“Ross Douthat” on The Daily Caller

Sometimes It’s Simple: When I heard pollster Pat Caddell–who usually blasts Dems these days–say on Saturday that Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan was a near-suicidal act leading Republicans “off the cliff,” my initial instinct was to agree, especially regarding Ryan’s proposed Medicare changes. Here Republicans were winning the grinding debate over relatively small cuts in the federal discretionary budget. Democrats–the party that desperately needs to convince voters it can be trusted to get rid of $1.6 trillion annual deficits–seemed to be reflexively defending government bloat, measuring success by the amount of spending preserved the way antipoverty activists measure success by the number of people on the dole.  (more)

Haha! LOLZ! Of course not! (more)

Recently, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat and former Bush speechwriter David Frum exchanged blog posts over Governor Mitt Romney’s sincerity and commitment to the positions he takes on the issues (in full disclosure, I was a policy advisor to Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign). Specifically, Douthat writes: (more)

Upon last week’s unveiling of the “Pledge to America,” House Republicans received critiques from across the ideological spectrum. As commentators do so well, they quickly engaged in a round of mini-spats between those in support of the document, such as the National Review’s Rich Lowry, and those in opposition, like Ross Douthat at the New York Times. While it is interesting to read the breadth of opinion pieces about the Pledge, the most interesting — and important — data point is the extent to which the document resonates with the American people. (more)

Conservative advocates debated the social versus fiscal divide in Tea Party and GOP circles at a Family Research Council symposium Friday, headlined by The New York Times’ conservative columnist Ross Douthat. (more)

The Journolist scandal, wherein a group of “journalists” were caught conspiring to influence the media in a way that would help liberal politicians and liberal causes, has almost run its course. But there is one crucial and obvious question that should be explored. And after exploring it, I want to provide a chance at some healing. (more)

It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s political career. In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself. Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright. Now the black nationalist preacher’s rhetoric was threatening to torpedo Obama’s campaign. (more)