Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement
Author profile
Jennifer Harper

Jennifer Harper

jharper@washingtontimes.com

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

Articles by Jennifer Harper

An effort to designate the American bison the National Mammal of the United States has drawn bipartisan support, led by a Missouri Democrat and a Nebraska Republican. It currently has the support of four congressmen and 17 senators. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The answer-free White House continues

The answer-free White House continues: President Obama now has gone eight weeks without holding a formal press conference. Maybe it’s because he’s just too busy on the campaign trail. Maybe it’s because voters are paying close attention.

August 16, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden gives two thumbs up Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, during a rally at the Durham Armory in Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Travis Long)

Inside the Beltway: Top secret

This is sure to confuse the National Organization for Women, not to mention Democratic strategists who want to tout President Obama's support for women's rights. What follows may not be part of the thinking, perhaps. GoTopless, a Las Vegas organization "dedicated to attaining women's rights to go bare-chested," is petitioning the Obama administration to recognize their "rights" as International GoTopless Day looms. It's Aug. 26, a date the group chose to coincide with Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the attainment of women's voting rights Aug. 26, 1920.

August 15, 2012
President Obama visits Cookie Smith at the CinnieSmiths cinnamon miniroll stand at the Iowa State Fair Monday in Des Moines during a three-day state tour. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The right equation

Along with his policy prowess and campaign cachet, Rep. Paul Ryan has another factor working for him as Mitt Romney's choice as running mate. Chemistry. That's what's implied, at least.

August 14, 2012
The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List will visit 30 cities in five swing states with the message that “abortion is not health care.” (Susan B. Anthony List)

Inside the Beltway: The big squawk

The moment Rep. Paul Ryan became Mitt Romney's running mate, high-profile Democrats and progressives joined in a unified public chorus insisting that Mr. Ryan and his policies are extreme in nature, and oh, woe to the Republican Party for embracing him.

August 13, 2012
The Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan campaign has already branded itself as “America’s Comeback Team.” (Romney for President, Inc.)

Inside the Beltway: The Hollywood script

He may have matinee idol looks and the hard body of an action hero, but Mitt Romney's newly cast running mate is already sending shudders through Hollywood.

August 12, 2012
Fit for the feisty: a new shirt for the "We are the Future" rally for Rep. Ron Paul in Tampa on August 26. (Image from the Ron Paul Presidential Committee)

Inside the Beltway: Tea party war drums

It's no mere movement anymore as the political campaign escalates. The "tea party army" has emerged, and organizers are framing their activities in near dire terms.

August 9, 2012
There are nine current and former governors scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention but Sarah Palin isn’t one of them. The press is eager to frame the situation as a mystery, an allegory, a rift among Republicans. (Houston Chronicle via Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The Palin mystery

There are nine governors and former governors set to entertain the Grand Old Party when the Republican National Convention gets rolling in Tampa, Fla. a mere 17 days from now. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — despite her vigorous message, cool shoes, Supergirl T-shirt, and knack for transfixing any and all media — is not on the roster. Yet.

August 8, 2012
Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio will be Mitt Romney’s running mate, some taking bets believe. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Veep madness

Wide-eyed and salivating, hundreds of journalists dream of being the chosen one who breaks the news of Mitt Romney's choice for a running mate, even before word goes out on his campaign's fancy new "Who will be Mitt's VP?" phone app.

August 7, 2012
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, one of the many Tinseltown backers of President Obama’s re-election bid, has “outsourced” film work on movies supposedly set in the United States to Canada, Britain, Italy, New Zealand and Mexico. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Not in the script

"The president's top celebrity supporters have benefited from outsourcing, Hollywood-style," says ABC News political correspondent Jon Karl, who points out that President Obama's uber-fundraisers in Tinseltown regularly shoot movies that are supposedly set in the U.S. in overseas locations, rather than on American soil.

August 6, 2012
Rep. Scott E. Rigell called the helicopter crash Aug. 6, 2011, that killed 25 members of Navy SEAL Team 6 “the most serious and heaviest loss of life for our SEAL community.” (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Remembering August 6

"A most sobering anniversary: August 6. It marks the most serious and heaviest loss of life for our SEAL community in their illustrious service to our country," says Rep. Scott E. Rigell, who reminds the nation of the helicopter crash one year ago in the Wardak province of Afghanistan that killed 25 members of Navy SEAL Team 6, along with five U.S. Army National Guard and Army Reserve crewmen, one civilian interpreter, seven Afghan commandos and a military working dog.

August 5, 2012
Republican presidential hopeful, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at the Pizza Ranch restaurant, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, in Manchester, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Inside the Beltway: Perryfied

The bodacious victory of Ted Cruz in the Texas Republican primary has somehow fired up Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose own right-hand man lost to Mr. Cruz on Tuesday by 14 fat percentage points. But the ever-canny Mr. Perry has ridden the Cruz victory like a bronco, tamed his own presidential disappointment and framed the Lone Star State in heroic terms.

August 1, 2012
Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, doesn’t want the GOP to forget he’s still a candidate for president, so he has told his staff to offer financial assistance to get “pro-liberty delegates” who can’t afford the cost of travel and lodging to the convention in Tampa, Fla. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Ron Paul’s not done yet

The dedicated fans of Rep. Ron Paul are determined to make a big noise at the Republican National Convention, and the Texas Republican is raising money to get them there.

July 31, 2012
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Charles Grassley of Iowa celebrated their first “Meat Monday” this week with 52 orders from Hill Country Barbecue in the District. The savory indulgence came in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraging its employees to boycott meat on Mondays. (Courtesy Sen. John Cornyn)

Inside the Beltway: Red meat politics

Those lawmakers had a beef: Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Charles Grassley of Iowa have celebrated their first "Meat Monday," intent on providing a savory comeuppance to the U.S. Department of Agriculture after it encouraged its employees to boycott meat on Mondays, just to be all nice and eco-conscious.

July 30, 2012
Lech Walesa and his fellow Polish countrymen are preparing a warm welcome for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in what is billed as the “anti-Obama tour.” (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The Polish Connection

Certain powerful voting blocs will track Mitt Romney's goodwill visit to Poland on Monday with keen interest: A very friendly audience awaits him in that nation, along with some potential election benefits.

July 29, 2012
** FILE ** This July 26, 2012, file photo shows Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Drumstick politics

Deep-fried controversy continues: "Chick-fil-A Day" looms Wednesday, organized by Mike Huckabee and some 219,000 fans of the embattled restaurant chain after its CEO Dan Cathy condemned gay marriage, prompting multiple boycotts and much political posturing.

July 26, 2012
There will be a private screening in D.C. on Wednesday for “2016: Obama’s America,” a documentary produced by Hollywood heavyweight Gerald Molen. It opens to the public Friday. (Rocky Mountain Pictures)

Inside the Beltway: ‘2016’ arrives in Washington

There's a low-key advance screening of "2016: Obama's America" in the nation's capital Wednesday night. The documentary film opens nationwide Friday, providing an alarming vision of the life in the U.S., should President Obama be re-elected and his particular "dream" replace that of the Founding Fathers.

July 24, 2012
Gary Johnson

Inside the Beltway: Gary Johnson’s White House hopes ‘a matter of karma’

Hey, Gary E. Johnson's still standing, still touring: the Libertarian presidential hopeful, in fact, is quite cheerful these days, having drawn 5 percent of the national vote in multiple polls. The phenomenon has prompted Mr. Johnson to insist he be included in presidential debates with President Obama and Mitt Romney, which begin Oct 3.

July 23, 2012
Led by Reps. Trent Franks and Heath Shuler, the bipartisan International Religious Freedom Caucus seeks to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the Arab world. (Image from International Religious Freedom Caucus)

Inside the Beltway: In God they trust

The crowd stood below a monumental eagle and the words "In God We Trust" at a gathering recently in the grand foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building to address a visceral but oft neglected issue on Capitol Hill: religious freedom.

July 22, 2012