Robert Bluey

Robert Bluey

Receive Updates from Robert Bluey

 

New Year’s Resolution for Republicans: End Earmarks

By Robert Bluey (Dec 30, 2007)

Earmarks were supposed to be a thing of the past for Republicans after allegations of corruption cost the GOP control of Congress in 2006. Throughout 2007, Republicans... more

Big Labor's Unfulfilled Wish List

By Robert Bluey (Dec 23, 2007)

The federal government’s union watchdog agency will have to get by on less next year. The mammoth omnibus spending bill passed last week hacks nearly $3 million from the... more

Will Republicans Go Soft on Spending?

By Robert Bluey (Dec 16, 2007)

Feeling pressure to wrap up work on 11 of the 12 unfinished appropriations bills that fund the federal government, congressional Democrats will push this week to pass a... more

How to Save Taxpayers $31 Billion

By Robert Bluey (Dec 09, 2007)

Sen. Jim DeMint is as frustrated as anyone on Capitol Hill about Congress’s failure to wrap up work on the federal budget. With 11 of the 12 appropriations bills unfinished... more

Questions That Raise Questions

By Robert Bluey (Dec 02, 2007)

CNN had an opportunity to shine as co-host of last week’s Republican presidential debate. Instead, the network faltered with millions watching, leaving conservatives with yet... more

The Inspirational Life of Clarence Thomas

By Robert Bluey (Nov 18, 2007)

Ask Clarence Thomas what he enjoys doing and he’ll tell you about driving his RV across America or cheering for his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers. That hardly sounds like the... more

A Bonbon for Big Labor

By Robert Bluey (Nov 10, 2007)

Free trade has fallen on hard times in America. With commentators such as CNN's Lou Dobbs promoting protectionism and liberal politicians pandering to Big Labor, the tide has... more

Bush’s Bold Veto

By Robert Bluey (Nov 04, 2007)

Congressional Republicans have tried hard this year to reclaim the GOP’s traditional “brand” as the party of fiscal responsibility. They’re about to face a test that will... more

Questions That Raise Questions

By Robert Bluey (Nov 02, 2007)

CNN had an opportunity to shine as co-host of last week’s Republican presidential debate. Instead, the network faltered with millions watching, leaving conservatives with yet... more

Congress Reaches the Wrong Milestone

By Robert Bluey (Oct 28, 2007)

For the first time in history, the House of Representatives hit the 1,000-vote mark. It’s a thoroughly meaningless milestone, yet liberals proclaimed it a monumental... more

Leveling the Online Playing Field

By Robert Bluey (Oct 21, 2007)

The Republican money machine seemed unstoppable just two years ago. The GOP consistently outperformed the Democratic Party, extending years of dominance in fundraising.... more

All the Bad News That’s Fit to Print

By Robert Bluey (Oct 14, 2007)

The U.S. budget deficit fell to the lowest level in five years last week, but three of America’s leading newspapers -- the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles... more

How to Help the Kids

By Robert Bluey (Oct 07, 2007)

Nobody in Washington likes to compromise, but when it comes to helping poor kids, you’d think politicians would choose solutions instead of spin. Think... more

Can Newt Solve America’s Problems?

By Robert Bluey (Sep 30, 2007)

Thirteen years ago, then-Rep. Newt Gingrich stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to unveil the Contract with America, a document that crystallized conservative principles... more

Dust Off the Veto Pen

By Robert Bluey (Sep 23, 2007)

Alan Greenspan’s criticism of the administration’s fiscal record couldn’t have come at a better time. The former Federal Reserve chairman’s autobiography, “The Age of... more

Outflanked by a Four-Star General

By Robert Bluey (Sep 16, 2007)

The anger and frustration over Iraq that prompted voters to bounce many Republicans from Congress last November was supposed to give Democrats the momentum they needed to... more

Education Reform Goes From Bad to Worse

By Robert Bluey (Sep 09, 2007)

No Child Left Behind has seen better days. Under attack from both the right and left, President Bush’s signature education achievement might not survive if some members of... more

HillaryCare on the Horizon

By Robert Bluey (Sep 02, 2007)

Topping the Democrats’ to-do list when they return to Washington this week is reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The House and Senate... more

Liberals Target Union Watchdog

By Robert Bluey (Aug 26, 2007)

The Office of Labor Management Standards, the federal government’s union watchdog agency, has recouped more than $100 million for American workers since 2001. But the... more

Veterans’ Groups Prepare for Battle on Capitol Hill

By Robert Bluey (Aug 19, 2007)

Halfway around the world from Iraq, an important battle is taking place in America. This fight involves no IEDs or M4 rifles. It’s a war of words that has sparked heated... more

Liberals Vow to Undo Changes to Terrorist Surveillance Law

By Robert Bluey (Aug 12, 2007)

Democrat leaders in the House and Senate are invoking the threat of “Big Brother” in an attempt to undo the changes Congress made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act... more

A New Way to Legislate

By Robert Bluey (Aug 05, 2007)

Technology is changing politics. But can politics change technology? Sen. Dick Durbin spent the past two weeks trying to do just that. The Illinois Democrat embarked on a... more

Will GOP Field ‘Cut and Run’ From YouTube Debate?

By Robert Bluey (Jul 28, 2007)

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has more videos on YouTube than any other candidate -- in either party. Yet the former Massachusetts governor isn’t sure he’ll... more

Ringmaster Reid Cracks the Whip in the Senate Circus

By Robert Bluey (Jul 22, 2007)

Congress hasn’t accomplished much this year, but at least our politicians are displaying a flair for political theater. Starring in the Senate productions is Majority... more

Democrats Declare Defeat

By Robert Bluey (Jul 15, 2007)

The House of Representatives voted last week to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq in four months, a gesture that appeased the antiwar crowd but sent a message of retreat... more

Democrats Pick a Fight Over Bush’s Budget

By Robert Bluey (Jul 08, 2007)

President Bush made no friends in liberal quarters when he told Congress to hold the line on spending or confront his veto pen. Now, with the top slot in Bush’s budget office... more

Another Revolt on the Right

By Robert Bluey (Jul 01, 2007)

Having halted the Bush-Kennedy “grand bargain” on immigration, many conservatives are expressing newfound optimism that they can do the same to the president’s signature... more

House Republicans Reclaim Their Brand on Spending

By Robert Bluey (Jun 24, 2007)

Senate Republicans are squabbling amongst themselves over immigration reform. President Bush is fighting a losing battle with his base. But in the House of Representatives,... more

Judicial Nominee Hangs in the Balance

By Robert Bluey (Jun 17, 2007)

Senate Democrats and Republicans operated in relative harmony this spring when confirming President Bush’s judicial nominees, but the nomination of Leslie Southwick to the... more

Immigration Bill Isn’t Dead Yet

By Robert Bluey (Jun 10, 2007)

Conservatives cheered last week when Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pulled the immigration proposal from the Senate floor. But don’t be taking any victory laps just yet.... more

Bush’s Blunder: How Not to Fire Up the Base

By Robert Bluey (Jun 03, 2007)

To take the temperature of the conservative movement, just tune into talk radio. For the past two weeks, talkers’ phone lines have been jammed with angry calls from... more

The Politics of Amnesty

By Robert Bluey (May 27, 2007)

The amnesty deal negotiated by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the White House has Karl Rove’s fingerprints all over it. Plain and simple, it’s bad public policy being used to... more

Kennedy Dupes Republicans on Immigration Bill

By Robert Bluey (May 20, 2007)

The world’s greatest deliberative body, the U.S. Senate, is expected to move with blazing speed this week to vote on a massive immigration reform bill that grants amnesty to... more

Congress Is Still Feeding at the Trough

By Robert Bluey (May 13, 2007)

It’s no secret that Rep. Jack Murtha loves his pork-barrel projects. The Pennsylvania Democrat has for years played the role of broker for his own party and the GOP to get... more

Top 10 Ways Pelosi Can Reform the House

By Robert Bluey (May 06, 2007)

When Democrats won control of Congress last November, Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi made a simple promise: “We pledge to make this the most honest, ethical and open Congress in... more

Keeping Democrats Accountable

By Robert Bluey (Apr 29, 2007)

Longtime congressional staffers Michael Brady and Michael Giuliani are fed up with reporters who cover Congress. Frustrated by their failure to investigate stories and tired... more

British Conservatives Build Their Movement Online

By Robert Bluey (Apr 22, 2007)

Across the Atlantic, young conservatives in Britain are trying to transform what they consider a disjointed and unorganized political faction into something that rivals the... more

Blogging war

By Robert Bluey (Apr 13, 2007)

After four years in Iraq, the U.S. military has redefined how it communicates in a war zone. From action-packed videos on YouTube to blogger conference calls with key... more

Online Fundraising: Advantage, Dems

By Robert Bluey (Apr 07, 2007)

The Democrats’ smashing success in first-quarter fundraising doubtless dampened the morale of Republican political strategists hoping for a 2008 comeback. But the number that... more

Transparency takes a hit

By Robert Bluey (Mar 31, 2007)

Long before many Americans paid attention to pork-barrel spending, the Congressional Research Service did. The legislative agency, tasked with producing reports for members... more

Waxman’s Witch Hunt

By Robert Bluey (Mar 25, 2007)

Rep. Henry Waxman’s first order of business as the new chairman of the Government Reform Committee was to add the word “oversight” to the committee’s moniker. It was his... more

The Left-Wing Echo Chamber

By Robert Bluey (Mar 18, 2007)

Death threats. Harassing phone calls. Threatening e-mails. Such was a day in the life of Drew Johnson a few weeks ago. His crime? Johnson is president of the Tennessee... more