Stories by FF Washington Insider
Washington Insider is an anonymous contributor.
Early this morning, I had breakfast with a member of Congress—a person I like, respect, have donated to in the past, will donate to in the future, and know isn’t crazy. This man shares at least 90 percent of my views. He’s not a Tea Party Caucus member but is a stalwart in the conservative more
Politico reports:
With less than five hours to go before a possible government shutdown, President Obama released a statement on Friday condemning the ongoing violence in Syria.
Urging the country’s authorities and protesters to refrain from using violence, Obama called for an end to “arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture of prisoners,” and demanded that “the free flow more
Democrats have responded to their midterm blowout by re-embracing Pelosi, insulting the public and labeling Obama a sellout. What are they thinking? more
Has Gingrich turned into Alan Keyes? On Wednesday, he claimed the mention of God in the Declaration of Independence as the source of “American exceptionalism.” more

Whether the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis becomes a defining moment for the Obama administration will depend on the president’s subsequent actions and the scope, scale, and persistence of the cleanup. more
The GOP handling of party-switching Representative Parker Griffith was a sharp contrast with the Democrats’ treatment of Sen. Arlen Specter. more
Here are a list of words and phrases that are likely to appear in tonight’s speech. Arrange them 5×5 in a standard bingo format and play along at home to make the speech go faster. Usually, everyone’s a winner. more
In a recent interview, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) accused the White House and Democrats of pressuring him to not speak out about the abortion language in the Senate health care bill. more
Earlier this week, critics jumped on Fox News for airing older footage of Sarah Palin at a 2008 campaign rally during a report about her current book tour. For anyone familiar with live television, this could have happened quite easily by mistake. more
A press release has come our way from the office of Senator Foghorn Leghorn of Texas… more
In Westchester County, New York, Republican candidate John Cronin rode to a big win by presenting himself as moderate, focusing on the issues and addressing issues the GOP often ignores. more
The mishandling of the swine flu national emergency — the long lines and shortages of the vaccine — is a taste of how things will be when the federal government is in charge of healthcare. more
The Nobel Committee has created a pretty little problem for White House counsel Greg Craig this morning. The value of the gift is $1.4 million, and technically, it’s a “Foreign Official Gift.” more
Insider loves a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone else, so here’s one: What if the White House actually knew beforehand that Chicago was going to lose its Olympic bid? more
Today’s Politico reports that a coalition of groups supporting President Obama’s health reforms have hired the former firm of Obama adviser David Axelrod. more
A Huffington Post piece on the Sotomayor hearings, reports that: “As [Senator Leahy] spoke, a Democratic operative passed on some observations and talking points that are being pushed around in Sotomayor’s defense.” Does anyone believe for a minute that those talking points were not written before the hearings began today? more
The shocking news that Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Karen Williams of South Carolina has retired effective immediately means that the balance of judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats on the Circuit will change even more dramatically and quickly than had been expected. more
According to this story in The Hill today, Democrat Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) refused to join ranking Republican Darrell Issa (R-CA) in seeking documents related to the “Friends of Angelo” program. Makes one wonder what Chairman Towns’ reaction might be if it were two Republican senators who received sweetheart mortgage deals from Countrywide instead of more
I guess he was admissible after all. more
Will Governor Bill Richardson (the former designee for Commerce Secretary) attend the town hall with President Obama? If so, how close together will the two men stand? more