Jay Cost


Jay Cost is a contributing editor at The Weekly Standard and the author of A Republic No More: Big Government and the Rise of American Political Corruption.

Stories by Jay Cost


You Had One Job

Why can't Congress pass a budget?
4:22 AM, Jan 26, 2018
It is remarkable that the January 20-22 government shutdown was greeted with a collective shrug from the public. Compared to Newt Gingrich’s epic 1995-96 tussle with Bill Clinton and Ted Cruz’s showdown with Barack Obama in October 2013, this one barely registered on the national radar. From a certain small-government perspective, this is all well and good. The more people realize that a shutdown does not affect them, the less they will feel dependent upon the central government. But it’s more Read more

A Game of Constitutions

Role-playing the Founders.
8:02 PM, Jan 12, 2018
'Do you know," Thomas Jefferson wrote tantalizingly to John Adams in the summer of 1815, “that there exists in manuscript the ablest work of this kind ever yet executed, of the debates of the constitutional convention of Philadelphia?” Unfortunately for him, Adams never had occasion to read these notes, for they were taken by James Madison, who kept them from public view for the whole of his life. Jefferson, as Madison’s political confidant, got to sneak a peek, but otherwise the “labor and exac Read more

Unidentified Fiscal Objects

The rest of the New York Times UFO story.
4:00 AM, Jan 05, 2018
Last month, the New York Times reported what appeared to be a bombshell: The United States Department of Defense had squirreled away $22 million to fund the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. This “shadowy” program—run from “the Pentagon’s C Ring, deep within the building’s maze,” as the Times tantalizingly put it—“collected video and audio recordings of reported U.F.O. incidents,” some of which the Times offered on its website. It was quite a scoop, or so it appeared at f Read more

Don't Let the Parties Off the Hook

Along with the voters, they deserve blame for lousy candidates.
4:00 AM, Dec 15, 2017
In the wake of Democrat Doug Jones’s surprise win over Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the Senate, pundits and prognosticators were scrambling to make sense of the new political landscape. The verdict was almost all bad for the Republican party. The silver lining is that Mitch McConnell and his GOP Senate caucus do not have to deal with Moore in the upper chamber and are spared the difficult process of an Ethics Committee investigation into Moor Read more

Campaign Trailblazer

The explorer who became the Republican party's first presidential nominee.
4:30 AM, Dec 01, 2017
Ever since Theodore H. White’s The Making of the President 1960 , book buyers have been treated to the quadrennial offerings of presidential-campaign tell-alls. Many of these offer very little beyond cheap political thrills—White’s 1960 book reads like JFK fan fiction—but the genre is not without its valuable examples. White’s own The Making of the President 1968 is a bracing analysis of a decisive moment in our national history. And political scientists like Gerald Pomper, Paul Abramson, Read more

Not the Cream of the Crop

The candidate-selection problem.
3:00 AM, Nov 17, 2017
Republicans in Alabama are facing a nightmare scenario in their upcoming special election—either they elect to the Senate Doug Jones, a Democrat who does not share their values on important issues like abortion, or Roy Moore, a Republican who has been credibly accused of sexual improprieties with teenage girls. How did it come to this? There are a lot of ways to answer that question, but the proximate cause is that in the September primary, roughly 262,000 Republican primary voters supported M Read more

A History of Failure

Tax reform is much more difficult than tax cutting.
4:00 AM, Nov 10, 2017
Having failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, congressional Republicans have turned their attention to tax reform. Given the disappointing track record of the 115th Congress, a victory on taxes is a political must-win. However, the history of tax reform is mostly one of failure and suggests that the GOP has its work cut out for it. Tax reform is different from tax cutting. Granted, any tax reform package is going to include a whole host of cuts, but there is more to it than that. Tax reform i Read more

Menendez in the Dock

As always, the real scandal is what's legal.
1:00 AM, Oct 27, 2017
The biggest scandal that nobody is talking about has nothing to do with the Donald Trump White House or the connection between the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Russia dossier. It involves New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, who stands accused by the federal government of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and perjury. Menendez is on trial in Newark federal court for what prosecutors allege was an illegal relationship with Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, who was convicted in April Read more

The Junk Science at the Heart of the Gerrymandering Case

The 'efficiency gap' is an interesting but deeply problematic metric that should not be imposed by the judiciary.
3:00 AM, Oct 13, 2017
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Gill v. Whitford , a case in which University of Wisconsin professor William Whitford and a group of plaintiffs (all Democratic voters in the state) contend that the drawing up of Wisconsin’s state legislative districts was an unconstitutional gerrymander. The Supreme Court has intervened in gerrymandering complaints in the past, but those cases had to do with racial discrimination or malapportionment. That is, the Court has stru Read more

Getting Riled Up Over the Knee Jerk

Trump's Kaepernick caper.
3:30 AM, Sep 29, 2017
Last week, President Donald Trump picked a fight with the NFL, arguing that players like Colin Kaepernick who take a knee during the national anthem should be fired. As he has done so many times before, the president kicked up a hornet’s nest of controversy. Maybe the commotion will work to his short-term political advantage. But whether it does or not, he has once again demonstrated how trivial our politics has become. In his Vanity of Human Wishes , the first-century satirist Juvenal lament Read more

The Untouchables

Federal spending will never be controlled without tackling entitlement programs.
3:15 AM, Sep 22, 2017
President Donald Trump’s new willingness to deal with Democratic leaders of Congress has conservatives worried. Is the president really with us anymore? Is he going to help his fellow partisans in Congress hold the line of spending, or is he going to become a Rockefeller-style Republican, cutting bipartisan deals and spending federal tax dollars on his way to reelection? Unfortunately, President Trump signaled his lack of interest in conservative fiscal policy long ago—when, during last year’s Read more

Forecast: Gridlock

The 2018 outlook.
3:30 AM, Sep 08, 2017
A year from now will mark the start of the traditional campaign season for the 2018 midterms​—​which will see all the seats in the House of Representatives plus a third of the Senate up for grabs. Obviously, these contests are too far away to estimate results, but a general outline is coming into focus, and it looks to be a good cycle for the Democrats, though likely not good enough to overcome the gridlock that has gripped Washington for most of the last decade. Democrats should gain seats in Read more

Bringing the Senate to Heel

Many presidents have tried; many have failed.
3:00 AM, Sep 01, 2017
Since the defeat of the Obamacare repeal effort in the Senate, President Donald Trump has seemed to be on the warpath against the upper chamber. He has made negative comments about a number of Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Some reports suggest he may strike out on an independent course​—​which might include promoting primary challengers against senators he does not like. His nice comments about Kelli Ward​—​who is going after Arizona Republican Jeff Flake in nex Read more

Diagnosis: Heartburn

Is an Obama­care Bailout Coming?
2:20 AM, Aug 11, 2017
Last week, insurance giant Anthem announced it was pulling out of the Obamacare exchanges in Nevada, leaving most of the counties within the state without even one insurer to cover demand in the individual marketplace. This latest development only increases the pressure on Congress to do something. If history is any guide, conservatives should prepare themselves for some kind of bailout of the insurance industry—a backstop of some sort to keep insurers on the exchanges, offering policies that  Read more

The Road to Statism . . .

. . . is paved with incompetence.
3:00 AM, Jul 28, 2017
In a recent article for Townhall , columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote that the putative Senate candidacy in Michigan of “Kid Rock” (stage name of rocker/rapper Robert Ritchie) “should make every normal American smile” because “it will drive the liberals insane” and “make George Will [and other conservatives like him] soil themselves.” Schlichter’s paean to the downhome values of Kid Rock is typical of the populist right that has emerged in recent years, a movement that fueled the rise of Donald Tr Read more

Reagan Reconsidered

Republicans have overlooked their hero's origin story.
2:00 AM, Jul 21, 2017
As somebody who makes a living, in part, by writing history, I have a confession against interest: I am not a big fan of biographies. My main problem is the constant interruption of narrative flow. Real life moves along multiple tracks simultaneously, but a biographer can only discuss one item at a time, so, for instance, a discussion of Alexander Hamilton’s constitutional theory has to be interrupted by personal news. In contrast, I much prefer thematic books, particularly those that delineat Read more

The Vision Thing

Democrats have it, Republicans don't.
2:00 AM, Jul 21, 2017
The effort by congressional Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare hit a major roadblock last week, as GOP senators on the left and right sides of the caucus declared their opposition to majority leader Mitch McConnell’s latest proposal. It is hard to blame them for their unease. Obamacare was a hodgepodge of half-measures and false starts, but compared with the GOP alternatives it looks like a masterpiece of symmetry and sophistication. There is a natural inclination to blame particular  Read more

Loyal Opposition

Can we agree on how to disagree?
1:40 AM, Jun 23, 2017
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Rep. Steve Scalise and fellow Republican lawmakers, there has understandably been a debate about the tenor of our political discourse. Is it too nasty? Does heated rhetoric incite violence? Do we all need to tone down the hyperbole? This debate points to a very old, very thorny issue of republican government. Put aside the particulars of the man who shot Scalise, a Capitol Police officer in his security detail, and two bystanders. It has never Read more

Foundering Fathers

Is there no historical figure good enough for today?
2:15 AM, Jun 09, 2017
Strange news from Wisconsin. A student at James Madison Memorial High School in Madison has petitioned to have the name of her school changed, arguing, “The significance of this name in association with my school has a negative effect on memorials [sic] black students. The lack of representation I feel in this school makes me feel more than unsafe.” To date, the petition has received more than 1,500 signatures. This is a small action, but it is motivated by a principle that is becoming more an Read more

Six Ways Harvard's Joyce Chaplin Is Wrong About the Creation of the U.S.

An attempt to link the Treaty of Paris and the Paris Accord goes awry.
3:25 PM, Jun 02, 2017
Twitter has a remarkable power to make well-credentialed people look like fools. Case in point: Joyce Chaplin, who is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History at Harvard University. In response to President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, Chaplin tweeted , "The USA, created by int'l community in Treaty of Paris in 1783, betrays int'l community by withdrawing from #parisclimateagreement today." Senator Ted Cruz would have none of this, and r Read more

Corruption as a Way of Life

Sometimes Congress acts like a cartel.
3:15 AM, Jun 02, 2017
Last week the Washington Free Beacon reported that roughly half of Congressman Luis Guti rrez's campaign expenditures were paid to his wife, who serves as his campaign manager. What is most noteworthy about this is that Guti rrez does not really need to worry about campaigning. Illinois's Fourth Congressional District, which Guti rrez represents, is gerrymandered precisely to create a Latino majority. So refined are the district lines that its two halves are connected in one place only by I- Read more

Unprecedented?

Trump is hardly the first president to be ­surrounded by attackers.
2:30 AM, May 26, 2017
President Donald Trump seems to be suffering a political death of a thousand cuts—from anonymous sources throughout the government providing information to the press about his missteps, misjudgments, and misbehavior. The Trump administration and its allies are up in arms, blaming an unprecedented effort to smear the president and undermine democracy itself. This defense rings false. The forces arrayed against Trump are hardly unprecedented—presidents have had to deal with such challenges again Read more

Founders' Keepers

A glorious digital archive.
2:15 AM, May 19, 2017
Ever since the founding, the people of the United States have been particularly interested in their own history. The first collected edition of the Federalist Papers was published shortly after the originals were first printed. In the early days of the republic, newspapers would print transcripts of congressional debates, which were collected and organized for publication beginning in 1834. In 1861 Congress established the Government Printing Office—an important landmark, for it moved the public Read more

You're Mired!

Trump's underwater approval ratings.
1:45 AM, May 05, 2017
President Donald Trump passed the 100-day mark in office last week. While the West Wing staff tried furiously to spin his executive pronouncements as a demonstration that he has kept his campaign promises, he can so far boast of zero legislative accomplishments of note. Worse, no prospective legislative victories are very far along in the congressional pipeline—both health care reform and a tax overhaul remain, at best, months away from completion. Worst of all, no president since opinion pollin Read more

Land of Dynasties

Should we be disturbed by another Bush candidacy?
1:45 AM, May 05, 2017
In mid-December, Jeb Bush announced his intention to explore a presidential bid. If he runs and wins the Republican nomination and then the election, he will be the third President Bush in 25 years. That unprecedented prospect has left many wondering: In a republic like ours, is it proper for one family to fill the executive seat so often? The Bushes are not the first family to send multiple members to the White House. They join the Adamses (father John and son John Quincy), the Harrisons (gra Read more

Left, Right, Reverse

Liberals for capital, conservatives for labor?
4:00 AM, Apr 28, 2017
In the heart of Wall Street, a new statue is causing quite a kerfuffle. Sponsored by State Street Global Advisors, one of the world's largest asset-management firms, the "Fearless Girl" was installed earlier this year to stand in front of the famous "Charging Bull" in Bowling Green Park, just a short walk from the New York Stock Exchange. Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor of the Charging Bull, has asked for Fearless Girl to be taken down. This prompted public defenses on Twitter from Mayor Bill d Read more

Filibusted

2:00 AM, Apr 07, 2017
One of the most tedious aspects of our politics is partisan battles over legislative procedure. To hear each side tell it, the opposition never hesitates to employ unprecedented tactics to further narrow political goals at great cost to the republic. Such arguments are almost always disingenuous. The two parties view legislative process as little more than a means to an end, and both can be counted on to do whatever they think they can get away with. So it goes with the judicial filibuster, wh Read more

Everybody's Fault

Lessons from the health-care failure.
3:00 AM, Mar 31, 2017
After the failure of the American Health Care Act (AHCA)—the House Republican alternative to Obamacare—there was plenty of blame to go around. President Donald Trump pointed his finger at the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), the group of 30 or so conservatives who largely opposed the bill, tweeting, "The Republican House Freedom Caucus was able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After so many bad years they were ready for a win!" It was not just Trump making such claims. The Wall Street Jo Read more

A Debt to Posterity

The moral case for spending restraint.
3:00 AM, Mar 24, 2017
Earlier this month, the Trump White House unveiled its budget blueprint, which shifts federal spending priorities from domestic programs to national defense. The Office of Management and Budget proposed cuts of $54 billion to departments like Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and Commerce, coupled with big increases for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The only domestic department to see any kind of increase would be Veterans Affairs. The document was met with gnashi Read more

Obamacare Doings and Undoings

The perils of narrow majorities.
2:50 AM, Mar 17, 2017
As the Republican alternative to Obamacare winds its tortuous way through Congress, the parallels with the big mistake President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats made eight years ago are unmistakable. Such large changes to society should only be done with a broad coalition, otherwise they risk being undermined by our very system of government. The grand bargain at the heart of America’s constitutional system is consensus yields power . After years of unfair treatment at the hands of K Read more
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