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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

A B-52 bomber flies over the Pacific Ocean. (Image: U.S. Air Force) ** FILE **

Sarah Palin’s ultimate defense: ‘A good guy with a nuke’

Cavalier talk of a possible "nuclear war: between the U.S, and Russia has become fashionable in the mainstream media as the Ukraine matter continues without a neat and convenient ending. Some of that coverage adds a couple of kilotons of agenda as well.

March 10, 2014
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Chris Stevens and three other Americans. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

New Benghazi investigation published on the 18-month anniversary of the attack

Has it been that long already? The terrorist attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi took place exactly 18 months ago on Tuesday, March 11 - which is also the publication date for a new book parsing the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report that reviewed events that led to the deaths of four Americans.

March 10, 2014
Former Florida Rep. Allen West will host the "First Allen West Black Tie Boot Camp" at a historic Palm Beach Island hotel in late March. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: A sampler of CPAC wisdom

No one can ever really have the final word at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The three-day event is too massive and too intense to be defined by a single statement, except maybe "a good time was had by all."

March 6, 2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses Russian ambassadors July 9, 2012, during a meeting in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. (Associated Press)

Historian: Valdimir Putin using Peter the Great tactics

When the pundits and press feast on a global event, they must make room for the historians. Such is the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine matter, now drawing academic commentary. And those analysts who think Mr. Putin pines to recreate the Russia of yore may be on to something.

March 6, 2014
FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2014 file photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks in Washington. Senate sniping between establishment Republicans and tea partyers resumed Thursday Cruz refused to endorse his fellow GOP Texan in next week's primary. Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate's second-ranking Republican leader, faces tea party-backed Rep. Steve Stockman in Tuesday's primary. Cruz declined to tell reporters how he plans to vote. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Inside the Beltway: CPAC spectacle and a cast of thousands

In years past, the Conservative Action Political Conference — CPAC — has proved a model of management and organization. Doubtless, it will again when the three-day event gets rolling. Ah, but it's an art too.

March 5, 2014
Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Budget Committee, called President Obama's fiscal year 2015 budget "a campaign brochure" and said the president seems determined to do nothing about fiscal challenges. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Romney renaissance under way

It is a rare occurrence, but some authentic polling numbers reveal that Republican voters miss Mitt Romney, even as he earns some newfound public appreciation for his canny prediction that Russia could prove a viable threat to the U.S.

March 4, 2014
Rush Limbaugh (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Limbaugh on Putin: ‘the aggressor sets the rules’

Amid all the Ukraine-centric media coverage, statements, photo-ops and editorials have come the bare-fisted warnings of those who are more interested in a reality check than fancy prose. And the contrast between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Obama is the focus

March 4, 2014
** FILE ** Rep. Raul Labrador, Idaho Republican. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Inside the Beltway: White House media pals get cranky

Well, this can't be good. Mainstream media allies of the White House appear to be suffering from fatigue; the soaring rhetoric just isn't enough any more in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A USA Today editorial gripes, "Perhaps the most surprising thing about Russia's weekend invasion of Crimea is that the U.S. and its allies were caught so flat-footed, groping for a response that didn't look weak and ineffectual."

March 3, 2014
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is among 200 conservative luminaries headed for the podium at CPAC, which begins Thursday. (American Conservative Union)

Inside the Beltway: The put up or shut up moment

With the help of an impatient news media, a global taste for drama and Russia's provocative posturing in the Ukraine, the White House is now wedged in the put up or shut up position. Are we in a Cold War now? A Cool War? Maybe it's just tepid.

March 2, 2014
Anthony Kearns, of Irish Tenors fame, will sing some tunes of inspiration this weekend to benefit wounded warriors, and celebrate things Irish. (Kirsten Fedewa)

Inside the Beltway: Taking measurements for the big tent

The Republican Party is delicately measuring the dimensions of the proverbial "big tent," seeking to preserve its principles while plumbing the proper strategies to expand voter appeal among libertarians, disaffected Democrats, conflicted moderates, assorted ethnicities and women, among other groups. Now it's the tea party's turn, and civility appears to be part of the thinking.

February 27, 2014
Rep. Michele Bachmann is among 10 lawmakers who will assemble to celebrate the tea party on Thursday, marking the grass root movement's fifth anniversary. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The tea party at five years

The tea party celebrates its fifth anniversary Thursday, essentially marking some 1,826 days since the grass roots movement spontaneously emerged to become a political and cultural force to be reckoned with, driven by a call for fiscal sanity and fueled by traditional American values.

February 26, 2014
Budweiser and Major League Baseball have launched a White House petition to have the league's opening day declared a national holiday. (Budweiser/Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Baseball lobs one to the White House

Canny marketers have tiptoed into "We the People," the White House's public petition outreach that draws motley interest groups with myriad causes. And now the cause is baseball, beer, opening day revels and official blessings.

February 25, 2014
After 20 years at CNBC, host Maria Bartiromo made her grand debut on "Opening Bell" on the Fox Business Network on Monday with another show to premiere next month on Fox News. (Fox Business Network/Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Coulter seeks liberal challenger

It's all a matter of Ann Coulter vs ? The cool blonde with the brilliant mind and unflappable mien seeks a liberal debating partner for an event that is the equivalent of New Year's Eve, Fourth of July and maybe Thanksgiving Day for conservatives. That's the Conservative Political Action Conference — CPAC — now just nine days off.

February 24, 2014
Beach Boys singer Mike Love serenades the crowd gathered to honor his civic spirit, which also warranted tributes from former President H.W. Bush and Nancy Reagan. (Mike Love)

Inside the Beltway: A Beach Boy, two Bushes and a Reagan

A cultural moment of note: Mike Love, the longtime iconic lead singer for the Beach Boys, has gotten some love from former president George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara, plus Nancy Reagan. Mr. Love recently won the Society of Singers "Ella Award" — which recognizes performers for their dedication to community and worldwide causes.

February 23, 2014
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says the party is spending its money "in a way that's designed to help candidates up and down the ballot." (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Tune in — the FCC gets a ‘scandal’

It's already been deemed a "scandal." Journalists and broadcasters are chafing over news that the Federal Communications Commission had developed plans to monitor the nation's newsrooms, as outlined in a federal initiative with this brusque title: "Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs."

February 20, 2014