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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

Inside the Beltway

Jennifer Harper's Inside the Beltway column is on hiatus until Jan. 4.

December 25, 2011
AW-W-W: 58 percent of Republicans and 47 percent of Democrats in the Washington area "believe in Santa and the magic of Christmas" says a WTOP poll. (AP photo)

Inside the Beltway

The Republican presidential hopefuls are essentially taking 72 hours off for Christmas, after months of ceaseless voter wooing, punctuated by big debates, grand gaffes and a shrill press.

December 22, 2011
Financial whiz Ric Edelman and BET founder and business man Robert Johnson talk up "business solutions to social problems." (image from 3 Roads Communications)

Inside the Beltway

It's boot the Newt time: All those predictions that Republican presidential hopeful and polling darling Newt Gingrich would face a shrill gauntlet of critics before the Iowa primaries are coming true.

December 21, 2011
** FILE ** In this Feb. 4, 2011, file photo, former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin speaks at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. (AP Photo/Spencer Weiner, File)

Inside the Beltway

Journalists may scorn Sarah Palin, but they love covering her; it is sport, and the press went into full cry once Fox Business News leaked a Monday night interview with Mrs. Palin in which she revealed that, yes, "it's never too late" for candidates to jump into the 2012 race, adding "things can be shaken up ... who knows what will happen?"

December 19, 2011
Ronald Reagan historian Craig Shirley's book "December 1942: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World" has made The New York Times bestseller list. (Image from Thomas Nelson)

Inside the Beltway

Election fatigue: Seven out of 10 Americans can't wait for the 2012 presidential campaign to be over, preferring to "fast-forward" to the end, says Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones.

December 18, 2011
Just in time for the remaining presidential debates and upcoming primaries: the lives of Republican hopefuls, as told in graphic-style comic books. (images from Bluewater Productions)

Inside the Beltway

Newt Gingrich may want to start courting a voting bloc that could prove to be a sleeping giant in his campaign: the over-55 crowd.

December 15, 2011
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is taking Iowa by storm in the final weeks leading up to the Republican presidential caucuses.

Inside the Beltway

The College Republican National Committee is poised to outdo the Occupy Wall Street crowd during the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in February.

December 14, 2011
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, one of several ex-members of Congress to become a successful lobbyist, is shown in this 2011 file photo. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Inside the Beltway

"This is going to be tough. But I just want to remind all of you that you didn't decide to support Barack Hussein Obama because it was going to be easy."

December 13, 2011
Radio host Michael Savage. ** FILE **

Inside the Beltway

In less than half an hour, Michael Savage's hair-raising proposal drew close to 7,000 mentions on Google News: The syndicated radio host declared presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich "unelectable" Monday afternoon and offered him $1 million to drop out of the White House race.

December 12, 2011
The Obama for America campaign to re-elect President Obama has mastered its official merchandising — including Joe Biden can coolers and Obama-themed gift wrap so popular that it currently is out of stock. (Image from barackobama.com)

Inside the Beltway

It's colossal, it's stupendous: The official "Obama for America" campaign store far exceeds any merchandising efforts among Republican presidential hopefuls.

December 11, 2011
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has campaigned for his preferred GOP presidential hopeful this week in Iowa, whose caucuses are set for Jan. 3. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

The Iowa caucuses are a mere 600 hours away — give or take few minutes — a fact that weighs heavily on a half-dozen Republican presidential hopefuls as they meet Saturday night for debate No. 14 in Des Moines.

December 8, 2011
** FILE ** Texas Gov. Rick Perry addresses the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates Forum, hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Washington. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." - Rick Perry

December 7, 2011
** FILE ** In this Dec. 1, 2011, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a meeting with employees at Nationwide Insurance in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Inside the Beltway

Newt Gingrich rules the Republican presidential pantheon for now, leading archrival Mitt Romney 37 percent to 22 percent in a new Gallup poll of GOP voters, with all other candidates foundering in single digits.

December 6, 2011
Wichita, Kan., Mayor Carl Brewer (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

One spectacle ends, another always follows on the Republican campaign trail: now let the Trump-bashing begin. Billionaire, reality-TV star, talking head and perennial presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to vex those who say his persistent presence in serious politics could gum up the Grand Old Party.

December 5, 2011
The president will travel Tuesday to Osawatomie, Kan., where in August 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave a famous speech 17 months after leaving the White House. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

To Trump, or not to Trump: indeed, presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich huddles with billionaire Donald Trump in Manhattan for a time on Monday, a stop made by most of his rivals in months past. Mr. Trump himself has emerged as the newest Republican kingmaker, emerging as moderator for a newly minted debate hosted by Newsmax in Iowa at month's end that may or may not include the phrases "you're fired" or "I'm declaring my candidacy for president."

December 4, 2011
Mike Huckabee promises "no 'gotcha' stuff" when he hosts a live forum Saturday night for six of the Republican presidential candidates. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

It's politics, perhaps, around the proverbial cracker barrel: Mike Huckabee intends to retool the presidential debates in his own fashion when he stages a live forum on Fox News for six of the Republican hopefuls on Saturday night.

December 1, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Indeed, the official Christmas theme at the White House this year is the cozy but generic "Shine, Give, Share," but never fear, there is still a nativity scene among the many decorations, a spokesman tells Inside the Beltway.

November 30, 2011

Inside the Beltway

A Public Religion Research Institute survey released in June found that six out of 10 Americans say elected officials should be held to a higher moral standard than everyone else. But financial sins are worse than the sexual variety, apparently.

November 29, 2011
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee's official "Take Back the White House" Christmas tree ornament is among the holiday offerings at gopstore.com.

Inside the Beltway

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is more like Ronald Reagan than any of his rivals, according to a new survey of Republican voters in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire - an indicator that could reveal the power of nostalgia, not to mention the emotionally charged leanings of skittish conservatives.

November 28, 2011
Fans who fondly recall CNBC analyst Rick Santelli's on-camera outburst in 2009 declaring the dawn of a "Chicago tea party" now want him to run for president. (draftsantelliforpresident2012.com)

Inside the Beltway

The hawkish charms and institutional knowledge of presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich are besting the perfect hair and stately mien of rival Mitt Romney among those alarmed by the edgy state of things.

November 27, 2011