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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

The targeting of conservative groups by the IRS "must be investigated fully," said Rep. Steve Stockman, Texas Republican. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Steve Stockman connects the dots

Rep. Steve Stockman is revisiting a troublesome matter that recently riveted public attention, namely, the IRS targeting of conservative groups. "This case must be investigated fully, given admitted wrongdoing by the IRS, its potentially criminal implications and revelations the White House has been less than honest about what they knew and when," he says.

June 11, 2013
** FILE ** President Obama talks about national security on Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. Declaring America at a "crossroads" in the fight against terrorism, the president revealed clearer guidelines for the use of deadly drone strikes, including more control by the U.S. military, while leaving key details of the controversial program secret. (Associated Press)

Index: U.S. among nations less likely to pursue peace

Released Tuesday, the seventh annual Global Peace Index assessed each country's internal crime statistics, population trends and other factors — from the number of homicides to terrorist activity to prevailing economic conditions. It may shock Americans to know that the U.S. is ranked No. 100.

June 11, 2013
John Kinley Tener, a former professional baseball player who served in the House of Representatives, established the Congressional Baseball Game in 1909. (Library of Congress)

Inside the Beltway: Is Edward Snowden a hero or villain?

"Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret National Security Agency surveillance programs." And so reads a White House "We the People" online petition established Sunday

June 10, 2013
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said over the past week "we have seen reckless disclosures of intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe."

Inside the Beltway: Clapper on the record

Media frenzy over old news that the National Security Agency monitors the vast patterns of citizen communications has distracted and alarmed the public, leaving it to ponder both the content of the Fourth Amendment and the motivations of newly uncloaked "whistleblower" Edward Snowden, a former IT security contractor with the federal agency who shared its clandestine details with a pair of news organizations. But wait. National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper issued some details of his own via a straightforward public statement about the stakes at hand:

June 9, 2013
Mitt Romney, here with Jay Leno, hosts "Experts and Enthusiasts" with politicians, tycoons, investors and fancy "thought leaders." (Mitt Romney photograph)

Inside the Beltway: Romney’s reinvention

Mitt Romney has returned to public radar: He's no longer the docile guy meandering around the suburbs or grocery shopping in a post-campaign world. He's granting strategic interviews and he's got aggressive notions about the Republican Party, seeking to pull it from a wallow of social issues and combative identity crisis and into a business-minded mode.

June 5, 2013
Attorney Erika Harold, who was named Miss America 2003, on Tuesday announced her intent to run for U.S. Congress in the 13th Congressional District of Illinois. "I have a pretty thick skin at this point in my life," she said. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Alec Baldwin’s fracas

Alec Baldwin is in a fit of pique because Phelim McAleer was nominated by the Independent Oil and Gas Association to serve on a specialist' panel at the upcoming Hamptons International Film Festival, where the anti-fracking film "Gasland Part II" will be showcased.

June 4, 2013
Those who were not invited to the upcoming Bilderberg Conference near London plan to stage the Bilderberg Fringe Festival just outside the intensely private event. (Bilderberg Fringe Festival)

Inside the Beltway: Among the few

Among the 140 participants at the Bilderberg Conference that begins Thursday in the spectacular Grove Hotel, some 20 miles northwest of London: American Enterprise Institute fellow Richard Perle, former CIA Director David H. Petraeus, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, former Treasury secretaries Timothy F. Geithner and Robert Rubin, Washington Post CEO Donald Graham, Stratfor geopolitical analyst Robert Kaplan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and The Economist Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait.

June 3, 2013
**FILE** Former Rep. Allen B. West (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Go West

Those who recall the Air Force's Strategic Air Command and the intense days of the Cold War will be pleased to know that "peace through strength," the motto of the aforementioned command, is still alive and well, adopted as the philosophy behind the Center for Security Policy. "SAC" was home to a host of formidable bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles from 1946 to 1992.

June 2, 2013
Former Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson has entered the gun rights arena in Colorado as chairman of Save Our Shotguns. (The Washington Times)

Inside the Beltway: Trumpaliscious

Donald Trump may glitter, but he's also evergreen. The billionaire's appeal to press and public knows no season, whether he's pondering President Obama's birth certificate or revealing he'd spent $1 million on electoral research for a White House run. Like he did this week.

May 30, 2013
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is poised to sign a bill into law that amends the state education code to allow schools to acknowledge Christmas without fear of a lawsuit. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Michele Bachmann bashing

Press and pundits erupted with glee following Rep. Michele Bachmann's announcement that she would not run for office again. The Minnesota Republican drew much derisive coverage, described in various reports as a "failed presidential candidate" and a "fact checker's dream," among many things. But not everyone was interested in the media pile-on — and they appear convinced that the lawmaker is not done yet.

May 29, 2013
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly will collaborate with National Geographic to produce "Killing Kennedy," a film project based on his best-selling book of the same name. Rob Lowe, formerly of "The West Wing," is set to play John F. Kennedy. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Chris Christie the noun

Was it the blue-plate special or a bipartisan combo? The pairing of President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got much play in the press after they appeared together Tuesday on behalf of the Garden State's recovery from Superstorm Sandy — urging the public to venture to the seashore, spend money and enjoy themselves.

May 28, 2013
A biopic about Hillary Rodham Clinton is in the works about her life before she became first lady of Arkansas (pictured), senator, presidential hopeful or secretary of state.

Inside the Beltway: Chelsea as her mother?

Chelsea Clinton already has broadcast experience as an NBC News correspondent. But could she play her own mother, cast in the role of a young Hillary Rodham Clinton in the upcoming independent film "Rodham"? The prospect has been raised by nimble Paddy Power — Europe's largest online betting house. It's already offering odds on which Hollywood starlet would be cast in the film, which chronicles the life of a 20-something Mrs. Clinton decades before she became first lady, senator, presidential hopeful or secretary of state.

May 27, 2013
Former President George W. Bush rode with 14 veterans during the third annual Warrior 100K ride this past weekend through rough terrain near Waco, Texas. (George W. Bush Institute)

Inside the Beltway: Mottos du jour

Assorted mottos were spotted on vest and jacket patches at the annual Rolling Thunder membership dinner Saturday, including, "If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a vet."

May 26, 2013
Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld leans on his time as a Navy pilot with advice for President Obama.

Inside the Beltway: Rumsfeld rule for Obama

Donald H. Rumsfeld has created considerable buzz with his book "Rumsfeld's Rules: Leadership Lessons in Business, Politics, War, and Life," which includes 400 advisories for those who would be leaders. Among those rules: American is not what's wrong with the world. If you expect people to be on the landing, include them in the takeoff. If you're coasting, you're going downhill.

May 23, 2013
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Where’s the money?

Hey. Wait a minute. Those conservative groups targeted by the IRS may be needing a little cash in the aftermath, say 26 high-profile conservatives leaders who are calling for new legislation to reimburse the grass-roots folks. The coalition — which includes Richard Viguerie, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, David Bossie and Gary Bauer — have contacted House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, advising the lawmakers that oversight hearings are all well and fine. But where's the money?

May 22, 2013
Director John O. Brennan on Monday stands before 107 stars at CIA headquarters in Langley representing those who have died in service to the agency since 1947. (CIA)

Inside the Beltway: Persistent birthers

Yes, President Obama's birth certificate was made public two years ago and even emblazoned upon a Democratic fundraiser coffee mug during the 2012 presidential campaign. But the "birther" issue which so intrigued Donald Trump has yet to disappear.

May 21, 2013
The Tea Party Patriots plan to "rein in the IRS" through nationwide protests at Internal Revenue Service offices on Tuesday as it taps into public outrage. (Tea Party Patriots)

Inside the Beltway: The Big Brew

Delicious irony, perhaps: the tea party has been reinvigorated and reinvented following revelations that its groups' nonprofit status had been singled out and investigated by the IRS. Though a critical news media has tried to purge the conservative, liberty-minded grass-roots movement from the public radar, the tea partyers still push back in huge numbers, and on their own terms. Rush Limbaugh now deems the tea party "fearless."

May 20, 2013
Kenneth Starr now heads Baylor University after a career in law that included a stint as special prosecutor in the Monica Lewinsky matter. Some Republicans, including Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, want a special prosecutor to investigate the current IRS scandal.

Inside the Beltway: The Culture Count

Like a bad restaurant, the Obama administration attracts scathing reviews from Republicans and conservative critics who are tired of what's on the policy menu, and repelled by the signature "culture" of White House operations. The trio of scandals centered on Benghazi, the IRS and the Justice Department has ramped up the tirade, and until facts and conclusions emerge, the talk of the moment is culture-centric.

May 19, 2013