The GOP fights for its own voters to stop the next Roy Moore

Republicans who hope their Senate disaster in Alabama will scare voters away from other outsider, longshot conservatives should spend some time with Michele Evans. Three thousand miles from the scene of Republican Roy Moore's stunning defeat, the Nevada Republican doesn't see a connection between Moore and her preferred Senate candidate, Danny Tarkanian, who is trying to unseat incumbent Dean Heller after several failed election attempts.

Senator Rand Paul Celebrates Festivus With ‘The Airing of Grievances’

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is celebrating Festivus, the fictional non-commercial holiday popularized by TV's Seinfeld . As required by tradition, Paul is doing an online "airing of grievances" about government waste, Washington politics, and a certain White House occupant with a penchant for tweeting.

Congressional Republicans end year with legislative wins, but 2018 holds risks

After a year of legislative fits and starts, the Republican-led Congress can claim victory on an agenda of tax cuts, judicial confirmations and a substantial regulatory rollback. It's a list of accomplishments that seemed to surprise even party leaders, who warily entered a political marriage of necessity with President Donald Trump, but now say they have made their peace with his unpredictable style of governing.

Rand Paul pokes fun at Donald Trump, fellow lawmakers in annual Festivus tradition

Sen. Rand Paul , Kentucky Republican, took aim at targets including President Trump's Twitter habit and wasteful federal spending during his "airing of grievances" Saturday, an annual Twitter tradition inspired by the quirky Festivus holiday at the center of a 1997 "Seinfeld" episode. Festivus is celebrated every Dec. 23 with a plain aluminum pole and activities including a "Feats of Strength" wrestling match and the "Airing of Grievances," according to Seinfeld lore.

Lessons from the African American Vote in Alabama

Dr. John E. Warren says that African Americans should be focused on "voter registration" and not candidate endorsements at this stage of the game. The African Americans who have convinced themselves that one vote doesn't matter, should take a very close look at what happened during the recent special election in Alabama.

Largest power outage in Maine history is top story of 2017

A storm packing hurricane-force gusts roared into Maine, stunning residents and emergency officials by leaving more people in the dark than the infamous ice storm of 1998. It took utility crews more than a week to restore power, raising questions of Central Maine Power's preparedness and the state's ability to withstand a more powerful storm.

Marc Thiessen: Trump should make vulnerable Democrats who opposed…

President Trump raised eyebrows when he invited Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp to fly with him aboard Air Force One for a tax-reform rally in her home state of North Dakota earlier this year. For a vulnerable Democrat running for reelection in a deep-red state that Trump won by 36 points, appearing with the president was a political gift.

Cheers! Cider, Craft Beer Makers Get Trump Tax Cut in New Year

Makers of craft beer, artisanal spirits, hard cider and mead may lift their glasses a bit higher next year as the result of a little noticed provision in the sweeping tax overhaul the U.S. Congress passed this week. Tucked away in Part IX, sections 13801 through 13808, are sharply lowered excise taxes on a liquor cabinet full of alcoholic beverages made by small producers.

@PKCapitol: Will the tax bill help or hurt Republicans? It depends.

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks at the White House Wednesday following the passage of tax legislation, with Vice President Pence, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Sen. Tim Scott . A couple with two children from Indiana, where Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly faces a difficult reelection next year, explain to the audience that with combined wages of $73,000, they stand to save $2,000 under the Republican tax cuts enacted Wednesday.

This day in history, Dec. 23, 2017

On Dec. 23, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, on his way home from a visit to Australia and Southeast Asia, held an unprecedented meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican; during the two-hour conference, Johnson asked the pope for help in bringing a peaceful end to the Vietnam War. In 1788, Maryland passed an act to cede an area "not exceeding ten miles square" for the seat of the national government; about two-thirds of the area became the District of Columbia.

Single-payer system best answer

Why do some people continue to attack the Affordable Care Act for insurance costs going up when "for profit" health insurance companies have their profits and their shareholders as their main concerns? Reportedly, a large "for profit" health insurance company will raise premiums by 42 percent in 2018. Is their main concern the people paying premiums? Is there any real concern for your health? Who could answer "yes"? Why shouldn't all people have health insurance? No matter the age, accidents happen.

Year in Review: The Return of Sheila Oliver

After a tumultuous period as Assembly speaker from 2010 to 2014, Sheila Oliver fell prey to the same New Jersey Democratic bosses who had orchestrated her rise. She was seen as too independent-minded and not enough of a team player during a heady time when Democrats were busy cutting all kinds of deals with Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Time for Trump’s ‘America First’ makeover of NPR, PBS

At the close of 2017, no less than seven prominent male hosts and editors of influential government-sponsored radio and television shows are out of work amid claims of sexual harassment. According to their accusers, the alleged Malevolent Seven are powerful pervs and creeps who've been running wild at NPR and PBS for decades, sponsored and subsidized by taxpayers and corporate donors.

Tran’s GOP win douses Democrats’ firepower

The recent election of Republican Dean Tran of Fitchburg to the Massachusetts state Senate was an embarrassing rebuke to the state's top Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Despite their opposition, Tran defeated Democrat Susan Chalifoux Zephir, a Leominster city councilor who had the support of the state's Democrat Party hierarchy, as well as Charlene DiCalogero of Berlin an unenrolled candidate Claire Freda.

New year to be a challenge for Republicans in Congress

Ready to leave for the Christmas recess, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to a news conference to discuss the GOP agenda for next year and and his accomplishments in the first year of the Trump Administration, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Their tax bill triumph in the rear-view mirror, Republicans running Congress face a 2018 in which they'll need Democratic votes to get almost anything done.