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State capitols across the country will be more Republican than at any point since the Roaring '20s. A day after a big election, newly emboldened Republican state leaders already were making plans Wednesday to pursue deeper tax cuts, relax business regulations, expand private school vouchers and impose new limits on public welfare programs. In some states, such as Kansas, Republicans will be able to do as they want, because they control both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office. In others, such as neighboring Missouri, the Republicans' legislative super majorities will be so large that they can essentially disregard...

Dear President Obama, It’s not us; it’s you. It’s all you. In the election in which you sought and gained ballot access while repeatedly disregarding pleas of the actual Democrat candidates- candidates who wanted nothing to do with you-- and just wanted you to sit down and shut up, you got beat. And now Democrats know how Chicago feels. Just like you did with your “hometown,” you used the Democrats to build a legacy for yourself. And then left them to burn and rot. How’s this for a legacy? In addition to losing Libya, Egypt (only for a time), Iraq,...

Potential 2016 presidential hopefuls are facing political peril as they grapple with the spread of Ebola in their backyards.New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) encountered those exposed risks this weekend as he faced fierce criticism from a nurse quarantined in his state after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.  ADVERTISEMENT New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), considered a possible Democratic contender or vice presidential pick, appeared with Christie on Friday to emphasize the risks of the virus. After facing criticism, on Sunday night he walked back a stringent Ebola quarantine protocol and said medical workers with no contact with Ebola...

State governors are enacting quarantines on healthcare professionals returning from Ebola-stricken West Africa because the American public does not trust the Obama administration to handle the growing crisis, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said Sunday. "Governors of both parties are reacting to an absence of leadership," Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CNN "State of the Union" host Candy Crowley. Over the weekend, the states of New York, New Jersey, and Illinois have all imposed mandatory quarantines on people returning from West Africa, particularly healthcare workers, after Doctors Without Borders physician Dr. Craig Spencer was...

America’s high business taxes are discouraging investment and prompting companies to move their headquarters abroad. Most policymakers say they favor cutting the corporate-tax rate to help fix the problem, but reforms are stuck in Washington gridlock. Thank goodness for the states. Many governors are championing fiscal reforms, and business tax cuts are one area of progress. We document these reforms in Cato’s new “fiscal report card,” which assigns grades of “A” to “F” to the governors based on their efforts to restrain government since 2012. This year we awarded “A” grades to four governors: Pat McCrory of North Carolina signed...

A ballot issue in Florida this November will be "Amendment 2", a measure that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. Crist and his liberal ally, attorney John Morgan, are proponents of the ballot measure, while current GOP governor Rick Scott is against it. WFTV9 reports: Crist has changed parties and changed stances on gay marriage, abortion and medical marijuana. He said he will vote yes on Amendment 2. “I do support it,” Crist said. “Rick Scott opposes it; I don't know what else to tell you.” Critics think medical marijuana was pushed onto the ballot by Attorney John Morgan...

<p>As heavy lobbying by the hospital industry intersects with immediate political considerations, a growing number of Republican governors are caving in to Medicaid expansion through President Obama’s healthcare law.</p> <p>In the process, they are imposing massive and unnecessary financial burdens on taxpayers.</p>

Immigration is a complex problem. So is the long-term question of how the United States should handle the influx of tens of thousands of children from Central America. Beyond the legal mandates, we owe them basic human decency. On the other hand, to say that they should all simply stay here for good begs big questions about encouraging more children to make this journey, and the rights of all the people abroad who are waiting their turn in line. Unless you believe in open borders, it’s all thorny. What seems right for an individual child can seem wrong systemwide. But...

The surge of Latin American children trying to cross the U.S. border threatens to strain states’ resources and is testing their already fragile relationship with Washington, governors from both parties warned Friday. As they gathered here for a meeting of the National Governors Association, the state leaders seethed at what they said was a lack of support and information from the federal government. The border crisis was on the tip of nearly every governor’s tongue in the early part of their meeting here, yet the group passed on the chance to grill Vice President Joe Biden on the subject when...

Last weekend's meeting in Washington, D.C. of the National Governors Association was covered as a genial meeting of the governors with President Obama. I believe I have heard it described as positive and constructive. As it turns out, and is now being revealed, those adjectives do not seem to apply. Not at all. What really happened is something that many of us have grown to expect from President Obama. He has his say about any given issue and tries to bully the rest of the room into submission. Some of the governors in the meeting have been polite about the...

Republican governors are accusing President Barack Obama of making politically motivated cuts to their states’ National Guard funding. Speaking to reporters after a meeting between the President and the National Governors Association, the GOP governors said they were deeply troubled by Obama’s tone when asked about planned cuts to the National Guard. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said Obama became ”aggressive” and that his tone “chilled the room quite a bit.” “He basically said, ‘Many people in this room have asked for cuts, and now you getting ’em,’” Haley said at a news conference across from the White House at...

February 24, 2014 Texas Gov. Rick Perry: The Tone From This President Is Troubling TRANSCRIPT-provided by YouTube I don't mind telling you I was a bit troubled today by the tone of the president. When you have governors - and we all compete against each other. We are the laboratories of innovation and for the President the United States to look Democrat and Republican governors in the eye and to say "I do not trust you to make decisions in your state about issues of education, about transportation infrastructure..." That is really troubling, particularly when you're seeing states be what...

Rick Perry admitted at the RGA today that he was very troubled by Obama’s tone today addressing the National Governors Association: I don’t mind telling you I was a bit troubled today by the tone of the president. …For the president of the United States to look Democrat and Republican governors in the eye and to say ‘I do not trust you to make decisions in your state about issues of education, about transportation infrastructure…’ – that is really troubling. Perry went on to say that Obama was going to hollow out the National Guard and warned the state governors...

The nation’s governors emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama Monday claiming harmony, only to immediately break into an on-camera partisan feud in front of the West Wing. Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal lashed out first, saying if Obama were serious about growing the economy he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and take other executive actions. […] Jindal’s statements were the kind that Republicans often make on television appearances or at partisan events. But his colleagues had been instead expressing wide agreement and appreciation for the president’s time. Some of the governors began shaking their heads, and...

Obama administration officials met with a nationwide task force of state and local leaders in Los Angeles Thursday to hear what the federal government can do to help communities confront climate change. Gov. Jerry Brown and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were among the governors, mayors and tribal leaders from across the country who joined federal officials for a closed-door meeting at Los Angeles City Hall.

Which of these new governors, since taking office, have reduced the size of their state bureaucracy? Less than half of them have, despite hard economic times that have hit state budgets. And you might also be surprised at which ones did...

FRANKFORT — A year after Gov. Steve Beshear implemented the federal health care law without legislative approval, Senate Republicans plan to push a constitutional amendment that would curb the governor's power to issue administrative regulations. Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said his caucus would push for the restriction early in the 2014 General Assembly that begins Tuesday. The proposed change to the state Constitution would keep a regulation issued by the governor or executive branch from taking effect if lawmakers declare it deficient. The governor and executive agencies issue about 700 regulations each year to implement various laws approved by...

http://www.lp.org/candidates/liberty-candidates-13/ken-kaplan Ken Kaplan for Governor of New Jersey

Obama told 25 governors on a conference call that the shutdown "is hurting local economies." President Obama hit Congressional Republicans on Friday telling a bipartisan group of governors that the "brinksmanship strategy" of shutting down the government and threatening default is something "the country can't afford." Obama made the comments to 25 governors on a conference call aimed at discussing the effect of the federal shutdown on state budgets and the overall economy, according to a White House readout of the call....... Obama was joined on the call by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, NEC Director Gene Sperling, Deputy Office of...

Earlier this week, CNN asked me to write an op-ed on Ted Cruz, and whether he’s a realistic contender for the presidency. My reaction: Of course he is — but probably not in 2016. And for that matter, neither are the Republicans who seem to get the most mention for that position: No one doubts that Cruz has a bright future in the Republican Party, but that doesn’t mean the future is now.Cruz, like Rubio and Rand Paul, have only barely arrived on the national stage and are many years younger than their sell-by date. None of the three has...