John McCormack

Florida counts the number of ways to screw up a machine recount

Political power brokers must learn that candidate quality is vastly more important than campaign cash.

The winners and losers of 2018.

Her complaints about "crazy Democrats" and alignment with the president on the migrant caravan came off as cynical.

Walker awaiting military votes to be counted and review of vote tally.

A look at a red-state senator’s difficult dance to the center.

A cast member for Saturday Night Live, a late-night comedy show on NBC that hasn't had a funny cast for a very long time, mocked the appearance of Republican congressional candidate and veteran Dan Crenshaw during SNL's latest episode.

The plot to get Mueller.

A close Senate race may hold clues for 2020.

The Senate majority leader talked to THE WEEKLY STANDARD about judicial confirmations, the midterm elections and Democrats wanting to change the rules.

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, but the fight against him has done lasting damage.

Let us count the ways.

A Democratic senator draws scrutiny to the July 1 event, but the location doesn’t appear to match Ford’s description and a partygoer doesn’t recall her ever being there.

What?

Christine Blasey Ford has claimed that four other people attended a small gathering at which she was allegedly assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh. Three of those people, PJ Smyth, Mark Judge, and Kavanaugh, have already denied any recollection of attending such a party.

"This is not a yes."

On Monday night, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that Christine Blasey Ford would have the opportunity to testify at a public hearing next Monday about her accusation that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were high-school students, and Kavanaugh will have a chance to…

Senate minority leader Charles Schumer called for a halt to the confirmation proceedings in response, but a spokesman for Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley said a committee vote this week had not been delayed.

Mark Judge says he learned he was named in the letter during an interview with the New Yorker.

Senate Democrats and their allies are attacking Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh for saying the words “abortion-inducing drugs” at his confirmation hearing earlier this week. He used the phrase while discussing a case in which conscientious objectors sought an exemption under the Religious…

It’s stupider than you can imagine.

Sorry, liberal activists

'If this were a court of law' Democrats 'would be held in contempt.'

Scott Walker is, once again, in a very tight race for reelection in Wisconsin.

Tony Evers also says the Democrats need pro-life voters in the party.

Hush money and campaign-finance law.

But the temperamental Trumpists are losing to the Trump-loving establishment in 2018.

Meet the new Marco . . .

A muted reaction to Helsinki from the GOP Congress.

The GOP primary in Wisconsin is a contest of personalities, not policies.

Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring a villain to the left. That's partly due to a spate of final Supreme Court decisions this summer in which he agreed that the First Amendment applies to Americans—even if those Americans happen to run a pro-life pregnancy center or own a bakery—but mostly due to…

Lindsey Graham, team player.

Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, narrowly defeated Delegate Nick Freitas in Tuesday's Virginia Senate primary. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Stewart led Freitas by 1.7 points—just over 5,000 total votes statewide—much closer than many had…

Ahead of President Trump’s June 12 meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore, South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham offered a stark warning to the North Koreans: “If they play Trump, we're going to have a war, and they're going to lose it.”

The GOP frontrunner in Virginia is known for extreme rhetoric and ties to vicious people.

Time is running out to confirm top federal judges in 2018.

Dan Crenshaw, a 33-year-old former Navy SEAL, won the GOP primary runoff election in Texas's second congressional district on Tuesday night. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Crenshaw led his opponent, state representative Kevin Roberts, 70 percent to 30 percent.

On Sunday, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney strongly endorsed the idea that House speaker Paul Ryan should step down in order to trigger an election that would force House Democrats to vote for unpopular Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

The executive action is based on a 1988 Reagan regulation, but can't eliminate most of Planned Parenthood's federal funding.

Quality candidates made it through the Republican primaries this time.

And for good reason. Need more proof? Look at their actions, not just their internal polls.

Republicans are panicking as internal polls show Don Blankenship, a coal baron who spent time in jail for a mining disaster that killed 29 workers, surging into the lead in the West Virginia Senate GOP primary over Attorney General Patrick Morrissey and Congressman Evan Jenkins.

Gaming out Congress's role in continuing the investigation—if it comes to that.

But at least Paul Ryan told some hard truths about entitlements.

New York

Congressman Dan Lipinski beat back a primary challenge Tuesday night from liberal activists who targeted the Illinois Democrat mainly because of his anti-abortion views and votes.

At oral arguments Tuesday for the case NIFLA v. Becerra, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed skeptical about the constitutionality of a California law that requires pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to advertise for "free or low-cost" government-funded abortions.

The renewed push for an assault weapons ban got a boost this week when President Trump seemed to endorse it at a White House meeting with members of Congress. After the bill’s sponsor, California senator Dianne Feinstein, touted the measure, the president encouraged her to “add what you have” to an…

In a crowded nine-way Republican congressional primary in Texas, former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw has decided that the best way to break out of the pack in his run for Congress is to run for Congress—literally. February 20 marked the first day of Crenshaw’s 5-day, 100-mile run through a congressional…

Florida senator Marco Rubio was grilled about his views on gun control before a stadium-sized live audience on CNN on Wednesday night. Some of the questions and comments were tough and smart; others were viciously ad hominem and stupid. But Rubio stood there and articulated why he opposed the…

In the wake of the Florida school massacre that left 17 innocents dead, there’s been a push to renew the Assault Weapons Ban. “Courage and conviction led to an assault weapons ban once before. Let’s do it again,” tweeted Bill Clinton, who signed the Assault Weapons Ban into law in 1994. The federal…

There’s been a lot of rancor in Washington over immigration this past month—you may recall President Trump’s concern about immigrants from s—hole countries, the ensuing s—storm in the media, and the less-memorable government shutdown. Four separate immigration bills were shot down in the Senate on…

When Paul Ryan agreed in October 2015 to become speaker of the House, some Republicans worried he couldn’t handle the political side of the job. Known as a policy wonk and not a political fundraiser, Ryan had insisted that one condition of his taking on the job would be that he would spend his…

In the spring of 2017, the Democratic party kicked off a debate about whether pro-life Democratic candidates should be tolerated anywhere in the country. The controversy began in the middle of middle America: Bernie Sanders and Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez attended a “unity…

Steve Bannon is a self-described Leninist who wants to destroy The Weekly Standard. Much worse, he's a notorious creep who promotes even bigger creeps like Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Roy Moore. So it is more than a little amusing to watch President Trump furiously attack Bannon in response…

This tax calculator is the most useful tool I've found online to estimate how the new tax law passed by the Republican Congress and awaiting the president's signature will affect U.S. taxpayers.

Senate Republicans announced Wednesday afternoon that they would not attach measures providing additional funding to Obamacare in a year-end spending bill to keep the government open.

For a Republican to lose the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions one year after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Alabama by 28 points, everything had to break just right for the Democrat. And it did. Turnout was high in heavily African-American Democratic counties. It was low in rural and…

In an interview that aired Friday with ABC News, Beverly Young Nelson, the woman who alleged that Roy Moore sexually assaulted her at age 16, admitted that she added a note underneath the Roy Moore inscription in her high school yearbook. Nelson provided the yearbook in a press conference last…

One day in October, Arkansas senator Tom Cotton approached Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor to pitch the majority leader an idea: In the tax reform bill, Republicans should repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate, the tax penalty most Americans lacking federally approved health insurance must pay.…

Henagar, Alabama

The House of Representatives passed its tax reform bill on Thursday on a 227-205 vote. All Democrats present and 13 Republicans voted against it.

While the allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against Roy Moore have seriously cast the viability of his Senate candidacy in doubt, some Republicans are now calling for his expulsion if he still wins the Senate race in deep-red Alabama.

Since the Washington Post published its bombshell report Thursday—in which a woman alleges that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore molested her when she was a 14-year-old and Moore was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney—almost all Republican senators and President Trump have said that Moore…

With each passing week, more and more congressional Republicans are announcing their retirements. Their reasons are varied. Jason Chaffetz of Utah quit Congress to take a job as a Fox News commentator. Several members not seeking reelection, like South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Tennessee’s Marsha…

House Republicans reversed course Thursday on their plans to scrap the adoption tax credit. Kevin Brady, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, issued a statement that an amendment to the committee's bill would restore the adoption credit and make other tweaks to the bill. The…

The federal adoption tax credit is a tiny sliver of federal spending—the $300 million spent annually equals less than 0.01 percent of the federal budget. But the House GOP's proposal to scrap this little tax credit as part of their overhaul of the tax code is already receiving a lot of pushback.

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Scottsdale, Ariz.

New rules issued Friday by the Trump administration—effective immediately—will allow conscientious objectors to opt out of Obamacare's contraception and abortion-pill mandate for religious or moral reasons.

The victory of Roy Moore, a populist and religious fundamentalist, in the Alabama Senate primary last week can be seen in two different ways: continuity with the recent past of GOP politics and a radical break from it.

The victory of Roy Moore, a populist and religious fundamentalist, in the Alabama Senate primary last week can be seen in two different ways: continuity with the recent past of GOP politics and a radical break from it.

With all precincts reporting, former Alabama supreme court justice justice Roy Moore defeated former state attorney general Luther Strange 54.6 percent to 45.4 percent in the Republican Senate primary to finish out Jeff Sessions' term.

The Graham-Cassidy bill to block-grant Obamacare's spending and provide waivers from Obamacare's regulations to the states seemed to be on death's door Friday afternoon.

Out of 100 members of the United States Senate, precisely one man—Alabama's Jeff Sessions—endorsed candidate Donald Trump while the Republican presidential nomination was hotly contested. So it's not terribly surprising that the Senate GOP primary to replace President Trump's attorney general is…

At the end of July, Kentucky senator Rand Paul advocated and voted for the so-called "skinny repeal" bill of Obamacare. "Skinny repeal is better than no repeal," Paul said on Fox News. "The reason I will advocate and vote for skinny repeal is that it's the best I can get."

Kentucky GOP senator Rand Paul met with reporters Monday in his Capitol Hill offices to discuss his opposition to Graham-Cassidy, the last-ditch effort to repeal and replace Obamacare that would turn most of Obamacare's funding into block grants and provide waivers from Obamacare's regulations to…

On Wednesday, a group of four Republican senators—South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, Nevada's Dean Heller, and Wisconsin's Ron Johnson—revealed the text of their 140-page health-care reform bill.

Earlier this year, the LA Times reported: "TSA quietly launches new 'enhanced' pat-down procedure." The Times noted that TSA would not describe precisely how the new procedure is different from the old one: "TSA officials declined to detail the new universal procedure or the previous pat-down…

A new poll in the Alabama Senate GOP primary runoff shows a dead heat between Republicans Roy Moore and Luther Strange. Harper Polling reports:

As presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised he would make really great deals that would bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. “We will get our people off of welfare and back to work—rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor,” President Trump said in his…

As presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised he would make really great deals that would bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. “We will get our people off of welfare and back to work—rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor,” President Trump said in his…

...by the clouds.

Earlier this year, WEEKLY STANDARD senior editor Christopher Caldwell wrote the single best piece on the opioid crisis in America. In Mosaic Magazine, he's just published another great piece on the topic of addiction: "Why There Is No Secular Substitute for Alcoholics Anonymous."

We now live in an era when news cycles are lucky to last a full 24 hours, so please take a moment to clear your mind as we travel back in time to two long years ago.

We now live in an era when news cycles are lucky to last a full 24 hours, so please take a moment to clear your mind as we travel back in time to two long years ago.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday, Senate Republicans finally revealed to the public the text of the health-care bill they hope to pass. The so-called "skinny" repeal bill is just 8 pages long. You can read it here. A vote is scheduled shortly after midnight.

Senate Republicans still don't have 50 votes to pass any piece of legislation dealing with Obamacare, but they may nevertheless vote to proceed to debate on health care legislation Tuesday with no apparent endgame in sight.

Some of the Senate's rules governing what legislation can be passed with a simple majority, rather than 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, are vague and confusing. So it was widely expected that the Senate parliamentarian would say that some provisions in the GOP bill to partially repeal and…

The latest version of the Senate GOP’s bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare was pronounced dead the evening of Monday, July 17, when Utah senator Mike Lee and Kansas senator Jerry Moran announced their opposition, bringing the number of “no” votes to at least four. In a Senate that…

The latest version of the Senate GOP’s bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare was pronounced dead the evening of Monday, July 17, when Utah senator Mike Lee and Kansas senator Jerry Moran announced their opposition, bringing the number of “no” votes to at least four. In a Senate that…

The latest version of the Senate GOP's bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare died Monday night when GOP senators Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas announced their opposition to legislation. The bill could lose only two GOP votes and still pass, and Lee and Moran brought the grand…

If Senate Republicans are going to pass a bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare, it appears they'll need everyone but libertarian Rand Paul and moderate Susan Collins to do it.

Several Republican senators are calling on Donald Trump Jr. to testify before Congress in the wake of the news that the president's oldest son met with a Russian lawyer with the intent of obtaining official documents from the Russian government that would incriminate Hillary Clinton.

After a frenzied week of healthcare negotiations, the Senate recessed for the Fourth of July holiday not with a bang, but a whimper.

Late Friday night, Utah senator Mike Lee issued a lengthy statement (which is well worth reading in full) ripping and ridiculing the Senate GOP health care bill:

Senate Republicans unveiled a 142-page bill to partially repeal and replace Obamacare on Thursday. The bill can only lose two GOP votes and still pass the Senate, but several Republicans expressed opposition or concerns about the bill in its current form. In a joint statement, conservative senators…

Lena Dunham, the HBO celebrity and Democratic activist, had an op-ed in the New York Times over the weekend arguing against a regulation under consideration by the Trump administration. According to a leak, conscientious objectors could opt out of the Obamacare mandate that forces American…

On Wednesday morning, Vox published a leaked draft of a proposed federal regulation that would allow business owners to opt out of Obamacare's contraceptive mandate for religious or moral reasons. "Employers seeking an exemption would not be required to notify the government, under the drafted…

At 4:20 a.m. on July 10, 2016, gunshots rang out in Washington, D.C. When Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at the scene, about two miles north of the U.S. Capitol, they found Seth Rich, a 27-year-old employee of the Demo­cratic National Committee, lying down but "conscious and…

Here's (hopefully) the wildest campaign story of 2017: On the eve of Thursday's special congressional election in Montana, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs asked GOP candidate Greg Gianforte a couple of questions about the CBO score of the House health care bill. Gianforte responded by—I kid you…

There's been an avalanche of news over the past week, but here's one report that shouldn't be buried:

When news broke that Jim DeMint, the former South Carolina senator and president of the Heritage Foundation, was being removed from his role at the prominent conservative think tank, activists and political insiders wondered: Had the Founding Father of the Tea Party finally been defeated by his…

When news broke that Jim DeMint, the former South Carolina senator and president of the Heritage Foundation, was being removed from his role at the prominent conservative think tank, activists and political insiders wondered: Had the Founding Father of the Tea Party finally been defeated by his…

Amid a tense Democratic debate over whether pro-lifers have any place inside the party, Nancy Pelosi delivered a blunt message to her fellow Democrats: Trump won because of the party's rigid stance on abortion and other social issues.

On Tuesday, the Heritage Foundation's board of Trustees unanimously "asked for and received the resignation of Jim DeMint as president and CEO of the organization," according to a statement from board Chairman Thomas Saunders. The statement blames DeMint for unspecified "significant and worsening…

John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been two of President Trump's loudest critics within the Republican party, but following a private dinner at the White House with the president Monday night, both men expressed confidence in Trump's seriousness about addressing a major foreign policy crisis: the…

After the Trump administration announced on Monday it will impose tariffs of up to 24 percent on Canadian lumber, the National Association of Home Builders said it was "deeply disappointed in this short-sighted action." A previous NAHB study suggested such tariffs would raise the price of new homes…

In the Kansas special election on Tuesday to replace former congressman (and current CIA director) Mike Pompeo, the Republican candidate won by seven percentage points (52.5 percent to 45.7 percent, with almost all precincts reporting).

While some members of Congress, like Kentucky senator Rand Paul, are questioning President Trump's legal authority for launching a military strike Thursday night against the Syrian regime, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says Trump was acting well within his inherent…

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was asked at his weekly press conference on Tuesday if he was confident Republicans had the votes necessary to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court by eliminating the Senate minority's ability to filibuster Supreme Court nominees.

Less than two weeks before the 2016 elections, Virginia senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said that he would support eliminating the 60-vote hurdle to confirm Supreme Court nominees in order to get Judge Merrick Garland on the court.

Late in the Obama administration, the Department of Health and Human Services enacted a rule to stop states from defunding Planned Parenthood. On Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted 51-50 to overturn that rule.

Another veteran Republican senator is ready to thwart an unprecedented filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday morning that he will try to lead fellow Senate Democrats to block an up-or-down vote on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The Democratic leader demanded a new nominee (who takes a liberal approach to constitutional…

The American Health Care Act lost another vote Wednesday night when Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, an ardent pro-lifer and fiscal moderate, announced his opposition to the bill. "The overriding concern I have is the Medicaid expansion being significantly altered," Smith told the Asbury Park Press.…

A debate over the military's budget is emerging between defense hawks on Capitol Hill and fiscal hawks in the Trump administration. The fiscal hawks, chief among them Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, want the next annual defense budget set at $603 billion, a 3 percent…

Early Tuesday afternoon, a senior GOP House aide mapped out a short path through the House for the American Health Care Act (legislation that repeals and replaces parts of Obamacare): Due to the snowstorm on the East Coast, the Budget committee hearing would be pushed back from Wednesday to…

A debate over the military's budget is emerging between defense hawks on Capitol Hill and fiscal hawks in the Trump administration. The fiscal hawks, chief among them Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, want the next annual defense budget set at $603 billion, a 3 percent…

Political correctness holds too strong a grip on too much of American life these days. Religious citizens who politely and conscientiously object to working gay weddings may be crushed by the state and driven into bankruptcy. In academia, the very place where the life of the mind is supposed to…

Political correctness holds too strong a grip on too much of American life these days. Religious citizens who politely and conscientiously object to working gay weddings may be crushed by the state and driven into bankruptcy. In academia, the very place where the life of the mind is supposed to…

What's the best way to get your message to President Trump? Two groups on opposite sides of the abortion debate seem to agree: Target the TV shows he likes to watch and tweet about like Morning Joe and Fox & Friends.

Back in October, congressman Devin Nunes met with a group of executives from major corporations to talk business. "I was trying to sell them on" the House GOP's tax plan, Nunes says, "explain how it would work and how the economy would grow." There was only one problem: None of the business…

Back in October, congressman Devin Nunes met with a group of executives from major corporations to talk business. “I was trying to sell them on" the House GOP's tax plan, Nunes says, "explain how it would work and how the economy would grow." There was only one problem: None of the business…

Dozens of pro-life leaders sent a letter to Congress Thursday afternoon urging Republican senators and representatives to honor their commitment to prohibit taxpayer-funding of elective abortion coverage under any health-care bill to replace Obamacare.

In mid-October, when it seemed likely that Democrats would win the White House and a Senate majority, retiring Senate minority leader Harry Reid said that Senate Democrats would scrap the 60-vote hurdle for Hillary Clinton's Supreme Court nominee, just as they had done in 2013 for lower-court and…

Shortly after noon on January 20, America's newly installed president issued a declaration of war against global free trade. "We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great…

In a joint statement issued Sunday, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona expressed concern that Donald Trump's temporary ban on individuals from seven Middle Eastern and North African countries from entering the United States would prohibit the Iraqi military from…

Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday suspending the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and barring U.S. entry for 90 days for people from seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. Trump's order also states that after the refugee program restarts, Syrian refugees…

Shortly after noon on January 20, America's newly installed president issued a declaration of war against global free trade. "We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great…

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which bars federal funds from going to overseas organizations that perform or promote abortions.

There are some myths that just won't die, and one of those myths was perpetuated in a Washington Post article on Wednesday. In a story on GOP efforts to redirect taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood to community health centers, the Post reports:

Retired Marine Corps general Jim Mattis's confirmation hearing was such a breeze that even the Code Pink protesters in the room didn't say a peep. The anti-war activists who had disrupted Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions' hearing on Tuesday by ranting about racism and the KKK only protested…

Oklahoma senator James Lankford, a member of the intelligence committee, said on CNN Thursday that there's no doubt that Russia was behind the hacking of Democratic campaign officials.

During an interview with Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday night, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asserted: "We have the trust of our sources, we have the trust of our readers, having never got it wrong."

Ilyse Hogue, the president of the pro-abortion group NARAL, had been mulling a run for Democratic National Committee chair, but she announced Wednesday she will not seek the Democratic party's top post.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, a leading evangelical who served as a Donald Trump surrogate during the general election, is not happy with Trump's choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state. When Tillerson was CEO of Exxon, the energy company donated money…

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden told a group of reporters at the Capitol, "I'm going to run in 2020."

Some conservatives have criticized the deal the incoming Trump administration struck with Carrier to keep several hundred manufacturing jobs in Indiana as "crony capitalism," but Texas senator Ted Cruz had nothing but praise for Trump when asked about the deal on Tuesday.

On Friday, Donald Trump became the first president-elect to speak to the leader of Taiwan since 1979. As the Financial Times notes, Trump's call could anger the Communist Chinese regime in Beijing:

The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe reports:

Ohio congressman Tim Ryan, who has served in Congress since 2003, announced in a letter to colleagues Thursday afternoon that he would challenge Nancy Pelosi in House Democratic leadership elections.

When Democrats thought they had a lock on the White House and the Senate, retiring Senate minority leader Harry Reid made one thing abundantly clear: If necessary, Democrats would get rid of the Senate's 60-vote hurdle to confirm a Supreme Court justice—just as they had done for other judicial and…

"Republicans Dominated The Senate Races, Except The Ones Who Dumped Trump," the Daily Caller reports. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway calls the story an "important read - and critical to remember moving forward. Still waiting for those stories on how Trump helped down-ballot [Republicans]…

Donald Trump owes his victory in the Electoral College to three states he won by the smallest number of votes: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So it's fair to say that the 2016 presidential election was decided by about 77,000 votes out of than 136 million ballots cast. According to the…

First-term Republican senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire conceded Wednesday evening:

The House Republican caucus lost only five members on net in Tuesday's elections. After runoff elections are held in Louisiana, there will be 241 Republicans and 194 Democrats taking office in January. Among the new congressmen-elect are Brian Mast of Florida and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, who…

Donald Trump has shocked the world and won the presidential election. But you shouldn't blame most of the polls for your surprise. Polling errors of about three percentage points are fairly common, as we've pointed out at THE WEEKLY STANDARD and as Nate Silver has explained at FiveThirtyEight.com.

As voters head to the polls today, the partisan impulse for Republicans to support Donald Trump has never been stronger. But according to the final New York Times/CBS poll, only 39 percent of Republicans say Trump has been good for the party, while 41 percent say he's been bad for the party, and 16…

Throughout 2015 and 2016, Donald Trump never led Hillary Clinton in a single public poll of New Hampshire. Until Thursday. A WBUR/MassINC poll shows him up by one percentage point, the ARG poll (which has a poor reputation) shows Trump up by five points, and the Boston Globe/Suffolk poll shows…

Two weeks ago, a Monmouth poll found that Democrat Evan Bayh had a 6-point lead over Republican Todd Young in the Indiana Senate race, but that same pollster now finds the race tied:

Draper, Utah

Draper, Utah

When Florida Democrat Randy Perkins faced off against his Republican opponent Brian Mast at an editorial board meeting last month, the two had some unpleasant exchanges, including one in which Perkins badgered Mast, a wounded veteran, about his health care:

Draper, Utah

Las Vegas

For the first time ever, the Democratic platform is explicitly calling for a repeal of the Hyde amendment, a longstanding budget measure that prohibits federal funding of abortion except in very rare cases.

St. Louis

St. Louis

Following the release of a 2005 video in which Donald Trump made obscene comments about how he gropes women and might commit adultery, Utah senator Mike Lee called on Trump to step aside so that someone else could challenge Hillary Clinton.

Bill Clinton made headlines this week when he said that Obamacare "craziest thing in the world" because small businesses and individuals "who make just a little too much" to qualify for any of Obamacare's subsidies are "getting killed." Indeed, Obamacare's structure is so crazy that that those who…

In 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that poverty "in many cases is the root cause of terrorism." But a new World Bank study on ISIS recruits shows that Kerry's claim isn't true. "This result is consistent with a number of other studies that come to a similar conclusion: poverty is not a…

According to CNN's instant (scentific) poll of debate watchers, 48 percent said that Mike Pence won, while 42 percent said Tim Kaine won. That seems about right to me. Pence was better than Kaine on both substance and style.

Four polls conducted prior to the first presidential debate suggested that the race in potentially decisive Colorado had become a dead heat: Trump narrowly led in two polls, while Clinton narrowly led in the other two. But the first poll of Colorado conducted since the first debate finds that…

A new Quinnipiac poll shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton tied at 47 percent in a head-to-head race in Colorado. When Libertarian and Green Party candidates are added into the mix, Trump is down just 2 points (44 percent to 42 percent). That's a big swing from Quinnipiac's last poll of Colorado…

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Friday afternoon that Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson will not be allowed on the presidential debate stage in September because he failed to garner at least 15 percent in national polls:

The New Hampshire Union Leader is endorsing Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson for president:

A new Bloomberg poll shows Trump leading Hillary Clinton by 5 points in Ohio:

Fifteen years ago, Brian Mast was running on the treadmill at Palm Beach Atlantic University's gym when he looked up at the TV in disbelief. Smoke was pouring out of a gaping hole in the World Trade Center's north tower. At first, he thought he was watching a fictional show. "Then I saw the second…

Elliott Abrams asks the question. It appears the UN may be to blame:

In Wisconsin's 8th congressional district, Democrat Tom Nelson is running a TV ad hitting Republican Mike Gallagher for wanting to "reduce all Social Security benefits to the poverty line." FactCheck.org reports that attack is simply not true:

The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal Marist poll should quiet down the chatter that John McCain could lose his Senate seat: The Arizona senator leads his Democratic challenger 57 percent to 38 percent.

At an LGBT gala fundraiser featuring Barbra Streisand Friday night, Hillary Clinton said half of Trump supporters are "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it" and cast them into the "basket of deplorables." NBC News reports:

The Wall Street Journal has an editorial in Friday's paper explaining the Democrats' decision to filibuster a bill to combat the Zika virus:

Fifteen years ago, Brian Mast was running on the treadmill at Palm Beach Atlantic University's gym when he looked up at the TV in disbelief. Smoke was pouring out of a gaping hole in the World Trade Center's north tower. At first, he thought he was watching a fictional show. "Then I saw the second…

The new Marquette law school poll shows shows Hillary Clinton up just 3 percentage points over Donald Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin, where she led Trump by 15 points earlier this month:

On Tuesday, Arizona senator John McCain defeated his GOP primary challenger Kelli Ward 52 percent to 39 percent, while Florida senator Marco Rubio defeated his GOP primary challenger Carlos Beruff 72 percent to 18 percent. Both Ward and Beruff styled themselves as Trumpist candidates in their races…

Reid Wilson reports at The Hill:

The Guardian reports:

CNN released a new poll Wednesday evening showing John McCain leading Kelli Ward in the August 30 Arizona Senate primary by 26 points (55 percent to 29 percent).

Democrats changed their party platform this year to call explicitly for repealing the Hyde amendment, a longstanding and popular budget measure that prohibits federal funding of abortion for Medicaid recipients except in rare circumstances. Taxpayer-funding of abortion is so unpopular that even…

Monmouth University released a new poll Monday reminding Republicans that they might easily be winning the 2016 presidential race if they had nominated a natural-born citizen over the age of 35 who is not Donald Trump.

House speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin crushed his GOP primary opponent Paul Nehlen Tuesday by nearly 70 points. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Ryan led Nehlen 84 percent to 16 percent.

Pennsylvania has long been viewed by election analysts as a potentially decisive state in the 2016 presidential contest, but new polls out of the Keystone state show a race that isn't even close.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine has created some confusion about his position on the Hyde amendment, a longstanding budget measure that bans federal funding of abortion except in extreme cases.

The latest Fox News poll, released Wednesday night, shows Hillary Clinton beating Donald Trump 49 percent to 39 percent. An overwhelming majority say that Trump's response to the Muslim parents of a fallen U.S. soldier was "out of bounds."

The Senate campaign of Democratic candidate Ted Strickland tells the Columbus Dispatch that Strickland supports repealing the Hyde amendment, a longstanding budget measure that bans federal funding of abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and threats to the mother's life.

While campaigning in Florida Tuesday, Tim Kaine blamed Republicans for Congress's failure to pass a bill to do more to combat the disease. The Miami-Herald reports:

Tim Kaine has moved sharply to the left on the issue of abortion over the last 10 years, but there remains some confusion over where the Democratic vice presidential nominee stands on the issue of federal funding of abortion.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

When news broke that Hillary Clinton had chosen Virginia senator Tim Kaine to be her running mate, NARAL (the group formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League) showered praise on Kaine for maintaining a "100% pro-choice voting record in the U.S. Senate." Despite saying that he's a…

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland

Donald Trump had his best polling news of the summer when Quinnipiac released polls yesterday showing Trump tied or leading Hillary Clinton in three swing states. Trump and Clinton were tied in Ohio, while Trump led Clinton by two points in Pennsylvania and three points in Florida.

The Republican National Committee released a partial list of convention speakers Thursday morning. Among the named speakers are potential vice presidential picks Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich, Mike Flynn, and Scott Walker. But Indiana governor Mike Pence isn't named. A colleague asks: Does that…

With fewer than than 48 hours until the 2016 Republican National Convention's Rules Committee convenes, a leading anti-Trump delegate is increasingly convinced she'll have the votes necessary to allow the delegates to vote their consciences when casting ballots for the GOP's presidential nominee.

A GOP delegate has won his lawsuit challenging a Virginia law that would have forced him to vote for Donald Trump on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention next week.

On Tuesday night, House speaker Paul Ryan was asked during a Fox News appearance about Donald Trump's deeply misleading comment that Saddam Hussein was good at killing terrorists. "Tonight at a rally, Donald Trump said, 'Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, but he was very, very good at killing…

According to a draft released last week by the the Democratic National Committee, the 2016 Democratic platform will for the first time explicitly call for unlimited taxpayer funding of elective abortions for Medicaid recipients.

Senate Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer held a press conference Thursday morning alongside Planned Parenthood's executive director in an effort to justify their decision to block $1.1 billion in federal funding to combat the Zika virus.

In a 5-3 decision Monday, the Supreme Court declared that a 2013 Texas statute regulating abortion clinics was unconstitutional. The Texas law, which would have established the same health and safety standards for abortion clinics as outpatient surgical centers and require a doctor on staff to have…

Congressional Democrats emerged from the Capitol building Thursday afternoon from their 25-hour long "sit-in" in the House of Representatives sleepy but satisfied with what they'd accomplished. They may not have secured a vote on gun control legislation they were demanding in the wake of the…

A recent New York Times story by Jonathan Mahler and Matt Flegenheimer on Donald Trump's relationship with Roy Cohn, the former aide to Joe McCarthy and high-powered New York lawyer, includes this amusing anecdote:

Back in March, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan declared that he would speak out against Donald Trump when he saw "episodes where conservatism is being disfigured" or "comments that mislead the people as to who we are as Republicans." True to his word, last week Ryan strongly condemned Trump's racial…

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid continued his push Tuesday for a bill to ban the sale of guns to Americans suspected of terrorism, even if the government can't show probable cause to a judge that Americans on the terror watch list are plotting terrorism. But Reid suggested it's "foolishness" for…

In the wake of the Islamist terror attack that killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Hillary Clinton and congressional Democrats are vigorously pushing legislation to ban American citizens from purchasing guns if the federal government has a reasonable suspicion the gun may be used in a…

Since Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP presidential nominee on May 3, Ted Cruz has declined to say whether or not he will support his former rival in the November election. "I am watching and listening and like millions of voters assessing the candidates. And I expect voters will continue to…

One month after announcing his support for Donald Trump, Marco Rubio still believes that the presumptive GOP nominee is unfit to be commander-in-chief. "I stand by everything I said during the campaign," the Florida senator told THE WEEKLY STANDARD on Thursday when asked if he still believes Trump…

Scott Walker has said that he would support Donald Trump if he were the nominee, but the Wisconsin governor backed away from that pledge in the wake of Trump's racial attack on the federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University. Trump said the judge, an American citizen born in…

BuzzFeed reports that in a radio interview Newt Gingrich condemned Donald Trump's attack on the federal judge overseeing a lawsuit against Trump, saying that the logic behind GOP nominee's attack "totally goes against our whole model of being an American." Trump said last week that the judge, an…

Social conservatives and evangelical leaders who were some of Donald Trump’s staunchest foes during the GOP primary now face a dilemma in the general election: Should they vote for a man as immoral as Trump in order to stop Hillary Clinton from becoming president?

A new poll of New Hampshire voters released by WBUR shows that Mitt Romney would start out in a competitive position if he decided to run as an independent against Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: "Romney has been a leader in the Republican-led Stop Trump movement. The poll found that in a…

Florida senator Marco Rubio said in an interview Tuesday that he intends to support Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the November election despite the fact that he still believes Trump should not have access to the United States' nuclear weapons launch codes.

Donald Trump is now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. But that doesn’t change the fact that he is manifestly unfit to be president.

A new CNN poll shows Hillary Clinton crushing Donald Trump among registered voters by 13 points (54 percent to 41 percent). The same survey shows that Clinton trails Ohio governor John Kasich by 7 points (51 percent to 44 percent) in a general election match-up.

TV networks called the Indiana primary for Donald Trump immediately after polls closed Tuesday night.

Donald Trump is expected to win all five northeastern states holding GOP primaries today, likely taking close to 110 of the 118 bound delegates up for grabs. His total delegate haul could drop to 95 or so if he unexpectedly fails to win 50 percent of the statewide vote in Connecticut and if he…

If they don't simply call it an "anti-LGBT law," those in the news media typically call North Carolina's law requiring single-sex public restrooms and changing facilities the "bathroom bill" or the "bathroom law."

With less than two weeks to go until the critical Indiana primary, not a single public poll of the presidential contest has been released. But Politico's Shane Goldmacher reports that two private polls show Trump and Cruz tied, while a third poll showed Trump leading Cruz:

After Donald Trump lost the Wisconsin primary two weeks ago by a double-digit margin to Ted Cruz, he was garnering about 54 percent in the New York GOP primary polls. But Trump didn't suffer any negative consequences in New York because of his failure in Wisconsin. He won his home state on Tuesday…

"Donald J. Trump" has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today in which he whines that the Republican establishment robbed him of delegates by rigging the contest in Colorado. As Michael Warren reported the other day, Trump's claim is the opposite of true: The establishment wanted a primary in…

The rap on Ted Cruz has been that his strength is limited to (1) caucus states and (2) states with large proportions of evangelical Christians. But Cruz undid that analysis with his double-digit victory over Donald Trump in Wisconsin last week.

Milwaukee

Madison, Wisc.

A new Fox Business poll of the Wisconsin GOP presidential primary shows Ted Cruz leading Donald Trump 42 percent to 32 percent, with John Kasich in third place at 19 percent. Cruz leads Trump among nearly every demographic group except for independents:

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Tuesday, stars in a new Cruz TV ad released today:

During a townhall event today with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Donald Trump said "there has to be some form of punishment" for women who obtain abortions. Trump quickly reversed himself after pro-life advocates pointed out that they have long opposed imposing criminal penalties on a woman who undergoes…

A new Marquette Law School poll shows Ted Cruz jumping out to a 10-point lead over Donald Trump—40 percent to 30 percent—with John Kasich far behind in third place at 21 percent.

A new LA Times poll released on Sunday finds that the GOP presidential race in California is a dead heat among likely voters: Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz by just one point—36 percent to 35 percent—with John Kasich in third place at 14 percent. The California primary is more than two months away,…

The poll, conducted March 20 to 22 by Emerson College, indicates that Kasich's presence in the race is taking more votes from Cruz than from Trump. Kasich's supporters view Cruz as more favorable than Trump by an 9-point margin—36 percent to 27 percent.

A poll of Arizona Republicans conducted last week but released today shows Donald Trump leading Ted Cruz 31 percent to 19 percent, with John Kasich and Marco Rubio tied at 10 percent.

With Donald Trump's defeat in Ohio on March 15, Trump's opponents now have a plausible path to holding him to fewer than 1,100 delegates in the GOP presidential race—well short of the majority (1,237 delegates) required by the rules to win the Republican nomination.

The March 15 Republican primaries will be the most important contests to date in determining who the GOP presidential nominee will be. Donald Trump would be in a strong position if he sweeps Ohio, Florida, Illinois, and Missouri on Tuesday. But mixed results for Trump could make it difficult for…

Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to engage in violence against peaceful protesters at his rallies by saying on Sunday that he is considering paying the legal fees of a North Carolina man who punched a protester in the face. Time reports:

A new Kansas City Star poll shows Donald Trump leading Ted Cruz 36 percent to 29 percent in Missouri's Republican presidential primary. Marco Rubio and John Kasich are far behind in the single digits at 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

Following Thursday night's debate, Donald Trump shrugged off reports that Michelle Fields of Breitbart News was assaulted by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. "Perhaps she made the story up. I think that's what happened," Trump told reporters in the spin room.

Michelle Fields, a Breitbart.com reporter and a former Fox News contributor, was grabbed by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and yanked "toward the ground like a ragdoll," an eyewitness tells the Daily Beast. The altercation occurred Tuesday night following Trump's press conference in…

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Hillary Clinton clobbering Donald Trump 51 percent to 38 percent in a general election. But Clinton leads Ted Cruz by just 2 points (47 percent to 45 percent) and is tied with Marco Rubio at 46 percent each.

Princeton professor Robert P. George and Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow George Weigel, joined by three dozen more Catholic scholars and writers, have published a letter at National Review calling on their fellow Catholics to reject Donald Trump and support a "genuinely reformist candidate":

A new Monmouth University poll conducted from March 3 to March 6 shows Donald Trump leading Marco Rubio in Florida 38 percent to 30 percent, with Ted Cruz in third at 17 percent and John Kasich in fourth at 10 percent. The most surprising result from the Monmouth survey is that Rubio has a big lead…

Ted Cruz's supporters have been furiously arguing this week that Marco Rubio and John Kasich should drop out of the GOP presidential race so that Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head match-up.

Texas senator Ted Cruz scored an overwhelming victory over Donald Trump in the Kansas caucuses on Saturday. With 77 percent of precincts reporting, Cruz was winning twice as many votes as Donald Trump--51 percent to 25 percent. Florida senator Marco Rubio was in third at 14 percent and Ohio…

The Miami Herald reports:

Politico's Shane Goldmacher reports that Florida senator Marco Rubio's path to winning the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the presidential nomination before the GOP convention has vanished. That's correct. But that's also true for Ted Cruz. And it may soon be true for Donald Trump as well.

Donald Trump is expected to do very well as the results from the Super Tuesday contests come in tonight, but don't listen to the pundits and Trump supporters who claim that the race is over.

CNN reports:

Chris Casteel reports at NewsOK.com:

After it was revealed this summer that Planned Parenthood was selling the organs and body parts of aborted human beings to biotech companies, Donald Trump said he wasn't sure if the organization should lose its federal funding. He even went out of his way to praise Planned Parenthood's good work.…

After undercover videos released in July showed that Planned Parenthood was involved in the trafficking of aborted baby body parts, Donald Trump said he wasn't sure if the Planned Parenthood should lose all of its federal funding. He later shifted, saying: "I wouldn't do any funding as long as they…

A new ad by the super PAC supporting Marco Rubio hits Donald Trump for mistreating workers, disabled veterans, and an elderly widow whose home Trump wanted for a casino parking lot. Watch it here:

Charleston, S.C.

North Charleston, S.C.

Charleston, S.C.

BuzzFeed's Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott report that—contrary to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's claims—Trump actually supported the Iraq war in 2002:

Pope Francis caused quite a stir in the GOP presidential race on Thursday when he responded to a question about Donald Trump's position on immigration. When a reporter told the pope that Trump wants to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall and "deport 11 million illegal immigrants, separating families,"…

Beaufort, S.C.

A new poll for CBS News found that Florida senator Marco Rubio bested Donald Trump in Saturday night's GOP debate:

Should women be required to register for the Selective Service in case there’s ever a draft again? It's an obvious question now that the Obama administration has ruled—over the objections of the Marine Corps—that all combat roles must be open to women.

Earlier tonight, CBS announced the criteria to qualify for the upcoming GOP presidential debate in South Carolina:

Nashua, N.H.

Back in November, the New York Times reported that Right to Rise, the super PAC that Jeb Bush established, had produced a video casting Marco Rubio as "ultimately unelectable because of his hard-line stand against abortion."

Manchester, N.H.

Concord, N.H.

Donald Trump canceled his only scheduled campaign event in New Hampshire on Friday because it is snowing in the Granite State. "Due to the weather and the airports being closed Mr. Trump is unable to attend today's Town Hall at the Londonderry Lions Club," the Trump campaign said in a press…

On Thursday, New Jersey governor Chris Christie attacked Florida senator Marco Rubio from the left on the issue of abortion.

West Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines

Des Moines

Johnston, Iowa

Donald Trump's campaign manager predicted that Thursday night's GOP presidential debate on Fox News would only get "about 2 million" viewers because Trump refused to show up. In fact, "Fox News likely had 11 million to 13 million viewers for the debate," CNN's Brian Stelter reports.

Donald Trump is skipping tonight's debate because, according to Trump, Fox News and Megyn Kelly have not been nice to him. Trump plans on holding a rally to benefit veterans instead, but The Federalist reports that Trump is funneling all donations for veterans to his personal Donald J Trump…

Donald Trump says he's skipping the final debate before the Iowa caucuses on Thursday night because he's upset with Fox News and debate moderator Megyn Kelly. Trump will instead hold a "special event to benefit veterans organizations" in Iowa, according to a campaign press release. But the event…

Today, a group of pro-life women leaders mailed Iowans a letter warning that Donald Trump is an unacceptable choice for pro-life voters. They write that Trump's record and his statements about abortion, as well as his demeaning treatment of women, give them grave concerns:

Tweet

A new Ted Cruz ad attacks Donald Trump for the time Trump "colluded with Atlantic City insiders to bulldoze the home of an elderly widow for a limousine parking lot at his casino."

On Saturday evening, the Des Moines Register endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican presidential nomination:

In December, Donald Trump ducked a question about whether he would seek to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade in order to allow legislators to pass laws protecting the lives of human beings who haven't been born yet. "You're gonna need a lot of Supreme Court justices, but…

Almost all Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate say they're pro-life and vote that way. But few are willing to speak out and lead on the issue. It's controversial. It may alienate members of the donor class and infuriate some Democrats. Iowa senator Joni Ernst doesn't seem to care about…

Ahead of her speech at the March for Life on Friday, Iowa GOP senator Joni Ernst said that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and other presidential candidates should tell voters where they stand on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that declared a right to abortion-on-demand.

Before Donald Trump takes the stage in Northern Iowa University’s gymnasium, a woman he once fired tries to convince the crowd of 1,000 that Trump's victory is inevitable. "Hop aboard the Trump train. 'Cause let me tell you what, folks. We are going places. And we are going places fast. And we are…

When Ben Carson was rising in the polls, Donald Trump was quick to attack the former neurosurgeon for being "pro-abortion not so long ago."

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has had a remarkable comeback in the GOP presidential race. Back in November, he was relegated to the undercard debate, but he managed to bounce back in the polls in the wake of the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. He is now right in the mix with Rubio, Bush,…

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

At an event to accept the endorsement of Planned Parenthood in New Hampshire on Sunday, Hillary Clinton called for unlimited taxpayer-funding of elective abortions for Medicaid recipients.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, commissioned a poll in December "testing how he would fare against Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, according to two sources close to Mr. Bloomberg," the New York Times reports.

Donald Trump walked into the final GOP debate of 2015 trailing Ted Cruz in Iowa but leading the field in New Hampshire and national polls. It seems unlikely that anything that happened in Las Vegas will change that dynamic.

Democratic leaders won't stop talking about their plan to ban anyone on the terrorism watch list from purchasing a gun, and it's not hard to see why. President Obama's approval rating on the issue of terrorism is in the gutter, and talking about the terror watch list gun ban helps shift the debate…

A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows Hillary Clinton crushing Donald Trump in a head-to-head general election matchup. While Clinton leads Trump by 10 points (50 percent to 40 percent) and Texas senator Ted Cruz by 3 points (48 percent to 45 percent), the likely Democratic nominee trails…

Texas senator and GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz declined on Tuesday to discuss the constitutionality of Donald Trump's call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States"--a ban that would also apply to Muslim U.S. citizens living abroad, according to a Trump…

The U.S. Senate voted 52-47 on Thursday night to repeal almost all of Obamacare. The bill also stripped almost all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the billion-dollar non-profit that performs more than 300,000 abortions each year. All Senate Republicans voted for the bill except Mark Kirk of…

On Thursday, Defense secretary Ash Carter denied the Marine Corps's request to keep some combat roles exclusively open to men. "There will be no exceptions," Carter said in remarks announcing that all combat units must be open to women. "This means that, as long as they qualify and meet the…

The Hill reports: 

On Thursday, the House voted 289-127 in favor of a bill that would require greater scrutiny of Syrians and Iraqis applying to become refugees in the United States. In a stunning rebuke to President Obama, 47 Democrats ignored the president's veto threat and joined 242 Republicans to pass the…

Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, introduced a bill Tuesday that would delay the implementation of the USA Freedom Act, legislation passed in June that ends the NSA's practice of storing U.S. phone records (the date, time, duration and numbers dialed--but not the content or identity of…

Florida senator and GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the Paris terrorist attacks underscored why the United States can't admit more Syrian refugees. "We won't be able to take more refugees. It's not that we don't want to, it's that we can't. Because there's no way to…

Former counterterrorism official Richard Clarke said Sunday that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a much greater threat to the United States than al Qaeda ever was. 

On Friday night as the Paris terrorist attacks were underway, Kentucky senator Rand Paul criticized Florida senator Marco Rubio for wanting to spend more money on national defense: 

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Right to Rise, a super PAC set up by Jeb Bush, has produced but not yet aired a TV ad attacking Marco Rubio as unelectable because of his pro-life stance. Rubio said in an August debate that he "never advocated" for exceptions to abortion restrictions in…

Milwaukee

Milwaukee

The New York Times reports that the "cash-rich group aiding Jeb Bush’s White House run has filmed a provocative video casting his rival Marco Rubio as ultimately unelectable because of his hard-line stand against abortion." 

This week, the Department of Education ruled that public schools must grant transgender students unrestricted access to the bathrooms, locker rooms, and open shower facilities of their preference.

According to a new poll released by Gallup on Thursday, Donald Trump is the most unpopular presidential candidate in either party: 56 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Trump, while just 34 percent have a favorable view of him.

CNN reports: 

In 2012, Jeb Bush wanted Marco Rubio to be one heartbeat away from the presidency, but Bush's campaign is now suggesting that there are troubling things in Rubio's past that would make him a "risky bet" as a presidential candidate. On Thursday night, David Catanese of U.S. News and World Report…

Congressman Paul Ryan became the fifty-fourth speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday morning. The 45-year-old Wisconsinite received 236 votes, while 75-year-old Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California received 184. Daniel Webster, a Republican backed by members of the Tea Party, received…

Two new polls released on Monday show Ben Carson up big over Donald Trump in Iowa: A Monmouth poll shows Carson ahead of Trump 32 percent to 18 percent (with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio tied for third place at 10 percent each), while a Loras College poll shows Carson leading Trump 31 percent to 19…

As the sun starts setting on a crisp fall evening, Marco Rubio takes the stage in the backyard of a former editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader for a classic New Hampshire campaign event, a house party. “I love this weather,” Rubio says. “It doesn’t make you sweat.” Rubio flashes a smile, and…

In a "dear colleague" letter, Congressman Paul Ryan announced Thursday night that he's "ready and eager" to be speaker of the House of Representatives. You can read the full letter here:

A new Quinnipiac poll shows Ben Carson leading Donald Trump 28 percent to 20 percent, with Marco Rubio in third place at 13 percent and Ted Cruz in fourth at 10 percent. This is the first poll in four months that shows Trump losing Iowa, according to RealClearPolitics.  

Congressman Raul Labrador of Idaho emerged from a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus tonight to announce that a supermajority of the caucus supports Paul Ryan as speaker of the House. "We tried to reach a consensus but we were not able to reach the 80 percent threshold" needed to issue a formal…

One of the biggest objections among members of the House Freedom Caucus to Paul Ryan's conditions to serve as speaker is Ryan's reported desire to get rid of the "motion to vacate the chair." Under current House rules, any single member of the House may force a vote to oust the speaker (the measure…

At a House GOP caucus meeting, Congressman Paul Ryan said he will run and serve as House speaker if he can be a unity candidate. What does that mean? Ryan's spokesman Brendan Buck writes in an email that Ryan will need "the endorsement of all the conference’s major caucuses" by Friday.

A recent study found that integrating women into Marine Corps combat units had a negative effect on unit cohesion and performance. President Obama's secretary of the Navy quickly dismissed the study by attacking the integrity of the Marines who participated in it, but the full study was never even…

Manchester, N.H.

On Thursday morning, Jeb Bush said that Marco Rubio doesn't have the "leadership skills" to fix things and likened Rubio to Barack Obama:

At the beginning of a five-hour committee hearing on Tuesday with Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards as the sole witness, Chairman Jason Chaffetz made a surprising announcement. The Utah congressman and oversight committee chairman said he wouldn't focus on the undercover investigation…

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, issued the following statement following his vote Thursday against a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government: 

When running for Senate in 2012, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp portrayed herself as something of a moderate on the issue of abortion, saying: "I do not support public funding of abortions, and believe that late term abortions should be illegal except when necessary to save the life of the mother."

When running for Senate in 2012, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp portrayed herself as something of a moderate on the issue of abortion, saying: "I do not support public funding of abortions, and believe that late term abortions should be illegal except when necessary to save the life of the mother."

Senate Democrats blocked House-passed legislation on Tuesday that would prohibit almost all abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy, a point when human infants can feel pain and survive if born prematurely.

As the Senate prepares to vote tomorrow on a bill banning abortion after the fifth month of pregnancy, the point at which human infants can feel pain and survive if born prematurely, Hillary Clinton has expressed opposition to legal limits on abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

Simi Valley, Calif.

A new nine-month-long study by the Marine Corps found that including women in combat units had a negative impact on unit cohesion and performance, the Washington Post reports:

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is the highest-ranking Democrat to oppose President Obama's executive agreement with Iran over the Islamic republic's nuclear program. But during the Senate Democratic leadership's final press conference prior to a vote on the deal, Schumer didn't say anything…

It’s been a rough month for Scott Walker. From February through July, the Wisconsin governor topped virtually every poll of likely GOP voters in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. But after a lackluster performance in the opening Republican presidential debate on August 6, Walker dropped nearly…

A new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll shows Bernie Sanders trailing Hillary Clinton by just 7 percentage points: 

Speaking to cadets at the Citadel today, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker criticized the "Obama-Clinton" foreign policy and called for deploying greater resources to defeat the Islamic State. 

The latest undercover Planned Parenthood video is an interview with Cate Dyer, CEO of an organization called StemExpress that buys aborted baby body parts from Planned Parenthood and sells them to researchers. 

Tuesday morning on CNN, Donald Trump expressed interest in keeping most taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Later that evening, he defended the organization again in during an appearance on Sean Hannity's show by repeating the deeply dishonest talking point that abortion is a "small part" of…

A new poll shows Vermont senator Bernie Sanders leading Hillary Clinton by seven points in the New Hampshire Democratic primary: 

On CNN this morning, Donald Trump suggested that he's open to allowing Planned Parenthood to keep more than $500 million in taxpayer funding it receives every year. CNN's Chris Cuomo repeated the dishonest Planned Parenthood talking point that only 3 percent of its "services" are abortions and that…

In the wake of the undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the trafficking of aborted baby tissue and body parts, the U.S. Senate has scheduled a vote to defund Planned Parenthood. It’s a fine first step by Congress in response to the horror revealed by the Center for Medical…

The man leading the GOP primary polls made it clear on Thursday night that he still has a high opinion of health care systems that are to the left of Obamacare. 

In the wake of the Democratic filibuster blocking a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, several politicians and pundits have suggested that Republicans must face down President Obama in a government shutdown in order to defund a barbaric organization that routinely kills premature infants in the…

In the wake of the Democratic filibuster blocking a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, several politicians and pundits have suggested that Republicans must face down President Obama in a government shutdown in order to defund a barbaric organization that routinely kills premature infants in the…

In the wake of the Democratic filibuster blocking a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, several politicians and pundits have suggested that Republicans must face down President Obama in a government shutdown in order to defund a barbaric organization that routinely kills premature infants in the…

Senate Democrats blocked a bill on Monday night to defund Planned Parenthood without having watched the undercover videos documenting the organization's involvment in harvesting aborted baby organs and selling them to biotech companies.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat for West Virginia who had previously supported funding for Planned Parenthood, announced today that he'll vote to defund the organization.

In a new interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Hillary Clinton calls videos about Planned Parenthood's involvement in the harvesting and selling of human organs "disturbing." Clinton doesn't say precisely what she finds disturbing about the videos, only that it "raises questions about the…

Senator Joni Ernst, a freshman Republican from Iowa, introduced a two-page bill Tuesday evening to defund Planned Parenthood without reducing federal funding for health care programs:

Planned Parenthood hired a Democratic polling firm to find out if taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood is still popular, and found out that 64 percent of voters still want federal funding for the organization. Here's the question that voters were asked: 

The undercover investigation into Planned Parenthood's involvement in the trafficking of aborted baby organs has gained so much attention in the press that Planned Parenthood's president, Cecile Richards, felt compelled to appear on ABC's This Week on Sunday to address the scandal. 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, sent out a fundraising email on Monday condemning congressional efforts to investigate Planned Parenthood's practice of harvesting and selling aborted baby organs to biotech companies.

It may sound too ghoulish to be true, but it is. In a video released on July 14, a top official at Planned Parenthood was caught discussing how the billion-dollar nonprofit harvests and sells the organs of aborted babies to for-profit biotech companies.

Representative Diane Black, a Republican from Tennessee, has introduced a bill to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, an organization that performs hundreds of thousands of abortions each year. An undercover investigation by the Center for Medical Progress has revealed that some Planned…

This week, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a law protecting the lives of infants after the fifth month of pregnancy (or 20 weeks after conception), a point in human development when babies can feel pain and survive long-term if born prematurely.

A second video from the Center for Medical Progress's undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood's practice of trafficking aborted baby organs was released Tuesday morning.

At a campaign event on Saturday, Donald Trump mocked John McCain's war heroism:

In background documents sent to reporters on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood's public relations firm calls the organization's harvesting of human organs a "humanitarian undertaking." 

Sean Davis reports at The Federalist: 

Will religious schools be punished by the government in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage? During oral arguments of the Supreme Court case, the Obama administration's top lawyer said that the charitable tax status of religious…

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas introduced a bill on Wednesday that would deny federal law enforcement aid to cities that don't comply with federal immigration laws. The problem of so-called "sanctuary cities" has been in the news following the murder of Kathryn Steinle, a young woman who was killed…

By a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled today that the United States constitution requires states to recognize marriages between couples of the same sex. Justice Kennedy, joined by Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer, and Ginsburg, wrote for the majority. Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia,…

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to provide Obamacare subsidies to people in 37 states where Obamacare exchanges were established by the federal government even though the law only authorizes such subsidies for people enrolled in an "Exchange established by the…

In a June 12 column, the Washington Post's Dana Milbank botches a key fact about federal legislation that would ban abortion during the final four months of pregnancy, when infants can feel pain and survive long-term if they're born prematurely: 

Donald Trump officially declared his candidacy for the presidency in a speech Tuesday. "I'm really rich," Trump said. "And by the way, I'm not even saying that in a braggadocious--that's the kind of thinking you need for this country." Trump promised that he would make America rich, too.

In his speech formally launching his presidential campaign today, Jeb Bush will defend religious liberty. According to an excerpt obtained by THE WEEKLY STANDARD, the former Florida governor will aim at Obamacare for trampling on the conscience rights of the Little Sisters of the Poor and also will…

In his speech formally announcing his presidential campaign today, Jeb Bush will take aim at Hillary Clinton for attacking religious liberty.

Hillary Clinton's supporters have had a notoriously difficult time identifying a single significant achievement during her tenure as secretary of state, but during her 45-minute speech on Saturday, Clinton tried to name a few. "I’ve stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like…

On Thursday, reason.com published a genuinely outrageous report about two parents who had been arrested, strip-searched, jailed overnight, and charged with felony child neglect simply because their 11-year-old son had been left alone to play basketball for 90 minutes in his own backyard.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suggested Thursday morning that groups have paid Bill and Hillary Clinton exorbitant speaking fees in order to buy influence. 

Nearly a month after making a significant error in a story on legislation banning late-term abortion, the New York Times has finally issued a correction.

Nearly a month after making a significant error in a story on legislation banning late-term abortion, the New York Times has finally issued a correction.

Nearly a month after making a significant error in a story on legislation banning late-term abortion, the New York Times has finally issued a correction.

Nearly a month after making a significant error in a story on legislation banning late-term abortion, the New York Times has finally issued a correction.

Nearly a month after making a significant error in a story on late-term abortion, the New York Times has finally issued a correction.

While campaigning against the Patriot Act in South Carolina last weekend, Rand Paul—a committed and supposedly knowledgeable civil libertarian—made a rather surprising claim. The Kentucky senator said that American law enforcement officials had "probable cause" to obtain a warrant for the arrest…

On Sunday night, the Senate voted 77-17 to advance the USA Freedom Act. The bill, which already passed the House 338-88, amends the Patriot Act by ending the NSA's practice of storing U.S. phone records (the date, time, duration and numbers dialed--but not the content or identity of the caller--of…

After ensuring that key sections of the Patriot Act will expire at midnight Sunday, Kentucky senator Rand Paul said that some of his critics "secretly want" a terrorist attack in the United States while those anti-terror surveillance programs are shut down. "People here in town think I'm making a…

Key anti-terrorist programs authorized by the Patriot Act are scheduled to shut down if Congress fails to act by midnight Sunday, but it still remains unclear how the Senate plans to move forward.

In a letter released Thursday, Senator Pat Toomey strongly criticized President Obama's decision to ban or restrict the provision of some equipment to local law enforcement agencies by the federal government. 

A number of social conservatives who met privately with Scott Walker on Tuesday say that they came away from the meeting reassured about the Wisconsin governor's committment to the issues they care about most. "He was well-received in a pretty packed room," says Tom McClusky of March for Life…

The House of Representatives will vote today on a bill that would ban abortion after the fifth month of pregnancy, when science indicates that infants can feel pain and survive long-term if born prematurely.

The House of Represenatives will vote today on a bill that would ban abortion after the fifth month of pregnancy, when science indicates that infants can feel pain and survive long-term if born prematurely.

In his commencement address at Liberty University on Saturday, Jeb Bush delivered a vigorous defense of religious liberty. But, as Peter Wehner and Mollie Hemingway observe, perhaps the most interesting part of the speech was Bush's lengthy intellectual defense of Christianity itself in which the…

Florida senator Marco Rubio went to the Senate floor on Wednesday to push for votes on amendments to legislation concerning a nuclear deal with Iran. "If you don't want to vote on things, don't run for office," Rubio said. "Be a columnist. Get a talk show."

Bill Kristol writes in this week's newsletter: 

The Daily Caller's Kerry Picket reports that likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in a speech on Thursday in New York that religious beliefs about abortion "have to be changed."

If you tried to contact the IRS with a question about your taxes this year, chances are you didn't get a response. The IRS estimated that it would only answer 17 million of the 49 million calls received this filing season. Taxpayers lucky enough to have the IRS answer their calls waited an average…

As he gears up for another presidential campaign, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is making a big break with the Republican party on the issue of entitlement reform. Meeting with reporters at a hotel in Washington, D.C. this morning, Huckabee strongly criticized New Jersey governor Chris…

Hillary Clinton opposed same-sex marriage until 2013, but as late as 2014 she suggested that marriage laws still ought to be determined by the states. Talking Points Memo's Sahil Kapur reports today that Clinton, who graduated from law school 42 years ago, has somehow discovered in 2015 that the…

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton is dodging a key question in the abortion debate: Under what circumstances should late-term abortion be legal?

Indiana Republicans released an amendment to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Thursday morning. Here's the text:

Indiana House speaker Brian Bosma tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that he hopes to unveil text of an amendment clarifying the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) on Thursday. But it's still not clear what precisely the amendment will say. 

Garrett Epps writes at The Atlantic that I am wrong to say there aren't "significant" differences between the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and Indiana's RFRA.

Douglas Laycock, a professor at the University of Virginia Law School, writes in an email: 

In an appearance on ABC's This Week, Indiana governor Mike Pence defended his state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act by noting that Barack Obama had voted for the same law as an Illinois state senator.

On Thursday, Indiana governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law, and some celebrities, politicians, and journalists--including Miley Cyrus, Ashton Kutcher, and Hillary Clinton, just to name a few--are absolutely outraged. They say the law is a license to…

On Thursday, Indiana governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law, and some celebrities, politicians, and journalists--including Miley Cyrus, Ashton Kutcher, and Hillary Clinton, just to name a few--are absolutely outraged. They say the law is a license to…

Urbandale, Iowa

Senate Democrats continue to block a vote on a bill to help sex-trafficking victims because the bill does not fund elective abortions, but Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont signaled Thursday that he's open to a potential compromise to pass the bill.

In response to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent remarks and reelection, a senior Obama administration official tells Politico that the United States may withdraw support of Israel at the United Nations.

On Tuesday, 42 Senate Democrats prevented a vote on a bill to help the victims of sex trafficking because the bill does not provide federal funding for elective abortions. Here are five reasons why this filibuster is insane. 

In an interview Sunday afternoon, Scott Walker strongly criticized Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of private email as secretary of state and rejected accusations that he's guilty of hypocrisy on the issue.

The Department of Justice released its report on Wednesday about the shooting death of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. The DOJ confirms that physical evidence corroborates the essential claims Wilson made about the incident: That Brown reached into…

Retiring Democratic senator Barbara Mikulski spoke Tuesday evening at an event sponsored by EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to electing Democratic female candidates who oppose restrictions on abortion, about how much the group meant to her.

Retiring Democratic senator Barbara Mikulski spoke Tuesday evening at an event sponsored by EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to electing Democratic female candidates who oppose restrictions on abortion, about how much the group meant to her.

In an open letter released on Tuesday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said he would sign legislation banning most abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy, the point after which infants can feel pain and survive if born prematurely. 

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker received a warm reception from the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday evening, but faced a lot of criticism for his response to a question about what he would do to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "I want a commander in chief…

CNN's Alexandra Jaffe reports that a new poll shows Americans oppose President Obama's handling of the ISIS threat by a 17-point margin: 

Marc Caputo reports at Politico that Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is eyeing a seat in the Senate:

Joe Biden got a little too close for comfort with another woman who doesn't know him today. At the swearing-in ceremony of defense secretary Ash Carter, Biden put his hands on the shoulders of Carter's wife and apparently leaned in to whisper something in her ear:

The Washington Free Beacon is running an excerpt of Jay Cost's new book A Republic No More: Big Government and the Rise of American Political Corruption. In this chapter, Cost explains how the staggering growth in the number of registered lobbyists--their ranks have swelled more than 300-fold since…

New York Times columnist Gail Collins writes about Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's recent speech in Iowa:

As Scott Walker surges in the 2016 GOP primary polls, Democrats and the mainstream media have taken a newfound interest in the well-known fact that the Wisconsin governor never received a college degree. The Washington Post asserts there are "lingering questions" surrounding Walker's departure, but…

Harry Reid has long insisted that he's "pro-life" on the issue of abortion, but on Wednesday his Senate Majority PAC sent out a fundraising email calling legislation to ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy "our WORST NIGHTMARE":

Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic congresswoman and Iraq war veteran, ramped up her criticism of the Obama administration on Tuesday for refusing to identify Islamist terrorists as Islamist terrorists. 

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, a Republican of North Carolina, has been raising concerns about a late-term abortion ban that the House is scheduled to vote on this week, but she said Wednesday afternoon that she will vote for the bill even if it comes to the floor without changes she wants in it.

According to a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday, President Obama would veto a bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the point at which infants are capable of feeling pain and surviving long-term if born.

In the days since the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the response from American politicians has ranged from pathetic to parodic. Through his press secretary, President Obama expressed regret on Monday that neither he nor any other high-ranking American official joined 44 world leaders who marched…

In the days since the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the response from American politicians has ranged from pathetic to parodic. President Obama expressed regret on Monday through his press secretary that neither he nor any other high-ranking American official joined 44 world who marched alongside…

Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman and 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee, tells NBC's Alex Moe that he will not seek the presidency in 2016: 

The AP reports: 

CBS News published a story on December 11 under the headline: "Bill would let Michigan doctors, EMTs refuse to treat gay patients." CBS News reports: 

Jonathan Gruber’s testimony before Congress last week was a series of apologies, evasions, denials, and outright lies. The MIT professor widely acknowledged to be the “architect of Obama-care” before it was known that he attributed passage of the law to legislative deception and the “stupidity of…

Jonathan Gruber's testimony before Congress on this week was a series of apologies, evasions, denials, and outright lies.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports that Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, one of Obamacare's co-authors, regrets passing the law:

Chuck Schumer, the high-ranking Democratic senator from New York, gave a speech today at the National Press Club in which he said that it "made no political sense" for Democrats to focus on passing the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times reports: 

A handful of Senate Democrats are publicly expressing disapproval of the president's executive action on immigration, but it's not yet clear that any of them are willing to do anything to stop him. 

Scott Walker has won every round of his long fight with Big Labor in Wisconsin, but it wasn’t until November 4 that he delivered the knockout punch. In his third gubernatorial election in four years, Walker defeated Democratic challenger Mary Burke by 6 points. It was the same margin of victory he…

At a press conference today, Nancy Pelosi denied that she even knows Jonathan Gruber, the M.I.T. professor often known as the "architect" or "author" of Obamacare whose comments about the law have created a lot of controversy this week.  

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Elise Stefanik has taken over a Democratic House seat in upstate New York. Stefanik, age 30, will become the youngest woman to ever serve in the House. She won by a whopping 22 points. Democrats narrowly won this seat in 2009, 2010, 2012 when the…

With less than one-third of precincts reporting, ABC News and Fox News project that incumbent Republican governor Scott Walker has defeated Democratic challenger Mary Burke. While most of the polls showed a tight race (except for the Marquette poll that showed Walker winning by 7 points), Walker…

We'll have real votes to talk about soon enough, but here's a final look at where the polls ended up in the 2014 Senate races.

"Republicans could lose their House majority because of the shutdown,” blared the headline of a story published at the Washington Post’s Wonkblog by Princeton professor Sam Wang on October 8, 2013, midpoint of the 16-day shutdown. Two weeks after Wang pointed to surveys showing control of the House…

The highly-respected Des Moines Register poll released Saturday evening shows Republican Joni Ernst opening up a substantial lead over Democrat Bruce Braley: 

During a speech in Rhode Island today, President Obama called for more taxpayer-spending on pre-school in order to "make sure that women are full and equal participants in our economy" and said the following: 

Durham, N.C.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leads his Democratic opponent Mary Burke 50 percent to 43 percent among likely voters in the final Marquette University Law school poll. The results come as a surprise to many, as the last Marquette poll showed the race tied, and three other pollsters show the…

Greg Orman--the "independent" Kansas Senate candidate running with the backing of national Democrats--was asked on October 9 how he would vote on the two abortion bills most likely come to the Senate floor during the next six years (the No Taxpayer-Funding for Abortion Act and the Pain-Capable…

The Republican Governors Association is going all in for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in the home stretch of the 2014 campaign. According to a GOP source familiar with RGA spending, the organization has reserved $4 to $5 million in TV ad time for the final two weeks before the election. 

The Republican Governors Association is going all in for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in the home stretch of the 2014 campaign. According to a GOP source familiar with RGA spending, the organization has reserved $4 to $5 million in TV ad time for the final two weeks before the election. 

Louisiana Democratic senator Mary Landrieu, who's been under fire for living full-time in Washington, D.C. rather than her home state, recently told supporters that her lavish home is actually quite modest:

Iowa's Democratic senatorial candidate Bruce Braley said during a debate Thursday: "I have always stated, contrary to what Senator Ernst said, that I oppose all late-term abortions that aren't necessary to save the life or health of a mother."

Roll Call reports that national Democrats are abandoning their candidate John Foust, who is challenging Republican Barbara Comstock in competitive northern Virginia district:

Overland Park, Kansas

Overland Park, Kansas

At the outset of the Denver Post's senatorial debate on Tuesday night, a moderator asked Democratic senator Mark Udall the following question: "We know that you support a woman's right to choose, but given the advances in scientific understanding of fetal development, where pregnant mothers know at…

North Carolina senator Kay Hagan's position on abortion is the target of a new $620,000 TV ad campaign that is being launched today by the Women Speak Out PAC:

On Monday, the Supreme Court let lower court rulings stand that redefined marriage in five states--Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Texas senator Ted Cruz, responded to the news by calling the Court's refusal to hear the cases "indefensible" and reiterating his support for an…

On Thursday, BuzzFeed announced that it would offer a year-long investigative reporting fellowship exclusively for "journalists of color," but BuzzFeed is now allowing journalists of "other diverse backgrounds" to apply as well after the website's editor learned that the original job posting ran…

The Secret Service has been under fire for failing to stop an armed man from jumping the White House fence and running through the president's home, and some critics have begun asking if political correctness is partly to blame for the extent of the security breach.

Manchester, N.H.

Mary Burke, Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, tells a local news station that she put "hundreds of hours" into a jobs plan that was partly plagiarized from other Democratic candidates:

When Wisconsin governor Scott Walker signed a law curbing the power of public sector unions in his state in 2011, Democrats warned that public schools would suffer terribly. But one year after the law had taken effect--and in the midst of a recall campaign that was driven entirely by the backlash…

A friend of TWS shares some ideas: 

EMILY's List, an organization dedicated to electing women who oppose legal restrictions on abortion and support taxpayer-funding of abortion, held a fundraiser in New York City today, but one notable name was dropped from the list of speakers: Alison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's Democratic…

Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski reports that Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke plagiarized portions of her "Invest for Success" jobs plan: 

When the Affordable Care Act was being debated in 2009, President Obama promised that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan." In 2013, millions of Americans learned that wasn't true when their plans were canceled.

Manchester, N.H.

In New York's 21st congressional district, Republican Elise Stefanik is leading Democrat Aaron Woolf 46 precent to 33 percent, according to a new poll released by Siena College Thursday evening. Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello garners 10 percent of the vote, and 11 percent remain undecided. 

In June, Rand Paul was very skeptical about bombing ISIS. In August, he was ambivalent. In September, he strongly supported airstrikes.

Ashe Schow writes at the Washington Examiner: 

West Allis, Wis.

One of the last competitive GOP primaries of the 2014 election cycle will be decided on Tuesday when Marilinda Garcia and Gary Lambert face off in New Hampshire's second congressional district.

Kentucky senator Rand Paul tells the AP that he would seek to "destroy ISIS militarily" if he were president: 

Via The Blaze, former deputy director of the CIA Mike Morrell talked to CBS News about the threat that the Islamic State poses to the United States: 

When Paul Ryan takes over as chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in 2015, expect him to develop a tax reform plan that specifically lays out which tax breaks he would scrap or reduce in order to lower tax rates.

Frank Bruni writes in the New York Times: 

Kentucky's Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes was recently listed as a "special guest" for a fundraiser in New York City hosted by EMILY's List, a PAC dedicated to supporting female candidates who support abortion-on-demand. But Grimes's name has quietly been dropped from the list…

Joe Miller, the Alaska Tea Partier who defeated Republican senator Lisa Murkowski in the 2010 GOP primary but was defeated by Murkowski's write-in campaign in the general election, is seeking the GOP nomination again in 2014. Miller is unlikely to win Tuesday's primary, but he has caused some…

The latest poll from Rasmussen shows Republican Thom Tillis opening up a significant lead over Democratic senator Kay Hagan:

Kentucky GOP senator and likely 2016 presidential candidate Rand Paul is "not saying [he's] completely opposed" to "maybe even bombing" the genocidal Islamist terrorists known as ISIS. But Paul also isn't saying that he supports bombing ISIS. Politico reports Paul has "mixed feelings": 

Manitowoc, Wisc.

Before leaving for vacation on Saturday, President Obama spoke briefly about the genocidal Islamist terrorists who are taking over large swaths of Iraq. When one reporter asked the president if he regretted not leaving any U.S. troops in Iraq, Obama replied that that wasn't even an option:

Some Democrats and members of the media are pointing to Texas senator Ted Cruz as the person who convinced enough GOP congressman to sink the House GOP's original border crisis legislation on Thursday. But the honor (or blame, depending on your point of view) really belongs to Senator Jeff Sessions…

Lacking the votes necessary to pass their border crisis legislation, House GOP leadership pulled the bill from the floor Thursday. But Rep. Steve King of Iowa, one of the two dozen or so Republicans who (along with all Democrats) opposed the bill, told Greta Van Susteren this evening that he's…

MSNBC's Alex Seitz-Wald reports:

On Wednesday afternoon, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a formal veto threat of the House GOP bill dealing with the crisis of unaccompanied minors from Central America illegally immigrating to the United States: 

The latest Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College poll shows Republican congressman Tom Cotton leading Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor 44 percent to 42 percent in the Arkansas Senate race:

Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, who serves as the chairman of the financial services committee, wrote a letter to President Obama Friday urging him to stop all Export-Import bank deals with the Russian government and Russian companies: 

Earlier this week, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the plain text of the Affordable Care Act only authorizes health insurance subsidies for residents of states that set up their own exchanges. Therefore, the court ruled, the IRS had illegally provided Obamacare…

Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House budget committee, ripped Paul Ryan's anti-poverty proposals.

The Wall Street Journal reports: 

During an appearance on the Fox Business yesterday, former Texas congressman Ron Paul said he blames terrorism on American neoconservatives. The Free Beacon reports:

In a USA Today op-ed and speech at the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday, House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan unveiled his plans to reform anti-poverty programs. 

NBC News reports that Meriam Ibrahim, who was sentenced to death by a Sudanese court because she was a Christian, has made it to safety in Italy:

One week after pro-Russian separatists shot down a civilian jetliner flying over Ukraine, Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration's policy toward Russia was a success. 

Jonathan Martin reports for the New York Times that John Walsh, who is now running to keep the Montana Senate seat to which he was recently appointed, plagiarized a master's thesis in 2007:

A new poll from Marquette University shows Wisconsin governor Scott Walker locked in a tight race with Democrat Mary Burke, a former state Secretary of Commerce and member of the Madison school board. Among registered voters, Walker leads Burke 46 percent to 45 percent, with 8 percent undecided and…

The Obama administration announced Tuesday in a court filing that it would change the way it imposes its contraception and abortifacient mandate on religious non-profits, such as Christian schools like Wheaton College and charities like the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Earlier today, a panel of federal judges in the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 that the plain text of Obamacare requires states to set up their own health care exchanges in order for their residents to be eligible for Obamacare subsidies. Thus, the court ruled, the subsidies provided and tax…

Daniel Halper sat down with Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Fox and Friends this morning to discuss his new book Clinton, Inc.

A federal court has ruled that the IRS illegally rewrote Obamacare to provide subsidies and impose tax penalties in states that did not establish their own health insurance exchanges. The Washington Post reports: 

On Monday morning, President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting organizations that receive federal contracts from making employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A group of religious leaders and Obama allies had called for the executive order to include a…

Hours after news reports indicated that a Malaysian Airlines jetliner had been shot down over Ukraine, President Obama spoke at a previously scheduled event in Wilmington, Delaware on Thursday. "It looks like it may be a terrible tragedy," Obama said of the plane's destruction. He added that "our…

On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi changed her mind about the crisis of unaccompanied minors from Central America illegally entering the United States. CNN reports:

When the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that the government could not force a business owned by evangelical Christians to pay for contraceptives that might act as abortifacients, progressives responded with hysteria and dishonesty. Salon claimed the Court sanctioned “bosses’…

Charles Krauthammer writes about the crisis of unaccompanied minors from Central America illegally crossing the U.S. border:

A Pew Research Center study from last year found that Twitter reaction to events is often at odds with public opinion. There is perhaps no better example of this phenomenon than the Hobby Lobby decision.

Most houses of worship have been granted a full exemption from Obamacare's regulation mandating coverage of contraception and abortifacients, but Ed Whelan points out that new legislation unveiled by Senate Democrats yesterday could put that religious protection in jeopardy.

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats introduced a bill that would force Christians and other conscientious objectors to pay for drugs and devices, including the "week-after" pill, that may kill human embryos.

A new Rasmussen poll finds that 49 percent of American voters support a religious exemption to the federal government's contraception mandate, while 39 percent oppose such an exemption:

The Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision was an important victory for religious liberty. In a 5-4 ruling on Monday, the Court held that the Obama administration's contraceptive and abortifacient mandate as applied to "closely held" corporations, such as the family-owned craft store Hobby Lobby,…

On Monday evening, Hillary Clinton said that she found the Supreme Court's ruling in the Hobby Lobby case "deeply disturbing." Clinton added that "it’s very troubling that a salesclerk at Hobby Lobby who needs contraception, which is pretty expensive, is not going to get that service through her…

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: 

Elise Stefanik beat Matt Doheny in New York's 21st congressional district GOP primary on Tuesday. With almost all of the votes tallied, Stefanik topped Doheny 61 percent to 39 percent.

Ken McIntyre reports at the Daily Signal: 

"Our health care coverage was canceled as a result of Obamacare. Our premiums have increased 30 percent. We have higher deductibles and less choice.” It’s a story that could be told by millions of Americans and a story that surely will be told in hundreds of campaign ads this fall. What makes these…

Many journalists and partisan Democrats excitedly reported Thursday that Scott Walker was at the center of a "criminal scheme" in which Walker's campaign illegally coordinated political activity with outside organizations. What these reports either downplayed or ignored altogether is that two…

The Washington Free Beacon's Daniel Wiser reports that House candidate Elise Stefanik is leading Matt Doheny ahead of the June 24 GOP primary:

White House aides have anonymously attacked the honesty of soldiers who served with Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and testified that he deserted. But Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to President Obama at the White House, would not say Friday morning if she agreed that Bergdahl had been "swiftboated" by his…

In 2003, Arkansas senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat, voted for a federal ban on partial-birth abortion, a particular procedure that the late New York Democratic senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described as "too close to infanticide." But now as Congress considers a bill to ban late-term abortion…

Bloomberg's Jonathan Allen reports: 

For nearly a year, Louisiana's Democratic senator Mary Landrieu has avoided taking a position on a federal bill that would ban almost all abortions during the final four months of pregnnacy. Politico's Burgess Everett reports that Landrieu has finally taken a stand on the legislation. Landrieu says…

Dave Brat's stunning victory over House majority leader Eric Cantor is being hailed as a huge win for the Tea Party and immigration hawks, but might Brat actually owe his victory to Democrats, who were eligible to vote in Tuesday's open primary? That's a question Republican strategist Patrick…

A new USA Today/Pew poll shows that American veterans strongly oppose President Obama's decision to release five Taliban commanders in exchange for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl: 

Baltimore's CBS affiliate WJZ reports that Democratic congressman Dutch Ruppersburger of Maryland is blasting President Obama's decision to release five Taliban commanders in exchange for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl:

On Sunday, Senator Claire McCaskill gave a full-throated defense of the president's decision to release five Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo prison in exchange for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. "We saved this man's life. The commander-in-chief acted within his constitutional authority, which he…

American Crossroads, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove, is launching a new TV ad today that throws everything but the kitchen sink* at moderate, pro-choice Republican Matt Doheny, the businessman running againt conservative Elise Stefanik in New York's 21st congressional district. 

At a press conference Wednesday, President Obama said that the inspector general for the VA "did not see a link" between veteran deaths and delays in care at VA hospitals. The president suggested that he can't take action until investigators "find out what exactly happened":

The director of the Phoenix VA hospital where 40 veterans died while waiting for care received an $8,500 bonus last month, according to Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. 

Kentucky's Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes has developed a reputation for giving shifty answers to straightforward questions. So it wasn't surprising when her press secretary recently said that "Alison opposes late-term abortions" but then refused to say how Grimes would vote on…

Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki testified before Congress Thursday that he's "mad as hell" about allegations that veterans were placed on secret waiting lists at VA hospitals and died while awaiting care. But when Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, called for a…

Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that the Department of Justice doesn't have any plans to investigate allegations that veterans placed on secret waiting lists at VA hospitals died while waiting for care.

A new poll released Thursday shows that Americans oppose Obamacare's HHS mandate--the rule requiring "free" coverage of contraception, sterilizations, and the "week-after" pill that may kill human embryos--by a 10-point margin.

The latest USA Today/Pew survey shows Obamacare polling as poorly as it ever has:

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi was asked Thursday about a White House email, released this week in response to a Judicial Watch FOIA request, that linked the Benghazi terrorist attack to an anti-Islam YouTube video. Pelosi said she hadn't read the email, but was certain that the discussion of…

The Wall Street Journal reports that Senate Republicans are coalescing behind new legislation that would impose tougher sanctions on Russia and authorize direct military assistance, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, to Ukraine and other nations threatened by Russia:

Michael Goodwin writes at the New York Post: 

Over at the Washington Examiner, Philip Klein points out two interesting results from a new Harvard Institute of Politics poll of 18- to 29-year-old voters: 

Ben Sasse, a university president and former Bush administration official, is running for Senate in Nebraska as an ardent foe of Obamacare. But Nebraska state treasurer Shane Osborn, Sasse's GOP primary opponent, is out with a new TV ad that undercuts Sasse's message:

Politico's David Nather takes a look at how some Republicans would like to repeal and replace Obamacare: 

EMILY's List, a PAC dedicated to electing women who support a right to abortion-on-demand, is one of Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes's top financial backers, according to the Washington Post. But Grimes, a Democrat from Kentucky, is being cagey about her stance on one of EMILY's List's top…

Matt Hoskins, the executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund, announces in an email this morning that SCF is endorsing Joni Ernst in her race for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat: 

Bill Kristol writes in his latest newsletter: 

The Watertown Daily Times reports that Elise Stefanik beat out Matt Doheny to win the endorsement of the Conservative party in New York's 21st congressional district:

Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel is widely regarded as the Tea Party candidate with the best shot of knocking off an incumbent U.S. senator in a GOP primary this year. Incumbent Thad Cochran, 76, is well-known for his love of pork-barrel spending and could easily lose a race decided by…

Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel is widely regarded as the Tea Party candidate with the best shot of knocking off an incumbent U.S. senator in a GOP primary this year. Incumbent Thad Cochran, 76, is well-known for his love of pork-barrel spending and could easily lose a race decided by…

A new Suffolk University poll of the Iowa GOP Senate primary shows state senator Joni Ernst narrowly leading wealthy business executive Mark Jacobs: 

As West Virginia Democrat Nick Rahall, a top Republican target in the 2014 elections, entered a $1,000 a plate fundraiser at the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C. yesterday, a GOP tracker attempted to get the congressman to comment on a CNN report that Rahall was about to retire until Nancy Pelosi…

As West Virginia Democrat Nick Rahall, a top Republican target in the 2014 elections, entered a $1,000 a plate fundraiser at the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C. yesterday, a GOP tracker tracker attempted to get the congressman to comment on a CNN report that Rahall was about to retire until Nancy…

A study released Tuesday by the non-profit RAND Corporation found that only 3.9 million people have enrolled in the Obamacare exchanges--a much smaller number than the 7 million sign-ups touted by the Obama administration: 

Over at Talking Points Memo, Sahil Kapur reports: "On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dismissed the Democrats' all-out push for action on gender pay equity as a 'bizarre obsession' designed to blow 'kisses to their powerful pals on the left.'" The Chicago Sun-Times picked up…

Senate majority leader Harry Reid has a whole page on his official Senate.gov website devoted to revealing "THE FACTS ABOUT THE KOCH BROTHERS." One of the alleged facts promoted on Reid's website is that the Kochs do not pay any corporate taxes:

On Tuesday afternoon, West Virginia's Joe Manchin became the first Democrat in the United States Senate to support a federal bill that would ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. "If it comes to the floor, I'm voting for it," Manchin told THE WEEKLY STANDARD following the…

In Iowa’s crowded, six-way GOP Senate primary, Joni Ernst is trying to break out of the pack by running as the only candidate who is “a mother, a soldier, and a proven conservative.”

On the one-year anniversary of the trial of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist convicted of murdering infants after they were born, the Senate's top Republican called for a vote on legislation prohibiting most abortions later than 20 weeks after conception, the point at which human beings…

In a statement released today, Senator Ted Cruz said a new government report detailing further delays and cost overruns for U.S. missile defense programs in Europe should serve as a "wake-up call that President Obama’s policies on both Russia and missile defense have collapsed and should be…

Politicians out of power like to promise the moon and the stars to voters. They make contracts and pledges to America. Some vow to make the oceans recede and usher in a new era of hope and change. Others merely claim they have the power to make D.C. listen. But you don’t hear any grand promises…

House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan has come under fire from Democrats over comments he made Wednesday while discussing the problems of fatherlessness, poverty, and unemployment in America's inner cities. During an appearance on Bill Bennett's radio program, Ryan said that the government had…

House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan has come under fire from Democrats over comments he made Wednesday while discussing the problems of fatherlessness, poverty, and unemployment in America's inner cities. During an appearance on Bill Bennett's radio program, Ryan said that the government had…

Senator John McCain was one of many prominent Republicans who urged Governor Jan Brewer to veto an amendment to Arizona's existing religious freedom law two weeks ago. Following an intense backlash from activists and pundits who who said the bill was "anti-gay," Brewer followed McCain's advice and…

On a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services insisted that March 31 is the firm deadline to sign up for Obamacare. "We have no plans to extend the open enrollment period," HHS official Julie Bataille said. "In fact, we don't…

In a statement to THE WEEKLY STANDARD Monday, Democratic U.S. senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he's "supportive of the the principles" in the late-term abortion ban that passed his state's legislature by an overwhelming margin this weekend. Manchin did not say if he will vote for a similar…

Over the weekend, the West Virginia legislature became the first state legislature controlled by Democrats to pass a bill that would prohibit most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. The Senate voted 29-5 in favor of the measure, and the House of Delegates voted 85-15 to approve…

The Tax Policy Center, a project of the liberal-leaning Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, released a new analysis this week of Senator Mike Lee's family-friendly tax reform plan. According to TPC, the Utah Republican's plan would reduce federal revenues by $2.4 trillion over 10 years, a…

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who has had a fraught relationship with the conservative movement, sought to win back friends on the right Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. In a 15-minute speech, Christie recounted his battle with public sector unions, defended the Koch…

This afternoon, the Senate will vote on an amendment offered by Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York that would take the prosecution of certain serious crimes in the military, including sexual assault, outside the chain of command. Although all-star Republican senators Ted Cruz of…

At the Conservative Political Action Conference today, House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan dismissed reports of a GOP "civil war" and heaped praise on both Tea Party and establishment members of Congress.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced this afternoon that health insurance plans that are supposed to be canceled by Obamacare may be sold through October of 2017 in states that approve of the extension. CNBC reports:

In a surprising move, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected President Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on a 52-47 vote today.

In an interview with NBC News, Democratic senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas accuses his Republican opponent, 36-year-old congressman Tom Cotton, of feeling entitled to a seat in the Senate because he served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan: 

Many Republican donors, consultants, and politicians believe that passing "comprehensive immigration reform" is absolutely necessary for the GOP to be a politically viable party. And most polls seem to show that American voters support a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants. But a new poll…

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, both Republicans, have a new op-ed at CNN calling on the United States to punish Russia economically and to aid Ukraine militarily if Russia does not back down:  

In a radio interview Monday, House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is another result of President Obama's weakness on defense and foreign policy. "I think it’s one more chapter in what happens when you project weakness abroad through your foreign policy,…

An amendment to Arizona's existing religious freedom law was demagogued to death last week by pundits and politicians who warned that it would usher in a new era of Jim Crow for gay people. "You can believe anything you want," said CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "You can't turn away gay people…

Louisville

Lois Lerner, the official involved in the IRS's targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups, will testify before Congress on Wednesday, according to House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa. Lerner had previously invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from members of…

Foreign Policy Initiative Board Members Ambassador Eric S. Edelman, William Kristol, and Dan Senor issued today the following statement about Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine:   “Russian President Vladimir Putin has violated Ukrainian sovereignty, sending thousands of Russian troops into…

Amid reports that Russian military forces have entered Ukraine, CNN reports that U.S. officials are calling the incursion an "uncontested arrival," not necessarily "an invasion," and that this distinction is "key."

Amendments to Arizona's religious freedom law were demagogued to death this week by a mob of pundits and politicians who warned that the law would usher in a new era of Jim Crow for gay people. "You can believe anything you want," said CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin. "You can't turn away gay people…

In an interview with Fusion's Jorge Ramos, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards was asked, "When does life start? When does a human being become a human being?"

A bipartisan group of law professors, including both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, has sent Arizona governor Jan Brewer a letter explaining the religious freedom bill now sitting on her desk has been "egregiously misrepresented" by its critics.

Politico reported on Tuesday that Mitch McConnell’s Tea Party challenger, investor Matt Bevin, supported the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, contrary to Bevin's present claims. The letter, signed by Bevin and the investment firm's vice president, said TARP was a "positive" development and…

Politico reported on Tuesday that Mitch McConnell’s Tea Party challenger, investor Matt Bevin, supported the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, contrary to his claims. The letter, signed by Bevin and the investment firm's vice president, said TARP was a "positive" development and included the…

Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a conference call Wednesday afternoon to tout the fact that 3.3 million Americans have signed up for health insurance plans through the Obamacare exchanges. But Sebelius and other HHS officials declined to say how many of those Americans…

President Obama has repeatedly suspended parts of the Affordable Care Act without the consent of Congress. The latest unilateral action happened Monday night, when the administration announced another delay of the employer mandate, the law's provision that businesses with more than 50 employees…

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office released a new study finding that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, will cause "a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024."

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office released a new study finding that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, will cause "a decline in the number of full-time-equivalent workers of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024."

David Wildstein, a former Port Authority official appointed by Governor Chris Christie, leveled a very serious accusation last Friday in a letter released by his lawyer. The letter claimed that “evidence exists … tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when…

The Obama administration and its supporters have been conflating the number of people who have selected an Obamacare plan with the number of people who have enrolled in a plan. It's inaccurate to do that because many of the people who have signed up haven't paid their first month's premium, which…

During the summer and fall of 2013, Texas senator Ted Cruz repeatedly warned that it would be impossible to repeal Obamacare once Americans began receiving subsidies on January 1, 2014.

With twenty-four months to go until the first votes are cast in the Republican presidential primary, Democratic pollster PPP surveys the country and finds Mike Huckabee atop the field: 

"President Obama plans to sign an executive order requiring that janitors, construction workers and others working for federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour, using his own power to enact a more limited version of a policy that he has yet to push through Congress," reports Peter Baker…

This week, the state of California finally got around to announcing how many people had signed up for health insurance through the state's Obamacare exchange by the end of December. Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas of the Washington Post's WonkBlog immediately declared victory in a post titled, "In…

On Thursday afternoon, bored journalists took a break from tweeting about Justin Bieber to mangle a remark uttered by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting.

Dr. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, announced in a statement Thursday night that this is his last year in the Senate: 

Divisions between the Republican party and conservative activists have helped hand a competitive upstate New York congressional seat to Democrat Bill Owens in recent years, but 2014 may be the year when all factions unite behind one candidate.

As the implementation of Obamacare sent Democratic poll numbers plummeting in recent months, party leaders responded with an Obamacare message they hope will spare their candidates from the wrath of voters in 2014: Mend it, don't end it.

As the implementation of Obamacare sent Democratic poll numbers plummeting in recent months, party leaders responded with an Obamacare message they hope will spare their candidates from the wrath of voters in 2014: Mend it, don't end it.

As the implementation of Obamacare sent Democratic poll numbers plummeting in recent months, party leaders responded with an Obamacare message they hope will spare their candidates from the wrath of voters in 2014: Mend it, don't end it.

Since 2009, Democrat Bill Owens has won three close races in a competitive upstate New York congressional district, but it seems he doesn't like what he's seeing in 2014. On Tuesday, Owens announced that he will not seek reelection, which is good news for Republican candidate Elise Stefanik.

Stephen Dinan reports at the Washington Times: 

A special election held Tuesday for a Norfolk-based state senate seat should have been an easy win for Democrats. President Obama won the district by 15 points (57 percent to 42 percent) in 2012, and Democratic governor-elect Terry McAuliffe won the district by roughly 12 points (52 percent to 40…

In the past year, President Obama has unilaterally suspended various parts of the Affordable Care Act whenever it's been politically convenient to do so.

Teachers unions in nineteen different Wisconsin school districts failed to achieve recertification during annual elections that ended Thursday, according to the MacIver Institute.

A provision in the Ryan-Murray budget to reduce cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for working-age military retirees is the reason a number of Republican senators are voting against the deal. “I’m for pension benefit reform but what they’re doing here is just unacceptable,” Senator Lindsey Graham…

Sixty-seven senators--all 55 Democrats and 12 Republicans--voted to cut off debate this morning on the two-year budget deal crafted by Republican congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic senator Patty Murray of Washington. The bill now heads to a vote on final passage.

The two-year budget deal crafted by Republican congressman Paul Ryan and Democratic senator Patty Murray sailed through the House of Representatives on a 332-94 vote last Thursday, just two days after it was introduced.

On Thursday afternoon, HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius made a number of unusual requests to insurers selling health plans on the Obamacare exchanges. 

Senate Democrats have taken advantage of the nuclear option to confirm one of President Obama's most extreme judicial nominees.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid tells the Reno Gazette Journal that the Affordable Care Act has made his health insurance a lot les affordable: 

The Washington Post's Sarah Kliff reports: 

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes that Obamacare is a success in California, and the Golden State experience is proof that the entire program would be great if they could just get that darn website to work. 

This afternoon, Senate majority leader Harry Reid deployed the so-called "nuclear option," changing the Senate rules to get rid of the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster on judicial nominees or executive-branch nominees. The Washington Free Beacon reports that in 2008, Reid denounced…

Is performing an abortion no different than pulling a tooth? The idea that there isn't a difference is the basis of a new federal bill that would wipe hundreds of state abortion laws off the books--striking down everything from late-term abortion limits to health and safety regulations in many…

In August of this year, a Quinnipiac poll found that Colorado senator Mark Udall's approval rating was +13 (47 percent approved of his job performance and 34 percent disapproved). But a new Quinnipiac poll out today shows that Udall's positive approval rating has evaporated, and just as many…

Democratic congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia was one of the 39 Democrats to vote last Friday to allow insurance plans that were on the market in 2013 to be sold next year. But during a radio interview, Rahall made it clear that he didn't regret voting for Obamacare in the first place.

Chris Plante, a WMAL radio host, noticed something odd about this video of President Obama reciting the Gettysburg Address in anticipation of the 150th anniversary of the speech:

Morris Plains, N.J.

Albuquerque, New Mexico preferred Barack Obama to Mitt Romney by double digits in 2012, but the city could become the site of an important pro-life victory this coming Tuesday.

One week ago, President Obama apologized for giving millions of Americans false assurances that they could keep their health care plans if they liked them. At a press conference Thursday evening, House Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Xavier Becerra, and Jim Clyburn were asked if they…

With millions of Americans losing their health insurance because of Obamacare, bills have been introduced in Congress to let people keep their plans.

For five years, Barack Obama repeatedly, emphatically, and unequivocally promised that under his health care scheme, “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” That promise has now been proven to be blatantly untrue. Multiple reports during the last 10 days of October made it clear that…

As expected, the networks were able to project Chris Christie the winner of the New Jersey gubernatorial election moments after the polls closed at 8:00 p.m. The only questions now are how much he won by and whether he had coattails in the legislative elections.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's leading gay rights group, eighty-eight percent of Fortune 500 companies have formal employment policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. And it's likely that almost all other businesses, like Senator Rick…

As he stepped off an escalator leading from the Capitol's underground subway system to the U.S. Senate, Ron Johnson opened up a yellow folder, pulled out a copy of the “If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act," and handed it to fellow senator Chris Coons.

National Review's Jonathan Strong reports that House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer admitted today that Democrats knew many Americans would lose their health insurance policies because of Obamacare:

A new CBS report highlights the story of Natalie Willes, "one of the millions of Americans who already have private health insurance but whose policies do not comply with the Affordable Care Act."

While the Affordable Care Act was making its way through Congress in 2009 and 2010, President Obama famously promised the American people over and over again that if you like your health plan, you can keep it. 

At a Thursday afternoon press conference, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi was asked by THE WEEKLY STANDARD if Obamacare should be delayed in whole or in part if healthcare.gov still isn't working in November or December.

After Senate Democrats blocked GOP efforts to defund Obamacare, House Republicans voted for a number of modest compromises: delaying the individual mandate as long as the business mandate is delayed, repealing the medical device tax, and the Vitter amendment ending Congress's special…

On Wednesday morning, Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham mapped out a path to victory over Obamacare.

Stars and Stripes reports that this weekend "Defense Department officials acknowledged that the shutdown had halted the $100,000 payouts given to fallen troops’ families, usually paid within a few days of their deaths."

Harry Reid is reportedly considering holding a vote to raise the debt limit with no strings attached, but the Senate majority leader doesn't appear to have the support of the entire Democratic caucus.

"I was laughing at Boehner -- until the mail came today."

Via William Jacobson, NBC's affiliate in Washington, D.C. reports that police ordered tourists and Vietnam war veterans who were visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to leave the memorial at one point on Friday.

This week, President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have said they're willing to pass a continuing resolution that funds the government at the level Republicans want.

On Tuesday morning, seven National Park Service employees were seen erecting and tending to a barricade around the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. One NPS employee was operating a forklift. There usually aren't any NPS employees working at the World War II memorial.

On Monday, Congress unanimously agreed to pass a standalone measure to pay the troops during the partial government shutdown, and President Obama signed the bill into law. But on Thursday morning, Senate majority leader Harry Reid blocked votes on House-passed bills to fund veterans, the military…

On Monday, Congress unanimously agreed to pass a standalone measure to pay the troops during the partial government shutdown, and President Obama signed the bill into law. But today, Senate Democrats blocked votes on House-passed bills to fund veterans, the military reserves and National Guard, the…

Via the Washington Free Beacon, Senate majority leader Harry Reid was asked by CNN's Dana Bash this afternoon why Senate Democrats won't agree to pass a bill that provides funding for the National Institutes of Health, which includes programs for children with cancer. 

Jacqueline Klimas of the Washington Times reports that the Obama administration has issued a ruling that members of Congress and their staff will be able to enroll in health insurance plans, paid for mostly by taxpayer dollars, that cover elective abortions:

During a speech on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, Texas senator Ted Cruz endorsed the latest House bill to fund the government. This continuing resolution would not defund Obamacare, as Cruz has demanded for months, but it would delay Obamacare's individual mandate by one year and end employer…

On Saturday night, the House of Representatives voted 423-0 to pass the "Pay Our Military Act," which would ensure that the troops will be paid in the event of a partial government shutdown.

Since January 2011, Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare, in whole or in part, more than 40 times. That number is recited with a predictable sneer by congressional Democrats and the Washington press corps each time a new vote is held. The mockery is meant to obscure the fact that Obamacare is…

Earlier today, 79 senators, including conservative Republicans like Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, voted to end debate and allow a vote on the House government-funding bill that would defund Obamacare.

Bloomberg reports: 

During a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, Texas senator Ted Cruz said that people who think his plan to defund Obamacare can't work would have opposed fighting Nazi Germany if they had been alive in the 1940s.

Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate and frontrunner in Virginia's gubernatorial race, has been painting his Republican opponent Ken Cuccinelli as a crusader on social issues. But McAuliffe has repeatedly refused to answer questions from the press about whether he himself holds extreme…

In July, 22 House Democrats joined House Republicans in passing a bill to delay Obamacare's requirement that all Americans purchase health insurance by one year, a measure that would save $35 billion. The individual mandate, which Barack Obama opposed during the 2008 Democratic primaries, has never…

An aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the Kentucky senator will not filibuster the House bill to defund Obamacare. 

Roll Call reports:

In 2012, then-senator and chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund Jim DeMint endorsed Jeff Flake in the Arizona Senate race. “Jeff Flake is one of the strongest conservative leaders in Congress," declared DeMint. "[N]obody has done more to advance the cause of freedom than Jeff Flake. Nobody.”

In 2012, then-senator and chairman of the Senate Conservatives Fund Jim DeMint endorsed Jeff Flake in the Arizona Senate race. “Jeff Flake one of the strongest conservative leaders in Congress," declared DeMint. "[N]obody has done more to advance the cause of freedom than Jeff Flake. Nobody.”

In a Friday night news dump, the Obama administration announced that it would not allow Obamacare subsidies to go to union members on multi-employer "Taft-Hartley" health care plans.

"Our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive," President Obama said during his remarks on Syria this past Saturday in the White House Rose Garden. "It will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now, and I am prepared to give that order."

Politico's Reid Epstein reports: 

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal writes in the Washington Post:

Reports indicate that upward of 70 people were killed in a chemical attack in Douma, Syria, over the weekend. President Trump tweeted about the attack on Sunday morning, both calling out Russia's Vladimir Putin and blaming President Obama for not acting in 2013. At that time, Mike Pompeo and Tom…

Appearing on Special Report with Bret Baier Tuesday night, Florida senator Marco Rubio said that he's "very skeptical" that President Obama's proposed strike on Syria could achieve the president's stated objectives.

The Republican party's 2012 vice presidential nominee, Congressman Paul Ryan, issued a statement Tuesday saying that he has not made a decision about how he will vote on authorization of force against Syria: 

Mike Huckabee will endorse Mitch McConnell tomorrow in the Kentucky GOP Senate primary against Louisville businessman Matt Bevin, GOP sources tell THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Louisville's WFPL reports:

Reuters recently reported that security testing for Obamacare is months behind schedule. And Michael Astrue, former HHS general counsel and Social Security commissioner, has warned in THE WEEKLY STANDARD that "unless delayed and fixed" the Obamacare exchanges will "inflict on the public the most…

The Las Vegas Sun reports:

At a White House press conference Friday afternoon, President Obama said that health insurance plans offered under Obamacare will be "significantly cheaper" than plans currently on the market, but a string of recent reports say that isn't true. 

Another day, another story about how Obamacare will hurt Americans who work at small businesses:

Bill Roggio reports at the Long War Journal:

Texas state senator Wendy Davis has become the most prominent defender of a right to late-term abortion. So following a speech on Monday, I asked Davis to explain the difference between an abortion 23 weeks into pregnancy and killing a baby born at 23 weeks into pregancy, for which Philadelphia…

Elise Stefanik, a young small businesswoman and former Bush administration aide, announced today in a YouTube video that she's running for the U.S. House in New York's 21st congressional district:

Texas state senator Wendy Davis spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Monday afternoon about her 13-hour filibuster of a bill limiting late-term abortion, her life story, and her future in politics.

Texas state senator Wendy Davis spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Monday afternoon, talking about her 13-hour filibuster of a bill limiting late-term abortion and establishing higher safety standards at abortion clinics.

Arkansas' statewide paper of record, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, published a full-page Sunday editorial urging Republican congressman Tom Cotton to run for Democrat Mark Pryor's Senate seat:

The national limit on late-term abortion passed by the House of Representatives in June is a losing issue for Republicans, according to the conventional wisdom in the press and the Republican donor class. But there are two compelling reasons why the conventional wisdom is wrong.

Ted Cruz's office is circulating the following remarks made by the Texas senator under the subject line "Cruz explains Defund Obamacare initiative" (emphasis added):

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has been leading the charge in the Senate to defund Obamacare, dubbing some colleagues skeptical of the strategy as members of the "surrender caucus." But speaking Wednesday evening to a group of more than 300 libertarian students in Arlington, Virginia, Cruz acknowledged…

The New York Times reports that President Obama is reviving an old proposal to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent (and 25 percent for manufacturers). Obama's push to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent comes less than a year after he raised the top individual income…

The national limit on late-term abortion passed by the House of Representatives in June is a losing issue for pro-life Republicans, according to the conventional wisdom in the press and the Republican donor class. But there are two compelling reasons why the conventional wisdom is wrong.

In President Obama's campaign-style speech on the economy, he mentioned some non-economic priorities: 

The national limit on late-term abortion passed by the House of Representatives in June in response to the Gosnell murders is a sure loser for pro-life Republicans, according to the conventional wisdom in the press. But there are two compelling reasons why the conventional wisdom may be wrong:…

Louisville businessman Matt Bevin will launch a primary campaign against Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell next week, a GOP source with knowledge of Bevin's intentions tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Iraq war veteran and former congressman Allen West spoke out Wednesday against an amendment that would create a new independent system of military prosecutors to handle the prosecution of many serious crimes. "I think think this is reprehensible. I think it's a slap in the face to those who have…

The Huffington Post reports:

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards held a small rally outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday joined by Minnesota senator Al Franken, Connecticut congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and a crowd of 200 Planned Parenthood activists. Richards warned that new state and federal bills--including measures…

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards held a small rally outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday joined by Minnesota senator Al Franken, Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, and a crowd of 200 Planned Parenthood activists. Richards warned that new legislation--including measures establishing…

A close aide to Rand Paul who celebrates the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has claimed that the Kentucky senator is simply pretending to be more moderate than his father, Ron Paul. The Washington Free Beacon's Alana Goodman reports.

The Wausau Daily Herald reports that Wisconsin governor Scott Walker endorsed the Senate's immigration bill during an editorial meeting with the newspaper:

A new budget signed into law by Ohio governor John Kasich provides state funding for rape counseling centers for the first time. The measure won Kasich praise from the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, but many Democrats attacked the governor because they said that the budget had imposed a…

Obamacare's employer mandate, which would require businesses with 50 or more employees to provide employees with government-approved health insurance or pay big fines, was supposed to take effect on January 1, 2014. But Bloomberg reports the deadline for the employer mandate has been pushed back…

Texas state senator Wendy Davis has been on a whirlwind media tour since her filibuster (and a screaming mob) blocked a vote on a bill that would ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy and improve safety standards at abortion facilities.

Texas state senator Wendy Davis has been on a whirlwind media tour since her filibuster (and a screaming mob) blocked a vote on a bill that would ban most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy and strengthen safety standards at abortion facilities.

The immigration bill passed by the Senate Thursday afternoon would give some employers a financial incentive to employ "registered provisional immigrants" (illegal immigrants granted legal status) instead of U.S. citizens.

During a floor speech Thursday afternoon, New York senator Chuck Schumer castigated his colleagues who plan to vote against the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill.

Imagine for a moment that a Republican state senator in a liberal Northeastern state filibustered gay marriage legislation or some gun control measure like background checks. If he went on CNN the following day, do you think he would be grilled about his position? Without a doubt.

A new National Journal poll on late-term abortion is somewhat biased against the pro-life side: The poll's question claims the bill passed last week in the House of Representatives only contains exceptions in the cases of rape or incest without mentioning that there is also an exception for when a…

Obamacare poses a tricky problem for supporters of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill. It would be too politically toxic to give illegal immigrants amnesty and taxpayer subsidies under Obamacare, so the Senate bill prohibits "registered provisional immigrants" (individuals who are…

Obamacare poses a very tricky problem for supporters of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill. It would be too politically toxic to give illegal immigrants amnesty and taxpayer subsidies under Obamacare, so the Senate bill prohibits "registered provisional immigrants" (individuals who…

Just hours before President Obama is set to deliver his major speech on global warming, the Washington Post publishes a news story explaining that "to a large extent" the president is in fact waging "a war on coal":

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi ripped Republicans for not spending enough money on food stamps. "They're taking food out of the mouths of babies," Pelosi said of her Republican colleagues following the defeat of the farm bill in a floor vote. "Two…

Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado is a prominent gun control advocate (who apparently is quite confused about how guns work), as well as the co-chair of the "Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus." At a press conference on Tuesday, Elizabeth Harrington of CNS News asked DeGette why the logic of gun control…

Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania was one of only six Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted Tuesday night against a bill restricting post-viability abortions (six Democrats voted for the bill). Dent was also the only Republican to publicly criticize House leadership for bringing the…

The House of Representatives voted 228 to 196 on Tuesday evening to pass a bill that prohibits most abortions later than 22 weeks in pregnancy (20 weeks after conception), the point by which some infants can survive long-term if born and the point by which medical science indicates they can feel…

Last week, Jay Carney ducked a question on President Obama's position on a bill banning elective abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. The White House issued a statement Monday saying that the president would veto the bill: 

In a blow to the chances of the Senate's immigration bill being signed into law, House Speaker John Boehner has decided he won't bring a bill up for a vote in the House without the support of the majority of his conference. David Drucker has the scoop at the Washington Examiner:

What was the lesson of the Kermit Gosnell trial? Since the Philadelphia doctor was convicted last month of murdering three born-alive infants, two competing viewpoints have emerged.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Friday afternoon that she will manage the floor debate on a bill that would prohibit most abortions during the final four months of pregnancy. The bill has been revised to include exceptions for when the pregnancy is the…

The Washington Post fact checker wrote in an update this afternoon that he has retracted the "Four Pinocchios" rating he gave to Trent Franks's statement that the "incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low." The Post's Glenn Kessler writes (emphasis added): 

At the White House press briefing on Thursday, CNN's Jessica Yellin brought up Nancy Pelosi's refusal to explain the difference between the killings carried out by Dr. Kermit Gosnell and late-term abortion. "Does the President and this White House believe that this bill is an important bill?"…

At a Thursday press conference, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi condemned a bill that would prohibit abortions during the final four months of pregnancy with an exception for when the life and physical health of the mother is at risk.

The Washington Post's Aaron Blake reports (emphasis added): 

When Edward Snowden decided he wanted to release details about the NSA's intelligence operations to the public, he reached out to Laura Poitras, a 49-year-old film maker and political activist opposed to the war on terror. As the Washington Post noted on Monday, Poitras had "the odd distinction of…

When Edward Snowden decided he wanted to release secret details about the NSA's intelligence operations to the public, he reached out to Laura Poitras, a 49-year-old film maker and political activist opposed to the war on terror. As the Washington Post noted on Monday, Poitras had "the odd…

In the Washington Examiner, Timothy Carney warns that the NSA's PRISM program puts the United States on the slippery slope to tyranny:

Washington Post reporter Barton Gellman writes about his interactions with Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old federal contractor who leaked details of the NSA's PRISM program to The Guardian and the Post:

At a Thursday afternoon press conference, Nancy Pelosi responded to news that, contrary to earlier claims by Barack Obama and Pelosi herself, Obamacare will cause health insurance premiums to rise sharply for many people who purchase their own insurance in the individual market.

The House Subcommittee on the Constitution held a mark-up hearing this week on a bill that would ban abortions during the final four months of pregnancy with exceptions for when the life and physical health of the mother is at risk. To the “millions of women who value their personal autonomy,” said…

The House Subcommittee on the Constitution held a mark-up hearing this week on a bill that would ban abortions during the final four months of pregnancy with exceptions for when the life or physical health of the mother is at risk. To the “millions of women who value their personal autonomy,” said…

Florida senator Marco Rubio, a key Republican backing the immigration bill in the Senate, said during a radio interview Tuesday night that he won't vote for the bill if it isn't amended to improve border security. "What we're trying to get to ideally is an amendment that dictates the number of…

Before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, Democratic congressman Jim McDermott argued that conservatives deserved the scrutiny they received. "None of your organizations were kept from organizing or silenced. We are talking about whether or not…

Treasury Department inspector general J. Russell George testified before Congress on Monday that IRS employees have refused to say who ordered the targeting of Tea Party groups:

In August 2010, Austan Goolsbee, serving at the time as economic adviser to President Obama, told reporters during an anonymous background briefing that Koch Industries doesn't pay corporate income taxes. That statement was made at the same time that top Democrats, including President…

In August 2010, Austan Goolsbee, serving at the time as economic adviser to President Obama, told reporters that Koch Industries doesn't pay corporate income taxes. That statement was made at the same time that top Democrats, including President Obama himself, were demonizing Charles and David…

On Thursday, a House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on a bill that would ban most abortions during the last four months of pregnancy nationwide. Proponents of the legislation frequently cited the murder trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, as well as the words of President Obama himself,…

"Troops in London were advised in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s attack not to wear their uniforms outside their bases," The Sun reports. The report doesn't make clear who gave the order in the first place, but it was quickly reversed: "at Cobra this morning, it was agreed that issuing…

On Tuesday, liberal bloggers Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo and Ezra Klein of the Washington Post attended a private meeting at the White House:

On Friday, Arizona congressman Trent Franks announced he will be introducing a bill to prohibit abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy, with exceptions for when the mother's life or physical health is at risk. NARAL president Ilyse Hogue condemned the modest restriction in a statement:

Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona announced Friday afternoon that he will introduce a bill that would ban abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy (20 weeks after conception) nationwide--with exceptions for when the life or physical health of the mother is at risk.

Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona announced Friday afternoon that he will introduce a bill that would ban abortions after the fifth month of pregnancy (20 weeks after conception) nationwide--with exceptions for when the life and physical health of the mother is at risk.

The massacre of 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut, last December rightly sparked a national conversation about policies that might be enacted to prevent such atrocities in the future. But where is the national conversation in response to the massacre of innocents carried out in Philadelphia by…

Dr. LeRoy Carhart is something of a rockstar among the "reproductive rights" community. The two Supreme Court decisions on partial-birth abortion bear his name: Stenberg v. Carhart, which overturned the state of Nebraska's ban in 2000, and Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the federal ban in 2007.…

LeRoy Carhart is something of a rockstar among late-term abortionists. The two Supreme Court decisions on partial-birth abortion decisions bear his name: Stenberg v. Carhart, which overturned the state of Nebraska's ban in 2000, and Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the federal ban in 2007. The…

A new investigative video shows a Washington, D.C.-based abortion doctor admitting that if a baby is born alive in his clinic after a failed abortion attempt he would let the baby suffocate on fluid in the child's throat or lungs.

A new investigative video shows a Washington, D.C.-based abortion doctor admitting that if a baby is born alive in his clinic after a failed abortion attempt he would let the baby choke to death on fluid in the child's lungs. 

Last week, a Planned Parenthood official testified before the Florida legislature in opposition to a bill that would require an abortion doctor to provide medical care to any infant who survives an attempted abortion.

Last week, a Planned Parenthood official testified before the Florida legislature in opposition to a bill that would require an abortion doctor to provide medical care to any infant who survives an attempted abortion.

Last week, a Planned Parenthood official testified before the Florida legislature in opposition to a bill that would require an abortion doctor to provide medical care to any infant who survives an attempted abortion.

The New York Daily News reports: 

Anna Nix, a spokeswoman for Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, responds to news that Terry McAuliffe won't take a position on Cuccinelli's decision to prosecute a 47-year-old man who solicited teen girl:

Liberal blogs have been ridiculing Virginia attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli for prosecuting a 47-year-old man named William Scott MacDonald under Virginia’s anti-sodomy law. While the prosecution is an obvious sign to some in the press that Cuccinelli is backward and…

Rev. Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest who sparked controversy for making racial remarks about Hillary Clinton at Barack Obama's Chicago church in 2008, will be honored at the Broadcasting Board of Governors "Diversity Day" program on May 14 in Washington, D.C. 

Florida legislators considering a bill to require abortionists to provide medical care to an infant who survives an abortion were shocked during a committee hearing this week when a Planned Parenthood official endorsed a right to post-birth abortion.

On Tuesday, Kentucky senator Rand Paul delivered a speech in favor of legalizing the status of illegal immigrants and opening up a path to citizenship for them. Immigration hawks were not pleased. "He just pissed away the [presidential] nomination quite honestly," said Mark Krikorian of the Center…

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker delivered a stirring speech over the weekend to the crowd at CPAC... 

When news broke that the Obama administration was lifting the rule excluding women from combat units, the rare sound of bipartisan applause reverberated on Capitol Hill. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, one of two conservative women in the Senate, said she was “pleased” with the change, issued in…

During his speech at CPAC on Friday, Mitt Romney acknowledged that he'd made "mistakes" during the 2012 campaign and confessed that "as someone who just lost the last election, I'm probably not the best person to chart the course for the next election." The former GOP presidential nominee didn't…

Mary Eberstadt writes at Time online: 

Should the Republican party abandon social conservatism? Take a turn toward non-interventionism? Moderate on taxes and spending? While a number of pundits and politicians have said 'yes' to one or more of these questions, especially since Mitt Romney's loss in November, Marco Rubio answered with a…

When President Obama made his announcement in May of 2012 that he (once again) supported gay marriage, he also made it clear that he thought the issue should be left to the states. Obama said in an interview with ABC's Robin Roberts: 

Many conservatives and Republicans are greeting the looming sequestration spending cuts with a collective yawn. "The much-ballyhooed 'sequester' is a cut of $85 billion in a nearly $4 trillion federal budget. Good, let’s do it," writes one contributor to National Review Online's symposium on…

Politico's Maggie Haberman reports:

Bret Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal: 

On Thursday, Dylan Byers, who reports on the media for Politico, published this story on the release of a speech that Chuck Hagel failed to disclose during his confirmation hearings:

During his State of the Union address, President Obama suggested that "climate change" caused Hurricane Sandy: 

As the world discusses Pope Benedict XVI's abdication, you might enjoy two pieces on the pontiff from the archives of THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Lee Harris's "Socrates or Mohammad?" and Joseph Bottum's "Benedict Meets Bartholomew."

Last week, the Obama administration rolled out what it calls an "accommodation" for religious institutions subjected to the Obamacare mandate that forces American employers to provide, and individuals to purchase, health insurance that covers contraception, sterilizations, and the abortion drug…

Not too long ago, Florida senator Marco Rubio seemed like a very unlikely candidate to spearhead an immigration reform effort alongside the likes of John McCain and Chuck Schumer. "The most important thing we need to do is enforce our existing laws," Rubio said in a 2009 interview with Javier…

CNN reports: 

A young Marine infantry officer, a combat veteran of Afghanistan writes:

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the "No Budget, No Pay Act" on a 285 to 144 vote. The measure would suspend the debt ceiling until May 19 and require the pay of U.S. senators to be withheld unless the Senate produces a budget for the first time in three years. 

On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the "No Budget, No Pay Act" on a 285 to 144 vote. The measure would suspend the debt ceiling until May 19 and require the pay of U.S. senators to be withheld unless the Senate produces a budget for the first time in three years. 

Florida senator Marco Rubio marked the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with the following statement: 

In a joint statement, current and former chairmen of the conservative Republican Study Committee endorse the plan to raise the debt ceiling for a few months in exchange for the Senate's producing a budget: 

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says in a statement: 

Tom Cole is the kind of Republican that President Obama will need to help raise the debt ceiling. The Oklahoma congressman is a conservative, but he’s also a pragmatist and a realist who urged Republicans early on to lock in income tax rates for almost all Americans, rather than risk the…

Tom Cole is the kind of Republican that President Obama will need to help raise the debt ceiling. The Oklahoma congressman is a conservative, but he’s also a pragmatist and a realist who urged Republicans early on to lock in income tax rates for almost all Americans, rather than risk the…

Tom Cole is the kind of Republican President Obama will need to raise the debt ceiling. The Oklahoma congressman is certainly a conservative, but he’s also a pragmatist and a realist who urged Republicans early on to lock in income tax rates for almost all Americans, rather than risk the…

Rep. Steven LaTourette, a moderate congressman from Ohio who won praise from the press for his preening moderation, ended his 9-term career in the House of Representatives last week. LaTourette said he retired because he was fed up with polarization in Congress. When asked about his future plans,…

The House of Representatives voted late Tuesday night to pass the Senate's bill to prevent income tax hikes from hitting American families making less than $450,000 (and individuals making less than $400,000). The deal also raises the capital gains tax for high-earners, increases the estate tax on…

At a press conference in the Capitol on Wednesday, House Democrats lashed out at opponents of new gun control measures. 

In the wake of the Newtown school massacre, many Democrats want to bring back the "assault weapons ban," which was in effect from 1994 to 2004. But Harry Reid, the leader of the Senate Democrats, voted against renewing the ban in 2004, along with six other Democratic senators, including Wisconsin's…

Senate majority leader Harry Reid is rejecting House speaker John Boehner's plan to extend income tax rates for Americans earning less than $1 million. "Speaker Boehner’s ‘plan B’ is the farthest thing from a balanced approach. It will not protect middle class families because it cannot pass both…

At a press conference this morning, Speaker John Boehner announced a "backup plan" to avert the "fiscal cliff." Bohener said that negotiations are deadlocked because the president is insisting on $1.3 trillion in new tax revenue for $850 billion in spending cuts.

Have you heard about the great conservative “purge” of 2012? Last week, outrage erupted among some activists on the right when a few Republican congressmen—Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Justin Amash of Michigan, and Dave Schweikert of Arizona—lost their committee assignments. According to National…

A union protest of a Michigan right-to-work law turned violent today when one union activist punched Steven Crowder, a conservative comedian and Fox News contributor, in the face. Watch the video here: 

Chris Christie is the latest governor to refuse to set up an Obamacare exchange in his state. Here's his press release announcing his veto today: 

Florida senator Marco Rubio was honored Tuesday night as the recipient of the Kemp Foundation's Leadership Award. While delivering a keynote address at the awards dinner, Paul Ryan, the 2011 recipient of the Kemp Foundation award, joked about meeting up with Rubio for a meal down the road in Iowa…

In a letter to President Obama, House GOP leaders are urging the president to consider a fiscal plan proposed last year by Erskine Bowles, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff and the co-chair of Obama's deficit commission.

Speaking Friday afternoon with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Oklahoma congressman Tom Cole, a Republican who has emerged this week as an advocate of compromising on taxes, panned President Obama's proposal to avert the fiscal cliff.

In the imagination of liberals and, hence, the mainstream media, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform is the great Republican bogeyman preventing Congress from coming to a reasonable (read: liberal) deal on taxes and spending. So reporters have been busy the past couple weeks asking…

Under current law, the U.S. economy will tumble over the so-called fiscal cliff at the start of the new year, when roughly $500 billion in across-the- board tax hikes and $100 billion in spending cuts are scheduled to take effect. Numerous economists predict the automatic tax increases, the result…

Milwaukee

During a speech in Springfield, Ohio today, the president ad libbed a remark when his supporters started booing Mitt Romney: "No, no, no -- don’t boo, vote," Obama said. That's his standard response to booing at his rallies. But then he added this: "Vote! Voting is the best revenge."

Barack Obama will be calling on the star power of some celebrities during his final campaign push. The Obama campaign just announced in a press release:

Green Bay, Wisc.

There have been three new polls released in the past twenty-four hours in Wisconsin.

Eau Claire, Wisc.

La Crosse, Wisc.

In late August, a poll by Mason-Dixon showed Missouri Democratic senator Claire McCaskill leading her Republican challenger Todd Akin 50 percent to 41 percent. But McCaskill's 9-point lead has shrunk to a 2-point lead, according to Mason-Dixon's most recent poll:

The latest Washington Post/ABC tracking poll shows voters moving toward Romney since the third debate: 

Campaigning in Virginia today, Paul Ryan mocked the pamphlet Obama released this week on his second-term agenda. NBC's Alex Moe reports:

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin's Democratic Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin ducked a question at a press conference today about whether she still supports single-payer health care: 

"Let's be very clear about this. The president talked about what he knew and when he knew it," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said on Tuesday night when asked about the Benghazi attack.

The New York Times reports today that the "the Obama campaign and Democratic groups have run commercials relating to abortion about 30,000 times since July 2 — about 10 percent of their ads — including one that falsely claimed Mr. Romney’s opposition to abortion extended to cases of rape and…

National Journal reports that the Marquette Law School poll, which has been very accurate in recent elections, shows a dead heat in Wisconsin: 

CBS's poll of uncommitted voters points to draw at the second presidential debate:

Wondering how the handful of Americans were selected to grill Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in front of 70 million or so TV viewers at tonight's debate? ABC's Russell Goldman reports that the Gallup polling organization was tasked by the Commission on Presidential Debates with selecting undecided…

In February of 2012, President Obama released a proposal to cut the corporate tax rate by 20 percent—bringing the current corporate rate down from 35 percent to 28 percent (and to 25 percent for manufacturers). But according to Robert Pozen, a senior fellow at the liberal-leaning Brookings…

A new Pew poll of registered voters shows that independent voters who tuned into the vice presidential debate last Thursday preferred Paul Ryan to Joe Biden by an 11-point margin: 

When Mitt Romney stepped on stage at the first presidential debate in Denver on October 3, he had been losing to President Obama on the issue of taxes for two solid months. The Obama campaign bombarded Romney with TV ads claiming he would raise taxes on middle-class families by $2,000 in order to…

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement Friday saying that Vice President Joe Biden falsely described Obamcare's contraception and abortifacient mandate:

Danville, Ky.

Ahead of the vice presidential debate, Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee takes a close look at Joe Biden's record on abortion: 

ABC's Emily Friedman reports:

The Des Moines Register reports:

Last night, the Obama campaign blasted out another email claiming that Mitt Romney's tax plan would either require raising taxes on the middle class or blowing a hole in the deficit. "Even the studies that Romney has cited to claim his plan adds up still show he would need to raise middle-class…

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan talk to each other on the phone almost every day, and the day of the first presidential debate was no exception. "I told him after the debate that he crushed it," Ryan told THE WEEKLY STANDARD in a phone interview Thursday night.

At last night's presidential debate, Barack Obama said that Mitt Romney's tax plan--cutting rates by 20 percent across the board and maintaining revenue neutrality by eliminating loopholes--is mathematically impossible.

A CNN poll shows that Mitt Romney won last night's debate on substance, not simply on style. Romney bested Obama on the economy, health care, taxes, and the deficit:

"I've put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan," President Obama said during his debate with Mitt Romney on Wednesday night. "It's on a website. You can look at all the numbers, what cuts we make and what revenue we raise."

Nate Silver noted yesterday that "Since conventions, Obama has led 64-27 (+37) on average in polls of Latino voters. He won them 67-31 (+36) in 2008." This morning, a new Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll came out showing Obama leading among Latinos by a whopping 50 points--71 percent to 21…

A study by the Tax Policy Center, a project of the center-left Brookings Institution and Urban Institute, claims that Mitt Romney's tax plan is mathematically impossible.

At a townhall-style event in Iowa, Paul Ryan was asked to provide more specifics about the Romney-Ryan economic plan, and he proceeded to talk about Romney's 5-point plan for about eight minutes. Buzzfeed posts the video: 

A new ad from Romney and the RNC: 

The Washington Post reports: 

A WEEKLY STANDARD source living in Northern Virginia passes along photos of the first piece of mail the source has received from the Romney campaign. Instead of focusing on a big issue--say, Obamacare, the debt, or taxes--the mailer is about Lyme Disease: 

During a new one-minute TV ad, Mitt Romney looks into the camera and says: 

Can a Republican candidate lose a debate on tax policy and win the presidency? The Romney campaign seems to think so.

Can a Republican candidate lose a debate on tax policy and win the presidency? The Romney campaign seems to think so.

At a rally in Ohio today, Mitt Romney said that Barack Obama hasn't raised taxes during his first term in office but will if he's reelected:

This morning on MSNBC, Obama adviser David Axelrod scoffed at the notion the president should actually have a plan to save Social Security from bankruptcy: 

This morning on MSNBC, Obama adviser David Axelrod scoffed at the notion the president should actually have a plan to keep Social Security from bankruptcy: 

Henry Olsen writes in the Washington Post: 

"I was a severely conservative Republican governor," Mitt Romney told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2012.

Conventional wisdom, and most national polling, holds that Barack Obama has an advantage over Mitt Romney on foreign policy. But a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA in Florida shows that Romney has an advantage over Obama on the situation developing in the Middle East.

Via GOP12, the latest ad from the Romney campaign focuses on spending:

Susan Rice, the Obama administration's UN ambassador, said this morning on ABC's This Week that the Benghazi consulate, where four Americans were killed on September 11, had the level of security the State Department thought was needed.

In a primary election yesterday, New York Republican state senators who voted for gay marriage faced the voters. John Fund reports:

From Thursday's press conference with State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland: 

During a speech at the Values Voters summit in Washington, D.C. today, GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan criticized the President Obama on all fronts--foreign policy, unemployment, economic opportunity, Obamacare, the debt, religious liberty, and more. Today also notably marked the first…

During a press conference in the Capitol on Thursday, Nancy Pelosi said that she opposes efforts to end U.S. aid to Egypt.

The Hill reports:

We don't really know the answer, Politico reports: 

The mainstream media have been busy today criticizing Mitt Romney for his criticism of the Obama administration's response to the attacks on our embassies in Egypt and Libya. First Read encapsulates the media narrative quite nicely: 

During an interview Sunday on Face the Nation, GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was pressed repeatedly by host Norah O'Donnell for specifics on the Romney-Ryan tax reform plan. But Obama made it through an interview that aired on the same program without being pressed for specifics on his…

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

The Campaign for Working Families, Gary Bauer's Super PAC, is launching a new ad today in North Carolina:

Charlotte

Charlotte

Charlotte

Long before Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin flapped his gums about the female body’s magical ability to prevent pregnancy in the case of “legitimate rape,” Democrats were conducting an aggressive campaign to cast Mitt Romney as an extremist on social issues.

St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tampa

Rand Paul delivered a "humdinger" of a speech at the RNC moments ago, according to John Podhoretz. You can read Paul's remarks, as prepared for delivery, here: 

USA Today reports that viewership of last night's RNC speeches was up a little bit from the RNC convention four years ago: 

Tampa

Oxford, Ohio

Via Politico, here's the latest Obama campaign ad attacking Mitt Romney on Medicare reform:

Jonathan Weisman and Michael Shear of the New York Times report today that Paul Ryan "co-sponsored a bill with Mr. Akin that aimed to restrict the definition of rape."

Here's an audio recording of Barack Obama arguing as an Illinois state senator in 2002 against legislation protecting infants who had survived an attempted late-term abortions:

Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports:

Democrats are trying to use Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's bizarre and offensive comments about rape and pregnancy to smear GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. And many journalists are playing along.

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is running his reelection campaign as a "culture warrior," trying to cast his opponents as extremists on such issues as abortion in the case of rape and requiring religious institutions to pay for contraception. But could Obama's own extremism on…

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is running his reelection campaign as a "culture warrior," trying to put his opponents on the defensive over issues abortion in the case of rape and requiring religious institutions to pay for contraception. But could Obama's extremism on abortion…

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is running his reelection campaign as a "culture warrior," trying to put his opponents on the defensive over issues like requiring religious institutions to pay for contraception and the issue of abortion in the case of rape. But could Obama's…

According to the conventional wisdom accepted by many in the mainstream media, women tend to vote Democratic more than men do because of the issue of abortion. Ramesh Ponnuru points out at National Review Online that the data do not support this belief. According to Gallup, about the same…

Here's a press release just sent out by Missouri senator Roy Blunt's office: 

While campaigning today outside of Pittsburgh, Paul Ryan took a shot today at Barack Obama's 2008 comments regarding Pennsylvanians and small-town Midwesterners who get "bitter" and "cling" to their "guns or religion."

A poll by the Democratic firm PPP finds a 7-point shift toward Mitt Romney in Wisconsin since Romney added Paul Ryan to the ticket. In July, Obama led Romney 50 percent to 44 percent in PPP's poll, but PPP now finds that Romney leads Obama 48 percent to 47 percent (the exact same results of an…

A SurveyUSA poll conducted Monday finds that only 35 percent of Missouri adults think Akin should stay in the Senate race, while 54 percent of Missourians think he should drop out. Akin has until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday to drop out of the race.

In response to Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's bizarre comments about abortion and rape, conservative columnist Ann Coulter is calling on Akin to resign for the good of his country and the pro-life cause: 

MSNBC's Chris Hayes posts a video of Paul Ryan expressing support for a stimulus package in 2002. The video of Ryan endorsing a $42 billion stimulus bill when Bush was president is supposed to be evidence that Ryan is a hypocrite because he opposed an $862 billion stimulus package when Obama was…

The Villages, Fla.

Warren, Ohio

North Canton, Ohio

Rasmussen reports that Mitt Romney has gone from a 3-point deficit to a 1-point lead in Wisconsin:

The Washington Post reports:

Oxford, Ohio

Oxford, Ohio

In an interview with Brit Hume on Fox News, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan talks about the economy, debt, monetary policy, Ayn Rand, Obamacare, Medicare, tax reform, and much more: 

During an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC, former Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania said that "Paul Ryan also believes we should ban all birth control as well. He voted for that." 

I might have lost track, but in this 4-minute clip I counted 10 instances in which CNN's Wolf Blitzer either points out, or asks DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to admit, that Paul Ryan's Medicare reform would only affect Americans who are under the age of 55: 

Yuval Levin writes:

Paul Ryan received a warm welcome home in Wisconsin last night at a rally in the city of Waukesha. Speaking without a script, Ryan was relaxed and at the top of his game. Watch the full speech at RealClearPolitics: 

The Hill reports: 

The Hill reports: 

The Bipartisan Policy Center helpfully explains how Paul Ryan's Medicare reform, which Mitt Romney has embraced, would change the program for Americans who are 54-years-old and younger (via Reihan Salam): 

Today, at 9:22 a.m., Obama campaign manager Jim Messina sent out an email blasting Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin congressman and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan. "[Ryan's] plan also would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting…

Via Ryan Lewis and Robert Costa, a private plane flew from Boston to Janesville today (stopping along the way in Chicago): 

Maggie Gallagher writes: 

Michigan Republicans head to the polls on Tuesday to select Pete Hoekstra or Clark Durant as Democratic senator Debbie Stabenow's GOP challenger. Hoekstra, a former congressman, was far ahead of Durant in the most recent public poll, which was conducted the last week of July. But the same…

Congressman Steven LaTourette, a retiring moderate Republican from Ohio, voted "present" last night on the D.C. late-term aboriton ban. "LaTourette says the most significant piece of legislation to hit the House floor on Tuesday is emblematic of why he’s decided to step aside," reports Chad Pergram…

Today is the day when the Obamacare mandate forcing employer-provided health insurance plans to provide "free" abortion pills, contraception, and sterilizations kicks in.

Last week, the constitutionality of an Arizona law banning late-term abortions was upheld by a federal judge, and last night the U.S. House of Representatives voted 220 to 154 to end District of Columbia's abortion-until-birth policy by prohibiting abortions from taking place 20 weeks after…

Speaker of the House John Boehner announces in a press release:

The Washington Surgi-Clinic, located just five blocks west of the White House, advertises on its website that it performs abortions 26 weeks (6 months) into pregnancy. The website of another clinic advertises second- and third-trimester abortions involving the “intercardiac injection of medication…

For all the talk about the death of the Tea Party, conservative insurgents have actually had a fairly impressive run in 2012 against establishment Republican Senate candidates. In Nebraska, Deb Fischer came out of nowhere to beat two Republicans who held statewide office. In Indiana, conservative…

When the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 28 to let Obama-care stand, President Obama said that “it’s time for us to move forward.” Harry Reid implored his colleagues and countrymen to “move on to other things,” and Nancy Pelosi said that “for the American people, yes, the fight is over.”

At a press conference in the Capitol today, Senate Democrats continued to make their push to raise income taxes on individuals, as well as small businesses that file with the IRS as individuals, earning more than $250,000 per year. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid couldn't explain why he…

At a townhall-style campaign event in Ohio on Wednesday, Mitt Romney was asked by a voter about his views on Barack Obama's "attack on religious freedom."

Barack Obama's supporters have been furiously arguing that the presdent's recent comments about American businesses have been taken out of context. Obama said at a campaign event last Friday:  

One upside to Romney surrogate John Sununu's ham-handed attacks on Barack Obama today is that they've distracted from Mitt Romney's own unfortunate remarks at a fundraiser in Mississippi on Monday night.  

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Republicans will be able to "effectively repeal" Obamacare with a simple-majority vote in the Senate if they control Congress and the White House in 2013. By using the budget reconciliation process, repeal of Obamacare would…

The Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe reports: 

The latest poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling shows Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney 50 percent to 44 percent among voters in Wisconsin. But PPP finds that if Romney were to pick Congressman Paul Ryan as a vice presidential runningmate, Obama's lead over Romney would drop to just one…

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wowed Romney donors at a campaign retreat in June, and the boss wondered last week whether Rice might be one of the women Romney is considering as a running mate. But picking Rice would be problematic for Romney because that would either require Romney to…

Following Chief Justice John Roberts' decision upholding Obamacare's requirement to purchase health insurance as a constitutional tax, rather than an unconstitutional mandate, foes of the law saw an opening for Mitt Romney to attack Obamacare for raising taxes on the middle class. And so it seemed…

CBS's Jan Crawford has a must-read report on the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision:

Just two years after President Obama touted a $400 million loan to the green energy firm Abound Solar, the company is declaring bankruptcy. The Department of Energy announced the news on Thursday, while the media were focused on the Obamacare Supreme Court decision, C.J. Ciaramella of…

The Becket Fund announces that lawsuits against Obamacare's abortifacient and contraception mandate are moving forward:

Chief Justice John Roberts held in his majority opinion today that Obamacare's individual mandate may be considered a constitutional tax rather than an unconstitutional mandate.

Over the weekend, Condoleezza Rice wowed Republicans at a retreat for Romney donors in Utah, sparking some speculation that she might be on Romney's list of potential running mates. But Rice sought to tamp down that speculation in an interiew with CBS this morning.

The AP reports:

A couple of recent polls have given Republicans hope that Mitt Romney has a shot at taking Michigan this November. But the behavior of former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the frontrunner in the state's GOP Senate primary, hasn't been encouraging to Republicans hoping to take Michigan Democrat Debbie…

If the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare, in whole or in part, how will Republicans respond? Many have talked about reinstating some of the law's most popular provisions, such the provision to allow people up to age 26 stay on their parents' health insurance. But even the parts of the law…

This morning the Obama administration announced a new executive branch policy that, according to the AP, "bypasses Congress and partially achieves the goals of the so-called DREAM Act, a long-sought but never enacted plan to establish a path toward citizenship for young people who came to the…

This morning the Obama administration announced a new executive branch policy that, according to the AP, "bypasses Congress and partially achieves the goals of the so-called DREAM Act, a long-sought but never enacted plan to establish a path toward citizenship for young people who came to the…

One week after Republican governor Scott Walker defeated a recall effort in Wisconsin, Rasmussen has a new poll showing Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama 47 to 44 percent in the Badger state: 

Here's an indication of just how impressive and broad-based Scott Walker's 7-point win was last night: If the Democratic strongholds of Dane County and Milwaukee County had 100 percent turnout of registered voters, and every other county remained the same, Walker still would have won the state by…

In the historic Republican wave of 2010, Scott Walker won election as governor of Wisconsin with 52.3 percent of the vote. In the 2012 recall election (with 99 percent of precincts reporting), Walker won 53.3 percent of votes cast. In terms of actual votes, Walker improved his haul from 1,128,941…

Via Hot Air, here's Scott Walker's victory speech:

Scott Walker's campaign sends out a press release:

Michael O'Brien reports on Twitter:

Waukesha, Wisc.

Polls point to a win for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in tomorrow's recall election, but internal Republican polling shows there's a very good chance that the Wisconsin GOP will lose control of the state senate on the same day.

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm that conducts surveys for the SEIU and the left-wing website Daily Kos, reports that its final poll shows Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leading Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett 50 percent to 47 percent. PPP's poll is the only public poll conducted in the past…

Christian Schneider reports:

To be precise, the union-backed Greater Wisconsin Political Fund is actually trying to pressure non-voters in liberal Dane County into voting in Tuesday's recall election. "We're sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to publicize who does and does not vote," reads the "incredibly creepy"…

"Understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself — I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States of America.” --Barack Obama, November 3,…

Milwaukee

Milwaukee

Waukesha, Wisc.

A new undercover video released by the pro-life group Live Action shows a Planned Parenthood employee in New York City giving advice to an actress posing as a woman who wants to have an abortion if, and only if, the baby is a girl. 

The AP reports:

A union official from the Brown Deer school district in southeastern Wisconsin tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Act 10, the collective bargaining law signed by Governor Scott Walker last year, is working out just fine:

Milwaukee

A new poll by Marquette University Law school shows Wisconsin governor Scott Walker solidifying his lead over his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett. Walker now leads Barrett by 7 points--52 percent to 45 percent. In the previous MU Law released two weeks ago, Walker led Barrett 50…

The latest from Live Action, a pro-life group run by activist Lila Rose:

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, faced off last night in the first of two debates leading up to the June 5 gubernatorial recall election. There weren’t any fireworks, and it’s unlikely that the hour-long debate held on the Friday evening of…

Mother Jones's Adam Serwer takes a look at the new Gallup poll showing "pro-life" Americans outnumbering "pro-choice" Americans by a 9-point margin and writes:

In an interview with Reihan Salam for Vice magazine, pornographer Larry Flynt reveals that he's now a hardcore supporter of President Obama's just two years after calling Obama an "ineffectual wimp" for giving in too much to Republicans.

Joe Biden's defenders have been awfully defensive lately about calls for President Obama to swap the current vice president for Hillary Clinton. "Vice President Biden is a big political plus for the ticket, and will make a real difference in the swing states this fall....  I've seen the connection…

M.D. Kittle writes at WisconsinReporter.com:

An investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reveals that since 2009 more than 500 incidents of violent crime in the city of Milwaukee were misreported as minor assaults:

The Washington Free Beacon reports that in a speech to the U.S. Air Force Academy today, President Obama called for "another great American century":

Via GOP 12, a new poll of Florida voters has some good news for Mitt Romney. On May 3, Quinnipiac showed Romney and Obama tied 44 percent to 43 percent, but the pollster now shows Romney leading Obama 47 percent to 41 percent. And picking Florida senator Marco Rubio as a running mate would increase…

After months of a national Democratic campaign trumping up a GOP "war on women," Gallup finds that the percentage of Americans who identify as "pro-choice" on abortion has fallen to an all-time low of 41 percent, while 50 percent of Americans identify as "pro-life":

The liberal group We Are Wisconsin released an internal poll on Tuesday showing Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leading his Democratic opponent Tom Barrett 50 percent to 47 percent. The poll, conducted May 19-21 by the Democratic firm Greenberg, Quinlan & Rosner, was released to buck up dispirited…

The Hill reports that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has signed a $20 million deal with a public relations firm to produce a multimedia ad campaign promoting Obamacare this election season:

Politicians are notoriously evasive when asked to offer detailed plans of what they would do if elected. But Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who is challenging Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in the June 5 recall election, goes far beyond typical shiftiness in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article…

Way back in May of 2009, when President Obama was still selling himself to the nation as a post-partisan healer-in-chief, he was awarded an honorary degree and delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. The decision by the most famous Catholic university in America to honor…

Milwaukee news radio station WTMJ reports:

In the Wisconsin gubernatorial recall race, Republicans and Democrats continue to spar over the jobs numbers under Governor Scott Walker's administration. Republicans have been touting the fact that the unemployment rate has declined from 7.7 percent to 6.8 percent since Governor Scott Walker took…

In the past week, three different pollsters have polled the Wisconsin recall race, and all three came up with virtually identical results. Last week, a Rasmussen poll showed Governor Scott Walker leading Democrat Tom Barrett 50 percent to 45 percent. Yesterday, the Democratic firm Public Policy…

The latest poll by Daily Kos/Public Policy Polling shows Wisconsin governor Scott Walker leading Democratic challenger Tom Barrett 50% to 45% in the state's gubernatorial recall race. Those are the exact same numbers PPP found prior to the Democratic primary and the exact same results Rasmussen…

Forced by the Obama administration to choose between violating its faith and morals by providing abortion pills and contraception to students under its health plan or dropping health insurance altogether, Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio has chosen the latter. Via Hot Air, Steven Ertelt…

Last Friday, Gallup released a poll showing the country almost evenly divided on Obama's gay marriage endorsement, but 26% of Americans said Obama's move made them more likely to vote against him while 13% said it made them more likely to vote for him. By a 12-point margin, independents said they…

A Wisconsin Democratic official vents to Greg Sargent:

Gallup took a poll of adults regarding Obama's endorsement of gay marriage, and the topline number seems* to look good for the president: 51% approve of Obama's support of same-sex marriage, while 45% disapprove. But when you take a look at how it might move votes, it seems to be a losing issue for…

The Washington Post reports that Nancy Keenan, the head of the group formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League, is stepping down:

Mitt Romney has his biggest lead yet over Obama in Rasmussen's tracking poll: 

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, the Democrat running against Scott Walker in the June 5 recall election, has relentlessly attacked Walker's budget cuts. But Barrett has refused to say what he would have done differently to balance the budget or even how much he would have cut from education in…

Rasmussen polls the Wisconsin recall:

As pundits and analysts debate the impact of Barack Obama's support for gay marriage on the 2012 election, Matthew Dowd, a top strategist of the 2004 Bush campaign, writes at the Huffington Post that "marriage initiatives in 2004 on the ballot in 11 states had no discernable effect on turnout among…

Maggie Gallagher, the co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, sends out a statement in response to Obama's announcement that he supports gay marriage:

In 1996, Barack Obama supported gay marriage. In 2004, while running for Senate in Illinois, Obama was against it, he said, because of his religious faith. But in his big interview today, President Obama cited the teachings of Jesus Christ as a reason for his decision to support gay marriage:

With 100 out of 100 counties reporting, North Carolina's voters have approved a constitutional amendment stating that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." Sixty-one percent of voters cast ballots in favor of the…

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, the Democrat who lost Wisconsin's 2010 gubernatorial election to Scott Walker by 5.7 points, will get another shot at Walker in the June 5 recall election. With 40% of precincts reporting, the AP has called the Democratic primary for Barrett, as he leads union-backed…

The RealClearPolitics average of national polls now shows Barack Obama and Mitt Romney tied (Obama: 46.2%, Romney 46.0%)--the best Romney has done in the RCP average of polls since October 12.

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett is the heavy-favorite in today's Democratic gubernatorial recall primary, but his primary victory came at a cost. would like to be

A new poll released Wednesday by Marquette University Law School shows Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett cruising to victory in Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial recall primary. And it looks likely that the June 5 recall election between Barrett and Governor Scott Walker will come down to the wire.…

Brookfield, Wisc.

National Journal reports: 

Last week Politico reported that Planned Parenthood was spending big money in a Pennsylvania state house special election. "Most state legislative races and ad campaigns don’t necessarily have any larger resonance, but Democrats have been working to make the ultrasound bill the kind of liability…

With less than two weeks to go until Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial recall primary, it seems that former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's labor allies have given up on her. 

Wauwatosa, Wisc.

The Democratic firm PPP polls four Wisconsin state senate recall elections and finds Republicans above 50 percent and leading their Democratic opponents by double digits in three races: 

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue released data showing that the property tax bill for the median home in the state had decreased for the first time in over a decade. While Governor Scott Walker was heralding the news, the two leading Democrats vying to replace him in the June 5 recall…

Madison, Wisc.

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In February, Public Policy Polling found Wisconsin governor Scott Walker trailing Milwaukee's Democratic mayor Tom Barrett by 3 points (46 percent to 49 percent). But a new PPP poll conducted for the liberal website Daily Kos shows that Walker has retaken the lead:

Madison, Wisc.

Madison, Wisc.

Madison, Wisc.

Via Daniel Foster, a new Quinnipiac poll shows that Chris Christie's approval rating has hit an all-time high of 59 percent: 

"Paul Ryan Claims Secret Democratic Support" reads the headline of a new report at Buzzfeed:

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120409/APC010405/204090426/Falk-Barrett-face-fight-recall-election?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

With Democrats defending 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for election in November, the opportunities for Republican pickups abound. Although Republicans will play defense in Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada, they will almost certainly make gains in North Dakota and Nebraska. Republicans have good…

Mark your calendars: Wisconsin's state election board officially announced today that the recall election between Governor Scott Walker and the winner of the Democratic primary will take place on June 5. Polls show the recall race will be tight in battleground Wisconsin. And, as Stephen F. Hayes…

The 2013 budget written by Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin sailed through the House on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 228 to 191. There were 10 Republican defections--up from four last year. Some Republicans who flip-flopped on the Ryan budget said the budget needed to cut more spending. This…

Moderate Republican congressman Steven LaTourette of Ohio has come up with an alternative budget with Democrat Jim Cooper of Tennessee. LaTourette's office is now circulating a "rebuttal memo" around Capitol Hill that challenges some arguments made against it. But the memo doesn't even try to rebut…

Not a single Republican voted for final passage on Obamacare in 2010. And Republicans in both Houses have unanimously voted to repeal the deeply government-takeover of the health care sector. But Yuval Levin notes that some moderate House Republicans might vote for an alternative budget that…

In 2011, all but four House Republicans supported the budget authored by Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. But this year, that level of party unity appeared endangered—indeed, even passage of the budget on the floor appeared problematic--when, on Wednesday night, two members of Ryan's own committee who voted…

The House Budget Committee has released a new paper showing that the budget written by Chairman Paul Ryan could reach balance sooner than projected by the Congressional Budget Office:

Senator Jim DeMint told CNN today that he's more than happy with the possibility of Mitt Romney being the GOP nominee:

In an interview with the Heritage Foundation, Florida senator Marco Rubio praised the House budget drafted by Congressman Paul Ryan. "Ultimately, I congratulate Paul Ryan," Rubio said. "The Democrats in the Senate aren't going to produce a budget and they can't produce a budget," Rubio added. "And…

Via Hot Air, Salena Zito reports: 

President Barack Obama recently told a Democratic congresswoman that the proudest achievement of his presidency was passing the national health care law in 2010.  

On Friday afternoon, the Obama administration released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to announce it was proceeding as planned with its new federal mandate that abortion pills, sterilization procedures, and contraception must be provided without co-pays under virtually all health care…

Ramesh Ponnuru writes in the latest issue of National Review:

Reuters reports that the Obama administration will cut off birth control funding for low-income women in Texas because Texas has cut off the state's taxpayer-funding of Planned Parenthood: 

The latest New York Times/CBS poll shows President Obama's approval rating hitting an all-time low. One month ago, 50% of Americans approved of his job performance and 43% disapproved. The new NYT/CBS poll shows Obama's approval rating dropping to 41% and his disapproval rating climbing to 47%. 

How's the great contraception mandate battle of 2012 playing out? If you read the Washington Post's news coverage, the issue is supposedly killing Republicans among female voters. But the newest Washington Post/ABC poll tells a different story.

The New York Times reports:

Ever since President Obama's announced a so-called "accommodation" to Obamacare's new contraception and abortifacient mandate on February 10, Democrats have believed the issue is a surefire winner for them--especially in liberal Massachusetts. In radio ads, op-eds, and interviews, Democratic Senate…

Bill Burton, the former White House deputy press secretary and head of the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA, says the PAC will not return Bill Maher's $1 million donation even though Maher has used misogynistic rhetoric toward women. The Washington Free Beacon has the transcript of Burton's MSNBC…

A national Gallup poll of adults shows that 50% of Americans believe Barack Obama's presidency has been "a failure," while 44% of Americans say Obama's presidency has been "a success":

Pete Hegseth, a 31-year-old veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has announced a bid for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

At today's White House press conference, President Obama was not asked a single question about the public policy aspects of Obamacare's new mandate forcing employers, including most religious institutions, to pay for abortion pills and contraception. Rather, he was asked by two different reporters…

In response to the media firestorm surrounding Rush Limbaugh's insulting comments about Democratic activist Sandra Fluke (comments for which Limbaugh apologized), Kirsten Powers writes about the liberal men who have used misogynistic rhetoric without facing the same outrage. Powers notes that "the…

Following the vote on the Blunt-Nelson amendment that would allow Americans to opt out of Obamacare's health benefits mandates for moral or religious reasons, Senate majority leader Harry Reid said the vote showed Republicans are beholden to an "extreme ideological" faction.

Today, the Senate will vote on the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act--an amendment that would restore conscience protections that existed before the passage of Obamacare. The measure was taken up in response to Obamacare's new regulations that insurance policies, including policies purchased by…

Democrats stormed the Senate floor today, warning that the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, which is up for a vote on Thursday, would lead to employers and insurers denying all sorts of vital health care coverage--mammograms, blood transfusions, etc. Here's a memo being circulated around…

Earlier today, a reporter in Ohio said the following to Mitt Romney: 

Democratic senator Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor this morning to denounce a conscience bill up for a vote tomorrow, calling it a "contraception ban."

Nancy Pelosi held a congressional hearing on Monday with a single witness, Georgetown student Sandra Fluke, to testify about the need for Obamacare to mandate that religious institutions provide free contraception and abortifacients under their health insurance plans.

As Congress continues to debate the Obamacare mandate forcing religious institutions to provide "free" coverage of contraception and abortion-inducing drugs, a new report could put supporters of the mandate on the defensive. It turns out that the Democrats' 1994 health care care bill (i.e.…

Mitt Romney was asked at a press conference in Michigan this morning about his inability to excite "the base" of the Republican party, and he replied:

When Republican senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts makes the case for a bill that would restore the conscience protections that existed prior to Obamacare, he frequently notes that his Democratic predecessor Ted Kennedy shared the same position. But Kennedy's son Patrick, former congressman from…

Via Ed Morrissey, here's a must-watch video of Democratic congresswoman Kathy Hochul getting tripped up at a townhall meeting by a constituent's questions about Obamacare's contraception/abortifacient mandate:

Virginia governor Bob McDonnell issued the following statement this afternoon: 

Rasmussen:

Liberals and the mainstream media have been denouncing a proposed ultrasound law in Virginia as akin to rape (Jon Stewart and Meghan McCain joined in the demagoguery last night). "[T]he law provides that women seeking an abortion in Virginia will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason," wrote…

Liberals and the mainstream media have been denouncing a proposed ultrasound law in Virginia as akin to rape (Jon Stewart and Meghan McCain joined in the demagoguery last night). "[T]he law provides that women seeking an abortion in Virginia will be forcibly penetrated for no medical reason," wrote…

First Read reports: 

The latest poll of the Arizona GOP presidential primary by CNN/Time:

There are fair attacks of Rick Santorum's religious rhetoric, and there are unfair attacks of Rick Santorum's religious rhetoric. You can put this Jon Meacham post at Time in the "unfair and absurd" category: 

Ultrasound laws are fairly common in the realm of abortion politics: 22 states already have them on the books.* But the proposed Virginia law--which would require an ultrasound to be performed 24 hours before an abortion and would give the mother the opportunity to view it--has been presented by…

This just in from veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum: "Catholic leaders are self-righteously trying to infringe on the liberty of all Americans."

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren called Senator Scott Brown an extremist for supporting a bill that restores conscience protections that existed before Obamacare. The moderate Massachusetts Republican hit back hard, writing in an email to supporters that Warren "has…

CNN reports:

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday morning that the government should require self-insured religious institutions, such as the Catholic church in Washington, D.C., to directly pay for contraception and abortifacients. 

Yesterday, I asked Senator Dick Durbin if he thinks Obamacare's contraception/abortifacient mandate still violates the religious liberty of Catholic churches, like the Archdiocese of Washington. Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he didn't know. But Durbin said he did know one…

Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren hit Senator Scott Brown today for supporting a bill that would restore conscience protections Americans had prior to the passage of Obamacare. "I am shocked that Senator Brown jumped in to support such an extreme measure,” Warren told the…

North Dakota senator Kent Conrad said Tuesay that he hopes President Obama will make further clarifications to his policy regarding 

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, said Tuesday afternoon that he doesn't know if President Obama's revised contraception mandate violates the religious liberty of self-insured religious institutions, such as some hospitals, universities, and the Catholic church in…

Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent thinks that Barack Obama's mandate that private insurers must provide free contraceptive and abortive drugs could split the GOP. But Sargent notes that two northeastern Republican senators, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Scott Brown of Massachusetts, both…

We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch, but, according to President Obama, there is such a thing as free birth control. And the mainstream media seem to believe him.

The National Right to Life Committee released a statement on Friday warning that Obamacare's mandate that private insurers cover contraception and the abortifacient drug ella may only be the start of Obamacare's mandatory "free" services. Abortion on demand could be next: 

The Wall Street Journal's Janet Adamy reports:

Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, Princeton professor Robert George, Notre Dame law professor Carter Snead, Catholic University of America president John Garvey, and EPPC fellow Yuval Levin write a letter on the Obama administration's abortifacient and contraception mandate:

We just received information about this proposal for the first time this morning; we were not consulted in advance," the United States Council of Catholic Bishops announce in a statement released Friday evening. The bishops say that the "the law and remains a grave moral concern" and is…

On Thursday night, the Democratic party appeared to be in disarray over the Obama administration’s decree that private insurance plans, including those offered by religious organizations, must provide free coverage of contraception, sterilization procedures, and abortifacients.

Americans who want to fight breast cancer without funding the nation's largest abortion provider were disappointed last week by the Komen foundation's apparent decision to continue funding Planned Parenthood. Although the Komen foundation may continue funding the nation's largest abortion provider,…

Ramesh Ponnuru notes that Senator Marco Rubio's statement on Obama's adjusted mandate "seems to suggest that this particular battle is over even if the war over Obamacare continues."

Late this morning, a senior Obama administration official talked to reporters about the latest tweak to its mandate that private insurers must cover of contraception and abortifacients:

In 2010, the Obama administration's FDA approved a new drug called 'ella' and classified it as a contraceptive. The drug now falls under the Obama administration's mandate of services that private insurers must cover free of charge. But there is a considerable amount of evidence that ella does not…

ABC's Jake Tapper reports that "later today the White House — possibly President Obama himself — will likely announce an attempt to accommodate these religious groups."

The Senate Majority Leader was not happy when Republicans tried to attach the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act to the transportation bill. The Huffington Post reports:

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Democratic senator Claire McCaskill stood firmly behind the Obama administration's decision that private insurance plans, including those of religiously affiliated institutions, must cover contraception and abortifacients. "I think any religion…

Rick Warren, the mega-church pastor who delivered the invocation at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration, writes on Twitter:

Speaking to conservative bloggers this morning prior to his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Florida senator Marco Rubio continued to make the case against the Obama administration's mandate that all private insurance plans must cover contraception,…

Andrew Stiles has the scoop at the Washington Free Beacon:

Rasmussen reports:

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both report that President Obama may be considering a "compromise" on his mandate that religiously affiliated institutions must cover contraception and abortifacients, and both papers suggest that a compromise under consideration is applying Hawaii's…

The Washington Post reports:

Former Democratic congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, a Catholic from Erie, Pennsylvania, cast a crucial vote in favor of Obamacare in 2010. She lost her seat that November in part because of her controversial support of Obamacare. But Dahlkemper said recently that she would have never voted for the…

This Super Bowl TV ad by Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra is drawing a lot of attention--and not in a good way:

"Only a small percentage of Planned Parenthood’s expenditures go toward abortion services," the New York Times reported last week in a news story on the Komen-Planned Parenthood controversy. But that claim is very misleading, as Ross Douthat notes in his New York Times column, "The Media's Abortion…

Lehigh Acres, Fla. 

Public Policy Polling surveys Tuesday's caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and finds good news for Rick Santorum:

Rasmussen's latest tracking poll finds Rick Santorum faring better than Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney against Obama:

A number of news outlets reported today that the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity reversed its decision to end funding from Planned Parenthood. "Komen apologizes for 'recent decisions,' pledges to continue funding Planned Parenthood," read the headline at the Dallas News. But the actual…

In response to Mitt Romney's remarks about the poor yesterday, Senator Jim DeMint told Roll Call's David Drucker that Romney needs to change his message: 

Last spring, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards went on CNN and claimed that if Congress cut off funding to Planned Parenthood "millions of women are going to lose access, not to abortion services, to basic family planning, you know, mammograms." But as pro-life activist Lila Rose…

Fresh off his big win in Florida Tuesday night, Mitt Romney made the most stunningly stupid remark of his campaign. 

In response to Mitt Romney's remarks that he would protect Medicare and Social Security, this afternoon DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz held a conference call which was formally dubbed the Mitt Romney will destroy Medicare and Social Security conference call."

Via GOP12, here's a Newt Gingrich robocall going out to Floridians:

At a campaign rally in Florida Monday evening, Mitt Romney told the crowd: "We will never go after Medicare and Social Security."

The Villages, Fla.

The blog Verum Serum has dug up a clip of a May 2009 Newt Gingrich conference call that followed a White House press conference on health care reform. (You can listen to the whole call here.) Gingrich said he was "little bit skeptical but encouraged" by the approach President Obama was taking. He…

A Suffolk University poll of likely Floriday GOP primary voters shows Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich 47 percent to 27 percent. Rick Santorum comes in third at 12 percent, while Ron Paul is in fourth at 9 percent. The poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday, and it shows largest lead for Romney…

Rick Santorum scrapped plans to campaign in Boca Raton this morning and will instead be campaigning in Missouri and Minnesota later today. He will make his way to Nevada and Colorado on Tuesday. 

Two new polls released Sunday night indicate that Newt Gingrich has a chance of pulling off an upset in the Florida GOP primary. An Insider Advantage poll conducted for Newsmax shows Mitt Romney leading Gingrich by just 4.6 points, and a PPP tracking poll shows Romney dropping a point from…

A Rasmussen poll conducted Saturday shows Mitt Romney leading Newt Gingrich 44% to 28%:

Public Policy Polling conducted a poll of 387 likely Florida primary voters on Saturday and found Romney holding an 8-point lead:

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain made a surprise appearance at a Lincoln Day dinner in West Palm Beach Saturday night to endorse Newt Gingrich.

Between Sunday and Wednesday, Newt Gingrich went from leading Mitt Romney by 8 points to trailing Mitt Romney by 8 points in the Florida GOP primary polls. Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville was Gingrich's best opportunity--and most likely his only--ahead of Tuesday's primary to reverse…

A Rasmussen poll conducted on Sunday, the day after the South Carolina primary, showed Newt Gingrich leading Mitt Romney by 9 points--41 percent to 32 percent--in Florida. Rasmussen's poll conducted on Wednesday now shows Romney leading Gingrich by 8 points:

Miami

Three polls released in the immediate aftermath of Newt Gingrich's South Carolina primary victory showed that the former House speaker had surged to a 5 to 9 point lead in Florida. But two new polls released today show Mitt Romney back on top. 

The Miami Herald's Marc Caputo reports:

Ft. Myers, Fla.

Earlier today, Newt Gingrich hit Mitt Romney for hiring former Charlie Crist staffers. "We discovered last night that Mitt Romney has picked up Charlie Crist’s campaign team,” Gingrich said.  “I thought that sort of told you everything you needed to know about this primary."

The Washington Post's Aaron Blake reports that the pro-Gingrich super PAC is spending an eye-popping $6 million in Florida on this tough new ad on Romneycare and Obamacare:

Tampa, Fla.

Tampa, Fla.

Tampa, Fla.

The Washington Post reports:

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch, but the Obama administration has decided to move forward with its mandate that private insurance companies must provide "free" coverage of contraception and sterilization procedures, as well as an abortion pill called "ella"--which is much…

At the Washington Surgi-Clinic, located five blocks from the White House, an abortion proceducre known as "dilation and evacuation" is performed, in which a doctor dismembers a human fetus and removes the remains with a high-powered suction device. The 20th and F Street abortion clinic advertises…

ABC's Brian Ross writes:

Public Policy Polling hasn't yet completed its latest poll in South Carolina, but the pollster tweets that it's a tight race: "Gingrich and Romney basically running even on the first night of our South Carolina poll. No one else close."

National Journal reports:

Ankeny, Iowa

Duncan, S.C.

When Rasmussen polled South Carolina a couple days after the Iowa caucuses, Rick Santorum was trailing Mitt Romney by just three points. But the latest Rasmussen poll of South Carolina primary voters shows Santorum falling behind Newt Gingrich (the change from the Januaury 5 poll is shown in…

Columbia, S.C.

Columbia, S.C.

Ridgeway, S.C.

West Columbia, S.C.

Rasmussen's final poll of New Hampshire primary voters:

Quinnipiac polls GOP voters likely to participate in Florida's January 31 primary:

Via Hot Air, there are two reports from precincts that election night tallies were wrong. In one instance, a man credibly claims that Romney was awarded 20 more votes than he actually received. But Santorum said on Fox News last night that 21 Romney votes weren't counted in another precinct, so…

Reuters reports: 

National Journal's Ron Fournier reports:

Ankeny, Iowa

Yes, that's right: 8 votes. Out of more than 122,000 ballots cast, Mitt Romney received 30,015 votes, and Rick Santorum received 30,007 votes. This virtual tie is still a big, surprising win for Santorum, who was polling in the single digits a few weeks ago. 

Results from the Iowa caucuses are beginning to roll in, and with 31 percent of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul are all tied at 23 percent. 

Mitt Romney tells voters in Iowa that he's going to win, Zeke Miller reports at Buzzfeed:

Des Moines

Des Moines

PPP polled likely Iowa GOP caucus voters on Saturday and Sunday and found that the race is "headed for a photo finish":

Rick Santorum is back where he began his career in politics, running like crazy in an election no one thinks he can win. As a 32-year-old long-shot Republican candidate in 1990, Santorum wore out a lot of shoe leather knocking on doors (more than 20,000, he says, between him and his wife) in a…

After pledging to run a positive campaign (that really wasn't so positive), Newt Gingrich tells reporters he's ready to attack Romney. The New York Times reports: 

Rick Santorum, the Republican presidential candidate who's turned Iowa into a surprising three-way race, sat down on Meet the Press with David Gregory this morning. You can watch it here:

Des Moines

Des Moines

The latest poll from Rasmussen seems to confirm that Rick Santorum is on the move in Iowa:

Jon Huntsman has a new web ad out hammering Ron Paul's racist, anti-Semtic, conspiracy-minded newsletter:

Talk about a tight race: The latest Insider Advantage poll of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers shows Ron Paul at 17.3%, Mitt Romney at 17.2%, Newt Gingrich at 16.7%, Rick Santorum at 13.4%, Michele Bachmann at 11.8%, and Rick Perry at 10.5%. The RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls shows Romney…

Des Moines

Des Moines

Des Moines

Dyersville, Iowa

PPP's latest Iowa poll: 

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that a Newt Gingrich newsletter from April 2006, the month that Mitt Romney signed the Massachusetts health care bill into law, praised Romneycare. "The most exciting development of the past few weeks is what has been happening up in Massachusetts," read…

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday afternoon, Newt Gingrich unloaded on Ron Paul's extreme foreign policy views and the conspiracy theories, racism, and anti-Semitism in Paul's newsletter. Asked if he could vote for Paul if he were the GOP nominee, Gingrich initially says, "No." But…

A former Ron Paul staffer named Eric Dondero, who worked closely with the Texas congressman and presidential candidate over the course of 15 years, has issued a statement in which he both defends his old boss from charges of racism and anti-Semitism and reveals damning new details about about the…

Just in time for Christmas, the RNC has a gift for political junkies: a comprehensive document* that explains how each state (and territory) will award its delegates through the Republican presidential primaries and caucuses. 

ABC News reported this morning that, according to "multiple" anonymous sources, prominent Iowa social conservative Bob Vander Plaats "was soliciting as much as $1 million from Santorum and other [Republican presidential] candidates" while he was considering endorsing one of them. In a phone…

Rick Santorum, who is tied in Iowa for fourth place with Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry at 10 percent according to the latest PPP poll, gets a boost from a leading social conservative. The New York Times reports:

Ron Paul may be peaking at just the right time. With two weeks to go until the January 3 Iowa caucuses, two new polls show the libertarian congressman narrowly leading Mitt Romney for first place in Iowa.

A Senate source tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that congressional leaders have worked out a two-month budget deal that includes a fully-funded extension of the payroll tax cut. The deal will also require the Obama administration to decide within 60 days on whether or not it will approve construction of…

Although the the new Medicare reform unveiled Thursday by Paul Ryan and Democratic senator Ron Wyden has received some criticism from conservatives in the press, Ryan says he hasn't heard any objections from his Republican colleagues--quite the opposite, in fact. "I've briefed many members on this,…

Brian Beutler reports at TPM that Nancy Pelosi and the White House are pushing back hard against a new bipartisan Medicare reform proposed by Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Paul Ryan of Wisconsin: 

Rasmussen finds what other pollsters have found in Iowa: A tight race in which Newt Gingrich is slipping, Ron Paul surging, and Romney holding steady: 

The Wyden-Ryan alliance on Medicare is "unholy," and the plan will "infuriate other Democrats, all the way up to President Obama," according to a major liberal news outlet that reliably conveys Democratic thinking -- it's called Talking Points Memo for a reason.

The New York Times reports:

Paul Ryan and Newt Gingrich have had a bit of a testy relationship over the past year. Gingrich called Ryan's plan "right-wing social engineering" on Meet the Press in April. "With allies like that, who needs the left?" Ryan shot back the next day.

Quin Hillyer writes: 

Mitt Romney erased any doubt that he’s playing to win the Iowa caucuses when he rolled out his first campaign ads in the Hawkeye State last week. A glossy paper mailer pitched Romney to socially conservative Iowans as “the strongest Republican to beat Barack Obama and protect our values.” Romney’s…