jaunt to Israel since entering office as yet another charm offensive, a "symbolic visit" or simply a photo op. The White House does not appear to be festooning the four-day trip with any fancy predictions either.
"I applied to speak and was ignored. I tried to get a room for an American Freedom Defense Initiative event, 'The War on Free Speech,' and was ignored. So, for the first time in five years, I won't be at CPAC," declares Pam Geller, the outspoken opponent of radical Islam, who has her own theories about the situation.
Occasionally, embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus gets a star and two smiley faces for bustling into action, intent on steering weary Republicans towards political productivity.
He forged a reputation as a moderate, can-do businessman-politician, but Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, has taken a leap into the political unknown by embracing a right-to-work bill that has put him at the center of an ideological battle with the state's powerful union movement that shows no signs of dying down in the weeks ahead.
Dennis Van Roekel, president of the largest teachers union, the National Education Association, failed fifth-grade math last week. The question he failed is: If X (government spending) is growing faster than A (government tax revenue) plus B (new revenue from higher tax rates on "the rich"), when will A plus B equal X?
America is intrigued with the latest clash of political titans, suggesting that the vice presidential debate could draw as much interest as the presidential version. And why not? This is debate as reality TV, pitting a pair of unlikely combatants against each other, with excruciating stakes and a big audience.
The most worrisome time for Mitt Romney could be post-podium, when the presidential debate ends and the elite press descends, to gnaw on his words until voters are left with just a few bits of red meat — and lots of pre-digested conclusions.
Every American's paycheck will be smaller on Jan. 1 -- the only question is by how much. The payroll-tax break put in place two years ago will expire Dec. 31, and no one in Washington wants to extend it again. On top of this, all income tax rates will rise unless Congress and President Obama act.
Behold: Sarah Palin and Herman Cain will visit Fox Business Network anchorman Neil Cavuto Tuesday night to weigh in on a presidential primary drawing a global audience — where the economy trumps all and a third-party interloper may be an uncomfortable reality.
As expected, Mitt Romney is steamrolling all other GOP presidential hopefuls in the dash for cash, according to second-quarter fundraising reports trickling in. But the entire Republican field is pulling in less than it did in 2008, and the eventual nominee will almost certainly be left in the dust financially by President Obama, whose campaign is shooting to raise $1 billion or more.
What's the state of the union before the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night? Pretty prickly.
There's drama, sideshows, endless analysis. Unprecedented midterm election-night coverage has been ramped up to epic proportions by broadcasters, fueled by extravagant technology and a chance for lucrative ratings and buzz.
With jobs and the economy the No. 1 voter concern of the year, anchor Neil Cavuto leads midterm election coverage on the Fox Business Network this week — parsing the dollars, sense and nonsense of politics at a pivotal time.
I joyfully bring you a glowing report as I wrap up my tour across America 2010, where nightly, all summer long, I have been privileged to meet with great, hardworking and hard-playing American families from every imaginable walk of life in 68 cities. I share with you a powerful, united message of unstoppable good will, decency, indefatigable, positive spirit and a herculean work ethic that is absolutely dedicated to bringing America back from this embarrassing brink of unaccountable upside-down government gone mad.
He said so himself a half-dozen times in his "Common Sense" segment Wednesday on Fox.
Mr. Cavuto then correctly explained that taxing the top 2 percent could not solve the problem because even with the increase, spending would still be growing far faster than revenues -- primarily because of entitlement programs.
