Jim is a diminutive form of the forename "James". For individuals named Jim, see articles related to the name Jim.
Ann Wagner is an American politician who served as the United States Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 2005 to 2009. She was also Chair of the Missouri Republican Party for six years, from 1999 until 2005, and Co-chair of the Republican National Committee for four years.
Wagner was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, attended the all-girls' Cor Jesu Academy, and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Wagner entered Republican politics in 1990, heading the GOP's efforts during the decennial redistricting of Missouri. In 1992 she was state director of the campaign for the re-election of President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.
She was elected to her first term of office as chair of the Missouri party in 1999, becoming the first woman to occupy the position. Her most notable achievement in that role came during her second two-year term when she oversaw the party's taking of majority control of both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly, winning the Senate in the 2001 special election and the House in the 2002 general election, the first time this had been seen for over 40 years. During her third term, the party held its majorities in both chambers and also took the Governor's seat for the first time in 12 years with the election of Matt Blunt in 2004. In the 2004 elections the party also secured the majority of Missouri's Congressional representation and that state's Presidential electors.
Robert Beckel is an American political commentator and an analyst on the Fox News Channel where he currently co-hosts The Five. He is also a columnist for USA Today where he writes "point-counterpoint" style articles with friend and political opposite Cal Thomas. He is the brother of actor Graham Beckel.
Beckel holds a B.A. from Wagner College. While in college, he worked for Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968. Early in his career, he joined the U.S. Department of State and became the youngest deputy assistant secretary of state for the Carter administration. Beckel was the campaign manager for Walter Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign. During that campaign he became known as the man who effectively wrapped the Wendy's slogan "Where's the Beef?" around Gary Hart, Mondale's opponent for the Democratic nomination.
Beckel managed Alan Blinken's 2002 Senate campaign until he was dismissed after being targeted for extortion by a prostitute.
He was co-host of Crossfire Sunday on CNN alongside Tony Snow and later Lynne Cheney, and went on to Fox News Channel as a political analyst and commentator, regularly appearing on such shows as Hannity & Colmes (later Hannity), America's Newsroom, and Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. Beckel is a co-host of Fox News's The Five, a political talk show that replaced Glenn Beck in the 5 p.m. Eastern time slot in July 2011.
Andrew Breitbart (pronounced /ˈbraɪtbɑrt/ (February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American publisher, commentator for The Washington Times, author, and occasional guest commentator on various news programs, who served as an editor for the Drudge Report website. He was a researcher for Arianna Huffington, and helped launch her web publication The Huffington Post.
He ran his own news aggregation site, Breitbart.com, and five other websites: Breitbart.tv, Big Hollywood, Big Government, Big Journalism, and Big Peace. He played key roles in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, the resignation of Shirley Sherrod, and the ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy.
Breitbart was the adopted son of Gerald and Arlene Breitbart, a restaurant owner and banker respectively, and grew up in upscale Brentwood, Los Angeles. He was raised Jewish (his adoptive mother had converted to Judaism when marrying his adoptive father). He had explained that his birth certificate indicated his biological father was a folk singer. He was ethnically Irish by birth, and his adopted sister is Hispanic. He changed his political views after experiencing an "epiphany" during the Clarence Thomas hearings, and later described himself as "a Reagan conservative" with libertarian sympathies.
Michelle Malkin (née Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative blogger, political commentator and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs. Malkin has written four books published by Regnery Publishing.
Malkin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Philippine citizens Rafaela (née Perez) – a homemaker and teacher – and Apolo DeCastro Maglalang, who was then a physician-in-training. Several months prior to Malkin's birth, her parents had immigrated to the United States on an employer-sponsored visa. After her father finished his medical training, the family moved to Absecon, New Jersey. Malkin has a younger brother. She has described her parents as Reagan Republicans who were "not incredibly politically active."
Malkin, a Roman Catholic, attended Holy Spirit Roman Catholic High School, where she edited the school newspaper and aspired to become a concert pianist. Following her graduation in 1988, she enrolled at Oberlin College. Malkin originally planned to pursue a bachelor's degree in music, but changed her major to English. During her college years, she worked as a press inserter, tax preparation aide, and network news librarian. While attending Oberlin, Malkin was hired to write for an independent, right-of-center student newspaper by fellow student Jesse Dylan Malkin. Her first article for the paper heavily criticized Oberlin's affirmative action program and received a "hugely negative response" from other students on campus. She graduated in 1992 and later described her alma mater as "radically left-wing."