Jennifer Harper

Inside the Beltway: Gauging the worst of the ‘impeachment’ chatter

The liberal news media's unprecedented outcry against President Trump continues, and it constantly mutates. Whether Americans pay attention to all this chatter remains to be seen. Some of the remarks are worse than others, however. Geoffrey Dickens, deputy research director for the Media Research Center, pored over news footage from the last three weeks to determine the best of the worst of the commentary. Or maybe that should be the worst of the worst.

May 24, 2017

‘Trump trauma’ on the way out? Political anxiety appears to be fading, says psychiatric survey

During the 2016 presidential election, there was much talk in the press about "pre-election stress disorder," "post-election stress disorder," "collective stress," "election anxiety," "Trump trauma" and other conditions found among Americans who were dithering over the election itself, and the unexpected victory of President Trump.

May 24, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Trump must weather ‘the climate of hate’

Yet another analyst has stepped forward to cite the inequities of the media's ill treatment of President Trump, bolstered by nonstop political maneuvers by the Democratic Party. It all equals an attempted "take-down" of the president, says Roger Aronoff, editor of Accuracy in Media — a grass-roots watchdog which has parsed the complexities, including the appointment of former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Mr. Trump's recent firing of FBI director James B. Comey.

May 23, 2017

Inside the Beltway: 77% of Americans say the nation’s moral values have tanked

There is a reason why so many voters have complained that they don't recognize their country, their culture or the direction life appears to have taken. The nation's basic tenets are in decline, and the public knows it.

May 22, 2017

A spate of America’s money worries drop to lowest levels in a decade: Gallup poll

The nation's money woes appear to be fading, according to major new findings from Gallup.

May 22, 2017

Inside the Beltway: The final Obama travel tab on Air Force One reaches $100 million

It's taken a while, but investigators from Freedom Watch have at last tabulated a final travel bill for former President Barack Obama, who made much use of America's ultimate ride — the magnificent, but pricey Air Force One. Through persistent efforts over the years, the watchdog group has done the math and figured the total cost for Mr. Obama's travel when in office.

May 21, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Press attacks Roger Ailes even in death

The unexpected passing of Fox News founder Roger Ailes brought out a variety of headlines from news organizations, some of them hostile indeed.

May 18, 2017

Libertarian Party seeks official press secretary in bid to woo news media

It is a first. Boosted by considerable third-party success and a higher profile during the 2016 presidential election, the Libertarian Party has made a command decision to hire a full-time, experienced press secretary.

May 18, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Fox News adopts aggressive new war footing

Fueled by combative ratings wars and partisan politics, the broadcast realm is quickly turning into a war zone. One tactically minded network is ready for it. Fox News Channel, the most popular cable channel of all at the moment, also has been the top-rated cable news channel for the last 15 years, all of this according to consistent audience ratings numbers from Nielsen Research Media. Recent critical headlines might suggest otherwise, implying that Fox News is "faltering" or in some form of crisis. Though there can be industry fluctuations and personnel changes, Fox News is still top dog. The network, meanwhile, is stepping up to the battlefield with a clear strategy: It's pushback time.

May 17, 2017

Inside the Beltway: CNN obsessed with Trump, but not in a good way

"CNN is completely obsessed with Donald Trump - and not in a good way," says Rich Noyes, senior editor of Newsbusters.org, which has conducted an ambitious study of more than 13 consecutive hours of recent CNN coverage that reveals the network's true fascination: 92 percent of it was devoted to President Trump, primarily dwelling on his firing of FBI director James B. Comey.

May 16, 2017

Petition to ABC to save Tim Allen’s ‘Last Man Standing’ draws intense interest

Viewers who back both conservative values and actor Tim Allen are taking on ABC, which recently announced it had cancelled Mr. Allen's hit show "Last Man Standing" despite very respectable ratings.

May 16, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Progressives stage a ‘CPAC for liberals’

It's big doings on Tuesday for those opposed to President Trump. The Center for American Progress convenes a daylong "Ideas Conference" at an upscale hotel in the nation's capital -- an event rumored to be modeled after the remarkably successful Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. Fox News already has called the conference "CPAC for liberals," while Politico reports the event as "the first real cattle call of the Democrats nosing around 2020 presidential runs."

May 15, 2017

Republicans and Democrats have dramatic differences of opinion on the ‘watchdog’ press: Poll

The prevalence of bias in the media appears to have affected the role of the "watchdog" press, once a traditional calling among journalists. A new Pew Research Center poll finds that 42 percent of Republicans agree that media criticism of political leaders "keeps them from doing things they shouldn't"; a hefty 89 percent of Democrats agree

May 15, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Liberal outrage teeters on the brink

Oh, the outrage. For months, it has proliferated nonstop among those who oppose President Trump and now veers into dicey territory. Party officials, lawmakers and the liberal media have joined in the fray, along with interest groups, activists and operatives.

May 14, 2017

Liberty University expects record-breaking crowd for Trump commencement speech

When President Trump steps out on the big stage to deliver the commencement speech at Liberty University on Saturday, he will face 18,000 graduates. They portend to be a friendly, faith-minded and patriotic crowd; their graduation ensembles include a traditional gown in navy blue -- plus red, white and blue scarfs at the neck.

May 12, 2017

Inside the Beltway: NBC seeks amateur political pundits

It is a dream come true for that favorite uncle who somehow nails the latest media spin — or maybe the outspoken sister-in-law, that smart guy at work, a feisty granny, noisy husband or college-age upstart. NBC is seeking a few new stars.

May 11, 2017

Wireless smartphones, tablets, laptops in the U.S. now outnumber Americans: Industry report

There are now more smartphones, laptops and wireless-enabled tablets than people in the U.S. The devices now number 359.9 million, or 1.2 for every U.S. resident according to CTIA, a national trade group that tracks and represents the U.S. wireless communications industry.

May 11, 2017

Inside the Beltway: Despite the politics, D.C. attracts unprecedented, record tourism

They just keep on arriving. And arriving and arriving. Congress may earn the lowest favorability numbers on record and protests marches are plenty — but the city of Washington, D.C., has never been more popular. The noble marble monuments, museums and broad avenues have attracted an unprecedented number of visitors, according to new data released by Destination DC, an industry marketing group that tracks it all.

May 10, 2017

Liberal media goes into ‘full panic mode’ over Comey coverage: Report

After news emerged Tuesday that President Trump had fired FBI Director James B. Comey, the press added a jolt of melodrama and liberal agenda to their coverage within minutes.

May 10, 2017

Ron Paul: ‘We can’t afford to be the policeman or nursemaid for the rest of the world’

"President Trump is about to embark on his first foreign trip, where he will stop in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican, before attending a NATO meeting in Brussels and the G-7 summit in Sicily. The media and pundits have loudly wondered why hasn't he gone on a foreign trip sooner. I wonder, why go at all? What does the president hope to achieve with these meetings? This is a president who came into office with promises that we would finally start to mind our own business overseas," declares Ron Paul.

May 9, 2017