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Obama’s Contraceptive 'Compromise' Doesn't Pass the Smell Test
Tweet Share on Facebook February 10, 2012 Comment (20)Take a look at the White House fact sheet just released on the president's "accommodation" on the Health and Human Services ruling on contraceptives and religious liberty:
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Barack Obama Invokes Faith Only When It's of Political Advantage
Tweet Share on Facebook February 3, 2012 Comment (9)The White House is scrambling this week to defend its decision that under the administration's healthcare overhaul law, religious-affiliated institutions such as hospitals, colleges, and charities must comply with the requirement to provide contraception—ranging from the pill to sterilization to the morning-after pill—free of charge for female employees. Fox News quotes Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh: "[T]he Obama administration was essentially saying 'to hell with you,' particularly to the Catholic community by dismissing our beliefs, our religious freedom and our freedom of conscience."
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The Conservative Backlash Against Newt Gingrich
Tweet Share on Facebook January 27, 2012 Comment (15)In a political season known for its twists and turns, this week's twist was pretty amazing to watch: the conservative take-down of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. In the wake of his big win in South Carolina, the backlash began this week. There are some who believe all of this was orchestrated by the Romney campaign, but I'm not so sure. It's not clear to me that the conservative movement likes former Gov. Mitt Romney, either. I don't buy into the conspiracy—former Gov. Sarah Palin says the "establishment" is trying to "crucify" Gingrich, as she defended the First Dude's endorsement of Newt—I just think that conservatives who have never liked Speaker Gingrich but have been holding their tongues suddenly realized that he might actually have a shot at the nomination. This week, there was a Speak-Now-or-Forever-Hold-Your-Peace moment. Forever holding one's peace didn't look like a good idea anymore.
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Why Newt Gingrich's 'Open Marriage' Request Matters
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2012 Comment (40)Here's the problem with yet another men-behaving-badly story that came out Thursday, the one in which former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's second wife, Marianne Gingrich, told ABC and the Washington Post that he asked her for permission to have an affair, or as she put it, an "open marriage." When she refused, he divorced her and hasn't spoken to her since. And this was after he asked his first wife for a divorce when she was suffering from uterine cancer, in order to marry his second wife. Gingrich said at last night's debate that the "open marriage" story is false, but given his history of affairs and divorces, Marianne Gingrich's allegations strike me as credible. Who knows what the truth really is between two people, but if I had to pick, I'd believe Marianne Gingrich's version over Newt's version. Her allegations fits with the track record he's got: you just never know what's going to come out of his mouth—including asking for an "open marriage."
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Haley Barbour Was Right to Issue Those Pardons
Tweet Share on Facebook January 13, 2012 Comment (7)Back in the 1990s, I wrote many speeches for Gov. Haley Barbour when he was the head of the Republican National Committee. Now he's finishing his second term as governor of Mississippi and had a lot of people urging him to run for president this year. When you write a lot of speeches for someone, you get to know that person pretty well. Haley Barbour is an honorable, decent man. He's compassionate and treats the people who work for him well. He's also a lawyer, and is one of the smartest people I know in politics.
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Kate Middleton, Occupy Wall Street, and the Best and Worst of 2011
Tweet Share on Facebook December 30, 2011 Comment (4)"Thanks for the memories," as the old song goes. As 2011 winds down to its final hours, let's have some fun with a few year-end awards, both serious and not-so-serious. Here are my nominees—please let me know yours if you disagree:
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In GOP Race, Marcus Bachmann's Gone Missing
Tweet Share on Facebook December 23, 2011 Comment (14)This week we saw both the Perry and Romney campaigns release ads starring the candidates' wives, and today the Gingriches appear together in a televised Christmas message that will air in Iowa. According to the Washington Post, Callista Gingrich is getting more involved in the campaign, making her first speech recently and taping a second ad about the importance of music education—she is a french horn player and sings in a choir.
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The Case for More Republican Presidential Debates
Tweet Share on Facebook December 16, 2011 Comment (10)Republican debates, R.I.P. The last one before the primary season begins was held Thursday night, and I have to say that while I didn't watch every single one, I watched most of them and it was great fun. They were entertaining for the most part, filled with all kinds of characters—both in the candidates and the interviewers—and the debates themselves certainly served a purpose.
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President Obama's Arrogance and Hyperbole Are Breathtaking
Tweet Share on Facebook December 13, 2011 Comment (25)On CBS's 60 Minutes Sunday night, President Obama said that he "didn't overpromise" voters before taking office, and that he did not underestimate "how tough this was going to be," saying not only will it take him more than one term to accomplish all his plans, it may take more than one president. The interview starts out humble enough, but by the end, the arrogance and hyperbole are breathtaking. Here he lists the administration's accomplishments:
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Are Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney Really the Best the GOP Can Do?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 3, 2011 Comment (73)The big story this week was the Newt-vs.-Mitt choice that is shaping up in the early primary states. The big question is who is more gleefully ecstatic at this development: Newt or the left?
