FreedomTalks

John McCain has sometimes had mixed relations with economic conservatives, but one area in which he’s been quite strong is spending — especially when it comes to earmarks. He made strong remarks on earmarks in his speech at CPAC (”I will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, any earmarks in it”). Today, […]

In today’s Potomac Watch column, Kim Strassel provides yet another reminder of the overall sad state of GOP elected representatives:
Many [GOP legislators] remain ambivalent about [John McCain] — not because they question his conservatism, but out of resentment that he may get in the way of their earmarks.
This has resulted in a behind-the-scenes brawl, as […]

Heritage’s Brian Reidl has a new report out on federal spending, and, for anyone concerned about responsible spending, the news is not good. In large part, the report cements what we already knew: President Bush’s legacy on spending will be one of waste and excess.
This year, for every household in the U.S., Washington will spend […]

When it comes to Congressional pork, there’s a clear leader amongst the top  presidential candidates:
 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure more than $340 million worth of home-state projects in last year’s spending bills, placing her among the top 10 Senate recipients of what are commonly known as earmarks, according to a new study by a […]

Jeff Flake’s still got a shot at a seat on the appropriations committee. Here’s Amanda Carpenter reporting for Townhall.
Although earmark hawk Rep. Jeff Flake (R.-Ariz.) may be a long-shot for the spot, he’s is still in the running to be appointed to the House Appropriations Committee.
…A coalition of conservative and taxpayer advocacy groups support […]

Apologies for the light posting; I’m still recovering from a nasty flu bug I picked up at CPAC. In the meantime, here’s John Stossel taking a whack at the stimulus package:
The economy does seem to be slowing, and there was a net loss of jobs in January. The housing industry is sluggish and the […]

I’ve got to run to a briefing, but the quick version is this:
Conservatives and free marketers have many disagreements with McCain, and they’re right to. McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman, the votes against the Bush tax cuts — these are not exactly small matters. But what he said today should get some attention from advocates of limited-government.
On […]

We all knew what was coming, and we all gathered round next to the TV here at the end of Blogger’s Row to watch Romney bow out of the GOP race. I stood next to Julian Sanchez, who’s blogging the convention for The Economist, and in front of Flip Romney — the guy in […]

I think George Will hits pretty much exactly the right note today in his column on sovereign wealth funds.
Many countries exporting oil, toys or underwear to America are running trade surpluses. These countries need to do something with their dollars — it is better that they invest them than buy weapons with them — […]

The Wall Street Journal points out how the stimulus package recently negotiated between Bush and Democratic leadership in the House will quickly be used against Bush’s tax cuts:
Let’s hope Republicans appreciate the irony, because no doubt Democrats do. By signing on to a bigger deficit for the sake of election-year stimulus, Mr. Bush is making […]