By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
Independent voices from the TWT Communities

With a slew of candidates who many in Virginia still don't know much about, the wide open contest for the Republican nomination to be the state's next lieutenant governor may actually come down to style over substance.

While Congress keeps its daggers drawn over the best way to avert the "fiscal cliff," city lawmakers are forging ahead with a novel plan to divorce their local spending from budgetary stalemates on Capitol Hill — despite warnings about its legal validity from the D.C. mayor and a powerful House member.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett of Maryland remembers a time two decades ago when things moved quickly in Washington and Democrats and Republicans weren't constantly at each other's throats.
Two top officials who have taken the lead in cleaning up ethical lapses and mismanagement at the board overseeing the Washington region's two major airports came under fire for their own actions Friday at a House oversight hearing.

The District's police and fire departments may not be at gold-star status, but both received passable grades during their first month of public approval ratings through the Grade D.C. program.

The District's plan to pursue financial freedom from Congress through an amendment to the D.C. charter is being hailed after the prospect of budget autonomy has seemingly gone nowhere in the 18 months since it was proposed by a prominent congressional Republican.

As the Republican standard-bearer this year, Mitt Romney, a late-in-life convert to the pro-life cause, finds himself at the helm of a party staking out an increasingly absolute opposition to abortion, even as he tries to woo moderate voters he'll need to win on Election Day.

As Mitt Romney sank in the polls in September, so did the fortunes of many Republican Senate candidates, seemingly putting control of the upper chamber out of the party's reach.

Republican George Allen scored a big-time endorsement Thursday in his U.S. Senate campaign in Virginia, winning the support of Florida senator and conservative rock star Marco Rubio.

The regional authority overseeing the $6 billion Dulles rail project dealt a blow to union labor on Wednesday — a day after voters in Wisconsin and California did much the same.

Though some had hoped for action on Wednesday, the regional authority overseeing the $6 billion rail-to-Dulles project will not discuss - or possibly vote on - a labor provision that is threatening to derail the second leg of the 23-mile rail line until as late as June 6.

Fresh from announcing his support of same-sex marriage, President Obama headed Thursday night for a Hollywood campaign fundraiser that is expected to rake in nearly $15 million — a record for such an event — at the home of actor George Clooney.

A high-profile campaign donor currently under federal investigation for his pattern of giving to D.C. politicians is also tied to more than $100,000 in contributions to Virginia candidates over the past 12 years.

President Obama's request for greater power to shrink the size of the federal government is getting mixed reviews in Congress, with even some prominent Democrats opposed to parts of the plan and others warning against handing the executive branch too much power.

The last time California redrew its congressional districts, Republicans and Democrats cut a deal to preserve all the incumbents, essentially erasing the country's biggest electoral fishing ground from the map in 2002.
In prior testimony, Mr. Davis said the maneuver would not be a "poke in the eye" to partners on the Hill.
"I wish it would happen," he said. "I don't think it will."