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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

John Seigenthaler, who spent 11 years at NBC, will anchor the evening news for Al Jazeera America, which launches Tuesday. (Al Jazeera America)

Inside the Beltway: Much too much information

Not long after the Iraq war began, another conflict also was underway between news organizations and the Pentagon, tasked with supplying information to the restless press in a 24/7 marketplace without compromising the safety of troops or the security of the mission. Then Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was often on the hot seat, facing down journalists and their demands for more, more, more.

August 8, 2013
Ron Paul will launch the Ron Paul Channel on Monday with original programming either live or on demand, available by subscription for $9.95 a month.

Inside the Beltway: Ron Paul, media mogul

And now we know: Ron Paul will launch the feisty Ron Paul Channel on Monday with all original programming either live or on demand, available by subscription for $9.95 a month from the one-time Libertarian presidential hopeful. He says 200,000 potential subscribers expressed interest within hours of the project going public.

August 7, 2013
Chelsea Clinton, former first daughter, already is crafting a consistent message and talking points, a seeming indicator she's drawn to public life. She told CNN she has sought a "purposefully public life." (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Very robust Reince Priebus

Many have complained that the Grand Old Party has gotten "squishy" on policy and in demeanor, lacking the backbone of a more robust era. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus appears ready to challenge that perception, and likely will provide some show-stopping political theater in the near future.

August 6, 2013
A dozen senators — Republicans and Democrats, led by Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican — are not happy about the Defense Department buying 30 helicopters destined for Afghanistan that it bought from a Russian manufacturer.

Inside the Beltway: Here comes the church vote

There is an emerging voter demographic for Democrats to ponder, one that gathers on Sunday with good cheer and deep thoughts: motivated and engaged churchgoers. Consider that 97 percent of theologically conservative pastors are registered voters, and the vast majority are Republicans.

August 5, 2013
**FILE** Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, speaks at the introduction of the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Paperwhite personal devices, in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2012. (Associated Press)

Amazon’s Bezos buys Washington Post for $250M

In a stunning coup, Internet billionaire Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com fame announced plans Monday to buy the Washington Post Co.'s flagship newspaper and its newspaper publishing business for $250 million.

August 5, 2013

Inside the Beltway: Calls for a ‘national animal’

If the bald eagle weren't our "national animal," what would be the most popular choice for the role? The bison wins, according to a YouGov poll released Sunday, cited by 22 percent of the respondents.

August 4, 2013
Dog days of summer? No, goat days of Washington. Green-minded goats who will soon trim the lawns of historic Congressional Cemetery. (eco-goats)

Inside the Beltway: Red state ready to rumble

There will be some belligerent squawking in the liberal media in the wake of the fifth annual Red State Gathering, organized by columnist and RedState.com founder Erick Erickson, and staged in a spiffy New Orleans hotel starting Friday. Mr. Erickson expects hundreds of conservatives to show up, along with the proverbial thought leaders of the movement, and "happy warriors," he says.

August 1, 2013
"Our Nixon," which debuts Thursday at 9 p.m. on CNN, is a feature-length documentary on President Nixon crafted from 500 reels of home movies.

Inside the Beltway: August whets the Democratic appetite

Democratic operatives and activists have declared it's now "Action August," and they've targeted specific Republicans during what's normally sleepy summer recess time. We're talking Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Reps. Eric Cantor of Virginia and Peter T. King of New York, plus Govs. Rick Perry of Texas and Chris Christie of New Jersey. To name a few.

July 31, 2013

Might D.C.’s all-local NewsChannel 8 go national?

An intriguing and promising by-product has emerged from the $985 million sale of Allbritton Communications Co. and its seven TV stations to Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group, a deal that Sinclair CEO David Smith deems a "once-in-a-lifetime event."

July 30, 2013
"I see this as an opportunity to be part of a strong news presence serious news and serious storytelling," says Libby Casey about her new gig at Al Jazeera America.

Inside the Beltway: Al Jazeera America’s C-SPAN connection

The news channel goes live in less than three weeks. That would be Al Jazeera America, already peopled with veterans hailing from CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, PBS and ABC. Now add C-SPAN to the list. Libby Casey, morning host and producer for C-SPAN's much esteemed "Washington Journal," has signed on as the incoming network's official Washington correspondent — one of the nine new hires who will lead regional bureaus.

July 30, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama went to Martha's Vineyard, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Martha’s Vineyard tail numbers

Succinct commentary from far beyond the proverbial Beltway often trumps insider hubbub, particularly when presidents go on vacation. The first family is presumably counting down the days until they can achieve escape velocity from the nation's capital and spend eight days on sparkling Martha's Vineyard in mid-August.

July 29, 2013
Huma Abedin for mayor? She's been suggested as an alternate candidate for mayor of New York by some political observers in the wake of the sexting scandal involving her husband, Anthony D. Weiner. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Huma Abedin for NYC mayor

From the same political landscape that produced the persistent notion that Hillary Rodham Clinton should run for president here comes part two of such thinking. There are calls for Huma Abedin to run for mayor of New York City, even as her husband Anthony D. Weiner clings to the wreckage of his own campaign for that office following the most recent revelations regarding his sorry sexting habits.

July 28, 2013
Columnist Rusty Humphries says when Rush Limbaugh and the other big nationwide conservative talk shows arrived, other forms of conservative media grew with them. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The GOP and the ‘Mile High Club’

There's data for everything. Tucked away in a new Public Policy Polling survey on airline travel was this question to 800 registered voters: "Are you a member of the Mile High Club?" Well fasten your seatbelts, folks. Republicans win this one.

July 25, 2013
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will serve as the keynote speaker Thursday at an agricultural "field day" near Baltic, S.D.

Inside the Beltway: Sarah Palin courts the farm vote

One can't get much more grass roots than this: Sarah Palin is the keynote speaker Thursday at an agricultural "field day" near Baltic, S.D. — population 1,090 — situated on the scenic banks of the Big Sioux River in the eastern corner of the state.

July 24, 2013
Ron Paul gets some Hollywood help from actor Vince Vaughn as he prepares to launch the Ron Paul Channel, his own online news network.

Inside the Beltway: Ron Paul, media mogul

In characteristic folksy but aggressive style, Ron Paul has become a media mogul of sorts. The former Texas lawmaker and Libertarian presidential hopeful already has drawn the help of one Hollywood celebrity in his zeal to launch the Ron Paul Channel, a high-definition news network available online by subscription.

July 23, 2013
**FILE** Hillary Rodham Clinton (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Anti-Hillary Stealth Mission

"We have a straightforward mission, and we have only one reason to exist. And that is to make sure that Hillary Clinton never becomes president of the United States," Garrett Marquis, spokesman for Stop Hillary PAC, tells Inside the Beltway.

July 22, 2013
"My mother was born in Wilmington, Del. She's a U.S. citizen, so I'm a U.S. citizen," said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, about his birth in Canada. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Citizen Ted Cruz

The noisiest hubbub over the birthplace of Sen. Ted Cruz has not started yet. But it will. The Texas Republican, 42, was born in Canada, which has prompted critics to question his eligibility to run for president. "My mother was born in Wilmington, Del. She's a U.S. citizen, so I'm a U.S. citizen," Mr. Cruz told ABC News, when queried about it. "I'm not going to engage in a legal debate. The facts are clear."

July 21, 2013