"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the world’s worst cleaning lady. How has she fulfilled her vaunted promise to 'drain the swamp' and preside over the 'most ethical Congress in history'? By shrugging her shoulders, downplaying the gravity of myriad ethics charges against corruptocrat Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel and waiting for the 'political chips' to 'fall where they may.'  Imagine a custodial service that fixed toilet clogs by letting the overflowing waste and polluted waters 'fall where they may.' ... 

"As last-minute deal-making between Rangel and the foxes guarding the congressional henhouse continues, more and more Americans are coming to the same conclusions: House soilers can’t be cleaners. Voters, not Washington politicians, are the ultimate ethics committee."

"Attorney General Eric Holder could have dictated most of Judge Susan Bolton’s decision blocking key parts of the Arizona immigration law.

"The judge twists facts and logic to support the Justice Department’s claim that the state law preempts the federal immigration scheme. To do so, she accepts Justice’s implicit argument that it’s not the letter of the federal law that matters, but what parts of the law the executive decides to enforce. If her reasoning stands, we will basically cut Congress out of immigration policy and the states out of enforcement. Instead, our immigration system will entirely depend on executive discretion at a time when the executive has little interest in enforcing the law...

"The bottom line is that Arizona wants to enforce the law against illegal aliens. It wants them to be cognizant of the fact that the state is serious about the law, and therefore to conclude that it’s best to leave or not come in the first place. Arizona did not deem these people illegal aliens. The federal government did, in laws passed by Congress and signed by the president of the United States. Arizona thinks those laws mean something. If the Justice Department’s suit -- and Judge Bolton’s line of argument -- prevails, then we’ll know that they don’t. The real law of the land will be our current, de facto amnesty, imposed by executive whim."

"Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship. Moreover, his cynical approach to governance has encouraged his allies to pursue a similar strategy of racially divisive politics on his behalf...

"Mr. Obama has also cynically divided the country on class lines. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and corporations behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda...

"President Obama's divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture. Meanwhile, the Republican leadership has failed to put forth an agenda that is more positive, unifying or inclusive. We are stronger when we debate issues and purpose, and we are all weaker when we divide by race and class. We will pay a price for this type of politics."

"White House economic adviser Christina Romer is off-message. Her offense is nearly as grave as that of White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who let slip that Democrats are in danger of losing the House. Romer’s indiscretion was made in an academic paper arguing that tax increases kill growth . . . just as the White House prepares to increase taxes. 

"Published with her husband in the June issue of The American Economic Review, Romer’s paper is complicated and nuanced, befitting the work of a serious academic economist. It surveys tax changes during the past few decades in widely varying circumstances. But here’s a crude, two-sentence takeaway: 'Our estimates suggest that a tax increase of 1 percent of GDP reduces output over the next three years by nearly 3 percent. The effect is highly significant.'"

"November remains a political eternity away, but the Democrats foresee a thrashing for themselves. But they are not a party to take 'No' for an answer, even from the electorate, and so they plan to make the most of their losses, relying on their defeated and retiring candidates to pass the remains of their controversial and destructive legislative agenda in a post-election 'lame duck' session -- call it the 'Quitters’ and Losers’ Congress.' ...

"In November, the voters will make it known how they feel about the recent radical expansions in the scope and expense of American government, and they deserve to have their opinions taken into consideration when it comes to addressing the deficit. More important: They deserve to have someone to hold accountable if the taxers and spenders in Washington do not strike the right balance. Between now and November, Republicans should press Democratic office-seekers at every turn and work to extract the appropriate promises on this issue, even if that means making the lame-duck session an election issue in its own right. Even the lamest of congressmen should know better than to duck that obligation to the voters." 

"'Why do they hate us?'  It’s a burning question on the minds of border-dwelling taxpayers, small-business owners, and farmers, and of Rocky Mountain oil- and gas-industry workers suffering under punitive Democratic policies. Eighteen months into the Obama administration, the war on the American West is in full swing."

"Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll finds Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year. Eleven percent of Americans say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low for Congress, recorded in 2008 ...

"The military continues its long-standing run as the highest-rated U.S. institution. Small business and the police occupy second and third places, respectively. These three top-tier institutions all earn high confidence from a majority of Americans, something no other institution achieves this year."

"Cap-and-trade looms as a calamity. The billions Obama has spent on wind and solar subsidies seem to be yet another boondoggle. Fine — but exactly how are we going to transition to new fuels without going broke? Will the Republicans explain why oil, natural gas, clean coal, and nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power are all necessary, and state the rough percentage of our energy profile that each should make up? Can they retool 'Drill, baby, drill' for the post-BP age?"

"According to records obtained by The Daily Caller, at several points during the 2008 presidential campaign a group of liberal journalists took radical steps to protect their favored candidate. Employees of news organizations including Time, Politico, the Huffington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Guardian, Salon and the New Republic participated in outpourings of anger over how Obama had been treated in the media, and in some cases plotted to fix the damage.

"In one instance, Spencer Ackerman of the Washington Independent urged his colleagues to deflect attention from Obama’s relationship with [Reverend Jeremiah] Wright by changing the subject. Pick one of Obama’s conservative critics, Ackerman wrote, 'Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists.'"

"America is struggling with a sputtering economy and high unemployment — but times are booming for Washington’s governing class. 

"The massive expansion of government under President Barack Obama has basically guaranteed a robust job market for policy professionals, regulators and contractors for years to come. The housing market, boosted by the large number of high-income earners in the area, many working in politics and government, is easily outpacing the markets in most of the country. And there are few signs of economic distress in hotels, restaurants or stores in the D.C. metro area. 

"As a result, there is a yawning gap between the American people and D.C.’s powerful when it comes to their economic reality — and their economic perceptions."