The New Republicans

The House passes historic health care legislation

Yesterday the House passed the health care bill on a 219 to 212 vote, paving the way for a historic overhaul of the nation’s health system. After a year of intense national debate the bill ...

In a historic upset, Brown defeats Coakley to fill the late Kennedy’s seat

With 52 percent of the vote, tonight former Republican State Senator Scott Brown upset Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley to fill the Senate seat of the late Edward Kennedy. Despite the President’s efforts on Sunday ...

Iran defies the United Nations

On Sunday Iran boldly ordered the construction of 10 more nuclear enrichment sites after the United Nations nuclear agency demanded Iran to stop work on a once-secret nuclear fuel enrichment plant. Robert Gibbs, the White ...

A reflection of Obama’s leadership style in McChrystal’s public disagreement

Despite his public outspokenness on the need for troop increases in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, may have been exactly what the President was looking for in ...

Obama addresses Congress on health care reform

President Obama offered promise in his health care speech before a joint session of Congress last night. In his rather direct speech, the President predicted that sweeping reform will cost less than four of the ...

The health care debate rages on

Since soaring costs in the health care system are overburdening the U.S. economy, the system will likely be transformed with new reforms and price caps within the next decade, if not by December. The ultimate debate ...

SC Gov. Sanford breaks the public trust

The ticker flashed its stark message across the bottom of the screen: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was missing. Not again, I thought. Two weeks ago, Nevada Senator John Ensign and Governor Sanford were the future ...

The U.S. leads with carrots-and-sticks

After Hashemi Rafsanjani, the daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, was arrested, the rift in Iran’s ruling class increased further. Adding to the chorus of international criticism, Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor, declared that “human ...

Is America safer?

President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney presented competing views on national security on Thursday. The President defended his decision to close Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the prison camp became “a rallying cry ...

Specter’s departure stirs internal party debate

After the defection of Senator Arlen Specter to the Democratic Party, the undeniable truth is that the Republican Party is at its lowest point in terms of its national popularity. In the aftermath of the ...

My view from the NYC Tea Party

By Michael Lesczinski On April 15, nearly 236 years after a hundred or so American Revolutionaries descended upon Boston Harbor in defiance of an oppressive monarchy, tens of thousands of American taxpayers assembled in cities across ...

Obama stresses the need for national service

President Obama should be commended for signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act today, a bill that will more than triple the number of AmeriCorp volunteers to over 250,000. By fulfilling one of his ...

The U.S. should take a wait-and-see approach with Cuba

From human rights to freedom of the press to political prisoners, Cuba may slowly develop into a democratic nation that finds acceptance in the community of nations. To the surprise of U.S. officials, Cuban president ...

Obama’s promise of post-partisanship

I am reading “Dreams From My Father,” President Barack Obama’s autobiography. I was curious to see if I could try to learn a little bit more about the President. As I start Chapter Three, I ...

The need for Republican alternatives

While naysayers are highly critical of Obama’s economic plans, pointing to a growing deficit as reason for concern, Republicans have yet to offer viable alternatives to help stop a spiraling economy. Instead, with the recent public ...

Public outrage over AIG continues

Today Edward Liddy, AIG Chairman and CEO, is on the hot seat. He will testify before the House Financial Services Subcommittee, and be cross-examined after his company AIG awarded $165 million in bonuses, after pleading ...

Can Obama survive his presidency without GOP support?

Within the first 100 days of his presidency, Obama has passed significant legislation with hardly any GOP support. Not a single House Republican voted in favor of his stimulus package, and only a few moderate ...

Steele’s job security in question

Michael Steele, GOP chairman, is under scrutiny among fellow Republicans after his latest interview with GQ. In the interview, to the chagrin of conservatives, Steele stated that abortion is a choice and homosexuality is not ...

Is “science integrity” truly being restored?

Were Bush’s limits on federally funded embryonic stem cell research driven by “political ideology,” rather than science? Today President Obama will overturn the limits on federally funded embryonic stem cell research and declare that science will ...

651,000 U.S. jobs slashed in February; unemployment rate grows to 8.1 percent

Today the Labor Department reported that 651,000 jobs were cut in February, raising the total number to 4.4 million jobs since December 2007. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent from 7.6 percent over ...

The buckling costs of health care

Today before the Health Summit, President Obama addressed the need to address health care and said he would keep an open-mind in tackling the issue. He is seeking to listen to divergent views on the ...

Obama offers deal to Russia

Today Peter Baker of the New York Times reports that President Obama offered Russia a deal to discontinue the construction of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe, in exchange for Russia’s assistance in helping ...

Rush Limbaugh stirs emotions

Is Rush Limbaugh “the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party,” as said by Rahm Emanuel, the President’s Chief of Staff? The talk-radio pundit signed an eight-year deal worth $400 million, with ...

Thousands gather at a conservative conference in Washington, D.C.

From Thursday to Saturday, thousands of students are participating in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) here in Washington, D.C., the largest annual gathering of conservative students, activists and policymakers. The conference this year featured ...

An impending battle: Obama’s second trillion for healthcare

Later today, the President will announce his plan to spend $634 billion to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system over the next decade. Most experts predict that the plan will eventually cost $1 trillion or more. “We ...

Obama talks to the American public

In soaring rhetoric, tonight President Obama assured the nation before a joint session of Congress that we, as Americans, will rebound from the current economic crisis and come back stronger than we were before. He ...

Nationalizing Citibank after the bank reaches its lowest point

Citibank, the 5th largest U.S. bank, will most probably be partially nationalized as the company’s shares, which reached an 18-year low of $1.61 per share on Friday, continue to plunge. The world’s once largest bank ...

Renewing America’s standing in the world

From South Korea to Indonesia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on her first trip as America’s number one diplomat on Wednesday. Clinton announced that the U.S. is ready to listen and is eager to ...

Addressing the frightening need for education reform

Over the next two years, the Department of Education will have a budget twice in size as a result of the $787 billion stimulus package that was signed into law by the President this week. ...

A slippery slope: General Motors and Chrysler ask for $21.6 billion more

Under buckling financial pressure, General Motors and Chrysler have requested $21.6 billion more from the U.S. government. GM has also asked for $6 billion from Germany, the U.K., Sweden, Canada and Thailand. Rick Wagoner, GM’s chief ...

Should the President strive to achieve a spirit of bipartisanship?

In one word: Trust. Chris Howell’s missive to The New York Times appeared in the Letters To The Editor section on February 16, 2009. In his letter, he suggests that President Obama should reconsider his strategy ...

Congress approves $787 billion stimulus package

Unprecedented and historic in scope, within the first month of taking office, Congress passed President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package. Combined with tax cuts and new spending, the new plan will seek to jolt an ...

Judd Gregg, a lost opportunity

Judd Gregg, Republican Senator from New Hampshire, withdrew his nomination for Commerce Secretary Thursday, citing personal conflicts with the President’s $700-800 billion stimulus package and the White House plan to control the Census Bureau. The ...

Homeless woman uplifted by compassionate Americans

Henrietta Hughes and her son had been homeless. Her son was cut from his job and was unable to find work. She and her son were subsequently forced out of their homes, which led them ...

Iran sends mixed signals to the U.S.

Before a large rally in Tehran on Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that “the Iranian nation is ready to hold talks [with the U.S.] but talks in a fair atmosphere and mutual respect.” On ...

Senate votes for $838 billion economic plan; now awaits House-Senate negotiations on final version

On Monday night, 56 Democrats, two independents and three Republicans approved the $838 billion economic plan, advancing the bill by a very thin margin to its final vote on Tuesday. Later Tuesday, the President’s plan ...

We can fix the schools we have or create the schools we need

By Tom Carroll Fixing the schools we have won’t prepare today’s students for a 21st century world. Learning is no longer preparation for the job – it is the job. To meet the needs ...

Cheating America’s pastime

Baseball, America’s pastime, received a black eye Saturday when Sports Illustrated reported that the game’s biggest star, New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez, allegedly used (surprise?) steroids in 2003. Public sentiment will not be kind to the ...

598,000 U.S. jobs slashed in January; what’s next?

The Labor Department reported yesterday that 598,000 jobs were cut in January, raising the total number to 3.6 million jobs since December 2007. The US unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent over ...

TARP in practice: lessons from Republic Windows and Doors

Perhaps one of the most significant events in Illinois history occurred just this past winter on December 9, 2008. No, I’m not talking about another Illinois governor getting led off in handcuffs — we ...

Obama to unveil the Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Today, President Barack Obama will unveil the Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, a 25-member board consisting of religious and secular leaders, which will address how faith-based programs can help with both domestic and foreign ...

Iran’s first satellite launch concerns the U.S.

Iran launched its first satellite into space yesterday, raising concerns in the United States about Iran’s missile development program. The same technology used to create Iran’s satellites may potentially be used to develop long-range missile ...

Gregg the new commerce secretary

Judd Gregg, Republican Senator of New Hampshire, will likely be selected as President Obama’s choice for commerce secretary today. With Al Franken leading in the Senate race in Minnesota, Gregg’s departure would leave open the ...

The height of Wall Street irresponsibility

Wall Street executives have petitioned and pleaded the government for bailout money, and have received billions in taxpayer funds to help their failing companies. Yet while they have laid off thousands from their jobs, the ...

Steele becomes the new RNC chair

Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, was elected Republican National Committee Chair yesterday, the first African-American chair in party history. Steele brings new vigor and a new face to the Republican party. In the ...

$140 billion of economic recovery package dedicated to education

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Education Secretary and former CEO of Chicago public schools, called the $819 billion economic recovery package passed by House Democrats “a historic chance to make things dramatically better.” With all House ...

Al Gore returns to the Senate after nearly two years

On Wednesday, former Vice President Al Gore testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about global climate change; his first visit before the Senate in nearly two years. It was also the first hearing for ...

A new start in the Mideast

On Monday night President Barack Obama’s first formal post-inauguration television interview was televised, an interview with Arab network Al Arbiya. His message to the Arab world: expect new American leadership in the Mideast. Obama, who spent ...

The true character of George W. Bush

On Sunday a personal friend who served in the military told me a story about former President George W. Bush. This personal anecdote reminds me that history may be kinder to the former President, despite ...

State caps on car emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency standards by 2011

Today President Barack Obama is expected to order the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider a request made by California to put its own restrictions on car emissions. Without directly ordering a reversal of former President ...