By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
As the budget debate begins in earnest in Congress this week, President Obama and Senate Republicans have something in common — neither of them has produced a federal budget yet this year.
With the swearing in of the 113th Congress, the media has been proclaiming the death of the Tea Party’s influence in Washington.
Despite rumblings from some Republican backbenchers, Speaker John A. Boehner's hold on the House's top post appears secure after key conservative lawmakers said they don't expect anyone to challenge him.
Two top congressional conservatives rejected the notion Tuesday that they must compromise their principles to adapt to changing political winds, as both — the old and new chairmen of the House Republican Study Committee — said they will hold firm in the face of the Obama administration's agenda.
Washington was stunned Thursday to learn stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint will leave Congress in January to run the Heritage Foundation.
Washington is abuzz over whether House Speaker John A. Boehner is purging conservatives from positions of power within his caucus. In a closed-door meeting Monday, Republican leaders stripped plum committee assignments from four outspoken advocates of limited government.
Our Constitution is in a sorry state these days. The nation's founding document has been weakened by President Obama's ongoing expansion of power and further diminished by his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill who don't even bother to cite the highest law in the land properly.
Returning to a new postelection reality on Capitol Hill, House Republicans say Rep. Paul Ryan will continue to be a major player with their caucus after his failed bid as Mitt Romney's running mate, but that the budget he pushed through the House the past two years no longer does enough to clean up the nation's fiscal mess.
Other Republicans may be worried about the campaign prospects of Mitt Romney but not Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative caucus in the House, who said voters have made the decision to reject President Obama and replace him with the GOP nominee.
President Johnson declared a War on Poverty in 1964. Over the subsequent three decades, the federal government created a maze of welfare programs to distribute a growing mountain of taxpayer money. But year after year, poverty seemed to win the war.
November's battle for control of the White House may grab the most public attention, but the House of Representatives is arguably the more vital race. Republican control of the lower chamber since 2011 has slowed spending in Washington and blocked much of the big-government agenda. Losing the House would have significant consequences.
Obamacare has a big date with destiny, drama and, oh yes, the Supreme Court on Thursday. The odds are good that Democrats will repeat their "false claim" that Republicans have no alternatives to President Obama's health care law. So says the Republican Study Committee, which intends to make its case not with a 2,700-page bill, but a 27-page summary. The terse outline showcases 200 pieces of health care legislation introduced in the past 18 months by members of the committee, chaired, incidentally, by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Obamacare is on the rocks, and the heart of the law - the individual mandate - or the whole thing could be struck down by the Supreme Court. Whatever the court does, the voters could finish the job in November.
There will be a bipartisan cast of thousands at the White House on Monday, liberating all from policy and campaign doldrums for a few hours, anyway. The 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll is set to host 30,000 guests on the South Lawn to promote "health and wellness" through sport, dancing, cooking, storytelling and, uh, an egg roll.
It didn't take long for earmarks to try for a comeback. After the Tea Party swept the 2010 midterm elections, House Republicans used their majority power to put an end to pork-barrel projects. Now 15 months later, the Republican caucus is split over bringing them back or ending them once and for all.
