PUBLICATIONS BY Brian Darling
Commentary
Media Appearances
2008 Commentary
November 18, 2008
Congress Declares War on Taxpayers
By Brian Darling
This week on Capitol Hill, we expect to see at least two specious ideas up for consideration -- a bad stimulus package and an ill-advised automaker bailout.
October 22, 2008
U.S. Shouldn't Be Supporting ICC
By Brian Darling
Earlier this month a federal judge reminded us all of the immense power of the judiciary. He ordered the administration to release 17 Chinese Muslims being held at Guantanamo Bay into the U.S. Never mind that these men admitted to receiving terrorist training in Afghanistan and Pakistan and were captured fleeing training camps
October 14, 2008
Petraeus Lists Successes
By Brian Darling
If you asked Sen. Barack Obama two years ago for a strategy for Iraq, he would have recommended withdrawing all troops. The New York Times and other liberal news outlets would have said that Iraq was on verge of an inevitable civil war and a stunning U.S. defeat. Yet President Bush went with his "surge" strategy and wisely chose Gen. David Petraeus to lead it.
September 26, 2008
Conservative Victory on Energy
By Brian Darling
Under the command of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congress rarely produces a decisive victory for the American people and the conservative movement. It did last week.
September 16, 2008
"Drill, Baby, Drill"
By Brian Darling
Less than two weeks ago, the Republican convention erupted with chants of “Drill, Baby, Drill.” In a recent Quinnipiac poll, 62% of likely voters support “drilling for new oil supplies in currently protected areas off shore.” Support included 82% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, 67% of men, 58% of women, 65% of whites and 54% of blacks. Yet liberals in Congress don’t seem inclined to expand domestic energy production.
August 26, 2008
Socialism and the Cold War circa 2008
By Brian Darling
As Labor Day draws near, so too does the return of Congress, something every American should fear.
While the House of Representatives is clearly controlled by a majority of Democrats, the Senate is made up of a coalition of 49 Democrats and two independents. One of those independents is the self-proclaimed socialist from Vermont, Bernie Sanders. Because the Democrat alliance with a socialist controls only 51 out of 100 seats in the Senate, Sanders is an integral and necessary member of the governing union of the left and the far left.
August 19, 2008
Legislative Lowdown: The Do-Nothing Congress
By Brian Darling
For conservatives who have the stomach to monitor Congress, the 110th Congress has been especially unsatisfactory. Real Clear Politics has Congress with an average approval rating of 20% and a disapproval rating of 74%, strong evidence that the American people are nauseated with Congress.
Conservatives are angry because members of Congress do not have an appetite for a pro-active comprehensive conservative agenda for change. Remember the Contract with America? It worked, but evidently conservatives have a short memory. Real legislative achievements have been rare and liberals in Congress are in the process of starving the Bush Administration while anticipating a potential feeding frenzy if they capture the White House and both houses of Congress. It’s instructive to look back at what Congress failed to put away in the past 20 months.
August 13, 2008
Americans Take Back the House
By Brian Darling
History was made in the House of Representatives on Aug. 1 at 11:20 a.m. when Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) lead a cadre of Republicans, including John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) in a remarkable protest.
July 30, 2008
GOP Fights for Military Voting
By Brian Darling
Sens. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with Reps. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are engaging in legislative combat for the rights of our military to vote in the 2008 election.
July 22, 2008
Republican Socialism
By Brian Darling
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) has pledged to block a Bush administration proposal being steamrolled through Congress to grant the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve sweeping new powers. Slowing things down would allow Congress to debate the issue fully before approving measures that could put taxpayers on the hook for billions in debt incurred by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed home-mortgage giants.
July 08, 2008
Conservative Response to Death Penalty Ruling
By Brian Darling
On June 26, the Supreme Court struck down a death sentence in Louisiana for a man convicted of raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter. In a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that “we conclude that there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape.” Once again, the Court engaged in judicial activism and handed violent criminals new rights.
June 17, 2008
McCain-Lieberman: Then and Now
By Brian Darling
Four and a half years ago, the U.S. Senate rejected a global-warming bill sponsored by Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) by a decisive 43-55 vote. After the vote, McCain said, “We've lost a battle today, but we'll win over time because climate change is real. And we will overcome the influence of the special interests over time. You can only win by marshaling public opinion.”
June 10, 2008
Playing Politics with the Global War on Terror
By Brian Darling
May was a successful month in Iraq on many levels: Attacks in Iraq hit a four-year low, U.S. troop deaths are at their lowest level (down 85% from last May), oil production is almost at pre-war levels, and the anti-American strongholds of Basra and Sadr City are returning to a state of relative calm.
May 28, 2008
Conservatives Concern with Earmarks, Iraq and Immigration
By Brian Darling
Earmark Reform is a big issue for conservatives, because the American people want to see members of Congress weed out waste, fraud and abuse from the federal budget. Most earmarks are special-interest pork projects for a specific state or congressional district.
May 20, 2008
Media Ownership, Lieberman-Warner and Farm Bill Facing Congress
By Brian Darling
A week before Memorial Day, many Americans remain uneasy about their personal financial situation, partly because rising energy prices are putting a squeeze on family budgets. Now along comes a Heritage Foundation analysis of the Lieberman-Warner (S.2191) global-warming bill, which shows serious peril ahead if Congress enacts this cap-and-trade scheme to reduce carbon dioxide.
May 09, 2008
The Farm Bill and Other Bad Ideas
By Brian Darling
Need proof that Washington lawmakers are out of step with the American people? Consider the farm bill, a Depression-era relic that heavily subsidizes America's agriculture.
May 06, 2008
Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill
By Brian Darling
As millions of Americans prepare to spend their “stimulus” checks, the Senate is getting ready to debate what can be described as an enormous anti-stimulus bill. This legislation -- sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) -- is a “global warming” measure that could cripple our economy.
April 29, 2008
Federally Mandated Health Care Ahead?
By Brian Darling
Are we getting closer to socialized medicine? Some in the Senate are pushing for a bill to replace our current flawed health system with one that involves a complete federal takeover of our health care system, complete with mandates and federally approved, state-crafted plans.
April 22, 2008
Conservatives Must Be Aware of Liberal Agenda
By Brian Darling
Foreign Debt Relief. Last week the House passed the "Jubilee Act" to cancel debt for poor countries, a move that could cost Americans billions of dollars. House leaders failed to attach promised reforms to the debt cancellation, despite Treasury Undersecretary David McCormick's request that "any debt relief should be conditioned on the adoption of policies that promote sound economic practices." Apparently, they don't mind promoting unaccountable lending and forgiving nations that lack the will and/or the ability to repay their American taxpayer-financed loans
April 14, 2008
Congress Preparing for Another Spending Binge
By Brian Darling
Congress is on the verge of passing a $50 billion version of the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This bill would triple the current level of funding of $15 billion over the past five years. The House of Representatives passed the massive bill by a 308-116 margin on April 2 after rejecting a proposal to scale back the program to $30 billion.
April 10, 2008
Liberals Push Big-Spend Farm and Budget Measures
By Brian Darling
Baseball’s not the only thing in full swing here in Washington. So is Congress’s post-Easter work period. And conservatives had better watch out for liberals using the legislative equivalent of steroids to power through an agenda of higher taxes and more special-interest giveaways. The farm bill, the congressional budget and immigration are the three big items that conservatives need to monitor this week on Capitol Hill.
April 10, 2008
Dems Damn the Rules
By Brian Darling
Pelosi and Reid opened this Congress pledging a new openness and a respect for the rights of the minority party. Fifteen months later, their actions tell a far different story. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Sen. Reid's breaking of his word on a public-lands bill are the most recent evidence that a bait-and-switch is at work here.
2007 Commentary
June 27, 2007
Senate Rules
By Brian Darling
Usually, life in the U.S. Senate pokes along at a snail's pace. All the members insist they're working hard, but in a body that usually requires unanimous consent, it’s often difficult to make any headway.
June 21, 2007
Nightmare on Amnesty Street: Senate horror flick
By Brian Darling
Like a villain in a cheesy horror film, the Kennedy Amnesty Bill is back from the dead.
June 05, 2007
Presidential Wrongs: How about cracking down on illegals, not conservatives?
By Brian Darling
If President Bush were as intent on cracking down on illegal immigration as he is on insulting conservatives, we’d have a secure border by now.
May 18, 2007
GOP Sellout: A senseless giveaway on immigration
By Brian Darling
It may be harsh, but it's the most accurate and succinct way to sum up how conservatives feel right now about President Bush and Senate Republicans, who have cut a deal that would grant amnesty to the estimated 12 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. — not to mention the parents, spouses, and children of these illegals.
April 16, 2007
Avoiding Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants
By Brian Darling
President Bush says that Congress should pass comprehensive immigration reform "without amnesty," and he's right.
April 10, 2007
Campaign Capital; Repeal McCain-Feingold Law And Mandate Disclosure Instead
By Brian Darling
Clearly, the 2001 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law hasn't fully lived up to its promise of weeding excess money from political campaigns. In fact, "527" groups have thrived, providing yet another means for money to flow into the political process.
February 07, 2007
Amnesty Dilemma
By Brian Darling
Get ready for some strident debate next month. Congress is preparing to tackle immigration reform.
2006 Commentary
December 08, 2006
Flying in Unfriendly Skies
By Brian Darling
Six men are sitting together and talking in the boarding area, waiting to enter the plane you will be taking to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family. You notice the men, because ever since 9/11 you take note of other passengers. Three of the men start to pray loudly in Arabic. They intersperse English with Arabic when talking. You shudder instinctively, but you calm yourself by thinking that these guys must be different.
November 20, 2006
The Next Conservative Revolution
By Brian Darling
Election Day was all of the following for Republicans: a pounding, a thumping, a butt-whupping, a stomping, a drubbing, a shelling, a flogging, a spanking and an embarrassing beat-down. But the election wasn’t a loss for the conservative ideals of low taxes, traditional values and limited government.
September 16, 2006
The need for National Security Commissions
By Brian Darling
A declaration of war is just that, whether or not the recipient wants to fight.
January 5, 2009
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