Sure enough, the Senate Republicans brought Bill Pryor’s judicial nomination to the Senate floor today, and sure enough, Dems blocked a vote with a filibuster. The GOP needed 60 votes to break the filibuster and approve Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. They came up seven short. Alas, this does not mean […]
Last weekend, when the centrist Democratic Leadership Council was holding its annual meeting in Philadelphia, most of the media focus on the event dealt with the growing divisions between the moderate and liberal factions of the Democratic Party. Most of the articles I saw in the nation’s largest dailies ran long stories about whether moderates […]
Way back in January, there was a political writer/researcher, let’s call him Carpetbagger, who desperately wanted the Dean for America campaign to focus its attention on the African American community. (Did the campaign care about Carpetbagger’s advice? No. Does Carpetbagger feel a little bitter about it? Maybe.) Dean’s full name is Howard Brush Dean III. […]
In a story that belongs in the “too scary to think about” category, Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly mentioned on the air yesterday that he’d consider being a political candidate someday in the future. Appearing on his own network’s morning program called “Fox and Friends,” O’Reilly said that “maybe someday down the road” he’ll run […]
The president who clearly hates press conferences finally hosted one yesterday, speaking with the White House press corps for almost an hour before heading off to Texas for a month-long vacation. (Apparently, pointing fingers and avoiding blame for one’s mistakes can really exhaust a guy.) Bush has set such a low standard for holding press […]
Much to no one’s surprise, Senate Dems announced yesterday that they will filibuster Bill Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. A floor vote on Pryor’s nomination could come as early as Thursday. Baseless and offensive Republican accusations of anti-Catholic bigotry, even against Catholic senators, apparently had the opposite of the intended effect. […]
Less than a day after announcing that the air marshal program was being scaled back due to budget cuts, the Transportation Security Administration has done a dramatic u-turn. As MSNBC is reporting under the headline, “Flip-flop on air marshal schedules,” the TSA will “immediately begin scheduling air marshals back on cross-country and international flights.” It’s […]
I’ve heard plenty of talk about voters not being particularly enthralled by any of the nine Dems running for president. There are doubts about likeability (Kerry), electability (Dean), experience (Edwards), and/or leadership skills (Gephardt). Some speculate that these misgivings lead to “undecideds” and “no opinion” ranking so highly in multiple polls. Does this mean, however, […]
I don’t like flying. It’s not a phobia, per se, because I can (and do) get on airplanes with some regularity, but I’m not crazy about it. When terrorists used four commercial airliners as missiles on Sept. 11, 2001, whatever pleasure I may have taken in flying seemed to evaporate. I took some solace, however, […]
The story that looks like it couldn’t get more ridiculous somehow manages to find a way. When we last left our Texas adventure, a new special session was beginning in the Texas legislature to pass Tom DeLay’s outrageous redistricting scheme. 11 Dems in the State Senate fled to New Mexico to deny their chamber a […]