Jennifer Harper
Articles by Jennifer Harper
Inside the Beltway: The Libertarian awakening
"We support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression. The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world," states the Libertarian Party in its bedrock platform statement. Published September 5, 2013
Inside the Beltway: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange meets Ron Paul
Yes, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange still has asylum inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London, where he has resided for more than a year. That hasn't stopped him from staging news conferences, issuing statements and making broadcast appearances — so many that Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa reportedly has sent Mr. Assange a letter requesting that he stop using the embassy as a backdrop while making fun of politicians in Australia, the whistleblowing activist's home turf. Published September 4, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Syria is GOP’s hot potato
Republicans are damned if they agree with President Obama's proposal for a military strike on Syria — and damned if they don't. The party's lawmakers have been cast in the role of moral arbitrators, whether they like it or not. Published September 3, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Dithering strategy on Syria
Too much talk, not enough action: The adage comes into play among those who criticize President Obama for either overthinking the Syria matter, huddling with advisers or simply handwringing on the sidelines as the situation grows worse. Of course, the slowing of discourse plus a series of mini-events and public statements could be strategic devices to buy time or prime diplomatic channels. Or not. Published September 2, 2013
Inside the Beltway: The mounting din of Syria talk
Talk is dramatic over Syria, fueled by endless commentary from those witnessing President Obama grind through unfamiliar gears as he switches from the hopey-changey man who once won a Nobel Peace Prize to, uh, a president confronting the realities of the office. Published September 1, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Regulating the gun relics
Wait, they want this old M-1? Firearms collectors are livid over President Obama's new executive action that bans the re-importation of military surplus firearms by private buyers and sellers. Vice President Joseph R. Biden delivered the news, framing it as a "common sense" measure. Published August 29, 2013
Inside the Beltway: The political subplots of Syria
It has taken eight days for the major players to stake out their territory after the chemical attacks on civilians in Syria. The emerging strategic messages and responses are under the magnification of many journalists who pine to shield President Obama from any comparisons to former President George W. Bush, and the challenges he faced in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Published August 28, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Here comes the ‘tsunami’
"If you fund it, you own it," says the message to high-powered Republicans from their grass-roots critics. Conservatives and tea partyers wonder how lawmakers can oppose the Affordable Care Act, then duck for cover when the chance comes to defund the monster health care law. Published August 27, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Parsing the Syria response
Will President Obama go "surgical" in Syria? Press, pundits and analysts have taken to using key phrases to explain the ever-mutating, ever-dramatic situation — at least until uneasy world leaders arrive on a proper and productive response to the continuing civil unrest. Published August 26, 2013
Inside the Beltway: What Ted Cruz really wants
The Republican lawmaker is also the first to say he "won't blink" when it comes to Capitol Hill confrontations that challenge his principles. The result? Mr. Cruz is capable of some canny strategy, even as his critics accuse him of being ruthless, and/or unreasonable. Published August 25, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Cheney double feature
A political and cultural moment of note: former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Liz Cheney, will appear at the fifth annual Freedom Conference this weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colo. It's all courtesy of the esteemed and feisty Steamboat Institute, a grass-roots organization that counts fiscal conservatism, lower taxes and a strong national defense among its founding principles. Published August 22, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Proud to own a gun
Bullet points: Well, that's one way to get the point across. Published August 21, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Lawmaker millionaires
Yes, there are some very well-heeled lawmakers out there. Published August 20, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Al-Jazeera America arrives
A welcome relief for fatigued viewers, or stealthy propaganda outlet? Al-Jazeera America arrives on the airwaves at 3 p.m. Tuesday with promises of credible news and weighty content, powered by funds from the Qatar government. Published August 19, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Ronald Reagan and Elvis Presley
Ronald Reagan and Elvis Presley, an impossible combination? Not this week. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is offering a tribute to Elvis on Thursday — an "old time Vegas" gala, complete with Elvis impersonator, seven-piece show band and casino-inspired eats at the spectacular Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Published August 18, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Strategic media bias over the Clinton Foundation
There was considerable hubbub over The New York Times' decision this week to investigate the finances of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation; the news organization accused the feel-good, globally minded organization of mismanagement, among many things. Analysts swooned. Oh, the shock. Surely the account will mar Hillary Rodham Clinton's potential presidential campaign, they agreed. Published August 16, 2013
Inside the Beltway: The evolving GOP
Republicans are getting a clear warning from long-range strategists: Expand and diversify your ranks, or else. And do your homework. The party is now about "rising stars," and providing voters with authentic answers and thoughtful policy as midterm and presidential elections glow with promise on the distant horizon. Published August 14, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Oh, those uptight conservative girls
Everyone can get partisan, even while explaining their odd relationships with certain politicians. "Conservative girls are really uptight. It makes me think of all those, like you know, Fox News fembots who obviously are self-loathing or they wouldn't be Republican and female, in my opinion," says Sydney Leathers. Published August 13, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Editing the Hillary script
"What difference does it make?" is bound to end up on the cutting room floor. Though Hillary Rodham Clinton may soon be ready for her presidential close-up, the Republican National Committee predicts that her now infamous, strident appearance on-camera before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 23 will be delicately excised from a pair of upcoming "Hillary bi-ops," as the Hollywood establishment now calls them. Published August 12, 2013
Inside the Beltway: Reagan’s theory on the IRS
Why not celebrate the 32nd anniversary of Ronald Reagan's historic Economic Tax Recovery Act, signed Aug. 13, 1981? Yes, why not? That's the idea at Young America's Foundation, which will assemble a noteworthy crowd of conservative students and grassroots luminaries Tuesday at the former president's ranch outside Santa Barbara, Calif. Published August 11, 2013
