In an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sharply criticized President Obama for engaging in class warfare and accused him of shifting the focus away from his own failed policies in advance of next year’s election. “My view is he’ll have a hard time convincing Americans he deserves four more years of this,” McConnell said. “There’s nothing he’s done that the American people approve of, so of course, he’s trying to change the subject.” McConnell addressed a range of issues during the interview, from … More

Scribe has reported extensively on the tendency of large government spending projects to reward the politically connected. It’s a virtual constant of federal interventions in the market, and perhaps nowhere is it more evident than in the Obama administration’s “green jobs” push. Writing on National Review Online today, I detail the political connections backstopping California venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and take a look at the extensive taxpayer support given to nine different companies financed by the firm. Here’s an excerpt from the piece: Hoover Institution fellow … More

Democrats on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction last week floated a proposal that includes massive tax increases on wealthy Americans. While their plan would also include some cuts to entitlement programs, the tax-code changes make up a significant portion, according to press reports. The Los Angeles Times reported: “Revenue would be raised mostly by bumping up the high-end tax bracket and limiting deductions for upper-income earners, those familiar with the talks said.” This isn’t exactly a surprise. President Obama and his liberal allies in Congress are waging a … More

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is mighty disappointed with President Obama. The chairman of the House Budget Committee, who has bested Obama in head-to-head policy showdowns, blames the president for failing to outline a solution to the debt crisis while dividing America with talk of class warfare. Ryan’s speech at Heritage yesterday made news for its strong critique of Obama. He sat down for an interview afterward to outline why he’s so disheartened by Obama. Ryan also redefined how Americans should look at class warfare, taking aim at crony capitalism and … More

The newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took a step forward today to getting its first director, as the Senate Banking Committee voted 12–10 to confirm Richard Cordray in the post. Even before the vote, however, President Obama raised the stakes. Referring to Bank of America’s decision to impose a $5 debit card fees, he declared that “this is exactly why we need somebody whose sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.” The White House later tried to back off the President’s threat of … More

President Barack Obama’s speech to the United Nations had more than a few elements of a domestic campaign stump speech. Indeed, after a few opening obligatory remarks about the history and ideals of the U.N., the President quickly launched into a detailed account of his record in office – ending the military operation in Iraq, transitioning more responsibility to Afghan authorities, and killing Osama bin Laden – clearly aimed at American voters. Even when the President moved on to highlight the accomplishments of the U.N. he did so in a … More

During his Rose Garden speech Monday, the President claimed that his new “debt reduction” plan would provide $2 of spending cuts for every $1 of tax increases. A closer look at the administration’s own numbers, however, suggests the President, well, exaggerated. A realistic assessment—based mainly on table S-6 of the Administration’s plan—shows that his $1.57 trillion in tax increases are accompanied by just $130 billion in net new, policy-based spending reductions. The President’s “plan” claims credit for the following: Policies Already Enacted. The debt reduction proposal starts with two items … More

President Obama unveiled the details of his jobs plan last week, including a proposal to offset the new government spending with tax hikes. It’s a bizarre strategy for a president who says he wants to create jobs. As the above chart from Heritage’s 2011 Budget Chart Book illustrates, Americans are already grappling with the prospect of massive tax increases. If the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire on Dec. 31, 2012, and more middle-class Americans have to pay the alternative minimum tax, taxes will reach unprecedented levels. The president’s budget … More

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) came to Washington as the a tea-party conservative with the goal of fixing the economy, addressing the debt crisis and curbing the growth of the federal government. It’s an uphill battle for the youngest member of the U.S. Senate, but one he’s prepared to fight. Lee’s recent book, “The Freedom Agenda: Why a Balanced Budget Amendment is Necessary to Restore Constitutional Government,” outlined his goals for changing Washington. (Listen to our recent podcast.) Yesterday at Heritage, he delivered the annual Helms Lecture, detailing his opposition of … More

About $60 billion more federal education dollars. That’s President Obama’s latest proposal to fix schools—this time in the form of his $447 billion jobs bill. Despite tens of billions in education bailouts in the last two years, not to mention ever increasing federal education budgets, Obama somehow believes that this next round of government dollars is just the answer to the nation’s education woes. Speaking yesterday at Fort Hayes High School in Columbus, Ohio—in another rendition of his “pass this bill speech”—Obama decried the poor condition of the nation’s schools … More