PUBLICATIONS BY Ernest Istook
Research
Commentary
Media Appearances
2007 Research
December 14, 2007
Spending Hikes: A Guide to the Gimmicks
By Ernest Istook
(WebMemo #1746)
The omnibus appropriations bill exceeds the advertised $933 billion figure because it is stuffed with billions more in budget tricks and gimmicks.
December 14, 2007
Watch Out for Budget Gimmicks in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill
By Ernest Istook
(WebMemo #1748)
The budget process includes a number of loopholes that Members exploit to increase spending.
July 30, 2007
Congressional Spending: Past Abuse Is No Excuse for Today's Excess
By Ernest Istook, Jr.
(WebMemo #1575)
Despite the Democrats’ promise to be more fiscally responsible than their predecessors, Congress is on a spending binge that will harm economic growth and job creation. If Congress does not change course, President Bush must follow through on his veto threats.
July 09, 2007
Earmark Appropriations: Pork - Or Mystery Meat?
By Ernest Istook
(WebMemo #1541)
House Republicans pushed successfully to reform the rules regarding earmarks, but the battle over Congress's pork spending is still just beginning.
May 02, 2007
Post-Veto War Supplemental Must Eliminate Pork and Support Troops
By The Honorable Ernest Istook, Nicola Moore, Baker Spring, and Alison Acosta Fraser
(WebMemo #1440)
President George W. Bush was right to veto the war supplemental funding bill. In his second veto since taking office, the President rejected a bill that contained an unconstitutional usurpation of presidential authority as commander in chief and, by adding billions of dollars in pork and pet programs, made a mockery of the new Congress's pledges to return to fiscal discipline.
2009 Commentary
October 20, 2009
Congress' Light Bulb Law: Not So Bright
By Ernest Istook
Thank goodness I'm not imagining it. Others also have big problems with the new-fangled light bulbs Congress is forcing on us.
September 25, 2009
Democrats Use Stealth Tactics
By Ernest Istook
They still don't listen. Citizens cried out this summer for Congress to "read the bills" and understand the consequences of healthcare legislation before deciding and voting.
September 21, 2009
Obama Is Blitzing American TV
By Ernest Istook
While the left celebrates President Barack Obama's full-court press for health care, the right feels differently about "all-Obama, all-the-time" network TV schedules.
September 15, 2009
Beware of Obama's Healthcare Trickery
By Ernest Istook
When their direct path is blocked, politicians often resort to chicanery. That approach is evident in the healthcare debate.
September 15, 2009
Obama Buys Time
By Ernest Istook
President Obama had a national audience Wednesday night, but his key message was tightly focused -- to buy time with his fellow Democrats who hold seats in Congress.
September 04, 2009
What Did They Learn in August?
By Ernest Istook
During Washington's August recess, the floor collapsed beneath the left-wing agenda. Obama fell 16 points in the Gallup Poll and continues to slide.
August 28, 2009
Immigration Distrust on Health Bill
By Ernest Istook
Nothing illustrates America's distrust of Congress quite like the illegal immigrant provision of the House health care bill, HR 3200.
August 21, 2009
Myths You'll Hear at Town Halls
By Ernest Istook
Faced with angry constituents at town hall meetings, some congressmen and senators will say whatever it takes to calm things down. Even if it's misleading
August 14, 2009
The Purple People Beaters
By Ernest Istook
That would be the purple-shirted members of the SEIU--the Service Employees International Union--who (literally) swung into action outside a town hall meeting in Missouri and became infamous on YouTube and national media.
August 11, 2009
Town Hall Showdowns
By Ernest Istook
Which is the real America that is cramming into town hall meetings during Congress' recess?
July 28, 2009
What Obama Doesn't Know Can Hurt the Rest of Us
By Ernest Istook
President Obama admits he doesn’t know about major parts of the House health care bill, but he’s promoting the measure anyway. He's violated a cardinal rule of salesmanship: Know your product.
July 15, 2009
The Overstimulated Left
By Ernest Istook
America's left wing is in hyperdrive. Energized by last fall's ballot box success, they reject the increasingly popular notion that politicians in Washington are going too far.
July 06, 2009
Government's Comedy of Errors
By Ernest Istook
Does anyone believe the federal government is a model of efficiency? Oddly enough, superior government efficiency is a core argument offered by President Barack Obama and others pushing creation of a government-run health plan.
June 19, 2009
Giant Numbers Aren't Healthy
By Ernest Istook
First they said health care legislation would cost $1 trillion. Then they upped it to $1.6 trillion. It might as well be a made-up number like "gazillion."
June 09, 2009
Obama: 'Yes' to Bailouts, But 'No' to Defense?
By Ernest Istook
President Obama is not a totally profligate spender. But his selectively-parsimonious approach disturbs many who want to maintain a strong national defense.
June 02, 2009
Nationalized Cheerios?
By Ernest Istook
Regular superheroes save us from villains. Liberal superheroes save us from ourselves.
May 20, 2009
Waxman's Workover
By Ernest Istook
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is the top dealmaker who wants to re-design America's economy -- and possibly destroy it -- under the guise of saving the Earth from global warming. His deals have bought off coal state Dems (represented by Virginia's Rick Boucher) and those representing automakers' states (such as Michigan's John Dingell).
May 13, 2009
Could 2010 Census Include Make-Believe People?
By Ernest Istook
Left-leaning groups want to include millions of pretend people in the real-life 2010 Census. It almost happened in 2000. This time, they might get their way.
May 05, 2009
Don't Avoid Budget Discussion Like the Swine Flu
By Ernest Istook
Talking about the federal budget causes dizziness, headaches and confusion. That's why many Americans mistake it for the swine flu and try to avoid it.
April 16, 2009
'Celebrate' Tax Day
By Ernest Istook
A very rich man once told me how much he paid in income taxes the prior year. It was over $200 million. When I recovered my jaw from the floor, all I could think to say was: "Thank you!"
April 06, 2009
Uncle Sam's Car Lot and Repair Shop
By Ernest Istook
Government has not been able to repair our economy, but it has put taxpayers on the hook for billions to repair cars.
March 12, 2009
Sleeping Blue Dogs
By Ernest Istook
It's not just conservatives who publicly doubt President Obama’s economic plans. Moderates and even some on the left have begun to speak up and sound off.
March 07, 2009
Quiet Amnesty
By Ernest Istook
Openly supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants may still be a loser.
March 03, 2009
Stimflation: Tidal Wave of Debt to Hit America
By Ernest Istook
Trickle-down economics are out. The tidal wave is in -- a tidal wave of new spending. And new borrowing.
February 19, 2009
The Blues Admidst Hope
By Ernest Istook
President Obama’s signing of his “stimulus” bill marks a beginning, not an end. The bill gives both the American Left and the Right cause for celebration and hope, at least for now.
February 13, 2009
Show Us the Money
By Ernest Istook
With all eyes focused on how the Pelosi-Reid-Obama “stimulus” plan spends money, there’s been less attention paid to where government will get the money -- and with what consequences.
February 06, 2009
Obama-Pelosi Bill Makes For Stimulating Reality TV
By Ernest Istook
The American people are waking up. The behemoth Obama-Pelosi "stimulus" bill rampaging through Congress is just another bailout: this time to rescue big government from its own misbehavior.
February 06, 2009
Red faces about 'green' jobs
By Ernest Istook
It's red faces for those claiming government should subsidize "green" jobs for American workers.
According to new reports, they're not very well-paying jobs, and many could be exported to overseas workers. Plus, many of the other jobs from the bill would go to illegal immigrants!
January 28, 2009
Obama-Pelosi Plan Would Create Thirty-Two Government Programs
By Ernest Istook
The proposed Obama-Pelosi "economic stimulus" would end the era of merely big government and replace it with leviathan government.
"It'll never go away," says Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), calling the plan "a permanent increase at a time when we are in the worst financial shape we've ever been in." He adds, "None of this is going to stimulate anything."
January 16, 2009
A trillion reasons we're in deep trouble
By Ernest Istook
My 6-year-old granddaughter Abby bragged recently that she could count to 20. She proceeded to demonstrate, and I praised her. Then she asked how high I can count.
I told her that I don't know; I've never tried because it takes too long.
Today we talk about numbers so big that we cannot comprehend them.
2008 Commentary
December 25, 2008
Santa forced to evacuate North Pole
By Ernest Istook
Evacuation operations continue at the North Pole, as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, their reindeer and an estimated 5,000 elves are being relocated due to global warming to a secure but undisclosed location.
November 14, 2008
Conservatism's death: Greatly exaggerated
By Ernest Istook
The biggest problem facing America's conservatives isn't our "progressive" president-elect or the liberal leaders controlling Congress. It's defeatism.
November 09, 2008
Conservatism's death: Greatly exaggerated
By Ernest Istook
The biggest problem facing America's conservatives isn't our "progressive" president-elect or the liberal leaders controlling Congress. It's defeatism.
Liberal pundits such as the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne were quick to interpret the recent elections as "a definitive end to a conservative era." A Google search for "death of conservatism" this week produced 57,900 hits. It's the new common wisdom.
But should America's millions of conservatives be despairing? Of course not. That's what the left wants the most. "It is best to win without fighting," wrote Sun Tzu in "The Art of War." "The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord."
October 31, 2008
Middle-Class Tax Cuts Could Disappear. Again.
By Ernest Istook
Campaign promises often wilt after the election. Tax-cut promises are a frequent casualty.
October 27, 2008
Hot air about wind power
By Ernest Istook
The visuals are terrific. Imagine the Empire State Building with a windmill on top rather than King Kong. That's how the New York Post depicted Mayor Michael Bloomberg's latest idea. Another illustrator adorned the Brooklyn Bridge with windmills atop its towers.
October 17, 2008
Big-government fingerprints on murder weapon
By Ernest Istook
Multiple culprits deserve blame, but the Clinton administration stands out as a ringleader for diverting billions of dollars into junk sub-prime mortgages. Those loans have fouled the economy and siphoned away the capital needed by businesses and families today.
October 15, 2008
The CRA Cover-Up
By Ernest Istook
As always, it's the cover-up that sinks people. Liberals are working overtime to cover up their role in the mortgage meltdown. Not only did they block attempts to reform Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before they could drag down our economy, but liberals also abused the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), turning it into a vehicle for directing loans to unqualified homebuyers. The left knows that whoever shapes public understanding of what caused today's economic crisis can shape America's politics -- and its future -- for a great many years to come. Thus, they're pushing the notion that too little government regulation was at fault.
October 14, 2008
Big Brother is licking his chops
By Ernest Istook
America's liberals are gleefully pounding nails into Ronald Reagan's coffin. His life is beyond their reach, but his legacy is not. Their goal is to destroy that legacy by convincing America that free markets and conservative principles created the economic crisis.
October 03, 2008
Will new prez keep up crackdown on illegals?
By Ernest Istook
Will Mexico need a bailout? That country's second-largest source of income is money sent home by Mexicans living in the U.S. Most of that comes from illegal immigrants.
September 26, 2008
The wheat and the tares
By Ernest Istook
You can't fix the mortgage mess if you don't understand what caused it. That's not finger-pointing. That's common-sense.
A Biblical parable offers insight into why bad mortgage loans now threaten America's finances
September 12, 2008
Can American socialism ever be reversed?
By Ernest Istook
Is socialism too entrenched in America to be reversed?
Sen. Jim Bunning is one lawmaker who has had it.
Even as others such as The Heritage Foundation label it "unfortunate but necessary," the Kentucky Republican is incensed by the proposed federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To shore up the shaky mortgage giants, the plan would put taxpayers on the hook for as much as $5 trillion.
September 05, 2008
Partisanship is alive and well
By Ernest Istook
What politicians say and what they seek are still very often different things.
August 15, 2008
The great American freedom machine
By Ernest Istook
Let's hear it for automobiles. They are the great American freedom machines.
August 08, 2008
Pelosi's Great American Con Game
By Ernest Istook
A great con game is being played out in Washington, D.C.
The public is clamoring to open the spigot for American oil and gas. Drill Now. Drill Here. Pay Less. About 70 percent of the public say we should end the ban on offshore drilling. Even most Californians agree!
August 01, 2008
Congressional self-control: An oxymoron
By Ernest Istook
Lay's sells billions of potato chips with that slogan each year. The U.S. government operates on the same principle, selling us record-high deficits by appealing to our appetites for federal interventions and handouts.
July 25, 2008
Nancy Pelosi: The new George Wallace
By Ernest Istook
There's a Hall of Infamy for politicians who try to obstruct progress.
Alabama Gov. George Wallace qualified for induction in 1963, by standing in a schoolhouse door to block integration.
Today, we have leaders who block the offshore drilling that can ease our gasoline and energy woes. Standing in the way are the new segregationists who believe that oil and water should not mix – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Their goal is to keep the American people from exploring offshore and public lands.
July 11, 2008
Nightmare for the Left
By Ernest Istook
Environmentalists thought they had a lock on the current "progressive" Congress.
July 07, 2008
Rise of the unelected
By Ernest Istook
America's future prosperity may hinge on who wins an internal fight within the Bush administration.
June 20, 2008
'Congressional common sense': An oxymoron
By Ernest Istook
new government claim reminds me of hucksters on late-night TV.
This week, we were told that America will reap $54 billion in benefits simply by spending "only" $23 billion to help the handicapped.
Such a deal. It sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? But why stop at a paltry $23 billion? Why not spend more and save more? If only we went on a bigger spree, we could wipe out the national debt!
May 23, 2008
The home-liest bill yet
By Ernest Istook
Congress continues grabbing every opportunity to expand government, while missing golden opportunities for reform.
May 17, 2008
The Danger in Appeasing Gay Rights Activists
By Ernest Istook
The law was just a plaything to California's Supreme Court, and the justices twisted logic into a pretzel as they legalized same-sex marriage by judicial fiat.
May 09, 2008
Congressional 'compassion' with your money
By Ernest Istook
Even for Congress, $330 billion is a lot to give away. But the House of Representatives is managing that this week, passing companion bills that put taxpayers on the hook to give away that much to those struggling with mortgages – miscreants and victims alike.
May 06, 2008
Protect the People, Not Just the Bears
By Ernest Istook
Just when we need it most, more of our domestic oil and gas may soon be put off-limits due to yet another overreaction to the fallacy of global warming. Next week the Interior Departmet will have to decide if it’s going to declare polar bears an endangered species. If it does, more oil will be off limits, deepening America’s dependence on foreign oil and guaranteeing further surges in the price of gasoline.
May 02, 2008
Gasoline ignites political firestorm
By Ernest Istook
Gasoline prices have hit Washington like a Molotov cocktail. Gasoline prices,
It may be the biggest factor in this fall's elections, so Washington, D.C., politicians are trying to dodge the flames and make someone else the villain and the target.
April 29, 2008
Blame Congress for soaring gas prices
By Ernest Istook
It's time for consumers to strike back against the real culprits behind rising gasoline and food prices.
April 18, 2008
Ethanol: The political fuel
By Ernest Istook
Can it be that not everything green is good? Take ethanol. It's now under attack from its old buddies, the environmentalists. Some other former friends are also forsaking it.
April 10, 2008
Victims and villains
By Ernest Istook
The media have Mortgage Madness, and politicians have caught
April 09, 2008
Will your tax dollars go to mortgage cheats?
By Ernest Istook
These core teachings will be violated if Congress goes forward with plans to spend hundreds of billions to bail out people who lied to get a home mortgage loan.
March 28, 2008
Mismanaging the Mortgage Mess
By Ernest Istook
Bad decisions travel in pairs. Worse, they sometimes travel in mobs. Consider how government is overreacting to our mortgage mess -- proving the adage that nothing is so fouled-up that Congress can’t make it worse:
March 28, 2008
Public Housing Coming to Your Neighborhood?
By Ernest Istook
Public housing may be coming to your neighborhood. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is leading a movement to spend billions of tax dollars to buy homes in foreclosure and convert them to public housing.
February 29, 2008
Land of the free and home of the victims
By Ernest Istook
I wish I were a victim. Then people would give me things, and government would take care of me.
That's a dominant message on the presidential campaign trail, where some candidates preach that we have become a nation of victims, and that government is the only shining knight who can ride to our rescue
February 26, 2008
Ethanol policy threatens to starve the world
By Ernest Istook
These are leading causes of hunger, according to the United Nations. Soon we may add another. Ethanol.
February 05, 2008
Congress Will Send Billions To Tax Cheaters
By Ernest Istook
Cheaters never win? They’ll win billions from the “economic stimulus” package that’s rushing through Congress. Over five million people who file phony tax returns can expect to receive at least $300 each (and probably more) in checks from the U.S. Treasury.
January 26, 2008
Stimulating Bad Ideas
By Ernest Istook
Washington lawmakers are excited because they've found a formula that works. Not a formula to fix the economy, but a formula for how to spend excessively without making people mad.
January 18, 2008
We Can't Afford Congress Any More
By Ernest Istook
We can't afford Congress. It's driving America's cost-of-living through the roof.
2007 Commentary
December 03, 2007
Ethanol policy - what a turkey
By Ernest Istook
Ethanol subsidies are raising our food prices – dubbed the "Thanksgiving Tax" because it upped the cost we paid for Thanksgiving dinner.
October 22, 2007
States in rebellion
By Ernest Istook
Once again, the states are rebelling against Washington. Fed up with dithering in D.C., states are proving enforcement works. Enforcement not only can prevent illegal immigration, but actually reverse it.
October 16, 2007
Left Loves S-CHIP
By Ernest Istook
Big government pays for many things. One side-effect is the enrichment of groups who get the money, enabling them to afford more lobbying on behalf of even bigger government. Now they've joined the most brazen voices of the liberal Left in the S-CHIP debate.
October 06, 2007
Feds Sue Illinois for Flouting Immigration Law
By Ernest Istook
They're taking the scofflaws to court. This time, it's not just a meat-packing plant or a construction contractor, or some small business hiring illegal aliens. This time, it's the whole blooming state of Illinois, which has one of the worst records of looking the other way when illegals take jobs.
October 01, 2007
Frittering away road money
By Ernest J. Istook Jr.
When the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, America mourned - as we should.
July 31, 2007
President Conrad: A liberal solution to nomination gridlock.
By Ernest Istook
Want to end gridlock in Washington? Just pack the administration with liberals. That’s the message from key senators who seem determined to oppose any Bush appointee who won’t promise to toe the liberal line.
July 02, 2007
How low can you go?
By Ernest Istook
As a boy, I enjoyed playing the game "Limbo," with the idea being to set a bar as low as possible and then shimmy under it.
June 26, 2007
Senate Math: It's fuzzy
By Ernest Istook
The Senate's latest immigration proposal is another sad sign that Washington needs some remedial math classes. Not only does the amnesty bill defy common sense, but its numbers just don't add up.
June 07, 2007
Courting Illegality
By Ernest Istook
The Kennedy-Bush-McCain immigration bill will worsen the ever-growing disrespect for our laws.
April 12, 2007
By Default, Mugging Taxpayers
By Ernest Istook
There's about to be a mugging, and American taxpayers are the unsuspecting victims. Worse, the cop on the beat is looking the other way.
February 28, 2007
Fight Over Fiscal Discipline Begins With Bush's Budget
By Ernest Istook
There's a two-front battle between Congress and President Bush. While they feud over who will direct policy in Iraq, an inch-by-inch slugfest continues over who will control the domestic policy turf.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feeds