The D.C. Dubstep  —  On July 26, 2011, Jack Lew, then the White House budget director, went to Harry Reid's office for a budget strategy session.  According to Bob Woodward's book, “The Price of Politics,” Lew told the Senate majority leader that they had come up with a trigger idea to force a budget deal.

As Sequester Deadline Looms, Little Support for Cutting Most Programs  —  OVERVIEW  —  As the March 1 deadline for a possible budget sequester approaches, a new national survey finds limited public support for reducing spending for a range of specific programs, including defense, entitlements, education and health care.

Is Senator Ted Cruz our new McCarthy?  —  Last week, Texas Senator Ted Cruz's prosecutorial style of questioning Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for Defense Secretary, came so close to innuendo that it raised eyebrows in Congress, even among his Republican colleagues.

Ann Coulter Battles Stossel, Calls Libertarians ‘Pussies,’ And Gets Booed By Room Full Of Students  —  What do you get when you invite outspoken conservative firebrand Ann Coulter to debate outspoken libertarian John Stossel in front of an audience of 1,000+ libertarian students?  —  Fireworks, that's what.

Why your boss is dumping your wife  —  Companies are dropping health coverage for spouses to cut costs … Companies have a new solution to rising health-insurance costs: Break up their employees' marriages.  —  By denying coverage to spouses, employers not only save the annual premiums …

The Republican Party needs a reality check  —  In the summer of 1999, George W. Bush chose the first major policy speech of his presidential campaign to pick a fight with Grover Norquist.  Bush flatly rejected the “destructive” view “that if government would only get out of our way …

Oscar Predictions, Election-Style  —  Twice before, in 2009 and 2011, I sought to predict the Academy Award winners in six major categories based on a mix of statistical factors.  My track record?  Nine correct picks in 12 tries, for a 75 percent success rate.

Emanuel's poll rating turns negative  —  Burdened by a wave of murders, dissension over proposed school closings and perhaps his own hard-ball image, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's job-approval rating has taken a big hit in recent months, according to a new Crain's/Ipsos Illinois Poll.

DISTURBING REPORT: VETERANS ARE RECEIVING LETTERS FROM VA PROHIBITING THE OWNERSHIP OR PURCHASE OF FIREARMS... DEVELOPING...  Written By Constitutional Attorney Michael Connelly, J.D.  —  How would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government informing you that because of a physical …

In First Big Speech, Kerry Sounds Like A Climate Hawk With The Courage To Reject Keystone XL Pipeline  —  A month ago I wrote that the “confirmation of climate hawk Kerry as Secretary Of State may doom dirty Keystone XL Pipeline.”  —  Now John Kerry has delivered his first big foreign policy speech …

Can Democrats Mess With Texas in 2016?  —  AUSTIN, Texas — From its modest headquarters on the first floor of a local union building about five miles from the State Capitol, the Democratic Party of Texas is trying to turn demographics into destiny.  —  With white, non-Hispanic voters …

Democrats lose supermajority as Fresno senator resigns  —  Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, cited the need to spend time with his family in a statement announcing his resignation.  —  “My wife and I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters, from whom we have learned a great deal,” said Rubio in a written statement.

Obama calms fears over Supreme Court action on voting rights  —  President Obama said people won't lose the right to vote if the Supreme Court strikes down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.  —  Speaking Thursday to “The Black Eagle” radio show, Obama said listeners shouldn't worry …

Colbert hopes jokes don't ‘sully’ sister's congressional bid  —  Comedian Stephen Colbert said Thursday that he hopes his late-night television persona parodying conservative talk-show hosts doesn't “sully” his sister's congressional bid in South Carolina's first district.

For the First Time in My Life, I Am Ashamed of My Country  —  RUSH: To be watching all of this, to be treated like this, to have our common sense and intelligence insulted the way it's being insulted?  It just makes me ashamed... Panic here, fear there: Crisis, destruction, no meat inspection …

America's New Mandarins  —  The paths to power and success are narrowing.  So is the worldview of the powerful.  —  Yesterday, I wrote about the silliness of requiring a file clerk to have a college degree.  This morning, a friend sent me the following note about the narrowing of opportunity in modern America:

At National Zoo, sequester could threaten exhibits but not animal care  —  A lot of federal managers are fretting about the sequester, the deep budget cuts that could take effect next week.  But very few of those managers manage man-eaters.  Craig Saffoe does, and he knows that even if $85 billion …

Hikes in health insurance premiums fall; administration credits healthcare law  —  The number of double-digit hikes to health insurance premiums has fallen dramatically because of President Obama's healthcare law, the Health and Human Services Department said Friday.

Pelosi to GOP: You oppose minimum wage hike at your peril  —  As I reported here yesterday, Democrats are drawing up plans to run hard on Obama's proposal to raise minimum wage in the 2014 Congressional elections.  What few people remember is that there's precedent for this …