Erick Erickson's Blog, page 12

Do It For America

Neal Boortz is one of the most popular talk radio hosts in the country. I’m proud to guest host for him when he is gone. January 18, 2013, is Neal’s last day on the air, after which time I will begin in earnest harassing Rush Limbaugh to let me be his guest host. Heck, I’d even change my name to Mark. Boortz bought some really | Read More »

Remember Texas State House Republicans: Joe Straus Isn’t Your Friend

With the vote for Texas House Speaker soon, it is important to remind Texas State House Republicans that current Speaker Joe Straus is neither their friend nor really one of them. In fact, as we reported back in November, RedState has uncovered never-before-seen, profanity-laden e-mails between senior staff and legislative lieutenants of Texas’ liberal GOP House Speaker Joe Straus demonstrating disrespect for, and even hostility towards, grassroots activists and conservative lawmakers. Here again is that information.

The Trouble For Conservatives

Jim Bridenstine may get a primary challenge. You may not know who he is, but Jim Bridenstine is a brand new member of Congress, a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserves, a fighter pilot from the Iraq and Afghan Wars, and a strong fiscal conservative. He should be a hero to any and all Republicans. He’s a genuine bad ass. And on Day 1, he | Read More »

Have Republicans Boxed Themselves Into a Government Shutdown?

First of all, I hope so. But have they boxed themselves in? Consider that the fiscal cliff deal is playing badly with lots of folks, not just partisan Republicans and partisan Democrats. Congress playing brinksmanship with nothing to show for it really is aggravating the American public. If both sides are going to play at brinksmanship, at some point the base of the parties and | Read More »

The Cult of Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan was a great pick for Mitt Romney’s Vice President. He’s a young, articulate guy the left has tried and failed repeatedly to paint as some sort of heartless monster. His “Ryan Plan” has some great points in it, though it is not as bold as the left would have you believe or as Ryan’s acolytes would have you believe. But this fiscal cliff | Read More »

‘House GOP in Disarray’ Isn’t Just Liberal Media Spin

Many Republicans are trying ton convince themselves that they will make up ground on the spending side of the equation come the debt ceiling fight. Mr. Obama says he will not negotiate, but he is going to have to. The problem for the GOP is that its House leadership is working at cross purposes and really is in the disarray the “liberal media” keeps saying. | Read More »

A New Agenda

As we start the new year, it is sad to see so many Republicans patting themselves on the back, Grover Norquist included it seems, saying, “It’s ok, it really was a tax decrease because it is Tuesday.” The one pledge to rule them all got obfuscated away conveniently and it is time to move on to a new agenda for the Republican Party. We are | Read More »

The McConnell Tax Hike

The McConnell Tax Hike will become law of the land. Mitch McConnell can and should take responsibility for it. The McConnell Tax Hike raises taxes on people making over $400,000.00, but it also raises taxes on the middle class. “More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes.” Not only does the McConnell Tax Hike stick it to | Read More »

House Republicans: Don’t Play the Game

Last night, without any legislative language, the Senate Republicans and Democrats voted to raise taxes. They did not just vote to raise income taxes. They voted to raise the payroll tax on all Americans. This will hurt small businesses. Ironically, this plan generates less revenue than even John Boehner’s Plan B option. But both options, as I have long maintained, were only about breaking the | Read More »

Tom Coburn, Ron Johnson, and Pat Toomey Should be Ashamed

Tom Coburn cares about the size and scope of the federal government. So do Ron Johnson and Pat Toomey. But they just voted for a tax increase with legislation that was not even publicly available. In other words, they voted for a law that was not even written for them to review. And what was in the law? Nothing to rein in the size of | Read More »