George Allen: Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank is a no-brainer

By George Allen
The Washington Examiner, April 25, 2014
Cross-posted at LynnRMitchell.com

Today, exports are more important than ever to American businesses, manufacturers, and the overall strength of our nation's economy. With 95 percent of the world's consumers living outside the United States, many companies can be more successful if they are able to expand and thrive in the global marketplace.

With that in mind, it seems like an easy call to support reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank -- one of the hottest topics in Washington right now.

The Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal organization that has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, as it has been highly successful in helping American companies export goods since 1934. In fact, just last year the bank facilitated $37 billion of exports, thereby bolstering about 205,000 U.S. jobs.

However, some Republican members of Congress have expressed hesitation in supporting this proven booster for private-sector U.S. jobs. While it has become easy to make a habit of criticizing policies of the current administration, this is an organization that is to be commended, not condemned. After all, what's more Republican than an entity that spurs American business and jobs, while helping to reduce the federal deficit at no cost to taxpayers? That's exactly what the Ex-Im Bank does, and American companies rely on it to survive in hypercompetitive foreign markets in which governments unfairly prop up and heavily subsidize their own nation's companies.

I believe it's important to remember that President Ronald Reagan supported the Ex-Im Bank. When Reagan signed the reauthorization in 1986, extending the bank's charter for six years, he noted that it “sends an important signal to both our exporting community and foreign suppliers that American exporters will continue to be able to compete vigorously for business throughout the world.”

Reagan’s message still rings true today.

Read more at the Washington Examiner.

George Allen was Republican governor of Virginia from 1994-98 and represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 2001-07.

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 ... have we forgotten?

Today is December 7th ... Pearl Harbor Day.

December 7, 1941 ... 72 years ago America suffered the worst attack ever on our soil at the hands of the Japanese who conducted a sneak attack on our Naval base in Hawaii. It was, in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "a date which will live in infamy."

Or so we thought.

Sixty years later, on September 11, 2001, America came under an even larger attack on our soil and it wasn't on an island in the South Pacific. It was right here on the mainland.  America was attacked in New York City and Pennsylvania and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. More people died that day than in 1941. The big difference was that they were civilians.

Have Americans forgotten Pearl Harbor? Most who are alive to remember are now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Many of the survivors have passed away ... the rest are increasingly in frail health.

How on God's green earth do we expect people to remember Pearl Harbor, an event that happened 72 years ago, when many have already forgotten the terror from 9/11 that occurred just a short 12 years ago? Have Americans lost their resolve? Their will? Their courage? Their honor? Their willingness to stand up for the home front?

Have we forgotten how to pull together in the face of adversity and in the face of the rest of the world? Have we allowed the worldview, politically correct elitists to so tie our hands so that we aren't even willing to stand up anymore for what we believe in?

Roy Martin, former President of the Navy League's Richmond chapter, wrote an historical background to the Pearl Harbor attack in his article, "Pearl Harbor Remembered: Attack pulled the U.S. Into WW II," published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on 12/6/06, and commented:

"Sadly, too many Americans today don't recognize, much less remember, what happened, nor how it changed our lives, our country, and the world forever."

I believe that statement could also be applied to 9/11.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, former head of the British internal security agency M15, addressed terrorism in a speech in 2006 where she stressed the continued worldwide terrorist threat, and warned that it began well before 9/11/01:

"We now know that the first al-Qaida-related plot against the U.K. was the one we discovered and disrupted in November 2000 in Birmingham. A British citizen is currently serving a long prison sentence for plotting to detonate a large bomb...."

She said M15 knew of 200 terrorist networks consisting of over 1,600 identified individuals who were actively engaged in terrorism throughout the world and added:

"In the years after 9/11, with atrocities taking place in Madrid, Casablanca, Bali, Istanbul, and elsewhere, terrorists plotted to mount a string of attacks in the U.K., but were disrupted. This run of domestic success was interrupted tragically in London in July 2005. Since then, the combined efforts of [British intelligence agencies] have thwarted a further five major conspiracies in the U.K., saving many hundreds (possibly even thousands) of lives...."

But in the U.S. we hear the cynics and doubters who beat the constant negative drum against surveillance of suspected terrorists, against our military, and against America, yet terrorist attacks take place around the world and attempts at destruction continue on American soil.

My parents were part of that World War II greatest generation that stepped forward to defend the homeland in 1941, ordinary Americans who went to war. Many did not return. My mother's brother was killed in France while serving with the U.S. Army. My Navy father was on the USS Wisconsin in the South Pacific. Americans who remained at home did their part with victory gardens, rationing, and rallying the patriotic spirit of the country. Americans as a whole sacrificed for the common good.

The Greatest Generation is now aging ... grandparents who were young men and women during the years of 1941-45 and who are now passing away at the rate of over 1,000 per day. They worked as a team ... they helped preserve freedom for the world.

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 ... have we forgotten?

Originally published in the Washington Examiner by Lynn R. Mitchell.

Strong opposition to government shutdown includes Republicans

The first paragraph of Byron York's article in the Washington Examiner says it all:

"A new poll done for Republican members of Congress has found huge public opposition, and solid opposition among Republicans, to the idea of shutting down the government over the issue of funding Obamacare."

An overwhelming 71 percent of Americans do not want a repeat of 1995 when Republicans shut down the government for three weeks. Even 61 percent of Republican women don't want to see Republicans go through with such a plan.

For those who were not paying attention in 1995 when the GOP shut down the government, it wasn't pretty. Google it. Or listen to the voices of experiences who have been there and done that, like Senator Saxby Chambliss, 69, and Joe Scarborough who was a congressman at the time.

Now a poll, commissioned by Republicans, is confirming that a shutdown will not bode well for the GOP. Will those "show horses" of the U.S. Senate, as the New York Times called Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida, continue to push for it?

Byron York, like others, can look at this poll and read the tea leaves:

"But there is no doubt defunding advocates anticipate a possible shutdown; their hope is to persuade the public to blame President Obama, and not Republicans, for it. The new numbers suggest they will have a lot of persuading to do."

It brings to mind once again American philosopher George Santayana's much-quoted belief, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." Hopefully, GOP leadership and experienced voices will be able to stop the proposed fallacy.

Washington Examiner streamlines site

Check out the new and improved Washington Examiner

Everything you know and like about our coverage of politics and policy is still here — it’s just better than ever. - Stephen G. Smith, Editor

On Monday they rolled out the new, streamlined site:

We've redesigned our site to improve your digital experience by expanding our award-winning reporting and commentary on national politics and issues.

The navigation is smarter so you can get where you want to go faster. Breaking news and daily updates are front and center, where they belong. We've made it easier to find our most popular sections - including Beltway Confidential - as well as new features such as Data, which you can customize to learn more about elected representatives and bills. It's all designed to better serve your passion for being where you want to be - in the know.

Ox-Eye Vineyards offers wine tastings and fun in downtown Staunton

A hidden gem to Staunton is being discovered by visitors as well as locals. On Saturday we joined friends for the Sears Hill Bridge dedication in downtown Staunton and enjoyed lunch at the Clocktower Restaurant before walking to the Ox-Eye Vineyards Tasting Room on Middlebrook Avenue. The day was beautiful so we sat outdoors on the patio and enjoyed a tasting and glasses of award-winning wine from Ox-Eye Vineyards.

Ox-Eye Vineyards Tasting Room is located in the Historic Wharf District of downtown Staunton in a 1904 building designed by noted architect T.J. Collins. After sitting vacant for years, it was carefully and tastefully renovated by the Kiers.

Congratulations to homeschool friends and owners John and Susan Kiers who were recently named by the Washington Post as one of the mid-Atlantic top ten wineries to check out. Their focus is crafting high quality, food-friendly wines from grapes best suited to the soil and climate of the Augusta County farm in Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

The view out the upstairs window was of the Wharf parking area that had been crowded earlier in the day with vendors and guests at the Staunton-Augusta Farmers Market.

My favorite wines were the Ox-Eye Riesling and White Ox and, while I'm usually a Riesling girl, the White Ox was a tad sweeter and went home with me ... but I'll be back for a bottle of the Riesling next time.

The tasting menu provided a road map while navigating through the variety of wines. 

In the past the building now housing the tasting room had served as an office for a coal and lumber business. Later it was a scale house for horse-drawn coal wagons. Where the covered patio now provides tables for visitors to enjoy wine and the outdoors, the loaded wagons would pull up through the covered archway to be weighed by the Fairbanks scale.

 The building eventually became a sales room for the Fultz Lumber Company, the last business to occupy the site. After it closed, the building sat vacant for many years before the Kiers began renovation in 2010 and opened in 2011. 

Ox-Eye has had lots of favorable reviews, and includes a link to a Washington Examiner story, "Will Hot, Dry Weather Make 2010 a Good Year for Virginia Wines," that I wrote in 2010 about the hot, dry weather and its affect on grapes at Ox-Eye Vineyards. 

Ox-Eye Vineyards Tasting Room is a great place to join friends for a glass of wine and to hear local musical entertainment or catch art showings by local artists like the one going on right now featuring Jeffrey Stockberger upstairs, and Cheryl Gerhart downstairs.

See you at the Ox.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell

April 13, 2013

2012 Highland Maple Festival starts this weekend

That's my child bonding with a sheep.

By Lynn R. Mitchell 
Cross-posted at the Washington Examiner....

It's known as Virginia's Switzerland, this southern-most location for gathering maple syrup, and it's right here in our back yard. Just 45 miles west of Staunton, Highland County hosts its 54th annual Maple Festival the next two weekends, March 10-11 and March 17-18.

Make plans to meander back roads, stuff yourself with pancakes drenched with locally-made maple syrup, or fill up on maple chicken. Be entertained by cloggers and bluegrass bands while enjoying fresh maple donuts made by the local Ruritans, check out the many crafts, take in the beauty of this rural setting populated with sheep and cattle, and relax. Slow down. Breathe the cold, fresh mountain air.



Known as one of the premier events of the South, this tiny county tucked away in the western-most part of Virginia will play host to more than 40,000 visitors interested in seeing how maple sugar is gathered from the numerous sugar maple trees and made into syrup. It's also lambing season so watch for little ones frolicking in the fields. Highland County's high elevations and abundance of sugar maple trees, along with the cold nights and warm days of March, make the perfect combination for maple sugaring. Be sure to carry coats and gloves because it's still winter in the mountains.

Maple sugar camps welcome visitors as they boil down the sugar water collected from trees into various grades of syrup. Some use the old way of tapping into trees and hanging metal buckets to collect the oozing sugar water while others have updated to use rubber tubing running from trees to collection points. Folks working the fires and evaporation process are happy to answer questions and explain what they are doing.

Although there are a number of sugar camps in Highland, one of my favorites is Eagle's located in Doe Hill. For those who want to avoid the crowded streets of McDowell and Monterey, Eagle's Camp is easily accessible. Nestled in the woods and looking like a mountain camp, this family-owned operation has been in business for 200 years. The family members who run it still gather sugar water the old-fashioned way ... by tapping trees and attaching buckets ... while also using updated methods. Inside the rustic buildings are evaporating units which are wood-fired to boil down the sap. There is also a recently added sales area for purchasing maple products as well as local crafts. Outdoors is a snack area that sells lunch items as well as maple donuts, and picnic tables that set along the mountain stream in the woods offer an opportunity to enjoy not only freshly-bought goodies but also the beautiful mountain scenery.

Another favorite is Tim Duff at Duff's Sugar House south of Monterey who is happy to explain the old ways of maple sugaring that he keeps alive complete with authentic equipment and acres of land covered in sugar maple trees. A friendly man who smiles and welcomes visitors into the sugaring shed, he encourages hands-on participation and seems to enjoy the curiosity of visitors who are genuinely interested in what he is doing. Some wonder why he works so hard when others are using newer methods. His syrup is pure and, because he cannot make the quantities of those using more sophisticated methods, it sells out quickly each day of the festival. On previous visits he had just sold his last pint but had samples available to show the good taste of his product. Last year, however, we arrived early enough to buy some of his pure maple syrup. Rob Hedelt with Fredericksburg.com has a good article about Duff and the process of sugaring the old-fashioned way.

While maple syrup is the main draw, other events are offered throughout the festival including Civil War reenactors camped at the McDowell museum to provide living history with a peek at army camp life and demonstrations about baking and camping.

Hungry visitors will find trout, maple chicken, and ham dinners as well as pancakes, maple donuts, funnel cakes, chili, lamb kebobs, hamburgers, hotdogs, and much more located at venues set up throughout the area. Restaurants bustle with customers looking for a place to get out of the cold.

Staying in Highland helps avoid traffic backups on the narrow mountain roads. The Victorian Highland Inn, located in downtown Monterey, was built in 1904 and still opens its doors to overnight visitors as well as those who want to enjoy its dining room. Rooms are booking fast but there are still places to stay in Highland as well as nearby Staunton.

Maps of the area are readily available by downloading or at locations in Highland. It's easy to find your way around and people are eager to help if you lose your way.

Getting there is easy: Take I-81 to Staunton Exit 225 (Holiday Inn). Turn south onto Rt. 262 (bypass) and follow to Rt. 250. Exit onto Rt. 250 and turn right (west) toward Monterey. The drive will go through Churchville, Deerfield, over Shenandoah Mountain (see the Confederate Breastworks at the overlook on top), and into Highland County.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell

Links to my photos from 2011 Highland Maple Festival:
- The back roads
- More back roads
- Doors and windows of Monterey
- Back Creek Farms maple syrup
- Duff's Sugar House at Fair Lawn Farm
- Walk of Honor to thank U.S. veterans
- Arts and crafts
- Church
- Farm for sale
- Lambing season
- Highland Inn
- Maple donuts by Mill Gap Ruritans
- Monterey
- McDowell
- Driving over Shenandoah Mountain
- Duff's Sugar House ... pure maple syrup
- Confederate breastworks at Shenandoah Mountain
- Historic Buckhorn Inn ... Augusta County

Hey, Wall Street protesters ... get a job, already!

David Freddoso, the Washington Examiner's online opinion editor, has written an open letter to the protesters currently causing chaos in New York City as they protest Wall Street and the fact that, you know, people and corporations actually make money to keep this country going.

When interviewed by a reporter, one youthful protester was asked if she would take a job if a CEO walked up at that moment and offered it. "No way!" she disdainfully retorted.

And therein is the crux of the problem.

Freddoso's letter, that has generated over 150 comments so far, begins:

You are not 99 percent of America. I don't mean that in the obvious numerical sense. If 99 percent of Americans had actually joined your march, Manhattan would have flipped over by now.

What I mean is that if 99 percent of Americans actually sympathized with your cause, the entire nation's economy would have collapsed long ago -- apparently to the delight of the organizers of this current protest.

What I mean to say is, you have a marketing problem.

When you decided to sit in traffic and block the Brooklyn Bridge a few days ago, with that blazing pink "SMASH PATRIARCHY-SMASH CAPITALISM" sign in hand, you probably didn't see the regular people you stranded in traffic.

You know, the ones with real-world concerns, business to attend to, families to go home to, et cetera. You may have read about such people during college in a book called "The Petit Bourgeoisie," or something like that. Many of us grew up calling them "the middle class."

Whatever you call them, they are hurting badly in this economy, probably more than you are. (I'm just judging by that sweet digital video camera I see you holding out in front of the cops, in hopes of provoking them into a viral-video police brutality incident.)

Those people you left stuck in traffic have a hard time paying their bills and rents and health insurance and mortgages. They worry about things like finding decent schools for their children to attend and making sure they don't get fired at work, and fixing leaking roofs and chimneys.

You know what they don't worry about, ever? Smashing patriarchy and capitalism.

You have to read the rest of his letter ... he nails it.

Shaun Kenney, Bearing Drift contributor and Fluvanna County supervisor, came up with a list of thirteen counter-demands  that he calls the "Restore America Movement." Included are such radical -- gasp! -- suggestions as restoration of the free market, tort reform, and personal responsibility.

While the protesters proclaim themselves "the 99 percent," Redstate's Erick Erickson responds, "If you want to see how foolish these people are, consider their demands, which range from nuts to pure insanity." His accompanying photo, mimicking the protesters, notes, "I am the 53% subsidizing you so you can hang out on Wall Street and complain."

With unemployment over 9%, many are concerned that America is not creating jobs and that subsidies are growing by leaps and bounds on the backs of hard-working Americans who were raised to work hard, pay their bills on time, buy a house, raise their families, and help their neighbors. Why aren't there more jobs in our country at this time?

A clue may be found in the current leadership at the White House. "You don’t have some inherent right just to– you know, get a certain amount of profit," is what President Barack Obama told George Stephanoupolos in a recent interview. Indeed, one of the protester demands is $20-an-hour minimum wage for everyone, whether working or unemployed. No problem worrying about a profit with that kind of mismanagement.

So the New York protests continue for a third week. How many people with a mortgage hanging over their heads can afford to take three weeks out of their lives to hang out on the street and hold a protest sign? How many people even have three weeks of vacation to frivolously fritter away? How many people would want to fritter away their vacation in such squalor instead of heading for the mountains or the beach?

As a matter of fact, how many of those hard-working Americans are even paying attention to this kindergarten charade? The ones stuck in already-horrific New York City traffic are ticked off at youthful shenanigans that block the streets and bridges, and the rest of America is going about the business of earning a living.

Hey, Wall Street protesters, get a job, already!

Cross-posted at Bearing Drift

Victory! Fluvanna blogger vindicated for use of county seal

Fluvanna County supervisors were wrong when they passed an ordinance preventing a local blogger from using the county seal. A federal judge ruled that 23-year-old Bryan Rothamel’s First Amendment rights were violated.

It was a bizarre case to begin with -- after all, don't the citizens of a county "own" the seal, not the supervisors? Alerted by Shaun Kenney, a long-time blogger, Bearing Drift colleague, and vice chairman of the board of supervisors, the Rutherford Institute stepped in to defend what appeared to be clearly a First Amendment violation.

In January I wrote in the Washington Examiner:

It all began when a local blogger, 23-year-old Bryan Rothamel who writes The FLUCO Blog, used the county seal on articles he wrote to keep the community updated about supervisor meetings, activities, and decisions. The problem, according to the supervisors, was that he didn't have permission to use the county seal to illustrate those posts and, they added, he was using the seal to "advertise his product."

To rememdy the problem, in September the board made it a Class 1 misdemeanor to violate the law punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500, noting that "[n]o person, entity or organization shall exhibit, display, or in any manner utilize the seal or any copy, replication, facsimile or representation of the seal, . . ., unless such use shall have been expressly authorized by the board of supervisors."

Kenney was the lone vote against the new law, according to Tasha Cates at the The Daily Progress:

[Kenney] said that he thinks the ordinance was a “remedial action” against the blogger for writing something that a supervisor didn’t agree with.

“This seems like a simple First Amendment, slam dunk, common sense situation,” Kenney said. “I’m still appalled, with all of the other issues facing us in Fluvanna County, that somehow we chose to focus on this.”

Now Charlottesville's Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization, has come in to represent the blogger, filing a lawsuit on his behalf as noted by their president on the website:

"Criminalizing First Amendment activities is a grotesque violation of our constitutional right to free expression," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Government officials should know better. Such censorship has no place in a free society."

Was Mr. Rothamel singled out by the supervisors? Other news organizations routinely use the county seal when writing about Fluvanna.

Read more from Sharon C. Fitzgerald's updated article at The Daily Progress.


Cross-posted at Bearing Drift

Energy poll at Washington Examiner

The Washington Examiner has an energy poll with some interesting results. Well, maybe the results are to be expected since the WaEx is primarily a conservative online newspaper.

The question: "Should the US subsidize solar and wind energy?"

The results:

- Yes 6%
- No 93%
- Not sure 1%

Go on over and take the poll yourself.

Washington Examiner columnists ... O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Thomas, Williams, more

More in-kind contributions to Democrats from the Times

Examiner Editorial

Is the New York Times doing the Obama administration's dirty work with its spurious attacks on Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.?

Calling an audible won't work for Obama

By: Bill O'Reilly

As a former quarterback, I know that when a game plan is not working, you change strategy. Fast. If you don't, you will likely lose the contest and have to endure the ignominy of failure.

Explanations and excuses for English rioters

By: Cal Thomas

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Some of those caught looting stores last week in Britain were asked why they did it. Four teenagers explained to Sky News that they viewed it as "a shopping spree." One teen blamed the government: "They say [they] are going to help us but I don't see any of it. There has to be more opportunities and jobs. Help us at least and then maybe everyone will settle down." 

Ominous parallels between Obama, Roosevelt grow

By: Walter Williams

People are beginning to compare Barack Obama's administration to the failed administration of Jimmy Carter, but a better comparison is to the Roosevelt administration of the 1930s and '40s. Let's look at it with the help of a publication from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Foundation for Economic Education titled "Great Myths of the Great Depression," by Lawrence Reed.

Remembering Nixon's wage and price controls

By: Gene Healy

Remember "TARP," "Too Big to Fail," "Government Motors," "pay czar," the buzzwords of the Bush-Obama era? They reflected a disturbing trend toward presidential interference in economic life. Forty years ago this week, President Richard Nixon showed us just how dangerous unchecked executive power can be to the free-enterprise system.

Why Obama looks so bad

By: Steve Chapman

Barack Obama came into office aspiring to bridge the chasm between liberals and conservatives, red states and blue states, and behold, the gulf is gone. People in each camp heartily agree that as a president, he's a disappointment and a flop. Both sides even compare him to Jimmy Carter.

Remembering the shame

By: Mona Charen

We're all children of our histories. Some of us become victims, others reactors and rebels. Some of us just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Commemorations, celebrations and memorials become important, documenting what is, what was and what might have been. 

Obama's 'counteroffensive'? Please!

By: David Limbaugh

Seeing as President Obama cannot govern, he's had to go back to campaigning — an activity with which he's quite comfortable but decreasingly successful, as evidenced by his falling poll numbers and his endless, repetitive speeches.

Washington Examiner Tuesday headlines

Byron York - Obama: I reversed recession until 'bad luck' hit
"We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again," Obama told a crowd in Decorah, Iowa.  "But over the last six months we've had a run of bad luck."  Obama listed three events overseas -- the Arab Spring uprisings, the tsunami in Japan, and the European debt crises -- which set the economy back.

Charlie Spiering - Obama blames blogs, Fox News for political vitriol
While President Obama was in Iowa, he was asked about the heated rhetoric and unwillingness to compromise. The President compared himself to Lincoln, as highlighted by Byron York, then he compared Washington politics to his marriage.,("I let Michelle have her way 90% of the time") and finally blamed the changed media landscape for the rise in partisan politics.

Joel Gehrke - Not over yet in Wisconsin
It's not over yet in Wisconsin. Republicans there have an opportunity tomorrow to recall two Democrat state senators and thereby restore the 19-14 Senate majority that Democrats pared to 17-16 in last week's recall elections.

Philip Klein - Silly liberal criticisms of Perry's jobs record
If the national economy is still doing poorly when President Obama stands for reelection, attacking the job gains in Texas is not going to be an effective political strategy, for several reasons. One is that with things looking that bad, any economic success story is going to look good by comparison, even if liberals try to poke holes in it.

Timothy P. Carney - Rick Perry, Big Government, and Big Business
"Pro-business" doesn't always equal pro-free-market, as Rick Perry's record shows.

Washington Examiner Monday headlines

Timothy P. Carney - Will no one rid the GOP of this troublesome man?   With Tim Pawlenty out of the race, only two active Presidential candidates scored more than 10 percent in Saturday's Iowa straw poll. Following the media coverage Sunday, you would never guess Congressman Ron Paul was one of them.

Why do the mainstream media and the Republican establishment persist in ignoring and dismissing Paul?

Byron York - Behind the Michele Bachmann 'submissive' question   Whatever the case, Bachmann's answer in Ames Thursday night was by far the most human moment of her appearance in the debate -- a far cry from her tough exchanges with former Minnesota Gov. (and now former candidate) Tim Pawlenty.  At their best, debates tell us new things about candidates and allow us to learn more about aspects of their personalities we haven't seen before. Is there any doubt that moment in Ames on Thursday night did just that for Michele Bachmann?

Hayley Peterson - Perry courts Bachmann's Tea Party voters   "The president of the United States has a pen and it's called a veto pen and I will use it until the ink runs out if that's what it takes to send the message that we're not spending all this money," Perry shouted, drawing cheers from a crowd of nearly 300 voters.

Philip Klein - Where Pawlenty went wrong   Just a few months ago, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was seen as a top tier candidate for the presidency, the chief challenger to frontrunner Mitt Romney. Today, he’s gone. Where did he go wrong?

Philip Klein - Perry threatens Romney among second-choice voters   One of the key things to think about when handicapping a presidential nomination battle is not just who is ahead at the moment, but who is most likely to benefit once the field inevitably narrows down and key Republicans begin making endorsements.  On that score, Texas Gov. Rick Perry would seem to be a huge threat to Mitt Romney.

Washington Examiner Sunday breaking headlines

Examiner Politics Sunday: Weekend breaking news & comment from
The Washington Examiner's Campaign 2012 coverage team

Michael Barone - GOP has momentum, needs clear direction

Republicans are winning the argument over the Obama policies. But they aren't yet making the strongest case for their own.

Brian Hughes - Obama heads to heartland to talk jobs
The dust will have barely settled after a weeklong Republican spectacle in Iowa when President Obama comes riding into the Hawkeye State on Monday to kick off a campaign-style tour of Midwestern states and to tout his plans to fix the economy.

The Examiner's Hayley Peterson reports from Iowa on the battle for the GOP presidential nomination:

Perry joins GOP race, overshadows Iowa vote  AMES, IOWA -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a belated entry into the already crowded Republican presidential field Saturday, virtually overshadowing the other contenders who were competing for voters and momentum in the influential Iowa straw poll.

Waterloo readies for Bachmann, Perry showdown  WATERLOO, Iowa — Right off the highway in the tiny town of Waterloo, Iowa, a flashy neon sign welcomes passersby to the Electric Park Ballroom — a cream-colored building with flamingo-pink awnings that looks more like a bowling alley than a ballroom — for weddings, parties and on this night, the "Annual Republican Dinner."

Bachmann v. Perry: Perry gets the first word

AMES, IOWA — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is scheduled to speak first — before Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann — at the sold-out Lincoln Day Dinner in Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday evening, according to event organizers.

More news and comment from The Washington Examiner's Campaign 2012 coverage team:

David Freddoso - Where is Paul Ryan? Bless their hearts, some liberals seem concerned about poor House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. You'll recall that Ryan's budget reform plan inspired astroturf protests by liberal activists this summer.

Philip Klein - Why 11th Circuit struck down Obamacare's mandate  Friday's ruling by the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals striking down the national health care law’s individual mandate hinged on an issue that has consistently tripped up the Obama administration during oral arguments in several of the legal challenges to the law. The essential question is: if courts uphold the individual mandate, what is the constitutional principle that would limit the U.S. Congress’s exercise of its Commerce Clause power?

Philip Klein - Lawyer who challenged Obamacare speaks

Michael Carvin, one of the lawyers who argued against President Obama’s national health care law before the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals, said the court’s decision to strike down the law’s individual mandate shows that the constitutional questions being raised transcend politics.

Joel Gehrke - Eco-groups suing over oil-drilling permits

News that Shell Oil received a "conditional exploration permit" to drill in an Arctic sea has environmentalist groups up in arms -- and apparently headed to the courts, where their lawsuits could amount to what Shell has called a "backdoor moratorium."

David Freddoso - Obama's numbers take a nosedive...in New York

Obama's approval ratings have plummeted in liberal New York State in the last two months to 49 percent disapproval and only 45 percent approval, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University. The biggest change is among indpendents, who gave him positive marks at the end of June.

Final thoughts from The Examiner's Campaign 2012 coverage team on last week's FoxNews/Washington Examiner GOP presidential debate:

Byron York - The Fox-Examiner debate: Who said how much

At the Fox News-Washington Examiner Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa, candidate Rick Santorum complained that he was shortchanged in the number of questions and airtime allotted to him.  Addressing the audience, Santorum said, "I told you when I traveled around Iowa, you would see me in your city, in your hometown, but you probably wouldn't see much of me on television. So it's totally true tonight."

Charlie Spiering - The Examiner's Byron York discusses 'submissive' Bachmann question

During the Fox News / Washington Examiner debate, Examiner political correspondent Byron York tested Michele Bachmann with an edgy question: As president, would she be submissive to her husband? The crowd didn't react well, but Bachmann handled it well.

Timothy P. Carney - Questions I would have asked the candidates

Had I been at the table, I would have asked some questions that didn't get asked or didn't get asked of enough candidate. I'm sure you would have to.

Washington Examiner headlines for Friday

Philip Klein - Minnesota Mean Tonight’s debate will be remembered most for the sharp exchanges between the two Minnesotans – former governor Tim Pawlenty, and current Rep. Michele Bachmann. Both of them effectively damaged each other, but didn’t necessarily advance their own causes.

Michael Barone - Debate leaves Republican field unaltered  Never before has there been a televised presidential candidates' debate so short a time before the Iowa Republicans' Ames straw poll. Last night's debate, co-sponsored by The Washington Examiner and Fox News Channel, provided plenty of spirited conflict and some unscripted or at least unanticipated moments.

Bachmann, Pawlenty pummel each other in debate    AMES, Iowa — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty tore into each other Thursday in the Republican presidential debate, assailing each other as they struggled to portray themselves as most viable alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Joel Gehrke - Bachmann ready for caucus after debate   Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., might have the operation to win the Ames Straw Poll, as The Washington Examiner's Philip Klein predicts, but I think Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., looks like the favorite for the Iowa caucuses after her debate performance tonight.

Video: Top 5 highlights of the Iowa GOP debate   Last night's debate had plenty of moments that were both contentious and lighthearted. Here's a look at our top 5.

Some of the best tweets from debate night   Twitter has really changed the way we watch debates -- it's certainly changed the way I watch them. For those of you who joined us last night, our staff tried to give you the best play-by-play we could.

Huckabee: Perry 'dissing' people of Iowa   Mike Huckabee loves Iowa, the state that gave him the most support during his 2008 run for president. So when news broke today that Perry would announce a run for president on Saturday in South Carolina, Huckabee had this to say on Fox News.

Bachmann, Perry to meet in Iowa   DES MOINES, Iowa — Not to be outdone, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann announced Thursday that she plans to attend the same dinner in Iowa this weekend that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is scheduled to visit.

Washington Examiner headlines for Thursday

Tonight, watch the Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa that the Washington Examiner is co-sponsoring with Fox News.

The debate starts at 9:00 pm; for those of you who don’t have access to the Fox News Channel, watch live video of the debate on washingtonexaminer.com.

Washington Examiner writers Susan Ferrechio and Byron York will be asking the candidates questions during the debate, and Michael Barone and Hayley Peterson are reporting from Iowa.

Keep an eye out for our live Twitter stream featuring staff commentary on the debate from our political writers in Washington.

Click here to watch our ad that will be broadcast during the debate featuring Byron York and Susan Ferrechio.

As we head into the 2012 presidential election, we hope you make our brand new election site one of your sources for up-to-date news and commentary at washingtonexaminer.com/campaign2012.

We’ve come a long way in the past few years, and we’d like to thank our loyal readers for their support.

Michael Barone: Bachmann shows why she's the straw poll favorite
In Iowa most of the focus has been on Michele Bachmann. She's only in her third term in the House and she hasn't sponsored any major legislation; she has no executive experience in government. Her Iowa headquarters, in a suburban shopping mall near a Panera Bread Cafe, only opened up two months ago.
But the buzz is that she has a serious chance to come in first in the straw poll -- and far ahead of her Minnesota neighbor, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who several months ago seemed to be destined to carry Iowa.

Timothy P. Carney - In Iowa, will Republicans find economic policy?
Obama's economic policies haven't saved us. Federal taxes and the national debt are both too high. But stating these truths is different from laying out an economic philosophy or a policy platform. On the eve of the Iowa straw poll, any Republican looking to the top-tier presidential candidates for an actual economic plan is left with thin gruel.

Philip Klein - Rick Perry, tonight's missing man
Should he enter the race, Perry's path to the Republican nomination lies in finding the sweet spot between the current leading candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

Brian Hughes - Candidacies on the line in tonight's debate
The Iowa Republican presidential debate on Thursday, sponsored by The Washington Examiner and Fox News, could provide momentum for one or more of the candidates heading into Saturday's straw poll in Ames. Here is what each candidate will try to accomplish, or avoid, when they take the stage:

Hayley Peterson - Iowa straw poll could pare down GOP field
AMES, Iowa - Candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination face the first serious test of the campaign season Saturday: The Ames straw poll.

Philip Klein - With no record to run on, Obama opts for cynicism
Three years ago this month, when then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination before 80,000 adoring fans at Denver's Invesco Field, he observed: "If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from."

Tonight: Fox News-Washington Examiner GOP presidential debate

From the Washington Examiner's Charlie Spiering....

Tonight, watch the Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa that the Washington Examiner is co-sponsoring with Fox News.

The debate starts at 9:00 pm; for those of you who don’t have access to the Fox News Channel, watch live video of the debate on washingtonexaminer.com.

Washington Examiner writers Susan Ferrechio and Byron York will be asking the candidates questions during the debate, and Michael Barone and Hayley Peterson are reporting from Iowa.

Keep an eye out for our live Twitter stream featuring staff commentary on the debate from our political writers in Washington.

Click here to watch our ad that will be broadcast during the debate featuring Byron York and Susan Ferrechio.

As we head into the 2012 presidential election, we hope you make our brand new election site one of your sources for up-to-date news and commentary at washingtonexaminer.com/campaign2012.

We’ve come a long way in the past few years, and we’d like to thank our loyal readers for their support.

Washington Examiner Wednesday headlines

David Freddoso - Unions lose big in Wisconsin
An energized Democratic base was supposed to turn out yesterday. It was supposed to pry away from Republicans their total control of Wisconsin's state legislature. Republicans had gone after the state's public employee unions, and this was supposed to be an overreach that would cost them dearly in yesterday's recall elections. If Democrats could pick up three of the six seats under recall, they could win back the state Senate and block Gov. Scott Walker's agenda.

Every Republican I spoke to before the election expressed pessimism. The expectations were clearly in favor of a Democratic takeover -- so much so that Republicans in Wisconsin's legislature took the extraordinary step of passing an early redistricting bill.

Michael Barone: How Iowa's straw poll can make a president
Why Iowa? It was the 29th state to be admitted to the Union, it is the 30th state in population, it has given the nation Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and Meredith Willson's "The Music Man." It has long been the nation's No. 1 corn- and hog-producing state.

But nothing in the Constitution says that Iowa gets to vote for president before any other state. It just does. For years Iowa, like many states, had precinct caucuses that elected delegates to county conventions, which in turn elected delegates to the state convention, which then elected delegates to the national convention.

Michael Barone - Observations on Iowa
On landing in Des Moines late this afternoon it seemed a good idea to make the rounds of some of the presidential candidates’ Iowa headquarters. The level of activity there is not necessarily a good index of how the candidates are doing, since Iowa is still an early-to-bed and early-to-rise state in which you don’t expect to find much political activity after 7pm, when I set out.

Susan Ferrechio - Cain in race 'no matter what' happens in Iowa
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA -- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain isn't the least bit discouraged by the latest round of polls that show him lagging behind nearly every other candidate competing in the Iowa straw poll this Saturday, including a few who are not even on the ballot.

Byron York - Tim Pawlenty and the non-attack attack
DES MOINES - It's often been noted that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty doesn't seem temperamentally suited to attack his rival candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.  But attacking rival candidates is part of politics.  So Pawlenty, with his political ambitions on the line in Iowa, has compiled an uneven record when it comes to negative campaigning.  The best known example was his "Obamneycare" shot at Mitt Romney during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, followed by Pawlenty's decision not to press his case when face-to-face with Romney at a New Hampshire debate the next day.

Brian Hughes - White House goes mum on financial crisis
The White House was tight-lipped Tuesday on the financial calamity gripping the global economy, just a day after President Obama vowed to "stay on it until we get the job done," inciting new criticism of the president for failing to seize the issue that will define his re-election campaign.

Hayley Peterson - Perry shakes up GOP field, Iowa
DES MOINES, IOWA -Like every other Republican presidential candidate before him, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in constant communication with the Iowa Republican Party for weeks in preparation for a possible presidential run.

That's why Iowa officials were surprised to learn -- second-hand -- that Perry is expected to announce whether he's entering the Republican presidential race at an event in Charleston, S.C., on Saturday, the same day as the Iowa GOP's paramount fundraising event, the Ames straw poll.

Washington Examiner Monday headlines

Byron York - Liberals buzz over brutal takedown of Obama

In a new sign of President Obama's troubles with his Democratic base, liberal bloggers and activists are buzzing over a new essay that is profoundly critical of Obama's supposed betrayal of liberal ideals.

Timothy P. Carney - Private sector, not feds, can best create jobs

A presidential press secretary has never spoken a truer sentence than Jay Carney's admission last week: "The White House does not create jobs." This is a rare and welcome expression of humility from a White House that has promised everything from "remak[ing] America" to stopping the oceans' rise. It's also an opportunity to get Washington out of the way and lay out a jobs agenda that can succeed. Read More

Hayley Peterson - GOP presidential hopefuls fail to wow Iowans           

WAUKEE, Iowa - Just five months before they cast the first votes of the presidential campaign, Republican voters across Iowa are still not convinced that any one candidate running for the party's nomination has the chops to beat President Obama.


Mark Tapscott - Gore’s meltdown over climate change debate

Former Vice President Al Gore has gotten rich off the climate change financial manipulations, won a Nobel Prize for his advocacy on the issue, and generally made himself into the world-wide symbol of the global warming movement. And judging by his recent remarks to a liberal gathering in Colorado, it appears he is feeling like a loser these days.

Hayley Peterson - Obama is hiding from downgrade, Bachmann says

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann pulled all her favorite zingers on Obama Sunday evening at a rally in Iowa, cracking on the president for his reliance on teleprompters, accusing him of turning away from Israel and blaming him for for the country's recent downgrade in its credit rating.

Washington Examiner breaking Saturday news

Examiner Politics Saturday EXTRA: Weekend breaking news & comment from The Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential bloggers

Byron York - For Reid, Durbin, and Obama, a (very) partisan record on debt ceiling

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has frequently accused Republicans of playing partisan politics in the debt ceiling crisis. Read More

Mark Tapscott - Note to GOP prez contenders: All five Iowa representatives opposed Boehner plan
Political junkies should take note: All five of Iowa's representatives in Congress voted against House Speaker John Boehner's final compromise plan to resolve the debt-ceiling impasse. Iowapolitics.com has details: "All five of Iowa's congressmen -- three Democrats and two Republicans -- this evening voted against legislation authorizing a limited increase in the $14.3 trillion debt limit in exchange for more than $900 billion in spending cuts. Read More

Conn Carroll - The two big differences between Cut, Cap, and Balance and the Boehner bill

Everyone in my twitter feed seems to be saying that there is no difference between the new debt hike bill Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, unveiled today and the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act that was passed earlier this month. This is wrong.  Read More

Mark Tapscott - Why aren't liberal papers reporting Pelosi's other-worldly criticism of Boehner plan?

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has made some incredibly naive, ill-informed and downright goofy statements before but her comment yesterday about why House Democrats oppose House Speaker John Boehner's debt-ceiling crisis bill surely must take the cake for absurdity: "What we're trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We're trying to save life on this planet as we know it today," Pelosi said. Read More

Brian Hughes - Obama dismisses Boehner bill, says "almost out of time" to raise debt ceiling

President Obama urged lawmakers Friday to compromise on a solution to raise the debt ceiling by the Aug. 2 deadline, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Republicans reeling from their failure to unite behind a debt deal. “There are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time,” Obama said at the White House in a brief statement to the press. Read More

Examiner Senior Political Writer Philip Klein has been been blogging with updates throughout the debt ceiling House vote drama:

Is it now fair to say the Boehner plan was a waste of time?

Throughout the week, House Speaker John Boehner’s plan to raise the debt limit was attacked on two fronts. Democrats said he was wasting time on a plan that had no chance of passing the Senate, while conservatives argued that pushing the plan was undermining Cut, Cap and Balance. By deciding to add a Balanced Budget Amendment to his own plan this morning to gain enough votes to secure passage, Boehner proved both sets of critics correct. Read More

Does the GDP report help Boehner get his plan across the finish line?

At a press conference yesterday, I asked House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to respond to the criticism among conservatives that if Republicans were to hold out past Aug. 2, they'd be in a better position to negotiate a deal. Read More

House rejects Reid plan; 246 - 173

On Saturday, the House of Representatives rejected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's proposal to hike the debt limit, 246 to 173, with 11 Democrats voting against it. The vote was expected, and was held to demonstrate that Reid's plan can't pass the House, just as last night the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected House Speaker John Boehner's plan to hike the debt limit last night to show it can't pass the Senate. Read More

43 GOP Senators sign letter opposing Reid debt limit plan

Forty-three Republican Senators have signed a letter opposing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to hike the debt limit. Read More

Senate rejects Boehner plan, Reid won't allow vote tonight on his own plan
As expected, the U.S. Senate voted 59 to 41 to table House Speaker John Boehner's plan to increase the debt limit that had been passed by the House just hours earlier. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., declined a GOP offer to hold a cloture vote on his own plan tonight. Read More

Boehner plan squeaks through House

House Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the debt limit squeaked through the House of Representatives by a 218 to 210 margin, with 22 Republicans joining every Democrat in opposing the measure. The fact that the vote was so close, even after Boehner added a Balanced Budget Amendment component, suggests he was many votes short last night, when he attempted to pass an earlier version, but instead spent hours arm-twisting holdouts. Read More

Where things stand on the debt limit: House vote expected around 6 pm

In a few hours (we're told somewhere around 5:45 to 6:15), the House is expected to vote on Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the debt ceiling. Updated with a Balanced Budget Amendment component, his bill is all but assured of passage. At that point, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., promises that he will immediately vote to table the bill, and introduce his own measure. Unless all 100 Senators agree to allow him to hold a vote on it immediately, he'll have to vote on cloture, which will set up a vote for 1 am Sunday morning. Read More