Conservative outrage over the Gang of 14’s deal on judicial nominees was in bloom yesterday, with plenty of activists playing the blame game. Naturally, most of the ire was reserved for the senators who played a direct role in the negotiations, but I was surprised to see how many on the right are placing some […]
Let’s take a quick look at the list of things I’d love to see happen right now. * Bush losing stature and public support? Check. * Congressional Republicans with the lowest poll support in a decade? Check. * And perhaps most importantly, the dormant fissures dividing the GOP coming to the surface? One big check. […]
The president was in up state New York this morning for yet another scripted Social Security event for loyal sycophants. He took a moment to explain the political problem with privatization as he sees it. “I fully recognize some in Washington, you know, don’t particularly want to address this issue,” Bush said in an auditorium […]
Conservatives were launching a crusade against Newsweek, introducing House resolutions condemning the magazine and suggesting congressional boycotts in members’ offices, but that is so last week. Now, there’s a new target: Bill Maher. A congressman says comedian Bill Maher’s comment that the U.S. military has already recruited all the “low-lying fruit” is possibly treasonous and […]
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro (R) said Monday she will seek statewide office in 2006, but no one’s sure which office. State GOP officials have described her as their “dream candidate” […]
When the president traveled to Wisconsin last week to tout Social Security privatization, reporters decided it wasn’t worth their time to even make the trip. In March, when Bush visited New Mexico for the same reason, Kiva Auditorium was sparsely attended, with hundreds of empty seats. In February, Bush went to New Hampshire for a […]
I hesitate to put this in print because I’m probably being hopelessly naïve, but I wonder if there’s a small upside to the worst part of yesterday’s deal over judicial nominees: campaign fodder. Maybe I’m just rationalizing — and I’m sure readers will let me know — but Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and Bill […]
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll was taken before the deal was reached on the nuclear option, but since Bush is unlikely to get any credit for the compromise — if anything, he tried to undermine the negotiations — the surprisingly bad poll numbers remain noteworthy. President Bush’s job approval rating dropped to near its lowest […]
I’ve mentioned that Bill Frist is one of the big losers as a result of the deal struck by the Group of 14, but there’s another name that might challenge the Majority Leader at the top of that list: James Dobson. The man who believes he’s helping guide the Republican domestic agenda made a series […]
The “Group of 14” is taking a victory lap today and I can’t say I blame any of them. They struck a deal that seemed highly unlikely, they put a stop to the nuclear option crisis, and each of them is now a media darling. (The press inevitably fawns over anyone who supposedly bucks the […]