"All the 7 million number the White House will be touting for months to come really achieves is an end to the 'website is broken' storyline which began unexpectedly last fall. Opponents of the law, who had expected all the other disruptions that Obamacare spawned (the substance story of people losing their plans, losing access to their doctors, the broad disruption to employers and employees), were given an additional process story in the broken exchange and bungled launch and collapsing state exchanges. That latter storyline overwhelmed people in both parties – it was such a public faceplant that it made things seem even worse. But it was also a story that was destined to end eventually – indeed, it’s surprising it lasted for a full six months! – and it has largely ended due to all the exemptions, waivers, loopholes, and extensions the Obama Administration has slapped all over this launch process, like using bumper stickers to hold a jalopy together. 

"This is why talk of the 7 million figure as salvation from supporters of the law is completely bonkers: all you did was meet your lowered policy expectations."

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are the party of the rich, right? It's a label that has stuck for decades, and you're hearing it again as Democrats complain about GOP opposition to raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits.  

"But in Congress, the wealthiest among us are more likely to be represented by a Democrat than a Republican. Of the 10 richest House districts, only two have Republican congressmen. Democrats claim the top six, sprinkled along the East and West coasts. Most are in overwhelmingly Democratic states like New York and California."

"Today’s quiz: What do Vladimir Putin’s aggression and ObamaCare’s troubles have in common? OK, that was too easy. 

"It is impossible to dismiss as mere coincidence the Russian Bear’s invasion of Ukraine and the continuing mayhem of the Affordable Care Act. In their own ways, each reflects the full flowering of the policies of Barack Obama. 

"His chickens are coming home to roost, and what a mess they are making."

"Speaking to a House committee investigating the IRS targeting of conservatives, agency chief John Koskinen told legislators he would get them the internal IRS e-mails they seek — but it will take 'years.' ...

"We already know from Lois Lerner herself that the IRS singled out conservative organizations for unfair tax treatment. We know, too, she was in on an e-mail talking about drafting new rules for these organizations 'off-plan' — i.e., under the political radar. And we know Lerner sent confidential tax info to her private e-mail account.

"Given this, and given her refusal to explain herself to Congress, shouldn’t we be demanding the IRS fork over — now — all information that would let the people’s representatives know what one of Washington’s most powerful agencies is doing?"

"One by one, the myths of the Affordable Care Act have been revealed. When the curtain on open enrollment falls on March 31, the last remaining big myth of ObamaCare will be fully exposed: The individual mandate has failed. ... 

"The individual mandate had the least effect on those it was supposed to encourage to gain coverage — the uninsured. McKinsey & Co. surveys found that a little over one-quarter of people signing up for coverage last month were previously uninsured.  Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that about one million uninsured Americans will sign up for the ObamaCare exchanges before open enrollment ends. For perspective, that's about 2% of the 48 million uninsured. ... 

"Expect the mandate to turn into even more of a 'suggestion' before votes are cast in this November's congressional elections. With the mandate illusion off the table, the Affordable Care Act can no longer hide what it truly is: another unfunded liability for taxpayers."

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will refund his campaign for the purchase of more than $16,000 in holiday gifts that came from his granddaughter’s jewelry company. 

"'I thought it would be nice to give supporters and staff thank-you gifts that had a personal connection and a Searchlight connection, but I have decided to reimburse the campaign for the amount of the expenditure,' Reid said in a Tuesday statement. 

"The refund comes after the Federal Election Commission sent a letter last week to Reid’s campaign, asking for additional information about two payments totaling $16,786.93 to 'Ryan Elisabeth' on Reid’s 2013 year-end campaign finance report.  ... 

"'It’s pretty brazen for Senator Harry Reid to funnel nearly $17,000 in campaign funds to his granddaughter for ‘holiday gifts.’ One of these days Reid will learn that Nevadans don’t appreciate him using campaign money as his personal slush fund,' said Jahan Wilcox, a Republican National Committee spokesman in a statement."

"Add cyberspace to the fronts where the world’s thugs are on the march, and America is in retreat. ... 

"[T]he Obama administration this month removed a major obstacle to authoritarians’ bid for control of the Internet, as the Commerce Department announced it will terminate its contract with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names, next year. 

"It sounds like a minor bureaucratic decision, but in fact it removes the one clear guarantee that the Internet stays free and open when countries like Russia, China and Iran are working to make sure no one receives or sends anything over the ’Net that they don’t approve of or control. 

"In the view of history, Obama’s surrenders on Syria and Ukraine will pale in comparison with his surrender of the Internet to its enemies."

"Some of my best friends, to coin a phrase, are lifetime government employees. When they stop working, their pensions will put them among the highest-earning retirees in the country. On a personal level, I’m glad my friends’ retirement will be so comfortable. But as a taxpayer, I know that their good fortune, multiplied by hundreds of thousands of government workers like them, will only worsen a swelling political and fiscal crisis. 

"Around the country governments are facing a tidal wave of pension obligations that they haven’t figured out how to pay for. By some estimates, the states’ long-term unfunded pension liabilities add up to more than $4 trillion.  ... 

"For the average career government employee retiring today, pension benefits will equal 87 percent of their final salary. Those benefits are eating taxpayers alive, as the pension bomb ticks ever louder."

"Senior Justice Department officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and former FBI Director Robert Mueller used federal aircraft for hundreds of personal trips that were not properly reported, according to a watchdog report. 

"Congress’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined that the flights cost taxpayers $7.8 million. But the General Services Administration, which oversees such trips, did not require documentation because of a GSA reporting exemption that covers intelligence agencies, even in cases of unclassified personal travel."

"The House Oversight Committee's investigation of the IRS is at an inflection point. The president's congressional supporters realize that the administration's version of the agency's targeting of conservative nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status — such as blaming local officials in the Cincinnati office or claiming that liberal groups were victimized along with conservative groups — is nonsense. Instead of debating the substance, they have resorted to procedural antics and misleading rhetoric.  ... 

"A special prosecutor, uncompromised by partisan political winds, provides hope of uncovering what happened at the IRS. As Elijah Cummings, my Democratic colleague on the Oversight Committee, said on May 22, 2013 — the day of the committee's first IRS hearing — getting the truth and restoring trust must be paramount. 'This is more important than one election,' he explained. 'The revelations that have come forward so far provides us with a moment pregnant for transformation; not transformation for a moment, but for generations to come and generations yet unborn.' 

"I hope Mr. Cummings and fellow members of his party will join me in acknowledging the time has come for the appointment of an independent and unbiased special prosecutor."