Jennifer Harper
Articles by Jennifer Harper
Inside the Beltway: General Party Services
"Party like the GSA in Vegas for less than $823,000," proclaims Shindigz, an Indiana-based party planning company that promises "to teach people how to party like federal agency rock stars." Well. Gee. That was quick. Published April 18, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Forever Santelli
The third anniversary of CNBC analyst Rick Santelli's famous on-camera rant that many grass-roots folk cite as an early catalyst of the tea party movement has passed - but Mr. Santelli's spell still lingers. Published April 17, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Independents give an edge to Romney
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's got the edge on President Obama, thanks to those fickle independents and voter motivation. The Gallup Daily Tracking poll of general-election preferences among registered voters from April 11 to 15 reports that Mr. Romney garners 47 percent of the vote, Mr. Obama 45 percent. The previous findings gave Mr. Obama a 49-45 lead. Published April 16, 2012
Inside the Beltway: The Hermanator returns
He's still a force to be reckoned with as tax day looms: Herman Cain has arrived in the nation's capital for a "patriot's summit" and tax day rally Monday at the U.S. Capitol with a cast that includes Faith & Freedom Coalition Director Ralph Reed, Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips and conservative activist Alveda King. Published April 15, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Ladies Day
A big cultural moment follows the encounter between Ann Romney, mother of five, grandmother of 16, and Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist who did not equate Mrs. Romney's traditional domestic duties with real work, or economic expertise. Media hysteria ensued within minutes of the ladies' exchange via Twitter, leaving pundits to either sort out the tangle, or add to it. Published April 12, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Newt Gingrich: ‘Last conservative standing’
Despite a hair-raising week, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich now bills himself as "the last conservative standing," touting a crowded agenda that defies gleeful coverage claiming that he's out of money and low on voter favorability. Published April 11, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Apres Rick
Rick Santorum's campaign was undermined by a wave of bad press, while Mitt Romney's coverage improved over time," says a new analysis of 483 evening news broadcasts covering the Republican primaries by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University. Published April 10, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Prolonged GOP primary season wearing on both parties
Even Democrats now agree that Mitt Romney is the "inevitable" Republican presidential candidate, and that the primary has dragged on so long it could ultimately damage the Grand Old Party. Published April 9, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Time for the annual White House eggstravaganza
There will be a bipartisan cast of thousands at the White House on Monday, liberating all from policy and campaign doldrums for a few hours, anyway. The 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll is set to host 30,000 guests on the South Lawn to promote "health and wellness" through sport, dancing, cooking, storytelling and, uh, an egg roll. Published April 8, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Polls don’t hold strong promise for Santorum
It's 18 days until the next Republican presidential primary, leaving political junkies wondering what to do with themselves until April 24. A panacea? Surveys and nice wonkish takes on the old horse race ought to help. Published April 5, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Counting Rubio’s rebuffs
Sen. Marco Rubio must be weary of the phrase "I'm not going to be vice president." He's said it enough. The affable Florida Republican has spent months dissuading fans, voters and rabid journalists from speculating on the possibilities. Now Mr. Rubio is down to this stark seven-word phrase to get his point across. Published April 4, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Needs covered for U.S. forces during holy days
Turkey, ham, lobster, gefilte fish: Here's uplifting news to counter the chaos of media and the doldrums of politics. Published April 3, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Savage unleashes more fury
The inimitable talk-radio host Michael Savage can attack his foes with a quick bolt of vitriol or via long-form insight that is just as caustic. Speaking of long form, Mr. Savage's sixth political book, "Trickle Down Tyranny: Crushing Obama's Dream of the Socialist States of America," will be published Tuesday. Published April 2, 2012
Inside the Beltway: A Ron Paul narrative
"Like sharks smelling blood in the water, the establishment is looking for any excuse to close in, declare this race over, and Mitt Romney the winner." (Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky describing certain Republicans in a fundraising message on behalf of "my dad," Republican hopeful Rep. Ron Paul). Published April 1, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Bowling, brats and burgers for presidential hopefuls
Don't get poll fatigue just yet: The Republican presidential primary season stretches ahead with eight more primaries until the big finale in Utah on June 26. In the more immediate future, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Wisconsin are next at bat, on Tuesday. Published March 29, 2012
Inside the Beltway: In the streets
"Don't shoot me, I'm a congresswoman" and "Don't shoot me, I'm a pastor" are among the protest mottos to be seen at high noon Thursday when reactions to the shooting of Trayvon Martin get more vigorous, and more political. Published March 28, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Get Romneyfied
Love Mitt, surrender to Mitt: And so goes the rallying cry among Republicans who insist that the GOP nomination process end with Mitt Romney as the imperfect but inevitable candidate. Published March 27, 2012
Inside the Beltway: An Elvis moment
An interesting alliance, perhaps: The Elvis Presley Holy Land Tour has been organized by Elvis Presley Enterprises and Israel Theme Tours, set to take 100 fans to Israel next year "to explore the Gospel side of Elvis Presley." Published March 26, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Romney’s chicken soup
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney may have a cure-all for health care reform as the Supreme Court hears arguments about the constitutionality of the law on Monday. Published March 25, 2012
Inside the Beltway: Lose-iana for Romney?
The short take on the Louisiana primary on Saturday: Pollsters predict that Mitt Romney will lose this one to Rick Santorum, who's already wooed the Deep South with much down-home success. Published March 22, 2012
