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Jennifer Harper

Jennifer Harper

jharper@washingtontimes.com

Jennifer Harper wrote the daily Inside the Beltway column for The Washington Times.

Articles by Jennifer Harper

T.W. Shannon — seen here with his family — has garnered strong support from Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Sarah Palin in his quest for the U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma; he is shown here with his family. (T.W. Shannon)

Inside the Beltway: Bodacious conservatives ready to rumble

Gentlemen and ladies, start your engines. The season has started. By the time Sunday rolls around, conservatives in three states will be charged up, ready to rumble and eager to convince press and public that the 2014 midterms will yield some sweet victory for the Grand Old Party — 2010 style.

April 24, 2014
FILE - This Aug. 12, 2013 file photo shows New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaking in New York. Bloomberg made a $350 million pledge to Johns Hopkins University in 2013. Philanthropy in 2013 made a comeback in large donations with the nation’s wealthiest donors giving more than $3.4 billion to charity, according to a new tally of the top 10 gifts of 2013 by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Bloomberg-backed protestors to rally at NRA national meeting

The influence of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg soon will surface near the NRA convention. His new activist group Every Town for Gun Safety is among three organizations planning a rally to protest the three-day event.

April 24, 2014
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, on the list of potential White house hopefuls, is a featured speaker at the NRA annual meeting in Indianapolis. (Office of Gov. Mike Pence)

Inside the Beltway: A presidential showcase for Mike Pence

One Hoosier could garner increased presidential scrutiny in the next 48 hours. That would be Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a featured speaker at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting, which begins this week in Indianapolis.

April 23, 2014
Competition? Sen. Elizabeth Warren's splashy new memoir could diminish public interest in Hillary Clinton's potential run for the White House. (Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.)

Inside the Beltway: The Elizabeth Warren effect

A little luster has worn off the Hillary Clinton White House parlor game. Anxious, fickle analysts have been interrupted in their quest to decipher if Mrs. Clinton will run for president in 2016. Why, there's another prospect. Behold, it's Sen. Elizabeth Warren brandishing her splashy new memoir titled "A Fighting Chance."

April 22, 2014
A woman smokes a joint at the Fill the Hill marijuana rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sunday, April 20, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Justin Tang)

They’re next: Alaska fumes over marijuana legalization

Colorado has been a test case for marijuana legalization in recent months. Yes, it could prove to be an economic boom. But voters already have remorse over the legislation: new polling reveals that majorities are not eager to mar Colorado’s “wholesome” image. Alaska, where the legalization issue will appear on an public ballot this fall, faces similar concerns.

April 22, 2014
FILE - In this April 15, 2014 file photo Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker shakes hands with supporters after a campaigning in Dane, Wis. Wisconsin Democrats and their allies who are trying to take out Walker have invested all their hopes in Mary Burke, a Harvard-educated political newcomer whose father started Trek Bicycle when she was a teenager. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, M.P. King, File)

‘Scott Walker 2016’: Here comes the bumper sticker

Walker in 2016? The news media has noticed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and could very well give him the same scrutiny, for better or worse, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received when his White House intentions became apparent. The word 'frontrunner' has appeared.

April 22, 2014
Among the many events at the upcoming NRA annual meeting: an auction for Ruger's "one millionth gun," made in 2012. (National Rifle Association)

Inside the Beltway: The NRA still true to its calling

Certain things remain constant in America, despite the best efforts of, say, Hollywood, the mainstream news media, liberal culture and progressive politics. Old Glory and Old Faithful come to mind, along with the National Rifle Association — which will show just how constant it is in about 48 hours, when the organization's annual membership meeting begins in Indianapolis.

April 21, 2014
Care to have a nice lunch with master Republican strategist Karl Rove? The National Republican Senatorial Committee has a contest for you.

Inside the Beltway: An agenda-free Easter

The effort to purge the word "Easter" from public egg hunts continues. But wait. Politicians may get banned from the springtime doings as well. Take the traditional Easter parade, for example, long a bastion of women in swell hats and men in their Sunday best.

April 17, 2014
Fox News regular contributor and author Jedediah Bila is among the female talents who will appear on "Outnumbered," the network's new daytime talk show, which debuts on April 28 at noon. (Courtesy of Jedediah Bila)

Inside the Beltway: A Hillary-free 2016 would confound Democrats

Democrats are eager to show fierce loyalty to Hillary Rodham Clinton; indeed, it's a badge of honor. But what will they do if she chooses not to run for the White House in 2016? It is a tricky situation that party strategists have yet to publicly address. The former senator and secretary of state is a mesmerizing symbol for Democrats, and the effect grows. That could get unwieldy.

April 16, 2014

Times wins two awards from Society for Professional Journalists

The Washington Times has won two Sigma Delta Chi awards for excellence in journalism from the Society for Professional Journalists in a national competition between 1,800 entries from news organizations that spanned print, radio, television and online stories published or broadcast in 2013.

April 16, 2014
George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush, in a new Public Policy Polling survey leads his Democratic opponent by a wide margin in his quest to be elected Texas state land commissioner.

Inside the Beltway: The appeal of ‘strong America’

Mention "national security," and voters react. That is what former U.N. ambassador John R. Bolton has discovered. His twin political action committees accrued $1.1 million in the first quarter of the year from some 7,000 small-dollar donors in all 50 states who support Mr. Bolton's "foreign-policy approach of peace through strength," he says.

April 15, 2014
The A-10 Caucus on Capitol Hill seeks to keep the formidable aircraft flying, despite Air Force plans to pull the plug. (Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr./U.S. Air Force)

Inside the Beltway: Lawmakers watch over the A-10

The reliable, maneuverable, and yes, quite fabulous A-10 Thunderbolt has protected many in its close-air support role since it was introduced in 1975. Now the formidable Air Force gunship is getting a little protection of its own on Capitol Hill. Behold, now in flight, it's the unofficial A-10 Caucus, composed of squadron of Republicans and a single Democrat.

April 14, 2014
Illustration on paper money by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

IRKED: Seven out of 10 Americans say members of Congress are paid too much

Americans continue to be irked with Congress. A mere 9 percent of likely voters say incumbents should be re-elected in the 2014 midterms according to a new Rasmussen Poll. Positive approval ratings for lawmakers linger at about 12 percent says Gallup, which continually tracks such things. And naturally, voters also think these elected officials do not deserve the pay they receive for their efforts.

April 14, 2014
Alison Lundergan Grimes, a Democrat who is opposing Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, invited him to a local gun range for target practice. (Courtesy of Alison Lundergan Grimes)

Inside the Beltway: McConnell gets affection from the NRA

The tea party is very much enamored with Matt Bevin, the grass-roots challenger to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the Senate seat in Kentucky — a bout that will be decided in the state's May 20 primary. Mr. McConnell does not appear worried, advising voters that incumbents would "crush" their tea party opponents. Did he know that a certain powerful endorsement was in the works? Oh, could be.

April 13, 2014
Talk radio host Laura Ingraham is one of several to take the stage at this weekend's Freedom Summit in Manchester, N.H. (National Association of Broadcasters)

Inside the Beltway: Eager Republicans rush for the grassroots

The timing is impeccable: A dozen famed conservatives with liberty, tradition and smaller government on their minds gather a mere 72 hours before Tax Day dawns. That would be the Freedom Summit on Saturday, a daylong showcase organized by Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Citizens United, staged in Manchester, the most bustling town in New Hampshire.

April 10, 2014
One America News Network. A credible source for national and international news. (PRNewsFoto/Herring Networks, Inc.)

One America channel on Verizon TV lineup

An emerging conservative news organization launched less than a year ago has promising news. Herring Networks Inc. announced Wednesday that One America News Network, which offers national and global news plus exclusive content, has been added to the channel lineup on Verizon's FiOS TV.

April 9, 2014