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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

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s new book is “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution.” (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Jeb Bush-mania

His book is out, buzz is shrill. The press is aflap over Jeb Bush, otherwise known as son-of-president, brother-of-president and spouse-of-Latina. Will Jeb run in 2016? Will we have Bush No. 3 in the White House?

March 5, 2013
“Pick six former governors, three from each party, and give them two hours and lunch. They’ll find [2.4 percent] to cut before the fried pies arrive,” says former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on the fairest and fastest way to cut the federal budget.

Inside the Beltway: The guest watch

"I applied to speak and was ignored. I tried to get a room for an American Freedom Defense Initiative event, 'The War on Free Speech,' and was ignored. So, for the first time in five years, I won't be at CPAC," declares Pam Geller, the outspoken opponent of radical Islam, who has her own theories about the situation.

March 4, 2013
** FILE ** In this Feb. 28, 2013, file photo, the History Channel miniseries “The Bible” includes an international cast and computer-generated effects that show Jesus walking on water, but from an underwater vantage point.

Inside the Beltway: O’Bama on Irish-Americans

"They endured prejudice and stinging ridicule. But through it all, these new citizens never gave up on one of our oldest ideas: that anyone from anywhere can write the next great chapter in the American story," said President Obama on Irish-Americans

February 28, 2013
Dr. Ben S. Carson (Courtesy of Dr. Carson)

Inside the Beltway: Carsonmania

It was almost inevitable. Dr. Ben Carson will be a featured speaker at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in mid-March, praised by American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas as someone deeply in touch with the fiscal and social challenges of the age, who nonetheless "represents the optimism and hope of the future of the conservative movement."

February 27, 2013
The Louisville-based Kentucky Progress wants to block Sen. Mitch McConnell’s re-election, but a tweet has it in a bit of a spot. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Republican resilience

It's pile-on time. "Republican party implodes" has been a popular headline with news organizations and pundits since November, and they continue to use it -- with zest. Critics are also fond of these phrases: Republican failure, Republican disgrace, Republican suicide, Republican-assisted suicide and Republican misery, among other dire descriptions in recent coverage.

February 26, 2013
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Channeling Glenn Beck

"If we control the debate, we change politics. And if we change politics, we change the country," declares Glenn Beck, in a new public pitch to bring The Blaze, his independent libertarian broadcast network, to cable TV.

February 25, 2013
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Perfect sequester storm

A canny White House and compliant media have used the sequester to generate a perfect storm of blame, meant to strand the Republican Party in a pool of lousy public opinion right into 2014. That's the intent, anyway.

February 24, 2013
“Is Cruz under attack because he’s Hispanic? Not at all … Cruz is under attack because he’s out-debating Democrats,” Powerline says of freshman GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Statesman.com via associated press

Inside the Beltway: Cruz control

Hispanic voters soon may wonder whether the Democratic Party is friend or foe if the treatment of Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas is any gauge. "Rubio-ridicule, Cruz-hatred" reads the headline at Powerline, where analyst Paul Mirengoff notes that Democrats have made Mr. Rubio "the butt of bottle jokes," and just plain vilified Mr. Cruz. The party is getting jittery about the pair, the analyst says, and now seeks to slow their political momentum.

February 21, 2013
The National Journal has ranked Sen. James E. Risch, Idaho Republican, as the most conservative senator. (Associated press)

Inside the Beltway: Who is James E. Risch?

Why, he's only the most true-blue conservative in the U.S. Senate, according to the National Journal's "Congressional Vote Ratings" released Thursday. The judgment was made by roll-call voting records alone. Sen. James E. Risch, Idaho Republican, has the most conservative voting record for 2012.

February 20, 2013
“It’s a great way to commemorate this challenging moment in history,” says Kevin Sacher, president of American Mint, which has issue a platinum-plated “$1 Trillion Coin” for collectors. And for only $9.95. (American Mint)

Inside the Beltway: The trillion-dollar coin

The White House had better snap up one of these quick: American Mint has just issued the "$1 Trillion Coin," a gleaming, platinum-plated collector's coin that shows what the legendary, imaginary trillion-dollar coin could look like. There's an image of the U.S. Capitol's "Freedom" statue on the front, and "one trillion dollars" and "no legal tender" on back. And to the inevitable delight of both President Obama and the Republican Congress, this version is only $9.95.

February 19, 2013
Four years have passed since CNBC analyst Rick Santelli sparked the creation of the tea party movement with his “rant heard ’round the world” decrying the federal government. (CNBC)

Inside the Beltway: Meteor media frenzy

Of interest to those following meteor mania around the planet, and hysteria over fireballs and sonic booms: The 101-year-old American Meteor Society is a straightforward resource amid alarming press accounts about big sizzlers overhead.

February 18, 2013
An 1887 cookbook lists an extravagant menu — from oysters to a namesake pie — to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. associated press

Inside the Beltway: Dawdling Democrats

A recent Bloomberg Government study reveals that Democratic congressional districts will be harder hit than Republican districts with the March 1 sequester. It stands to reason that conscientious Democrats might be leaping for compromise. Or maybe not.

February 17, 2013
There’s been a boomlet of interest in “Ben Carson for President” merchandise since his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last week. (CAFEPRESS.COM)

Inside the Beltway: Pining for Ben Carson

The warm glow of public appeal for Ben Carson is growing after his recent provocative speech at the National Prayer Breakfast before an audience that included President Obama. The pediatric neurosurgeon cut a fearless, straightforward path through health care, taxes and American woes, prompting The Wall Street Journal to run an immediate op-ed titled "Ben Carson for President," declaring that Dr. Carson "may not be politically correct, but he's closer to correct than we've heard in years."

February 14, 2013
Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul (Associated Press) **FILE**

Inside the Beltway: An expensive address

It's a pricey policy landscape. According to National Taxpayers Union Foundation's line-by-line analysis of President Obama's most expensive State of the Union address yet: his 40 proposals weighed in at $83.4 billion worth of quantifiable agenda items. But wait. That could balloon to $100.4 billion, depending on how Mr. Obama deals with the looming sequester March 1.

February 13, 2013
“Star Trek” icon William Shatner’s suggestion of “Vulcan” has made the 13-name ballot for what to name one of Pluto’s two recently found moons. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Fire up the old campaign mobile

Some wonder if President Obama prefers to be in campaign mode rather than tending the home fires -- or putting them out, anyway -- in the nation's capital. There could be truth to that notion this week.

February 12, 2013
Teddy Turner, the conservative son of liberal media mogul Ted Turner, is one of 16 Republicans vying for an open House seat from South Carolina. The party primary is set for March 19. (TEDDY TURNER FOR CONGRESS)

Inside the Beltway: Ted Nugent’s Big Show

The cameras could linger on rock icon, carnivore and gun-rights advocate Ted Nugent when he takes his seat in the House gallery for the State of the Union address on Tuesday, a guest of Rep. Steve Stockman. And the Texas Republican's intent? His communications adviser Donny Ferguson has thoughts on that.

February 11, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, on Tuesday will deliver the tea party’s response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech. “There’s a lot of energy that still comes from the tea party,” he said. (CBS via Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Rand Paul’s moment

Sen. Rand Paul is delivering the grass-roots retort on behalf of the Tea Party Express at the National Press Club, to ensure that the media and the Republican establishment don't write the movement off as "dead," organizers say.

February 10, 2013
Gary E. Johnson, the 2012 Libertarian candidate for president. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Seeking a ground game

Fierce tea party loyalists and traditional conservatives continue to squawk about Karl Rove and "establishment Republicans," convinced that the faction will compromise GOP chances in upcoming elections. Outspoken tea partyers say their grass-roots sensibility is the key to supporting and electing viable candidates.

February 7, 2013
** FILE ** An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan on a moonlit night in January 2010. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Newspapers defend sitting on, publishing U.S. drone stories

For more than year, two of the nation's top news organizations withheld major stories revealing secret details about American drone bases in the Middle East, complying with a request from the Obama administration to withhold the reports. This week, however, the race was on between The New York Times and The Washington Post to spill all the details.

February 7, 2013