Year: 2014

The Republican Party now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to define its brand by passing legislation through both houses of Congress. Even if President Obama vetoes the bills — as he will — they will answer the nagging question among the voters: What does the Republican Party stand for? Conventional political consultants will be content to […]

On Tuesday, Republicans won a historic electoral victory, sweeping away a Democratic Senate, replacing Democratic governors in blue states like Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois, and reversing Democratic state legislatures in Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Maine, West Virginia and New Hampshire. Republicans now control more state legislatures than they have at any point since the […]

The Duke of Wellington said of his close-run victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo that the French “came on in the same old way, and we sent them back in the same old way.” Something like that happened to the Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections, as they lost the Senate, a few more […]

Coulrophobia is a terrible condition that can strike anyone, at any time, but especially if you’re within reach of a weird grown man with white face makeup, perhaps a wig, floppy shoes and a big red nose. Coulrophobia is best known by another name: clown fear. And many are in fear these days, as gangs […]

Former Obama White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, now a political commentator for CNN, casually admitted that, yes, his party uses race to convince minorities that Republicans seek to oppress them. Before the midterm election, Carney said: “Republicans are going to pick up seats in the Senate and the House, and they may win control […]

Having missed a July deadline for reaching an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, the six world powers party to the talks — the United States, Russia, China, France, United Kingdom and Germany — have set November 24 as their new deadline. Iran says there will be no extension if a deal isn’t reached. […]

PARIS — While the U.S. and its allies are struggling to figure out how to stop the Islamic State from metastasizing throughout the Middle East and beyond, China has been conspicuously absent from the containment efforts. Given that China is the largest beneficiary of oil contracts in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, you have to wonder why […]

Tuesday was a beauteous night. Republicans won the Senate handily, picked up 14 House seats and won gubernatorial races in Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois. Good times. Two big losers weren’t on the ballot. San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer’s super PAC, the NextGen Climate, blew through $65 million to help Democrats who agree with him on […]