Ralph Z. Hallow
Articles by Ralph Z. Hallow
Aide’s resignation heightens Sen. Rand Paul’s war with neocons
Some Republicans are accusing the party's neoconservative hawks of playing dirty pool in an attempt to smear Sen. Rand Paul as a bigot for having an aide who once expressed admiration for Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. Published July 22, 2013
Exclusive: Rick Perry’s October trip to Israel sign of another White House bid
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he will visit Israel in October, a move that signals to the political world that he is seriously considering making another presidential run in 2016. Published July 11, 2013
Exclusive: Edward Snowden’s father suggests son’s leaks may be protected by Constitution
Lon Snowden’s anguish over his son, Edward Snowden, is turning into something else he didn’t expect: disillusion with a government he once proudly served. “I’m an American citizen who has lost faith in many of the leaders on both sides of the political aisle,” Mr. Snowden said during an interview with The Washington Times. Published July 1, 2013
NSA leaker Snowden’s father attempts to broker deal for son with Justice Department
The father of suspected National Security Agency leaker Edward J. Snowden is seeking a deal with the Justice Department that would allow his son to remain free prior to a trial in exchange for his surrender to face espionage charges. Published June 28, 2013
Republican political stars woo waning Christian conservatives; preach message of inclusiveness
Ralph Reed's now annual Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington last week drew a surprisingly small audience of mostly Protestant evangelical political activists — but still attracted a bevy of Republican political stars. Published June 16, 2013
Sarah Palin gives emotional address to the Faith & Freedom Coalition
There's a big difference between God's and the world's standard of perfection, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told a Faith & Freedom Coalition audience in Washington on Saturday, her voice cracking with emotion. Published June 15, 2013
Conservative senators shine at Road to Majority Conference
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, often overshadowed by some of the chamber's more high-profile conservatives, won the warmest reception on the opening day of a major gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington on Thursday, ahead of two certified crowd-pleasers: fellow Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Published June 13, 2013
Christian faithful to debate role, influence in GOP; weak turnout at polls raises alarm
The argument among born-again Christians over their influence in American politics will rage once again at Ralph Reed's annual Faith & Freedom Coalition's three-day moveable talkfest that gets under way at prime locations Thursday in Washington. Published June 12, 2013
Rand Paul prospects for support in deep-blue California
Sen. Rand Paul introduced himself to Silicon Valley's richest technology giants, met with top-tier members of the Republican intellectual establishment, addressed 1,000 invited guests at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Sunday wound up a seven-day trip to California by winning warm reviews for his sermons at three evangelical church services. Published June 3, 2013
Rand Paul outlines agenda, potential 2016 presidential platform in Reagan Library speech
Sen. Rand Paul put a palatable price tag on federal spending Friday night — precisely. The Kentucky Republican said Uncle Sam's acceptable payout peg is is “actually for $2.6 trillion dollars’ worth of government." Published May 31, 2013
Evangelical weakness in gay Boy Scouts debate could hurt GOP
Signs of waning evangelical power in the nation's culture wars and in Republican policy — and some unexpected challenges for GOP candidates — loom as the 103-year-old Boy Scouts of America gears up for a definitive vote this week on whether to welcome openly gay youths into the organization's ranks. Published May 20, 2013
Justice Department subpoena of AP phone records unites left, right in opposition to ‘Big Brother’
The revelation that the U.S. government used secret subpoenas to pry into Associated Press reporters’ phone records triggered two contradictory reactions in the political world. Published May 15, 2013
GOP ad chief fires, sues protege as part of war on consultants’ greed
Rex Elsass, chief executive of the largest Republican campaign advertising firm in the country, might have answered "yes" if he had been on the "Should we shoot all the consultants now?" panel at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference. Published May 12, 2013
Political activist Howard Phillips dies
Howard Phillips was a magnificent anomaly in the worlds of politics and personal life. During his 72 years, he went from being a Harvard-educated, unsuccessful Jewish Democratic candidate for public office to an evangelical Protestant Republican who founded the Conservative Caucus and led a decades-long crusade to end the government funding of the left that was taking place under GOP and Democratic administrations alike. Published April 21, 2013
RNC rejects conservative-backed rules changes
Republican National Committee members failed to reach a compromise over rules changes pushed by the party’s grass-roots activists, defeating on a 28-25 vote a proposed amendment that would return more decision-making power to the state Republican parties. Published April 11, 2013
RNC meeting eyes outreach to minority voters, internal reforms
Desperate to reverse a quarter-century death spiral with minority voters and restore the grass-roots decision-making that many here feel Mitt Romney undermined in 2012, Republican National Committee members will take on both issues at their spring meeting here this week. Published April 9, 2013
Some in GOP eye Obama ideas with envy
President Obama has been busy in recent weeks with legacy-burnishing announcements, including Tuesday's $100 million initiative to map the human brain, and some in the GOP say it's just the kind of inspiring idea their party used to be known for. Published April 3, 2013
Critics see post-mortem as GOP sellout for votes, balk at ‘elite’ group’s push for change
Long hailed as the savior who restored much-needed financial order to the GOP, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, in his third year in the high-profile post, suddenly finds himself in troubled waters. Published March 31, 2013
CPAC 2013: Add Cruz, Walker to Paul, Rubio for high ‘wow’ factor
A governor and three U.S. senators emerged as probable first-tier candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination by the windup of the 40th anniversary Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday. Published March 17, 2013
GOP has $10M for outreach to minority communities nationwide
The Republican National Committee will launch a $10 million minority engagement initiative this year that will send hundreds of party workers into Asian, Hispanic and black communities, coast to coast, to talk about what Republicans believe in. Published March 17, 2013
