The Traditional Values Coalition, as religious right groups go, has always been something of a bottom feeder. As someone who’s watched the movement for years, I’ve always seen the TVC as more pathetic than dangerous. The group, led by the Rev. Lou Sheldon, an ultra-conservative Presbyterian minister, has a remarkable ability to turn out virulently […]
I saw, via Tapped, that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is planning to schedule hearings on six Bush judicial nominees for federal courts in Michigan despite opposition from both of Michigan’s senators — Carl Levin (D) and Debbie Stabenow (D). Why is this important? Because for years, senators could place indefinite holds called “blue slips” on […]
Last week I mentioned that the Bush administration was turning its political guns on Joseph Wilson, the former ambassador who discovered that the Niger/uranium claim was bogus after being sent to Africa last year by the CIA. Specifically, administration officials were focusing their criticism on Wilson by suggesting that his wife, whom they identified as […]
The Senate Judiciary Committee, after multiple delays, has scheduled a vote for today on Bill Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) still has not indicated how he’ll vote. As I’ve said before, his vote will ultimately decide if Pryor’s nomination dies in committee or moves to the Senate floor […]
As recently as a few months ago, it seemed many of the people who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 were feeling some remorse. While they thought that there’d be no substantive differences between a Bush presidency and a Gore presidency, some of these progressive Americans began to appreciate the folly of such an approach. […]
I mentioned yesterday that the House went a little wild on Friday with Capitol Police, the Sergeant-At-Arms, and one Republican scared of a 71-year-old Democrat who called him a “fruitcake.” To be sure, this was not the House’s finest hour. As Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) said, both sides made mistakes that were “destructive to the […]
Last week, Bush delivered one of his more unusual whoppers by saying, “[W]e gave [Saddam Hussein] a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in. And, therefore, after a reasonable request, we decided to remove him from power….” The whopper, of course, is the fact that Hussein did let U.N. weapons […]
When the Bush administration was making its case against Iraq before the war began, the White House needed — but had trouble generating — a sense of urgency. Bush said Saddam Hussein was violating U.N. resolutions, developing WMD, and torturing his own people. However, all of these claims were, more or less, the status quo […]
The first rule of trying to reach voters is simple: Fish where the fishing is good. This means candidates (and political parties) should concentrate their efforts where they’re likely to have the greatest affect. For example, would it make any sense for Republicans to aggressively seek out readers of The Nation? Of course not. The […]
I’m not sure what to make of this. It could be nothing, it could be something. Vice President Cheney was forced recently to turn over a batch of previously-secret documents relating to his 2001 energy task force. As you probably recall, Cheney’s task force met under the most secret of conditions, and he’s currently being […]