Chuck Schumer started a government shutdown he couldn’t finish. The New York Democrat, among the shrewdest operators in national politics, stumbled badly because he succumbed to the siren song of the anti-Trump resistance. He believed that any charge could be made to stick to President Donald Trump, no matter how implausible, and chose the dictates […]
Op-Eds
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The shutdown is over so what is next?
WASHINGTON — OK, the shutdown is over. But no one should be fooled into thinking that this settles the big questions facing the country. Even if (a big “if”) the immigration laws are overhauled and the nearly 700,000 “Dreamers” stay in the United States, at least three large issues remain that neither party has yet […]
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Republicans don't really want to fix immigration
President Trump and the Republican leadership have made clear that they have no intention of repairing our chaotic immigration system. Why not? Because illegal immigration is a problem that bothers most Americans. Fix it and all these politicians have are tax cuts for the rich, environmental degradation, soaring deficits and the loss of health care. […]
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China sends ominous signal about territorial claims
On January 22, Chinese government media angrily accused the U.S. of “wantonly provoking trouble” in the South China Sea. The alleged American provocation? On January 17, the U.S. Navy’s USS Hopper, a guided missile destroyer, passed within 12 miles of Scarborough Shoal — a sea feature within Filipino territory that China now calls Huangyan Island. […]
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Better government requires better people
If we don’t like what is happening in Washington — and few do — the blame must be placed squarely where it belongs. It is “we the people” who send those people here. We send people of different and often opposing viewpoints to Washington and expect them to get along. Many quickly turn opportunities to […]
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Democrats folded like a baby stroller
Dear Democrats: That was no government shutdown. It was a long weekend. It was a snow day. Don’t get me wrong. I am no fan of shuttering the federal government as a tactic of political negotiation. In the first place, it inflicts hardship on the people you’re sworn to serve. In the second place, it […]
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Democrats can blame Barack Obama for immigration mess
By Marc A. Thiessen Special to The Washington Post The government shutdown is over. Democrats finally realized that closing the government over illegal immigration was a losing political battle. They created a needless crisis and got rolled. So who is to blame for their current predicament? Along with Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, Democrats can […]
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Divisive messages have no place in Maine
Congratulations to the people of Jackman and the Board of Selectmen for doing the right thing and firing the town’s racist town manager. He has embarrassed the town and the state as a whole. His language and prejudices are exactly the wrong things for Maine and America. Maine is a small state with an aging […]
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China and the global race for knowledge
WASHINGTON — The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial “Science & Engineering Indicators,” a voluminous document describing the state of American technology. There are facts and figures on research and development, innovation and engineers. But the report’s main conclusion lies elsewhere: China has become — or is on […]
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Sen. Flake wrong to compare Trump to Stalin
It hasn’t been easy recently to make an attack against President Donald Trump that is over-the-top enough to stand out from the run-of-the-mill hysteria, but outgoing Republican Sen. Jeff Flake managed it. In a Senate speech hitting Trump for his broadsides against the press, Flake excoriated the president for using the phrase “enemy of the […]