Connor O'Keeffe | The Libertarian Institute

If Joe Biden Isn’t Running the Government, Who Is?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Jul 11, 2024 | Featured Articles, Politics

After a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago and a weak damage-control interview last Friday, it’s finally become clear to almost everyone that President Joe Biden is not running the federal government. Every four years, we’re supposed to pretend that a single individual, who we collectively choose at the ballot box, takes charge of the federal government and acts as we would to address the problems we face at home and abroad. Biden’s inability to get through a debate and a sit-down interview without issues shatters the illusion that he is the one running things in Washington and...

The Lesson of the Trump Conviction

by Connor O'Keeffe | Jun 6, 2024 | Criminal Justice, Featured Articles

Last week, Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying business records with the intent to commit, aid, or conceal another crime. The Manhattan jury found him guilty on all thirty-four counts. This entire case was always ridiculous. Trump was charged for labeling reimbursement checks to his lawyer as “legal expenses” after the lawyer made a (completely legal) payment to an adult film actress to get her to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Prosecutors argued that the reimbursement payments—which were paid in 2017, after Trump had won the election—were actually campaign expenditures because keeping...

Cowardice, Not Courage, Led House Republicans to Side with the Democrats

by Connor O'Keeffe | Apr 25, 2024 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy, Politics

Over the weekend, the House of Representatives passed four foreign aid bills that will allocate a combined $95 billion to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other “national security priorities.” House Republicans followed Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) lead and joined with Democrats to deliver all the foreign aid President Joe Biden wanted without requiring much of anything in return. The passage came after House Republicans had handed the president similar victories with Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization and government spending. New York...

What Would Happen If the U.S. Stopped Supporting Ukraine?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Dec 7, 2023 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Over the weekend, border-policy negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans fell apart. The talks were meant to firm up Republican support for the president’s massive $105 billion military support proposal ahead of Wednesday’s vote by including additional funds for border security in the spending package. Now, with no imminent approval of further aid to Ukraine, hawks in government and the media are trying to stoke panic about what will happen if Kiev is cut off from U.S. support. In a letter to Congress Monday, White House budget director Shalanda Young told Congress the funds...

Progressive Interventionism Is Ruining American Healthcare

by Connor O'Keeffe | Nov 30, 2023 | Featured Articles

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the problems with Joe Manchin’s argument that Congress needs to reject the “extremism” in its ranks if it’s ever going to solve the many problems facing Americans. I argued that the opposite is true. That Congress is almost entirely unified behind a specific pace of progressive interventionism where the predictable consequences of previous interventions are perpetually used to justify more intervention. In this cycle, the government grows, the economy sputters, and the politically connected grow rich. Then last week, as if to prove my point, Democratic senator...

The Problem with Joe Manchin’s Centrism

by Connor O'Keeffe | Nov 16, 2023 | Featured Articles, Politics

Last week, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Manchin explained his reasons for leaving. He starts with a relatively noncontroversial assessment of the problems facing America—rising costs, dangerous drugs crossing the border, a large national debt, unsafe communities, and foreign wars that threaten to pull the United States in. After some platitudes about these not being “Republican or Democratic challenges” but “American challenges,” Manchin concludes: There are enough votes in Congress to solve or at least make...

No, We Cannot Fund Yet Another War

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 19, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

In a 60 Minutes interview over the weekend, host Scott Pelley asked President Joe Biden, “Are the wars in Israel and Ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time?” The president answered, “We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense. We have the capacity to do this, and we have an obligation to.” In a Sky News interview released Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gave a similar answer when asked whether the US could afford to fund another war at this time: “I think the answer is absolutely. America can certainly afford to...

Showdown in the U.S. House: What Really Happened?

by Connor O'Keeffe | Oct 5, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Politics

On Tuesday, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as Speaker of the House. This came days after the former Speaker struck a forty-five-day spending deal with House Democrats to keep the government funded. The last-minute deal and successful motion to vacate are the latest acts in a weeks-long showdown between the former Speaker and Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The origin of this Gaetz-McCarthy showdown is a concession McCarthy and his allies made back in January to shore up the votes McCarthy needed to become House Speaker. According to CNN, the bloc agreed to “move 12...