Category: Republicans

Confessions of a Recovering Neoconservative

The realignment of the political Right has prompted a public confessional of sorts, a raw acknowledgement that millions of us were led astray by Republiican leaders we trusted, we voted for, and we defended during times of war. We only have ourselves to blame, of course, because we did it with our eyes wide open. … Continued

Democrats’ Attack Machine Revs Up Against Ratcliffe

Twenty minutes before President Trump announced Sunday afternoon on Twitter that Representative John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) would be his choice to replace Dan Coats as the director of national intelligence, the Democrats’ attack machine already was in action. “John Ratcliffe, by one measure the second most conservative member of Congress, appears to believe that the Russia … Continued

Fiscal Conservatism, R.I.P.

The drama over congressional testimony from Special Counsel Robert Mueller this week obscured other important legislation before Congress—like the mammoth $2 trillion, two-year budget deal lawmakers passed on Thursday. While this budget deal got very little attention outside or even inside the Beltway, it is a massive agreement that betrays any notion of fiscal responsibility, … Continued

Republicans, Don’t Screw Up the Mueller Hearing

Republicans will have a chance to redeem themselves this week after the farce they helped create: The special counsel investigation into alleged “collusion” between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election. Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee in a public hearing … Continued

Who Is for Middle America?

The late Edward Abbey, an irascible and irreverent American environmentalist, took aim at the immigration ideologues in terms still relevant for our time: “The conservatives love their cheap labor; the liberals love their cheap cause.” In other words, if the Republican Party and the Democratic Party can silently agree on one thing, it is that … Continued

High-Skilled Immigrants Act Is a Sop to Big Tech

In a rare moment of bipartisanship last week, Democrats and Republicans joined hands to make a small, but fundamental change to our immigration system. Not to provide critically needed updates or wholesale reforms, but, rather, to toss a sop to the billionaires of Big Tech. Thanks to furious lobbying from Microsoft, Amazon, Hewlett Packard, Equifax, … Continued

Jilted Again! The NeverTrump-Left Alliance Crumbles

The political misfits known as NeverTrumpers are begging for allies ahead of next year’s presidential election—and, as usual, they aren’t looking to the Right. This collection of failed magazine editors, Iraq War propagandists, washed-up columnists, Russian collusion pimps, and losing campaign consultants have dogged Donald Trump and his supporters for three years. While some anti-Trump … Continued

How Romney and the Anti-Trump GOP Fueled the Border Crisis

The crisis at the southern U.S. border proves at least one thing to be true: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is more honest than Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and his fellow anti-Trump Republicans. Ocasio-Cortez, to her credit, has never tried to fool the American people or her constituency by suggesting she wants anything less than open … Continued

Chip Roy Takes a Stand—Will Republicans Learn?

People often question whether it’s still true that one man can make a difference in the modern Congress. This week, Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) proved that it is. Fed up with the House passing legislation on autopilot (that is, passing amendments and bills “unanimously” without recorded votes and no one in the chamber) and outraged … Continued

What David French Gets Wrong About David French

The dust-up between New York Post op-ed editor Sohrab Ahmari and National Review author David French has offered an enlightening view into the chasm between Trump supporters and his detractors on the Right. For the past week, opinionists on both sides have weighed in on the broader and at times pedantic points of the dispute. … Continued