For a while, this was looking pretty bad. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is in the midst of a serious challenge against former Rep. John Thune (R). In months of polling, the race looks like it could go either way, though polls show voters leaning towards Daschle. Last month, however, Tim Giago, a leader […]
John Kerry’s campaign is turning to Bush’s environmental record today, highlighting one of the administration’s biggest domestic policy failures. It’s fortuitous timing; not only is Earth Day in two days, but the man who has been responsible for enforcing the Clean Air Act is condemning Bush with unusually pointed language. As Kevin Drum noted, Dateline […]
When John Kerry asserted that multiple foreign leaders would prefer a Kerry administration to a Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney had a cute rhetorical idea. Challenging Kerry’s claim of foreign support, Cheney asked, “What is he saying to foreign leaders that makes them so supportive of his candidacy?” Fair enough, Dick. The truth, of […]
Bob Woodward’s revelations on 60 Minutes have identified two key scandals stemming from the White House’s pre-war planning: Bush’s talks with Saudi Arabia and the transferring of $700 million from the war in Afghanistan to Iraq. This post will only deal with the prior. Aside from the bizarre White House decision to share classified military […]
All-but concluding the matter, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with an appeals court’s ruling upholding Tom DeLay’s insane re-redistricting plan in Texas. You might recall that the matter sparked months of controversy — and two Democratic out-of-state trips — in the Lone Star state last summer. This will probably wrap up the scandal once and […]
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank had an amusing item today, noting that the Bush White House’s inordinate fondness for secrecy exceeds even that of the Kremlin. It’s gotten to the point that political reporters who want to know what the White House is up to have to go to official sources from other countries. Americans […]
Eric Alterman noticed yesterday that the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd drew a parallel between Clinton’s Lewinsky scandal and Bush’s abysmal Iraq policies. Dowd wrote: “Just as the the Democratic president ducked behind the parsed line, ‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman,’ so the Republican president ducked behind the parsed line, ‘I […]
A few friends have already commented on this one, but it’s so amusing, I can’t resist. About a week ago, Republican Party leaders in Jefferson County, Kentucky, gathered to choose delegates to the Republican National Convention. It didn’t go well. As the Louisville Courier-Journal explained, two Jefferson County GOP activists — John Lawlor and Peter […]
After his Strom Thurmond/”Better off” scandal forced Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) from his leadership post, the former Senate Majority Leader was none too pleased with his GOP colleagues. When he expected them to stand by him, they hung him out to dry. Lott, it appears, holds a grudge. Immediately after the Thurmond affair, Lott sought […]
You’ll have to forgive my ongoing fascination with these articles. I can’t even explain why I like them so much, or I why I link to them again and again. I know they’re just anecdotal and offer little, if any, predictive value for Election Day, but there’s something about reading items showing Republicans abandoning Bush […]