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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

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe's message to the White House: "Time to get out of the tea party's way." (Photo provided by FreedomWorks)

Inside the Beltway

Blaming the plainspoken tea party and its lawmakers for debt woes and downgrades is a mighty hard sell. Now it's tea partyers' turn to speak.

August 8, 2011
"The downgrade is Wall Street's way of claiming dominance over political jockeying. It would be a mistake for investors to panic," says financial guru Ric Edelman, host of the new PBS show "The Truth About Money." As Mr. Edelman advises, "Knowledgeable, prudent investors must stay the course." (Provided by Ric Edelman)

Inside the Beltway

The aftermath of the Standard & Poor's downgrade of America has become melodramatic, bombastic and intensely politicized. Dire claims that America's exceptionalism is at an end have surfaced, along with partisan vilification.

August 7, 2011
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's planned participation in a prayer event on Saturday has set off come carping. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

Bashing Rick Perry has become real sport in the press. And no wonder. Journalists realize that the Texas governor could impinge on President Obama's re-election efforts and are acting accordingly.

August 4, 2011
ASSOCIATED PRESS Andrew Breitbart didn't doctor a recent video clip. So says Huffington Post in an apology for giving that impression.

Inside the Beltway

Just in case you're wondering, this is President Obama's horoscope on his 50th birthday: "Others are inspired and enthralled by you, magnetized by your aura of glamour.

August 3, 2011
President Clinton celebrates his 50th birthday on Aug. 18, 1996, with a 300-pound American flag cake. President Obama's 50th, being celebrated at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on Wednesday, promises to be equally lavish. (Associated Press)

Inside the Beltway

Will President Obama party like it's 1996? Indeed, his big 50th-birthday bash in Chicago on Wednesday is lavish, crawling with celebrities and fawned over by a prattling press.

August 2, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Among the 10 finalists chosen for the 2011 America's Best Restroom Contest is the Presidential Luxury Restroom Trailer, currently situated in Chantilly and the epitome of commode elegance from the porta-potty geniuses at Don's Johns.

August 1, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Though the debt ceiling debate has ended up a twisted wad of belligerence, at least it has prompted the million-dollar question: Is Congress stuck on stupid or stuck in neutral?

July 31, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Oh, those dastardly Republicans. Why, they're behind all this debt ceiling nonsense, right? Powerful broadcasters would have it so, and have dutifully cast the Grand Old Party as the villain of the debt debate, and one deemed unworthy of meaningful coverage.

July 28, 2011
Jane Fonda might not like what her legacy turns out to be.

Inside the Beltway

Alas, poor Jane. When home shopping network QVC canceled a July 16 appearance to promote "Primetime," her new book on aging, Jane Fonda took to her blog, complaining that the broadcaster had capitulated to "well funded and organized political extremist groups" still unhappy with her 1972 visit to North Vietnam.

July 27, 2011

Inside the Beltway

"The last time we saw a tie this green, it was on a leprechaun: The only thing missing on Boehner's versions are small, embroidered dollar signs."

July 26, 2011

Inside the Beltway

"A strong public interest exists in knowing whether the executive in charge of the nations most-watched cable newschannel is acting as a political consultant to a prospective Republican presidential candidate. As journalists, plaintiffs may properly assert that public interest as a basis for obtaining these records."

July 25, 2011

Inside the Beltway

In their quest to prevail, politicians spar with strategic sound bites, then pray for good press. But what about their sartorial demeanor? Canny politicos should also be aware that a power suit renaissance is under way. The inspiration? We're talking old school suits with vests, pleated pants, substantial tie and wide lapels once sported by the likes of Michael Douglas as he portrayed Gordon Gekko in the original "Wall Street," movie. Yes, in 1987.

July 24, 2011

Inside the Beltway

And now for a reality check: "Muslim and Western publics continue to largely agree that relations between them are poor and disagree about who is at fault — Muslims largely blame Westerners, while those in the West generally blame Muslims."

July 21, 2011
Radio host and columnist Armstrong Williams. (Image courtesy of New Chapter Publisher)

Inside the Beltway

"The virtue of the Sabbath, honoring the sanctity of life, reclaiming fatherhood, reclaiming motherhood, marriage and family, physiology of success, truth and its rewards, conscientious objection, the morality of race, the virtue of capitalism, the virtue of saving, moving towards a virtuous civilization."

July 20, 2011
UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose says he offers "scientific proof" that the press has a liberal bias in his new book "Left Turn — How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind." (image courtesy of Tim Groseclose.com)

Inside the Beltway

He's got "scientific proof" that the press skews left. That would be Tim Groseclose, political science professor at UCLA, who reveals all in his new book, "Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind."

July 19, 2011
Talk radio host Michael Savage's first fiction novel is a "lightning-fast, high intensity thriller debut," according to the publisher's description. "Abuse of Power" will be released by St. Martin's Press on Sept. 13. (St. Martin's Press)

Inside the Beltway

Who's buying into White House scare tactics? Not Republicans, and not tea partyers either, says a new Pew Research Center poll gauging public reaction to President Obama's predictions that certain doom looms if the debt ceiling isn't raised by Aug. 2. Oh, the drama.

July 18, 2011
The Sarah Palin biopic "The Undefeated" had a respectable opening in 10 theaters during a weekend test engagement, and wider distribution will follow later this month, a spokesman for distributor ARC Entertainment says. (Victory Film Group)

Inside the Beltway

"The Undefeated," an independent film chronicling the political career of Sarah Palin, got a test run in 10 midsize theaters over the weekend, accompanied by shrill news coverage claiming the public was absent from the screenings, the critics vicious, the reception chilly. The truth: The movie had a respectable showing, and a wider distribution is planned later this month.

July 17, 2011

Inside the Beltway

Donald Trump believes that the federal deficit and the turmoil it engenders is no mere quagmire, it is an abyss. So says Michael Cohen, special counsel to the billionaire real estate tycoon who still appears to have a calling to re-join the 2012 presidential race.

July 14, 2011
The Nation's Capitol now has an official "native" cocktail - the Rickey, invented locally in 1883, now celebrated with proclamation and fancy plaque. (Image courtesy of Laughingcocktail.com)

Inside the Beltway

While lawmakers argue and the White House cringes, consider that the nation's capital now has an official, "native" cocktail. Oh well, why not? D.C. Council member Jack Evans will issue an official proclamation Thursday, naming the "Rickey" as D.C.'s very own libation, and declaring July to be "Rickey Month."

July 13, 2011

Inside the Beltway

He's persistent, that's for sure. Al Gore will not let go of his climate crisis and is couching his alarmist arguments about global warming with a new twist.

July 12, 2011