WATER COOLER
The Water Cooler is written by Washington Times staffers.
Latest Blog Entries
The call of 2016: Ted Cruz and Rand Paul both in Iowa
One Texas Republican is in Iowa this very moment. That would be Sen. Ted Cruz, who has already arrived in Des Moines to host a sold-out summer picnic for the Iowa GOP. Also in the city: Sen. Rand Paul. Both will appear at the American Renewal Project conference.
70 'common sense' lawmakers assemble outside U.S. Capitol with nine bills and a vow of bipartisanship
Seventy lawmakers claim it's a first. On Thursday morning, a bustling gaggle of Republicans and Democrats will gather outside the U.S. Capitol to publicly present a legislative reform package of nine bills in "a first-of-its-kind format," meant to show off newfound bipartisanship.
5000 tanks? Russia military exercise deemed a 'response to a hypothetical attack by Japanese and U.S. forces.'
Russia President Vladimir Putin has journeyed out to witness his nation’s biggest military maneuvers since Soviet times, and some observers say, in modern history. On the march across Siberia: 160,000 troops accompanied by 5,000 tanks and 320 tons of equipment. And in the Pacific, there are 70 ships at sea, and 130 combat aircraft overhead
Zimmerman trial drew 'relatively modest public interest' (Pew Research Center)
In a weekend survey, 26 percent say they were following news about the trial very closely. The final days of the trial of George Zimmerman, which concluded July 13 with a verdict of not guilty, "attracted relatively modest public interest overall," the pollster says.
Democrats declare they've built the nation's 'biggest and smartest' grassroots group
Republican strategists please note: Organizing for Action, the grass-roots group that grew out of President Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, announced Sunday that it has raised $13.1 million in small donations and now has 3.1 million members.
Run for cover: it's the most 'severe' liberal media bias in 25 years
"The press have gone from the right to know to the right to keep people in the dark. Until the liberal media’s suppression of the facts is exposed and neutralized, Republicans can forget about ever winning another election," observes Media Research Center analyst Tim Graham.
Republican bill introduced to protect 'Pop Tart gun' kids from school authorities
Rep. Steve Stockman, the Lone Star State lawmaker who raffled off a Bushmaster AR-15 personal defense rifle over July Fourth also is taking on school officials who punish exuberant children for playing cops and robbers at recess.
They like him now: 'frat boy' now missing from the media narrative on George W. Bush
It has to do with wise civility, perhaps, and some fabulous strategery. Former President George W. Bush, deemed either a “frat boy” or war monger by an unfriendly press for years, has re-emerged on the public radar, earning a growing number of positive reviews and rising approval ratings on par or even besting President Obama’s numbers.
Rick Perry in the White House? It's not impossible, some say.
He's a wily showman. Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Monday he would not seek re-election in an event that was more campaign appearance than sentimental farewell. Mr. Perry left both press and public with a Lone Star-sized cliffhanger. Mr. Perry did not reveal whether he planned a repeat run for the White House, but the pundits, pollsters and oddsmakers await his decision.
Grim reality: 21 percent of young American veterans are jobless
Unsettling employment numbers for an overlooked demographic have been released by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. The reality: a fifth of the nation's young warriors are jobless.
Two thirds of Americans veto politics as a career for their child
President, vice president, lawmaker? Forget about it. By a 2-to-1 margin, 64 percent to 31 percent, Americans would not like their child to go into politics as a career,reports Gallup poll analyst Jeffrey Jones.
July Fourth fantasy: 100,000 people hope they've won Rep. Steve Stockman's Bushmaster AR-15
On Independence Day, Rep. Steve Stockman will journey to the Lone Star Gun and Indoor Range in Lumberton to draw the winning name in his free sweepstakes for a Bushmaster AR-15 personal defense rifle. In recent weeks, more than 100,000 signed up for their chance to win what the congressman describes as a potent symbol.
Libertarian Gary Johnson: 'this Independence Day feels different'
Recent 'revelations' about the IRS and FBI are bringing long-overdue attention to the liberties the Founding Fathers worked so hard and sacrificed so much to provide and protect, Gary Johnson insists.
Limbaugh: Fox News wouldn't let me criticize GOP
Did Fox News muzzle the voice behind the Golden EIB Microphone? According to Rush Limbaugh, the answer is "yes."
Voters agree: Founding Fathers would heartily disapprove of what goes on in Washington these days
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson - those iconic men of American history and heritage would not be happy with what's going on in the nation's capital these days. That's what 82 percent of U.S. voters say, according to a Fox News poll released just in time for July Fourth.
