By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
With its "Live Free or Die" motto, New Hampshire would seem to be tailor-made for the libertarian-flavored presidential campaign that Sen. Rand Paul is taking for a trial run. But, as his father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, learned in 2012, translating the typical New Hampshire voter's skepticism about big government into Republican primary votes is easier said than done.
It's become oddly fashionable to bash the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, the giddy juxtaposition of journalists, Hollywood celebrities and strategically-minded operatives that arrives in the nation's capital each spring, just like the circus. Critics claim the annual event has become commercialized, off-message and unbecoming.
It was a cast of thousands on a very crowded set: For the 99th time, the White House Correspondents' Association dinner has come and gone on a tide of tuxedos, talking points and a certain license to be daring, minus the political risk.
The persistent, noisy refrain that the Republican Party is "out of touch" with mainstream America continues. The phrase and its many variants have been repeated in public opinion polls and throughout the liberal media from the moment Mitt Romney solemnly waved goodbye from the presidential campaign trail. The Grand Old Party has taken the insults, but gotten the message.
Desperate to reverse a quarter-century death spiral with minority voters and restore the grass-roots decision-making that many here feel Mitt Romney undermined in 2012, Republican National Committee members will take on both issues at their spring meeting here this week.
Sen. Rand Paul is scheduled to visit Howard University on Wednesday to discuss issues important to American citizens and noncitizens alike, including civil liberties, mandatory minimum sentencing laws and education, and because the Kentucky Republican will be making inroads at a historically black school, he's expected to throw in a lesson on the history of the Republican Party and blacks.
Long hailed as the savior who restored much-needed financial order to the GOP, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, in his third year in the high-profile post, suddenly finds himself in troubled waters.
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued some words of advice for fellow GOPers: Get in the 21st century with same-sex-marriage issues.
Earlier this month, a working group tasked by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus presented a sweeping, 98-page report for party reform after last November's electoral rout. Among the many important items the "Growth and Opportunity Project" report recommends is a $10 million plan to broaden the party's appeal to minorities.
The Republican National Committee unveiled a 98-page blueprint Monday to rebuild the GOP, after months of focus groups and data analysis to find out why the party lost last year's presidential election. Sadly, what they found wasn't any great discovery.
Reports of the death of the Republican Party are greatly exaggerated, notwithstanding the release Monday of the details of an "autopsy" figuring out what went wrong in the 2012 elections.
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.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus batted away the idea on Monday that Sen. Rob Portman would receive any less support from the party after he recently expressed his support for same-sex marriage.
Alas, the Grand Old Party needs grand old changing. So says Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who is convinced the weary GOP needs a fancy new identity, as outlined in the "Growth and Opportunity Project" study released with much ado Monday.
The economy "doesn't mean we have to exclude tackling every other issue facing the voters of Wisconsin," he said.
