Pulling the plug on charter schools

Shifting gears from partisan politics to educational policy for a moment, the New York Times ran an item this morning on charter schools that warrants attention. For those not familiar with the charter school phenomenon, many reform-minded educational professionals began touting a new approach to public schooling in the early 1990s. The idea would be […]

Are we sure Howard Dean is the anti-war candidate?

After reviewing Howard Dean’s remarks on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, I’m finding myself increasingly confused about the governor’s opposition to war in Iraq. Then again, maybe it’s Dean who’s confused. Bob Schieffer was commenting on how Dean had “set himself apart” from other top tier candidates by opposing Bush’s plans for war. Dean […]

Another day, another North Korean development for the White House to ignore

Forgive me for being a tad obsessed with this, but one really has to wonder what North Korea has to do before the Bush administration will pay attention to the crisis on the peninsula. As Carpetbagger has reported a few times, North Korea, which is already believed to already have a couple of nuclear weapons, […]

Nader supporters answer Karl Rove’s prayers

AP political reporter Will Lester uncovered today what is easily the worst election news Carpetbagger can contemplate: The Nader 2004 Draft Committee has opened offices in New York and San Francisco with plans under way for offices in Washington, New Hampshire and Iowa. Beating Bush will be a daunting challenge in 2004, despite his fiscal […]

The Carpetbagger Report gets results

Just days after imploring the Dean campaign to stop using Paul Wellstone’s famous applause line (“I represent the Democratic Party wing of the Democratic Party”) without attribution, Carpetbagger has learned from two sources that the good doctor has finally told an audience the source of the remark. In speaking at a Capitol Hill fundraiser this […]

Dodd says no, keeps field in single digits

With Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) announcing yesterday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president, the field remains at nine, at least for the immediate future. The announcement, however, led one of Carpetbagger’s loyal readers to send an email inquiring if the 2004 field of Dems is the largest group ever. As I […]

There he goes again

It’s one thing to say something that’s not true and hope you’ll get away with it. It’s another to get caught in a lie, but to go ahead and repeat it over and over again. Last week, Newsday discovered that the president had been citing a report that supported his tax cut plan, despite the […]

Diplomacy isn’t their strong point — Part II

Last week, Carpetbagger marveled at the White House’s strong-arm, bullying tactics at the United Nations as the administration tried — in vain — to build support for its war in Iraq. At the time, I concluded that “diplomacy isn’t their strong point.” Today, I offer additional evidence to bolster the point. As everyone has reported, […]

Lies, damn lies, and Bush’s tax policies

Everyone’s heard the phrase about “lies, damn lies, and statistics,” but Isaac Shapiro, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, explains today how and why Bush’s tax plan falls comfortably into the “damn lies” category. In a must-read column in today’s LA Times, Shapiro explains that the Bush White House is […]