GOP

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Plus, why you should always read the story.

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Hosted by Jim Swift

On Monday, July 9, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh is a serious and respected federal judge with a well-thought-through constitutionalist orientation. Based on what we know now, he deserves enthusiastic support from all who…

Plus, Jon Kyl the sherpa.

Seth Grossman made multiple racist social media posts and called diversity 'a bunch of crap.'

Hosted by Charlie Sykes.

Will we witness the strange death of conservative—or liberal—America?

Democrats are expecting a landslide in the midterm elections, and it’s lulled them to sleep on Capitol Hill. A case in point: Republicans have been using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to wipe out Obama-era regulations since the Trump presidency began. And Democrats, responding groggily, have…

There were a handful of primary elections last week in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia, and while the results from Middle America were more or less predictable—“establishment” Republicans prevailed against some Trumpier-than-thou candidates—the headlines were revealing in their way: “Parties’…

Political observers are understandably focused on November 6, 2018—Election Day. What happens then will be important for the next couple of years: a Democratic wave, carrying that party to control of the House for the first time since 2010, and perhaps even to a majority in the Senate? A strong…

Chesterfield, Mo.

The other day I signed an online petition sponsored by Republicans for the Rule of Law. It’s addressed to Donald Trump: “Mr. President: Firing Robert Mueller would gravely damage the Presidency, the GOP and the country. Please don’t do it.” Since this is an effort to rally Republicans behind…

On Tuesday, Illinois’ incumbent Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, barely won renomination for his 2018 re-election bid. He defeated Jeanne Ives, a state legislator who was challenging him from the right, by only three points in the state’s primary. That’s not a great showing for Rauner – incumbent…

What's in the most recent issue? Editor in chief Stephen F. Hayes is here to show you what is in this week's issue.

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, Jonathan V. Last and Michael Warren talk about the Pennsylvania special election, the Blue Wave, political happy talk, and the wisdom of children.

The Missouri governor indicted Thursday on charges stemming from alleged sexual misconduct and blackmail has a history of extolling his ethical leadership.

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…

Most Americans have probably heard the parable of the blind men and the elephant. There are different versions of the story, but the basic idea is that a group of blind men encounter an elephant, and they each touch different parts of it. One man feels the tail, another the leg, another the ear,…

Contrary to the dire warnings of Democrats, Republican-backed tax reform has not brought about the end of the republic. Instead, most voters are discovering that their take home pay is on the rise, as the government is withholding less from working Americans.

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer Michael Warren talks about the long-awaited Infrastructure Week, and associate editor Ethan Epstein joins to discuss the Olympics, North Korea's 'Smile Diplomacy' and its coverage by the American press.

The Issue with Steve Hayes. Want to know what is in this week's magazine? Lucky for you, our editor Steve Hayes is putting together a brief video preview. Check it out here.

On Tuesday, Missouri Democrat Mike Revis won a special election for the state’s 97th House District, barely flipping a district that Donald Trump won by 28 points. Democrats are happy about the victory, using it to argue that voters are generally unhappy with the Republican party. Republicans,…

Arthur Jones, an outspoken white supremacist and Holocaust denier, has unsuccessfully run for public office in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas since the 1970s. But he is now set to win the the Republican primary on March 20 in the race for Illinois’s 3rd Congressional District, his eighth attempt…

Republican members of Congress travelling to an annual retreat at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia on Wednesday morning were involved in a train wreck with a garbage truck, a House Republican aide told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

Back when Donald Trump was merely a small dark cloud on the horizon of American politics, many of us were already worried about the state of American conservatism. Five years ago, I suggested in these pages that Eric Hoffer’s famous observation of decades ago applied to the conservative movement.…

A short-term funding bill to end a three-day government shutdown passed the House Monday evening after getting a thumbs-up from the Senate earlier in the day.

Thrusters, go! Apollo 13 it's not, but NASA found out a way last month to fire up thrusters on the ancient Voyager spacecraft that haven't been used in 37 years. It's a neat story:

Lawmakers in the Senate reached an agreement to end the government shutdown Monday afternoon, but congressional Democrats who voted down a spending bill that would have kept the government open on Friday because it did not include a replacement for the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood…

The first year of the Trump presidency was like the election that preceded it: unpredictable, norm-shattering, and disorienting. From the “American carnage” in his inaugural address to the kerfuffle over whether he referred to countries in Africa as “s—holes” or “s—houses,” Washington and the…

Now that we have one full year of the Trump presidency in the history books, isn’t it time for Trump’s conservative critics to acknowledge his election was worth it?

Republicans are scrambling to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government up and running, just 72 hours before a shutdown deadline.

Senate leadership won just enough votes Tuesday night to advance the renewal of a controversial surveillance authority due to expire by the end of the week, the latest bump in the authority’s turbulent road to passage. Lawmakers will likely cast a final vote on the bill this week, paving the way to…

One fact of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency is that the policy results have been pretty conservative. For some conservatives, this is enough to sustain a great enthusiasm for Trump and his presidency. For others, like me, the concerns about Trump’s erratic behavior, his casual…

A tweet from President Donald Trump Thursday morning sowed confusion about the White House’s position on a key intelligence program and imperiled the already shaky efforts to renew the federal government’s ability to monitor the communications of terrorists and other threats.

On Tuesday, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, jumped into the race for Arizona’s now-open Senate seat. Arpaio is, to put it mildly, controversial. He was recently pardoned by President Trump for contempt of court (the case related to racial profiling), he’s publicly questioned whether…

Sen. Orrin Hatch announced Tuesday that he would retire at the end of his term. Hatch’s retirement is interesting from a political perspective—former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, one of President Trump’s most vocal opponents within his party—may end up in the Senate. But it’s less…

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee, is planning a Senate bid to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch in 2018, according to three individuals close to the situation.

Republican senator Orrin Hatch of Utah announced he would not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2018 in a video Tuesday afternoon.

As far as elections go, 2017 wasn’t a good year for Republicans. Democrats won gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, frequently outperformed their baselines in special elections across the country and won a senate seat in Alabama—arguably the most GOP-friendly state in the country.

In the wake of Democrat Doug Jones’s surprise win over Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the Senate, pundits and prognosticators were scrambling to make sense of the new political landscape. The verdict was almost all bad for the Republican party.

Despite the best efforts of the president and the Republican National Committee, voters in Alabama didn’t elect a man credibly accused of sexual predation to the U.S. Senate.

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.

Creepy Christianity and Roy Moore. Yesterday, we looked at some of the concerning behavior and statements of religious figures in Alabama concerning Roy Moore. There are, if you'll forgive, moore things to report. And they're not good.

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer John McCormack joins host Eric Felten to talk about the GOP's Roy Moore mess.

This week on the Kristol Clear Podcast, editor at large Bill Kristol talks with host Eric Felten about the unfortunate parallels between Britain's Tories and the GOP.

To those feverishly speculating, whether in glee or in terror, that the election results in Virginia and New Jersey portend loss of GOP control of the House of Representatives in midterm elections a year from now, I ask this question: What difference does that prospect make not as of January 2019…

Ed Gillespie ran a perfect campaign for an election that didn’t happen. Ralph Northam ran a sloppy campaign with the same election in mind. Northam won, no thanks to his own efforts, and will become governor of Virginia in January.

The November 7 elections, in which Democrats took governorships in Virginia and New Jersey and most of the other closely contested offices, have been analyzed and debated in the way off-year races always are. The winners interpret their wins as a sign of imminent triumph; the losers make excuses.

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…

I remember as a kid hearing John, Robert, and Teddy Kennedy all using in speeches various paraphrases of these lines from a play by George Bernard Shaw: “You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’ ”

The verdict in the corruption trial of Democratic senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey may come as early as this week. If Menendez is convicted of a felony, Democrats face big trouble.

Everyone’s talking about the civil war in the Republican party. It seems more like a surrender to us.

The House of Representatives narrowly approved a Senate budget proposal on Thursday, paving the way for the long-anticipated tax reform package Republicans hope to pass by the end of the year.

The head of the House’s Ways and Means Committee isn’t disputing that tax reform will be harder now that President Donald Trump is at war with two members of the rickety GOP Senate majority. But he does want you to know that he and Trump are doing just fine.

Arizona senator Jeff Flake announced Tuesday that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2018. When an incumbent senator decides not to run again, it’s usually easy to gauge the electoral consequences—sitting senators usually perform better than non-incumbents, so if a senator retires in a…

This week on the Kristol Clear Podcast, editor at large William Kristol discusses the GOP's tax reform plan, and whether it'll fare better than GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare.

This week on the Confab, executive editor Fred Barnes talks with host Eric Felten about the large and unnecessary gap between Trump Republicans and Establishment Republicans.

This week on the Confab, executive editor Fred Barnes talks with host Eric Felten about how and why Republicans got themselves in such a mess.

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.

Today on the Kristol Clear Podcast, editor at large Bill Kristol talks with host Eric Felten about everything from Twitter's new logorrhea to the civil war in the Republican party.

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.

Hawkish Republican senators are advising President Donald Trump to decertify the Iran nuclear deal in October, a move that critics of the agreement see as a key step in changing U.S. policy toward Iran.

Today on the Daily Standard Podcast, senior writer Tony Mecia talks with host Eric Felten about the details in the tax reform bill that is supposed to be announced later today.

Republican leaders plan to unveil a tax plan today that dramatically cuts taxes on businesses, eliminates many deductions and credits, and drops tax rates for most individual taxpayers, a senior Republican source told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

As they devise a strategy to place a tax bill on President Trump’s desk, Republicans in Congress are grappling with thorny issues: What can pass the Senate? How much should they add to the deficit? How will tax changes play with voters in 2018?

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, senior writer Michael Warren talks with host Eric Felten about whether Donald Trump is trying to remake the Republican party, or just make an exit from the GOP.

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, executive editor Fred Barnes comes by to talk about his recent article, "For Better or Worse, Trump and the GOP Need Each Other."

President Trump and his Never Trump antagonists have found something they agree on. They both want to separate Trump from the Republican Party.

President Donald Trump is inching closer to abandoning the Republican party, even as the GOP is in the middle of an effort to remake itself in Trump’s image.

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.

These are perilous times for understatement and modest expectations. In the age of Trump, even the smallest of things are transmogrified into epoch-defining events. These are the days of mountains out of molehills, “a new low” almost daily, and more proof (as if more were needed) that your…

These are perilous times for understatement and modest expectations. In the age of Trump, even the smallest of things are transmogrified into epoch-defining events. These are the days of mountains out of molehills, “a new low” almost daily, and more proof (as if more were needed) that your…

After months of private deliberations, GOP leadership and the White House announced Thursday that they are ready to move forward on tax reform.

The effort by congressional Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare hit a major roadblock last week, as GOP senators on the left and right sides of the caucus declared their opposition to majority leader Mitch McConnell’s latest proposal. It is hard to blame them for their unease. Obamacare was…

Public radio doesn't quite know what it wants us to think about the anti-addiction medicine Vivitrol.

Public radio doesn't quite know what it wants us to think about the anti-addiction medicine Vivitrol.

Many Trump critics relished a recent Quinnipiac poll showing that President Trump's job approval had fallen to a new low, at a net -23 percent (34 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove).

Many Trump critics relished a recent Quinnipiac poll showing that President Trump's job approval had fallen to a new low, at a net -23 percent (34 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove).

Republicans are not dead yet. In the House, they are moving ahead briskly on tax reform. In the Senate, Republicans are talking privately in hopes of agreeing on how to repeal and replace Obamacare, the House having already passed its bill overhauling the health care system.

Today on the Daily Standard podcast, executive editor Fred Barnes shares his outlook for President Trump and the GOP's agenda: what's possible, and what isn't.

Topeka

President Trump sees himself as harassed and abused. True enough. Presidents often feel oppressed. But Trump is protected and defended in a way that he appears to take for granted. It comes from having both houses of Congress controlled by his own party.

Topeka

Ohio governor John Kasich dismissed changes to the American Health Care Act designed to give states flexibility under Obamacare's insurance regulations on Friday, telling reporters that the House amendment process is a "bouncing ball" he hasn't been interested in following.

Last year Republicans persuaded a majority of Americans that Obamacare should be "repealed and replaced." Even Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton expected that President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders would promptly offer a viable alternative to Obamacare. The president's…

Last year Republicans persuaded a majority of Americans that Obamacare should be “repealed and replaced." Even Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton expected that President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders would promptly offer a viable alternative to Obamacare. The president's…

The word around Capitol Hill is that Republicans are preparing to revive the dormant American Health Care Act after members return from their Easter break. Lawmakers have tried adding some conservative muscle to the bill in an effort to make weight. But a central reason why the AHCA could be back…

Weekly Standard editor-in-chief Steve Hayes talks about Republican politicians struggling to craft a "Trump Strategy" for the 2018 cycle. Are the tight special-election races a bellwether for the mid-terms? And how should traditional conservatives campaign for an electorate that seems more loyal to…

In hindsight, much of the coverage of Donald Trump’s candidacy could have run under the same headline: "Unexpected bull poised to enter china shop." But commentators spent virtually all of their energy expounding on the first half of that metaphor. Our campaign ethologists incessantly analyzed the…

In hindsight, much of the coverage of Donald Trump’s candidacy could have run under the same headline: "Unexpected bull poised to enter china shop." But commentators spent virtually all of their energy expounding on the first half of that metaphor. Our campaign ethologists incessantly analyzed the…

After the failure of the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—the House Republican alternative to Obamacare—there was plenty of blame to go around. President Donald Trump pointed his finger at the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), the group of 30 or so conservatives who largely opposed the bill, tweeting,…

In this episode of THE WEEKLY STANDARD Confab, Fred Barnes tells host Eric Felten why President Trump and Congressional Republicans need to focus on a simplified tax-cutting agenda after the fiasco of an over-complicated health care attempt. With a scandal-ridden president out of office, shaky…

No politician is bigger than the game. This is not a lesson unique to President Donald Trump, though he doubtless has a new appreciation for how entrenched Washington is in its ways. But it may be a revelation to some of the millions who voted for him, energized by a pledge that this would finally…

After the failure of the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—the House Republican alternative to Obamacare—there was plenty of blame to go around. President Donald Trump pointed his finger at the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), the group of 30 or so conservatives who largely opposed the bill, tweeting,…

The late columnist Robert Novak had a favorite saying about the GOP: “The only reason God created Republicans was to cut taxes." And the 1980s were a perfect world for doing so.

No politician is bigger than the game. This is not a lesson unique to President Donald Trump, though he doubtless has a new appreciation for how entrenched Washington is in its ways. But it may be a revelation to some of the millions who voted for him, energized by a pledge that this would finally…

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on President Trump's revived efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare.

"Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid.” So Abraham Lincoln wrote on August 24, 1855, to his friend Joshua Speed. Is it melodramatic to worry that the statement appears apt today?

As the Republican alternative to Obamacare winds its tortuous way through Congress, the parallels with the big mistake President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats made eight years ago are unmistakable. Such large changes to society should only be done with a broad coalition, otherwise they…

For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find "daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.

For decades, a favorite pastime of the Washington press corps has been to find “daylight" between the president and the vice president—a difference of opinion, a dislike, a secret irritation. But not any more.

As the Republican alternative to Obamacare winds its tortuous way through Congress, the parallels with the big mistake President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats made eight years ago are unmistakable. Such large changes to society should only be done with a broad coalition, otherwise they…

The House Republican health care bill has an odd problem: Nobody seems to support it. Nobody, that is, except President Trump and his administration. While the House plan appears to be the work of Speaker Paul Ryan and the two committee chairmen of Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, the White…

A day before President Trump is slated to address the nation before a joint session of Congress (note: Not a State of the Union), Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi addressed reporters at the National Press Club to offer a prebuttal.

If some sort of fundamental tax reform does occur this year—and the odds of its happening are looking good—the politicians, economists, tax lawyers, congressional staffers, trade associations, think tanks, academics, corporations, and others claiming credit for having influenced the legislation…

George Kennan concluded his famous 1947 article, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct," which laid the groundwork for the doctrine of containment at the beginning of the Cold War, with this peroration:

If some sort of fundamental tax reform does occur this year—and the odds of its happening are looking good—the politicians, economists, tax lawyers, congressional staffers, trade associations, think tanks, academics, corporations, and others claiming credit for having influenced the legislation…

George Kennan concluded his famous 1947 article, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct," which laid the groundwork for the doctrine of containment at the beginning of the Cold War, with this peroration:

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with deputy online editor Chris Deaton on why Republicans are speaking out when they don't need to.

The United States has had, prior to Donald Trump, 44 presidents. (Arguably we’ve had 43, but the guardians of historical pedantry long ago decreed that Grover Cleveland, who served nonconsecutive terms, would be counted as two.) There's no reason our descendants shouldn't enjoy at least another…

January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…

January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…

January 20 will be a banner day for the Republican party. On the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president. In the building behind the ceremony, his party will be ready to enact his program with a sturdy congressional majority. The GOP is in historically…

In Editor at large William Kristol's weekly Kristol Clear podcast, Bill Kristol sees a lesson for the GOP in early stumbles out of the 2017 gate: Prepare the battlefield. Also, observations about the South from Kristol, a New York City native, visiting Georgia this week

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with deputy online editor Chris Deaton on Obamacare's future in 2017.

Republicans have lost the last two presidential elections, but not much else over the past six years. They’ve captured the House and Senate. They now hold 31 governorships and 69 of the 99 state legislative chambers. What this means is pretty simple: There’s an emerging Republican majority.

With his aggressive executive action on immigration, President Obama has struck a constitutional nerve in the body politic. The first lawsuit challenging the president’s action was filed last week by a coalition of 18 states led by Texas. Oklahoma is about to file, and other states may do so as…

The predictable furor over President Obama’s executive order offering relief to approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants has obscured the fact that his initiative is much bolder in form than in content. Obama has gone to extraordinary lengths to offer less than what immigrant advocates have…

Top Republican senators tell THE WEEKLY STANDARD they don't know what a Donald Trump administration will mean for Ukraine, but they plan on urging his team to support the country in its fight against Russian aggression regardless.

Donald Trump's newly tapped senior advisor Steve Bannon has previously expressed open disdain for Republican House speaker Paul Ryan, dubbing him an "enemy" and calling for his removal from the position. But House Republicans brushed off the possibility that Bannon's attacks on Ryan would drive a…

Patrick J. Buchanan, a fervent Donald Trump supporter, wrote recently and approvingly that Trump’s campaign embodies "the populist-nationalist right that is moving beyond the niceties of liberal democracy."

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on the future of the GOP.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on Sunday night's debate.

The Republican victory in the midterm election was decisive. Now the victors must chart a sensible course for the next two years—one that demonstrates they can be trusted as America’s governing party and sets the table for 2016.

One noteworthy feature of the ideological divide in Washington is how immune the country’s foreign policy practitioners have been from the disfiguring aspects of hyper-partisanship. Take any random left-wing specialist in constitutional law and a counterpart from the Federalist Society, and odds…

The problem with Democrats' approach to tax reform is that they want to increase taxes, and their plans would generally stymie growth. The problem with Republicans' approach to tax reform is that their plans, while pro-growth, too often neglect Main Street Americans and too often aren't fiscally…

Fifty former national security officials who "served in senior national security and/or foreign policy positions in Republican Administrations, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush" have vowed never to vote for Donald Trump.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was quick to endorse Donald Trump, waiting fewer than 24 hours after Trump had cleared the Republican primary field. He did so by releasing a 75-word statement at eight o'clock in the evening. And that was that.

During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Donald Trump offered a litany of malevolent actors that could be blamed for America's "moment of crisis": "government incompetence" and "leaders who fail their citizens," an Obama administration that has "failed them…

Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University political scientist, has published a predictive model of presidential elections for decades. Through three simple factors—economic growth, presidential job approval, and tenure of the incumbent party—Abramowitz explains most of the variation in presidential…

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with staff writer Jay Cost on his recent story "With Trump, the GOP Is Heading Toward Oblivion."

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, executive editor Fred Barnes argues that unless Donald Trump's 2016 course is corrected, the election this fall might very well be a repeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Our Constitution distributes power broadly across three branches of government, and the federal, state, and local levels. Yet during presidential campaigns, candidates for offices across the country unite behind their party’s presidential nominee. This person becomes the representative of the…

The 2014 midterm elections were a referendum on Barack Obama’s performance as president. He has done a bad job, and most Americans know it. Accordingly, the American people used the only means they had of making good their disapproval: They elected Republicans. 

Many intellectuals misunderstand Donald Trump. Intellectuals often forget that Americans vote for a man, not a white paper, and that Trump passed the very first test for Republican candidates in 2016 while the rest of the field flunked. He was angry and seemed capable of acting on his anger. Trump…

At the end of his opening statement at the traditional postelection presidential press conference, Barack Obama offered this assurance: “I continue to believe we are simply more than just a collection of red and blue states,” he said. “We are the United States.” 

Republicans and their allies seem determined to try to blame their electoral woes on anything other than their own poor messaging, their failure to listen to Main Street voters (a fact that Donald Trump capitalized on) and their woefully deficient nomination process (which has now produced Trump as…

As the Trump campaign steamrolls ahead, most of us are still scratching our heads. How could this have happened? The usual answer focuses on the grievances of the Trump voter: economic anxiety, frustration with the status quo in politics, the desire to see somebody “tell it like it is," and so on.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with staff writer Jay Cost on the scramble for the remaining delegates in the race for the GOP nomination.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Trump's impact on the Republican party.

Donald Trump is explaining his recent loss in Colorado by once again blaming "the establishment" for introducing changes to Colorado's delegate-selection process that would secretly undermine his campaign. But contrary to Trump's conspiratorial claims, interviews with participants in the debates…

Making sense of the 2016 Republican primary is a task best left to future historians, but here’s one rough measure of how crazy things have become: Results of one hotly contested primary in March are still being disputed. And the fight has gotten so bitter that negative campaign ads are being run…

If you’re a conservative, you admire Edmund Burke—and you may recall this passage—a bit hyperbolic perhaps, but stirring and powerful:

On CNN's Out Front with Erin Burnett last night, the boss challenged Donald Trump's senior aide Ed Brookover on charges the Trump campaign made in the wake of its humiliating loss to Ted Cruz in Wisconsin on Tuesday. Joining them was Kellyanne Conway, who heads Ted Cruz's super PAC.

In an error-riddled statement released Tuesday night, the Donald Trump campaign claimed Ted Cruz was "coordinating with his own Super PACs (which is illegal), who totally control him." That's more than just campaign bluster; the charge of illegal coordination between a federal candidate and a super…

On Greta last night, RNC chairman Reince Priebus suggested to Fox News viewers that even the vice presidential nomination could be contested at the GOP convention in Cleveland later this year.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus joined George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week to discuss violence at Donald Trump's rallies and this summer's Republican National Convention.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with staff writer Jay Cost on the state of the GOP delegate race.

With Super Tuesday now behind us, 15 of the 50 states have voted. If this were the Indianapolis 500, only 150 of the 500 miles would now be completed. Donald Trump has won won a plurality of the vote in 10 of the first 15 states—while Ted Cruz has won a plurality in 4 and Marco Rubio in 1—but the…

Donald Trump tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination by dominating Super Tuesday. But his prospects of defeating Hillary Clinton in the general election are fraught with new trouble.

Only 75 people came out to hear Chelsea Clinton condemn the Republicans for being racist, homophobic, and sexist. Clinton called this election the most important one of her lifetime.

There seem to me to be two dominant scenarios for what happens next in the Republican presidential race. For now I'll just sketch them out, in the interest of stimulating thought and commentary rather than asserting a conclusion.

Presidential campaigns are never perfect. Troubles occur. What is supposed to happen doesn't happen. There's an old saying that no one has ever become a better person for having run for president. That's about as close to a reliable expectation of presidential campaigns as there is.

Ronald Reagan’s "eleventh commandment"—"thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican"—may be an unnecessarily strict standard, but the Republican presidential field could at least try to observe a twelfth commandment: Thou shalt avoid calling one's fellow Republican a liar.

It was a wild and woolly debate, with lots of arguments worth commenting on and exchanges worth evaluating. But as is sometimes the case in these debates, only one statement really mattered.

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.

Donald Trump got everything he wanted in New Hampshire primary—and a whole lot more. He's not only a stronger frontrunner in the Republican race than ever; he's now in the driver's seat on the road to the presidential nomination.

The political “establishment" has become a kind of four-letter word, a catchall derogation of those who maintain the status quo in Washington. Alas, this phrase has come to confuse more than clarify.

Manchester, N.H.

Emmetsburg, Iowa

When political strategist Karl Rove spoke in Washington last week, he was reluctant to talk about the 2016 presidential race. His most extensive comment to a packed crowd at the American Enterprise Institute was to say that the Republican nominee should emphasize “economic security" for everyone,…

The conventional wisdom about Republican presidential nominations goes something like this: Either (1) a single candidate wins Iowa and New Hampshire, then sweeps the rest of the field; or (2) the winner in Iowa fails to take New Hampshire, and we wait a few weeks for South Carolina and Nevada to…

Do Republicans deserve to lose? Consider the state of play as we write this in late January, just days from the first GOP nominating contests.

The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer John McCormack on last night's Fox Business debate, where Ted Cruz finally confronted Donald Trump.

The Charleston debate may have been more consequential than it looked at first glance. For starters, neither Jeb Bush nor John Kasich nor Ben Carson registered. (Except for Bush’s bizarre decision to make his most impassioned argument of the campaign in service of the rights of Muslim citizens from…

If tonight’s debate presented an opportunity for Jeb Bush, John Kasich, or Dr. Ben Carson to get back into the race, it hasn't worked out that way. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie all have presence tonight – an intensity and urgency that suggests they know they're in the…

The Republican National Committee is responding to Barack Obama's final State of the Union Address by releasing this video, focusing on national security failures:

After nearly a year of buildup, the Republican nomination process is finally set to begin. What do we know about how things will unfold?

On the surface it seems clear why Donald Trump’s campaign is effective. His fame, bluster, wit, and intuitive sense for one-liners can be easily converted into media currency and are symbiotic with the mechanisms and values of the digital era. But none of this would avail were it not for a…

Sioux Center, Iowa -- Ted Cruz was running a few minutes late for his appearance at Dordt College, having to reply to the latest provocation from Donald Trump without angering the erratic businessman.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when out on the stump

Tuesday's debate wasn't boring, exactly. There was a good deal of substance and some demolition derby, too. Also, there was some real news toward the end when Trump doubled down on staying in the Republican party and not running a third-party candidacy if someone else is the nominee. But I don't…

Texas senator Ted Cruz kicked off Thursday's Republican Jewish Coalition presidential forum in Washington with a speech filled with applause lines that revved up the crowd.

The process of winnowing the Republican presidential field to a few candidates is beginning to take its toll, though the first actual voting won’t occur until February.

There were a few weird moments at the debate last night, but none was stranger than the crowd reaction when John Kasich and Jeb Bush were talking about immigration. Both were unapologetically pro-amnesty. Neither bothered to make concessions about how problematic the breakdown of the rule of law is…

At some point, the most obvious explanation is rope-a-dope. 

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the Ben Carson campaign, the media's coverage of it, and how Carson is winning.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the state of the GOP race to be the party's 2016 presidential nominee.

President Obama inserted himself into the 2016 Republican presidential primary last night in New York City.

A big part of liberal media bias is the insatiable need to create drama about any intra-party Republican disagreements, while downplaying or ignoring Democratic divisions. Even the most liberal media outlets agreed that last week's CNBC debate was a flaming dirigible, but when the Republican party…

The Republican candidates for president were remarkably unified in the (few) policy preferences they espoused at their debates on Wednesday night. All support cutting taxes and reducing regulation, and all oppose crony capitalism. The candidates may be remarkably diverse in terms of ethnicity and…

Boulder, Colo.

Tonight’s debate showed that the GOP field is smaller than it looks. Technically, there are still fourteen people running, but the winnowing is far along. We probably have a final six and possibly a final four.

The Bush hit on Rubio was obviously premeditated, so it wasn’t gaffe or a mistake. It was a revealing measure of his political talent and judgment. Let’s count the ways in which it was strategically ill-conceived and tactically incompetent:

In the undercard Republican debate on CNBC, Lindsey Graham bemoaned politicians who lie for political points:

In a lot of ways, tonight’s Republican debate looks like the lowest-stakes of the three debates so far. We know what the candidates all look like in a debate setting; we know which lanes they're each slotted into. And while there will be ten candidates on stage, the field really isn't that big…

The Florida Republican party has released video of Hillary Clinton supporters being unable to name an accomplishment of the former first lady, senator, and secretary of state. To make matters worse, the supporters the Florida GOP interviews are at a Clinton campaign event.

A new advertisement by the Republican National Committee compares Hillary Clinton to John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

A new poll by Fox News finds Donald Trump remains the leader of the Republican pack. Trump holds 24 percent of the vote, but is in a virtual tie with Ben Carson, who is getting 23 percent of the vote. 

It has been clear for some time that Republicans need just two things in order to repeal Obamacare—a winning alternative and political willpower.  The jury is still out on how much of the latter the party possesses.  But when it comes to uniting around a well-conceived alternative that can pave the…

There is a sense among the Republican establishment that Donald Trump’s candidacy is, to quote Bob Odenkirk, a traveshamockery. That is, Trump is contaminating conservatism and diminishing the chances a Republican will win in 2016.

In 1970, the year after Jack Kemp had retired as quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, he was elected to the House from a district covering the Buffalo suburbs. He was 35. His chief concern was the suffering of his Rust Belt constituents, beset by plant closings and high unemployment. In 1973, he…

Let me risk ridicule by mentioning the ruthless Vladimir Putin and the clueless Joe Biden in the same sentence: The emergence of Putin abroad and Biden at home could reshape the 2016 Republican presidential race.