Joel B. Pollak

Joel B. Pollak - Page 335

Articles by Joel B. Pollak

When It Mattered, Red-State Dems Voted Against Obamacare Delay

Dana Bash of CNN reported Wednesday evening that all of the Democratic Senators facing re-election in 2014 would back a “new” proposal to delay the Obamacare enrollment deadline–not really “new,” since Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) already said he would propose

Perry, Sandoval Visit Israel

Ha’aretz reports that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval are both visiting Israel this week. Both are considered possible contenders for the 2016 GOP nomination.  Perry is being accompanied on their visit by the Republican Jewish Coalition. 

Perry, Sandoval Visit Israel

The Hill's Erik Wasson Asks If RYAN Will Do a Budget Deal

After President Barack Obama vowed not to negotiate over the continuing resolution or the debt ceiling, after the Democratic Senate failed to pass a successful budget since 2009, The Hill‘s Erik Wasson

The Hill's Erik Wasson Asks If RYAN Will Do a Budget Deal

The Saudis and Obama: Weakness Breeds Contempt

All the bowing to the monarchy, all the Muslim outreach, all the criticism of Israel, all the help in crushing a Shia rebellion in Bahrain meant nothing to Saudi Arabia, which has let it be known that it intends to

The Saudis and Obama: Weakness Breeds Contempt

The Kasich Litmus Test for 2016

Amidst all the talk about a split between the Republican establishment and the Tea Party, there is still some underlying unity–at least if Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal editorial page, a reliable barometer of GOP elite opinion, is any indication. The Journal takes

Bernie Sanders and the Playboy Paradox

The November issue of Playboy features an interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who spends much of the article railing against the evils of capitalism and its alleged control of the political system. Playboy does deserve some credit for ideological diversity: in

Bernie Sanders and the Playboy Paradox

Experts Conclude: Limbaugh Plan Better than Obama's Stimulus

In 2009, at the height of debate about President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh proposed a compromise in the pages of the Wall Street Journal that would have devoted half the stimulus to tax cuts. Now, a

Experts Conclude: Limbaugh Plan Better than Obama's Stimulus

Five-Alarm Fire for Obama's 'Fifth-Year' Fall Failure

President George W. Bush’s presidency began to unravel in the autumn of 2005, after the Hurricane Katrina disaster seemed to affirm much of what critics had said about the administration’s cronyism and inattention to domestic affairs. Likewise, President Barack Obama’s

Five-Alarm Fire for Obama's 'Fifth-Year' Fall Failure

Amnesty International Accuses Obama of 'War Crimes'

Amnesty International has accused the Obama administration of “war crimes” in its drone policy in a new report released Tuesday. The human rights organization reviewed forty-five drone strikes in the Pakistani providence of Waziristan since January 2012, and concluded that they

Amnesty International Accuses Obama of 'War Crimes'

Obamacare Tech Firm Tried, Failed to Build Gun Registry in Canada

CGI, the Canadian company whose U.S. subsidiary built the failed Obamacare website, was once contracted to build a federal gun registry for the Canadian government, Breitbart News has learned.  CGI’s contract was canceled in 2007 after a report by the

Obamacare Tech Firm Tried, Failed to Build Gun Registry in Canada

How to Save California in 3 Easy Steps

Gov. Jerry Brown is being hailed by the left media for balancing the state’s budget. Unfortunately, he did so by raising taxes, thereby continuing the state’s economic self-destruction, and by raiding the funds California had raised through its rather inept

How to Save California in 3 Easy Steps

Crazy Barry Declares Health Insurance BLOWOUT SALE!

On Monday morning, President Barack Obama stepped into the role of pitchman as he tried to convince a skeptical public that the Affordable Care Act is a success and that Americans should keep trying to access the program despite the

Crazy Barry Declares Health Insurance BLOWOUT SALE!

J.P. Morgan Case Reveals Bipartisan Political Problem

The Wall Street Journal‘s lead editorial Monday presents a good summary of what is wrong with the government’s case against J.P. Morgan: it seeks to punish a company for helping the government; it targets one of the only financial firms

J.P. Morgan Case Reveals Bipartisan Political Problem

5 Predictions for Obama's Obamacare 'Glitch' Speech

President Barack Obama will address the glaring problems of the so-called “glitches” in the Obamacare websites. (Given the scale and complexity of the legislation itself, it would be more accurate to say that the problems are features, not bugs.) I

CNN's Zakaria: Conservatives 'Hate America'

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria is a sanctimonious elitist and a plagiarist besides. Yet he still has a worldwide audience via Global Public Square. And so his rantings do merit comment from time to time, especially when they spread rabid anti-conservative propaganda

CNN's Zakaria: Conservatives 'Hate America'

It's Never Too Early: Principles for Picking Presidents, 2016

The Republican Party, Ari Fleischer said earlier this year, is one presidential election away from unity and success. I disagree–there is much work to be done before then, and not necessarily in Fleischer’s preferred fashion. However, since leadership is probably

On Iran, the U.S. Is Negotiating with Itself

It is remarkable that President Barack Obama should prove so inept in international negotiation after winning a tough negotiation fight with his domestic rivals. Yet domestic opposition has always focused his attention more than foreign enemies; indeed, there is enthusiasm

On Iran, the U.S. Is Negotiating with Itself

'The Only Way to Dismantle Obamacare is to Win Elections'

So says my friend Ed Morrissey, and he’s largely right. But it is worth pointing out why that strategy feels inadequate to many conservatives: we were told the same thing in 2012, when the candidate did not really run on

Actually, Obama 'Manufactured' the Crisis

The White House and its press corps have come to a consensus that the recent shutdown/debt limit debate was a “manufactured crisis”–the implication being that it was manufactured by Republicans. That is untrue–first because President Barack Obama and the Democrats

Actually, Obama 'Manufactured' the Crisis

Negotiation 101: I Repeat–Obama Blew a Huge Opportunity

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) claimed on Friday that the fight to defund Obamacare had been a plus for the GOP, in part because it prevented Republicans from having to give in on the sequester. That fight is not yet over,

Negotiation 101: I Repeat–Obama Blew a Huge Opportunity

Why Can't I Compromise? A Blogger Responds to President Obama

President Barack Obama attacked “bloggers” like me today, blaming us for the recent crisis and imploring the rest of the nation to find a way to responsible compromise. Instead of rejecting outright what he was saying, I paused to consider

Why Can't I Compromise? A Blogger Responds to President Obama

Will Obama's 'Fever' Break?

President Barack Obama has said repeatedly that he hopes the “fever” of Republican opposition will “break,” as if checks-and-balances were a disease rather than the essence of the American Constitution. Ron Fournier of the National Journal–who in the past has

Will Obama's 'Fever' Break?

Turkey Sells Out Israel–and America–In Spy Leaks

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is supposedly one of President Barack Obama’s best foreign friends. He epitomizes Obama’s ideal of an Islamist leader who adapts his politics to the needs of the global economy and the modern state–a model

Turkey Sells Out Israel–and America–In Spy Leaks

NPR's Renee Montagne Flunks Civics–and Fairness

National Public Radio has been cheerleading for President Barack Obama throughout the shutdown, and exulted in his political win the morning after Congress passed legislation to end the confrontation. But Morning Edition host Renee Montagne went even further in her

NPR's Renee Montagne Flunks Civics–and Fairness

Give the Devil His Due

And by “devil,” I mean Eric Boehlert, who turned out to be right about Obama’s intransigence after all: adorable…..Breitbart’s @joelpollak dreaming out loud abt Obamacare “concessions” GOP is totally gonna win from WH; http://t.co/bJajDh4VzX — Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) October 1,

No Negotiation on Immigration

In the spirit of the President’s recent stance against negotiation over Obamacare and the debt ceiling, I propose that the same principle should apply to issues of equal importance. The security of America’s borders is one such issue. Accordingly, there

Senate Deal Provides $174k to Lautenberg's Millionaire Widow

A specific provision in the draft of the Senate bill to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, provides for $174,000 to be provided to the widow of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg

Senate Deal Provides $174k to Lautenberg's Millionaire Widow

A Response to Philip Klein

Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner is one of the most brilliant conservative commentators around, and his column today, “GOP can learn from Democrats on advancing their agenda,” is a worthy read. However, while I agree that Republicans can learn, I

A Response to Philip Klein

The Senate Saves Boehner, Ironically

The Senate’s deal on ending the shutdown and raising the debt ceiling may have saved the country from further crisis. It may also have saved John Boehner’s speakership. House conservatives seem to have accepted that the deal, while bad, is

Look Who's Dissing Andrew Breitbart

Former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers tells Salon.com today that Andrew Breitbart and Tucker Carlson are not “all that bright.” His evidence: they believe(d) in “small government.” His argument: Somalia has a small government, too. It takes a special kind

Look Who's Dissing Andrew Breitbart

Douthat Defends the Tea Party

On Monday, Ross Douthat of the New York Times mocked the Tea Party as the “Kurtz Republicans,” comparing them to the villain of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. On Wednesday, however, Douthat acknowledged that the Tea Party actually had some good

Douthat Defends the Tea Party

With Dow Up 150, NPR Says Deal Must 'Calm Financial Markets'

As the Down Jones Industrial Average broke through 150 points up on the day–after half an hour of trading–National Public Radio’s hourly news broadcast was still stuck on yesterday’s mainstream media narrative, informing listeners that a congressional deal on the

With Dow Up 150, NPR Says Deal Must 'Calm Financial Markets'

Yes, House GOP Leadership Had a Strategy

Some House Republicans seem to have settled on Ted Cruz and the Tea Party as the scapegoats for the party’s apparent capitulation in the budget and debt ceiling fights. Robert Costa of National Review Online relates that members of the Republican

Yes, House GOP Leadership Had a Strategy

The Stock Market Might Rise Today After All

President Barack Obama and the media have been hoping for weeks that the stock market would crash to teach those extremist Tea Party Republicans a lesson about imposing fiscal discipline on the nation. Here was NBC’s Chuck Todd yesterday: Tomorrow,

Be Careful What You Wish For, David Frum

Former Bush speechwriter and Daily Beast contributing editor David Frum echoed much of D.C. and elite liberal opinion when he suggested on Tuesday that it would be a “blessing” for Republicans if the Tea Party left the party. “[I]t’s not

Be Careful What You Wish For, David Frum

Negotiation 101: Is a Deal Even Possible?

In basic negotiation, there is an idea called a ZOPA–a Zone of Possible Agreement, describing the range of deals that might be acceptable to all sides. If there is no ZOPA, negotiation might be a waste of time.  Greg Sargent,

Negotiation 101: Is a Deal Even Possible?

Tea Party and Trade

Col. Alan West, the veteran, stalwart Tea Party conservative and former congressman from Florida, staked out an anti-free trade position earlier today at Breitbart. On many issues, I agree with Col. West, but on trade I cannot. Though additional authority

5 Things Lost, 5 Things Won by GOP in Budget/Debt Fight

The House has yet to vote on Republican leaders’ proposed bill for ending the government shutdown and the debt ceiling fight. The GOP, having entered aiming to defund Obamacare and reach some agreement on major budget changes, now merely hopes

5 Things Lost, 5 Things Won by GOP in Budget/Debt Fight

Negotiation 101: You Have to Be Able to Walk Away

President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seem hell-bent on forcing Republicans to choose default. By pre-emptively rejecting House Republicans’ minor modifications to the proposed Senate deal on the shutdown and the debt ceiling, the White House and

Negotiation 101: You Have to Be Able to Walk Away

Obama Administration Seeking Peace in Our Time

President Barack Obama is eager to life sanctions against Iran. The Hill reports that a senior administration official says that sanctions will be lifted “quickly” if Iran meets western concerns about its nuclear program.  There is, actually, a case for lifting

Obama Administration Seeking Peace in Our Time