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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

President Obama turns to wave to the people on the stage as he speaks June 25, 2012, at Oyster River High School in Durham, N.H. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Footing the bill for Obama in N.H.

Behold, some White House intrigue in New Hampshire: Security for President Obama's campaign stop in Durham on Monday was set to cost the heavily Democratic little town a big fat $20,000. But alas. The president's campaign refused to pick up the tab.

June 25, 2012
** FILE ** In this 2008 photo, faux pirates cruised Tampa's waterfront for the city's Gasparilla festival, which drew about 300,000 people. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Inside the Beltway: Vanity Fare

Uh-oh. When Republicans arrive in Tampa, Fla., for their big, bodacious presidential convention in late August, they'll arrive in a haughty place, perhaps.

June 24, 2012
Rep. Ron Paul, addressing the Texas Republican state convention Thursday in Fort Worth, is looking ahead to the party's national convention in August in Tampa, Fla., where he will have hundreds of bound delegates and other supporters. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Ron Paul’s optimism

Rep. Ron Paul has more or less suspended his presidential campaign, but he has not suspended his hold on political influence, either among his devoted followers or at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

June 7, 2012
The "monumental journalistic achievements" of Andrew Breitbart, who died in March, will be honored Friday with the first Breitbart Awards in Providence, R.I. (Breitbart News)

Inside the Beltway: Scott Walker, instant icon

Scott Walker's Wisconsin victory has bought the governor instant status as a conservative icon of historic stature among the seasoned observers of many a political race. He's a Republican stalwart, they say, a gutsy guy.

June 6, 2012
Nancy Reagan on Tuesday observes the eighth anniversary of the passing of President Reagan after placing flowers at his grave site at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Reagan died June 5, 2004, at age 93. (Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation)

Inside the Beltway: A Reagan reminder

Former first lady Nancy Reagan observed the eighth anniversary of her husband's passing Tuesday, sitting quietly by his grave site before a granite wall inscribed with a quote from Ronald Reagan that articulates the optimism so many Republicans now seek.

June 5, 2012

Inside the Beltway: The Wisconsin spectacle

The media will chronicle the drama, activists will crowd the streets — but Wisconsin's recall election Tuesday could backfire for those pining to wrest Gov. Scott Walker from his office.

June 4, 2012
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, stars in a new video promoting a dinner lottery for two lucky fans of President Obama. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Courting the Vogue voter

Why yes, President Obama has three private fundraisers in New York City on Monday alone, but perhaps none can compare to the most hoity-toity of all his Manhattan money moments, this one scheduled June 14, which is Flag Day, incidentally.

June 3, 2012
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, shown with Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, has tea party support as he faces a recall vote. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: The Badger vote

The tea party understands Wisconsin voters, no matter how many high-powered Democrats show up in the state before the big recall vote on Tuesday.

May 31, 2012
Oliver North cuts his wedding cake in 1968 with his ceremonial sword as his wife looks on. The sword was stolen and returned decades later. (Photograph courtesy Oliver North)

Inside the Beltway: True North

After three decades of searching, Oliver North at last gets the ceremonial sword he received upon his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968.

May 30, 2012

Inside the Beltway: All booked up

President Obama's glittering support in Hollywood on the West Coast is about to be augmented by titans in the book publishing world on the East Coast.

May 29, 2012
Donald Trump is a "bloviating ignoramus" in George F. Will's opinion. Mr. Trump's view of the columnist is similarly unflattering. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Mitt + The Donald = Vegas

A veritable royal flush of Republicans will be in Las Vegas on Tuesday when presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney journeys to Nevada for a pair of private events, one at a local furniture manufacturer, the second at Donald Trump's opulent International Hotel and Tower for a fundraiser where tickets will fetch $2,500 to $10,000.

May 28, 2012
A motorcycle waiting at the Pentagon for the ride into the District features a picture of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and still being held by the Taliban. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Thunder had to roll fast with president

Rolling Thunder made it to the White House this year, but the experience for the motorcycle-riding patriots was more pro forma photo oppportunity than heartfelt meeting with President Obama, the group says.

May 27, 2012
Brandon Parker, the son of Afghanistan War veteran Clifford Parker, is one of many children of disabled or wounded military service members who has attended Camp Corral, a free weeklong summer camp sponsored by the Golden Corral restaurant chain. (Camp Corral)

Inside the Beltway: Campers alert

The summer breeze calls: Children of disabled or wounded military service members still have time to sign up for Camp Corral, a free weeklong summer camp sponsored by the Golden Corral restaurant chain, for ages 8 to 15.

May 27, 2012
President George W. Bush greets Artie Muller, national executive director of Rolling Thunder, and singer Nancy Sinatra at the White House in May 2004. Mr. Muller and Miss Sinatra will again be part of the Memorial Day Rolling Thunder tribute to veterans. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway: Thunderous applause

Inquiring minds want to know: When Rolling Thunder roars through the nation’s capital this weekend, will President Obama meet with the group’s founder and national executive director, Artie Muller, as former President George W. Bush did in years past?

May 24, 2012

Inside the Beltway: Catholics outraged by ignorance from network news

In the wake of a damning Media Research Center report that broadcast news networks afforded a mere 19 seconds of coverage to historic Catholic lawsuits challenging the White House on certain mandates in the health care bill, religious and pro-life leaders have stepped forward to express "outrage" at ABC, CBS and NBC.

May 23, 2012
** FILE ** Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group. (Media Research Center)

Inside the Beltway: Lawsuit, what lawsuit?

Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell has seen a lot of media abuse in his time as the master monitor of the liberal press. Now, he's seen the very worst: The broadcast networks "all but spiked the largest legal action in history to defend our constitutionally protected religious freedom," the analyst says, citing CBS, ABC and NBC for skimming over news that 43 Catholic dioceses and organizations filed a lawsuit Monday against the Obama administration.

May 22, 2012
The "Atlas Shrugged, Part II" T-shirt. (Image from The Strike Productions)

Inside the Beltway: A vial matter

"If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase. ... Any individual, including a President of the United States, should feel confident that once they enter into the care of a medical system their privacy and rights are held inviolable." So says John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, regarding the public auction of a glass vial that contained Ronald Reagan's blood.

May 21, 2012
The high bid so far for a vial that once held a sample of President Reagan's blood and the accompanying lab paperwork is $5,081. (PFC Auctions)

Inside the Beltway: Reagan conjuring up blood money

The bids are lofty for a vial that once held Ronald Reagan's blood, now up for grabs at an online British auction house. At the moment, the leading bid is $5,081 for a 5-inch glass vial with "dried blood residue from President Reagan," drawn from him at George Washington University Hospital after a 1981 assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr.

May 20, 2012
Cities near Tampa, Fla., are hoping to convince some conventioneers to visit and spend money while they're in town for the Republican National Convention. (Republican National Committee)

Inside the Beltway: Vacation with the GOP

It's colossal, it's stupendous: the upcoming Republican National Convention is expected to draw 50,000 election-minded revelers to Tampa, where the eager city council has just opted to allow local bars to remain open until an unheard-of 3 a.m. during the four-day extravaganza at the end of August.

May 17, 2012
A vast majority of Wisconsin Republicans say embattled Gov. Scott Walker "provides strong leadership," among other traits.

Inside the Beltway: Mood swings

Oh woe is us: "The national mood is a drag on President Obama's re-election prospects," according to Gallup poll analyst Lydia Saad, who says that several indicators could prove "troublesome" come November.

May 16, 2012