Bruce Bartlett from Creators Syndicate

Presidential Predicting for 02/27/2007

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Although we are two years away from the first ballot being cast in the 2008 presidential election and don't even know who the candidates will be, we already know a great deal about how the race will turn out. Historical trends tell us that the Republican candidate will be very tough to beat regardless of who he is.

To see why this is the case, let's first look at which states voted for G ...

Updated: Tue Feb 27, 2007

]]>

Political Reform for 03/06/2007

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

A few months ago, I caused a bit of a stir by suggesting that the best way for libertarian ideas to advance is by destroying the Libertarian Party. Since it cannot win, due to the nature of our political system, it is impotent and only ends up crushing the spirits of libertarian-minded political activists. After spending some time with the party, they often become so frustrated that they exit p ...

Updated: Tue Mar 06, 2007

]]>

Partisan Press Parity? for 03/13/2007

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

For most of my lifetime, criticism of media bias was largely confined to those on the right side of the political spectrum. When I first moved to Washington in the mid-1970s, conservatives called The Washington Post "Pravda on the Potomac" for its uncompromising liberalism and disdain for all things conservative, which spread far beyond the editorial page and permeated its news covera ...

Updated: Tue Mar 13, 2007

]]>

Attorney Firing Precedent for 03/20/2007

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales are taking a lot of heat from Democrats lately for allegedly discharging some U.S. attorneys for political reasons.

Of course, the president has every right to fire any political appointee in his administration for any reason, political or otherwise. In hindsight, it would have been far better if the administration had just said so fro ...

Updated: Tue Mar 20, 2007

]]>

Coulter Consequences for 03/27/2007

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

One of the reasons why I wish columnist Ann Coulter hadn't used the F-word in a recent speech — the one that is a derogatory term for being gay — is because it gave liberals yet another excuse to label all conservatives as homophobic, racist and sexist, which Rick Perlstein did last week in The New Republic.

As Perlstein wrote, Coulter's poor choice of words "fits into a ...

Updated: Tue Mar 27, 2007

]]>

Economics on the Internet for 04/03/2007

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

I recently made a life-changing decision that, to those under the age of 30, will probably sound ridiculous. I finally decided that I trust the Internet enough to stop subscribing to a number of publications that are now easily available online.

When you younger folk finish laughing, try to look at it from my point of view. For many years, the only way you could get critical data was to ...

Updated: Tue Apr 03, 2007

]]>

Tax Facts for 04/10/2007

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Just in time for tax-filing season, the Tax Foundation and Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation have compiled some useful facts about the federal tax system. Following are a few worth thinking about as taxpayers write their annual checks to Uncle Sam.

— In 2005, the federal government took $2.4 trillion out of the pockets of the American people. To put this number into context, it ...

Updated: Tue Apr 10, 2007

]]>

Blogging Benefits for 04/17/2007

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

On April 6, I had an article in The New York Times arguing the term "supply-side economics" (SSE) had outlived its usefulness. I wasn't criticizing SSE. On the contrary, I was celebrating its success because its central truths are now fully incorporated into mainstream economic thinking. Consequently, continuing use of the term is more of a barrier to communication than a facilitator, ...

Updated: Tue Apr 17, 2007

]]>

Tax Winners and Losers for 04/24/2007

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

As is the case every April, the deadline for paying one's federal income taxes brought forth many news features on the burden of taxation. This year was no different, with one article by former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer in The Wall Street Journal getting particular attention.

Fleischer's main point is that a growing percentage of the population is paying no federal income ...

Updated: Tue Apr 24, 2007

]]>

Conservatives for Hillary? for 05/01/2007

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

As each day passes, it becomes increasingly clear that the Democrats will win the White House next year. It's not quite 1932, but it's getting close to a sure thing. All the energy is on their side, they are raising more money from more contributors, and there is little if any enthusiasm for the Republican candidates — even among Republicans.

Of course, one can never rule out the a ...

Updated: Tue May 01, 2007

]]>

Democrats and Conservatives for 05/08/2007

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

I hadn't planned on writing another column about Hillary Clinton, but the one I wrote last week has been so widely misunderstood that I feel compelled to do so.

To recap, I said that no Republican can win the presidency next year. If one accepts this premise, then if follows that it is in the interest of conservatives to support the most conservative Democrat running for that party's nom ...

Updated: Tue May 08, 2007

]]>

Wolfowitz Endgame for 05/15/2007

Tue, 15 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

It now seems almost certain that Paul Wolfowitz will leave the presidency of the World Bank. It's only a matter of negotiating the terms of his resignation.

For those who have not been following this issue, Wolfowitz got into trouble because his girlfriend worked at the Bank when he was chosen by George W. Bush to be its president. In order to avoid a potential conflict of interest, he a ...

Updated: Tue May 15, 2007

]]>

Republican Euthanasia for 05/22/2007

Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

As someone who has been highly critical of George W. Bush's repeated violations of conservative principles for a number of years, last week brought some vindication. His endorsement of an immigration reform bill that is widely viewed as offering de facto amnesty for illegal aliens seems to have finally gotten to many of those who have defended him down the line and attacked people like me as co ...

Updated: Tue May 22, 2007

]]>

Taking Ron Paul Seriously for 05/29/2007

Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

As some readers of this column may know, the first "real" job I ever had was working for Congressman Ron Paul back in 1976. I went to visit him a few months ago and was pleased to see that he had not changed much at all since the days when I was a legislative assistant on his congressional staff.

At that time, I did not know that Ron planned a run for the 2008 Republican presid ...

Updated: Tue May 29, 2007

]]>

Immigration Frustration for 06/05/2007

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

One of the things that bothers me about the immigration bill is the view held in the White House and Congress that "something" must be done — the option of doing nothing is not an option. It is my experience that when this idea takes hold, it is almost inevitable that something bad will result.

In principle, I favor the free mobility of labor — just as I favor free ...

Updated: Tue Jun 05, 2007

]]>

Immigration Political Dynamics for 06/12/2007

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The immigration bill may be dead for now, but the political forces behind it have not gone away. Those will continue to impact both major political parties for many years to come.

The basic force is that Hispanics are increasing as a share of the population. According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, there were 44.3 million Hispanics in the United States as of July 1, 2006, con ...

Updated: Tue Jun 12, 2007

]]>

Synfuel Boondoggle for 06/19/2007

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Back during World War II, the Allies were successful in largely cutting off Germany's oil supply. To maintain their war effort, the Germans figured out how to make synthetic oil from coal. Later, the South Africans perfected the German technology in order to cope with international sanctions.

Consequently, making oil from coal is not some pie-in-the-sky dream, but something scientists an ...

Updated: Tue Jun 19, 2007

]]>

Climate History for 06/26/2007

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Many people are worried about global warming today. They fear that the polar ice caps will melt, raising sea levels and creating environmental chaos. Such concerns are not new. The historical record tells us of many warming episodes — and subsequent cooling periods — that have bedeviled humans for thousands of years.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who lived from 427 B.C ...

Updated: Tue Jun 26, 2007

]]>

Who Is the Anti-Bush? for 07/03/2007

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

One of the things that surprises me so far in the race for the White House is that none of the Republicans is positioning himself clearly as the anti-Bush. I think there is a yearning for such a candidate among the Republican electorate.

Here's some evidence. For some time, Strategic Vision, a polling company, has been asking Republican voters if they see George W. Bush as a conservative ...

Updated: Tue Jul 03, 2007

]]>

Changing World of Commentary for 07/10/2007

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

About 12 years ago, I got a call from Tom Bray, then editorial page editor of the Detroit News. I had known him since the early 1980s, when he was an editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal, where I had written many articles. Tom asked me if I would be interested in writing a column for the News, and I agreed. Subsequently, I offered my column to The Washington Times, and eventually it ...

Updated: Tue Jul 10, 2007

]]>