Recent News

In the race for the GOP nomination, nothing is settled

The nation’s conservative newsreaders and poll-watchers are in for a long and bumpy road to the nomination in 2016. Today’s sure thing is tomorrow’s flop.

It wasn’t all that long ago that conservatives were literally begging New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to run for the White House in 2012 as the only Republican candidate they thought had a prayer of appealing to a national electorate. Today, his sky-high disapproval ratings among conservatives has left many wondering whether the Garden State governor will even run for the White House at all.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich to test 2016 waters on trip to New Hampshire

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will make a foray to New Hampshire this week, testing whether another GOP governor with a reputation for compassionate conservatism and the potential for broad appeal can find a place amid the crowded 2016 presidential field.

It’s Mr. Kasich’s second look at running, following a short-lived flirtation in 1999, when he was an up-and-coming member of Congress and was chased from the field by the GOP’s original compassionate conservative governor, George W. Bush.

Democrats would be making a big mistake if they let Hillary Clinton coast to the presidential nomination without real opposition, and, as a national leader, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren can make sure that doesn’t happen. While Warren has repeatedly vowed that she won’t run for president herself, she ought to reconsider. And if Warren sticks to her refusal, she should make it her responsibility to help recruit candidates to provide voters with a vigorous debate on her signature cause, reducing income inequality, over the next year.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned the Republican Party’s top donors Saturday against backing a candidate who flip-flops on important issues.

Addressing a harbor-side reception Saturday at an exclusive retreat for donors to the Republican National Committee, the Garden State governor appeared to criticize Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, without mentioning him by name, for adjusting his positions to curry favor with early state voters.

“We need to make sure that we make our party bigger and broader than it’s been before,” Christie told a sunset gathering of about 250 donors who have given more than $15,000—and as much as $330,000—to the GOP. “And that’s not about pandering, it’s not about flip-flopping on issues.” Walker stood a few dozen feet away mingling with the well-heeled crowd. “People want folks who they believe believe in what they say and don’t change depending on what state they’re in,” Christie continued.

Gore in 2016?

Back in 2004, the telltale sign of a far-left liberal was a “Reelect President Gore in 2004″ bumper sticker. Some Democrats want to update that slogan for 2016. Liberal pundit Ezra Klein urged Gore to run in a column onVox.com and articles discussing a potential Gore candidacy appeared on CBS, National Journal, and other media outlets.

HILLARY CLINTON THINKS AMERICA HAS A ‘FUN DEFICIT’: Hillary Clinton appears ready to embark on one of the most rigorous and time-consuming political journeys — the presidential campaign trail — so her message to Americans Thursday was unexpected: Take a break and have more fun, according to ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ. “There’s a huge fun deficit in America,” Clinton said during remarks at the American Camp Association conference in Atlantic City. “We really need camps for adults.” With a wink and a nudge to Congress, Clinton made the case that if more adults — and perhaps politicians — had more fun, more people would get along.

Can Jeb Bush fire up the base like he’s fired up the establishment?

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Jeb Bush’s nascent presidential campaign has already won over many of the big-dollar donors and GOP elites. What he needs to prove now is that he can win over the crowds.

Until visits to South Carolina and other early states this month, the former Florida governor hadn’t been on the campaign trail for himself in 13 years. He hadn’t sold himself to the deeply conservative, tea party-inspired crowds that have emerged as a driving Republican force in the Obama era. He’d never snapped so many “selfies” with admirers.