Entries

More Bad Strategy

Apparently unfazed by its failure to swing the New York 23rd to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman (after pumping upwards of $1 million into the race), the Club for Growth is picking up right where it left off. Apparently unfazed by its failure to swing the New York 23rd to Conservative …

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Written by Jeb Golinkin on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Whatever Happened to Immigration?

My column for The Week traces the disappearance of yesterday's hot button issue... My column for The Week traces the disappearance of yesterday's hot button issue...

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 4, 2009

A Welcome Win for the N.Y. GOP

While national attention focused on the bitter three-way congressional race in New York’s North Country, Republican Rob Astorino’s quiet upset over 12-year incumbent Westchester County Executive Andy Spano says far more about the future of the New York Republican Party. While national attention …

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Written by Paul Windels III on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Lesson for the GOP: Find Your Inner Policy Wonk

The lesson learned from last night’s election results is simple: substantive ideas matter most. To be successful, GOP candidates in 2010 and 2012 must articulate what they are for and formulate specific policies to address real voter concerns. What’s the real lesson learned from last night’s …

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Written by John Guardiano on Wednesday November 4, 2009

The Next GOP Battleground

For the Republican party to regain national party status, it will need to embrace moderates and reach beyond its bases in the South and interior. How long has it been since the Northeastern United States really mattered from an electoral standpoint? In 1960, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller …

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Written by Brent R. Orrell on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Church Must Do More Than "Rock the Vote"

As the Catholic Church educates the faithful on their civic duties, it must take care to consider her tone, lest she come to be perceived as a mere appendage of the Republican party. The Catholic Church can never view voting as MTV does, an activity to participate in for the mere sake of participat…

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Written by Henry Clay on Wednesday November 4, 2009

An Ethics Lesson in Black and White

Black congressmen under investigation by the House Ethics Committee have charged that they are being unfairly targeted because of their race. If lawmakers of any color don’t want to be investigated, they shouldn’t engage in what looks like unethical behavior. Everything isn’t about race. Black …

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Written by Crystal Wright on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Fiorina Announces Senate Run

Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina officially announced her candidacy for U.S. Senator from California today. Before facing Sen. Barbara Boxer though, Fiorina will need to knock off State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore in the GOP primary. Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina officially …

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Written by Jeb Golinkin on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Obama's Wake Up Call

Last night, by a 2 to 1 margin in Virginia and by almost as much in New Jersey, self-described independents sided with the GOP -- the same independents who backed Obama in 2008. I went to bed last night with a sense of satisfaction regarding my state of New Jersey that I haven’t felt in quite a …

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Written by Brad Schaeffer on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Hoffman's Loss, Kirk's Gain

After the Democratic victory in NY-23, the real winners may be Republican moderates like Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk. Hoffman's defeat dismisses the idea that the GOP can win moderate districts without the support of moderate voters. Doug Hoffman’s loss is Mark Kirk’s gain.  The New York 23rd, which …

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Written by Jeb Golinkin on Wednesday November 4, 2009

The Next Open Seat?

Is Pennsylvania-19 the next New York-23? Is Pennsylvania-19 the next New York-23?

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 4, 2009

NY-23: Wasted Money, Wasted Effort

The race in New York's 23rd served as a Phony War. It gave disaffected conservatives somewhere to spend their time and money, while the Republican establishment put it away on a grand scale in Virginia and New Jersey. The race for New York's 23rd Congressional district could have been so simple. …

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Written by Thomas J. Marier on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Chuck Todd's Take

"Republicans had a better night than conservatives." "Republicans had a better night than conservatives."

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 4, 2009

McDonnell's Pollster Speaks...

...and it's worth hearing. He writes that his team "set out early to establish Bob as different than Republicans have been in the past few elections..." ... and it's worth hearing. He writes that his team set out early to establish Bob as different than Republicans have been in the past few …

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Written by David Frum on Wednesday November 4, 2009

Want to Rephrase That?

Am I alone in thinking that "kill it dead" is an unpromising slogan for a group that opposes the Obama health program? Doesn't it sound exactly like what Rep. Alan Grayson is accusing Republicans of thinking? Am I alone in thinking that "kill it dead" is an unpromising slogan for a group that …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 3, 2009

Don't Fear the Option (Yet)

Conservatives have plenty of reasons to dislike the idea of a public health care option. At the same time, however, the reasonably modest proposals currently before Congress won’t, by themselves, result in a government healthcare takeover. The passage of a sweeping healthcare reform bill sometime …

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Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday November 3, 2009

Democrats Square Off to Face Kirk

Today, Alexi Giannoulias, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to run for Senate in Illinois released internal polling suggesting that he is best positioned to take on likely Republican nominee Mark Kirk. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) released an internal poll today …

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Written by Jeb Golinkin on Tuesday November 3, 2009

Lost in Marrakesh

The AP reports that Hillary Clinton's latest round of shuttle diplomacy with Arab leaders “produced no sign of a breakthrough.” These failures though are not hers alone. They are the result of earlier missteps by the President, and an Arab world sending mixed messages about its commitment to peace. …

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Written by Jonathan Schanzer on Tuesday November 3, 2009

Obama's Worst

The Obama administration has launched American troops into a much more intense fight in Afghanistan while hesitating to add the reinforcements for which the troops' commanders clamor. Ten months into his administration he has developed doubts about the war he once declared a war of necessity. Seems …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 3, 2009

Those Magical Obamas

In today's Examiner , Byron York, that master of the deadpan, reports on Michelle Obama's remarks at a recent mentoring event: "[P]eople ask [my mom] all the time, 'What did you do to create Michelle Obama?'" Mrs. Obama told the audience." Byron York, that master of the deadpan, tells this …

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Written by David Frum on Tuesday November 3, 2009