Kavanaugh Hearings Grip Nation Ahead of Possible Supreme Court Vote

It was a day that will be remembered for decades on Thursday in Washington, D.C., as the hotly anticipated Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford featured compelling and powerful testimony on the sexual assault allegations roiling the capital. Nearly two weeks after reports emerged that Kavanaugh was being accused of a sexual assault while he was in high school 36 years ago, the accuser finally made her case in public, and Kavanaugh got a chance to respond on the national stage. The day started with the delicately negotiated appearance of Blasey

Has the GOP Given Up on Repealing Obamacare?

Never content to let a good week go by without botching something, several Senate Republicans admitted to a Politico reporter that they’ve surrendered on repealing Obamacare. And what a great week it had been for the GOP: the enduring image being Democrats at the State of the Union sitting on their hands looking like — in the words of Brit Hume — “their dogs just died” while President Trump was lauding record lows in unemployment, making strong appeals to patriotism, and showing in the process how petty, petulant, and radical the Democrats have become. Then another Kennedy was trotted out to hit

Could This Bill Be Republicans’ Last Chance to Defund Planned Parenthood?

Last week, H.R. 1628 was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The bill is a last-ditch Obamacare repeal effort, but it has the potential to defund Planned Parenthood and end federally sponsored abortions as well. The bill was introduced by four senators: Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Former Senator Rick Santorum accompanied the four sponsors to add support. This new legislation would create block grants to be given to each state, enabling the states to establish their own healthcare systems. Sen. Cassidy’s website describes this concept: The grant dollars would replace the federal

Could This Backup Plan for Obamacare Repeal Save the Senate GOP?

After spending the last seven years promising the American people that they would repeal and replace Obamacare, GOP members of Congress are getting cold feet now that they actually have the opportunity to do it. All indications are that, as of this afternoon, the current Senate GOP bill lacks the votes to pass. In the meantime, two GOP senators and one former senator are preparing a backup plan if the bill doesn’t pass, in the form of a federalism-based bill that would largely put the states in charge of health care policy. The backup bill is being sponsored by Sens.

Breaking: Graham Endorses Cruz

In another sign the non-Trump GOP is beginning to recognize it is either rally around Ted Cruz or lose to Hillary Clinton in November, Lindsey Graham (who was a big Cruz critic) is now saying he will help Ted Cruz in any way he can. Politico is reporting that Graham will announce his support for Cruz during a fundraiser on Monday. This means John Kasich’s hopes he can somehow turn 29 straight defeats and one Ohio win into a becoming the GOP darling just took another blow. Reality matters. Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project and can

Why Does the GOP Establishment Hate Cruz?

David Brooks has thoughtfully just published a piece in which he lays down the case that Ted Cruz is just as bad as Donald Trump for the GOP. It’s a thin case summed up in these two paragraphs: Ted Cruz would be a terrible general election candidate, at least as unelectable as Donald Trump and maybe more so. He is the single most conservative Republican in Congress, far adrift from the American mainstream. He’s been doing well in primaries because of the support of “extremely conservative” voters in very conservative states, and he really hasn’t broken out of that lane. His

Christie Joins Graham in Attacking Rubio for Being Too Pro-Life

As Mary noted yesterday, a new line of attack by Senator Lindsey Graham, who has endorsed Jeb Bush, is that Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are too pro-life because they oppose, in principle, abortion in the case of rape. Now Chris Christie has joined Graham’s anti-pro-life tactic. Today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Christie declared, “Marco Rubio is not for an exception for . . . rape, incest or life of the mother. Now, you know, I think that’s the kind of position that New Hampshire voters would be really concerned about. I’m pro-life, but I believe that rape, incest and life of the mother — as Ronald Reagan did — should

Guess Who Lindsey Graham Just Endorsed?

Senator Lindsey Graham is trying to impact the GOP presidential race in a big way. He’s making an endorsement. Via The Hill: “He’s steady and ready,” Graham is expected to say, according to prepared remarks provided to The Post and Courier. “He understands the serious threats our nation faces and has a plan to keep us safe.” The hawkish lawmaker, who ended his campaign last month, sought to emphasize national security and put a focus on defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Bush, along with Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), has also put an emphasis on defeating terrorism, and told Fox

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