Guest post by Ed Stephan In several of my Carpetbagger comments I have linked to an excellent article by the editors of Seattle’s offbeat paper, The Stranger, titled “The Urban Archipelago” (subtitled “It’s the Cities, Stupid”). It moves well beyond what has become the standard “red-state blue-state” characterization of American politics. A county-by-county red-blue 2004 […]
Guest post by Ed Stephan How about bringing back the “Fairness Doctrine“? Except for Air America virtually all radio and much of TV — though federally licensed to broadcast over public airwaves — seems to be little more than a propaganda arm for the GOP. For many years, television and radio stations were required to […]
As Morbo mentioned last week, he’s in France this week and won’t be sharing his words of wisdom today. He will be returning for his usual stint next Saturday. But never fear, I’ve found a very capable sub for today. Ed Stephan, whom you all know and love from the comments section, has graciously agreed […]
The thin ice upon which Karl Rove walks cracked a little more today with a key Washington Post article about his role in the Valerie Plame scandal. As the Post’s Dan Balz explained, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald may have put Judith Miller in jail this week, but he’s clearly still interested in Rove. A fast-moving series […]
Maybe I don’t travel in conservative circles enough, but I had no idea that the right looks lack on the failed 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court as an example of right-wing martyrdom. Apparently, it’s the case. To the right, “Borking” has become a verb to describe a practice whereby ideologically-rigid Dems […]
I realize that the constitutional amendment banning flag burning has been pushed to the back burner in light of recent events, but it’s still coming up and I wanted to note that a leading Republican opponent of the measure has offered a viable alternative. U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, a longtime opponent of amending the Constitution […]
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: * Former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), after flirting with the idea for a few weeks, announced yesterday that he will not take on incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) next year. Roemer said a […]
Almost immediately after Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement from the Supreme Court last week, the Republican base has focused its criticism carefully. For far-right activists it was a three-pronged approach: argue that O’Connor was horrible because she was insufficiently right wing on social issues; insist that Alberto Gonzales would be worse; and explain to […]
Way back in January, prosecutors investigating whether corporations illegally financed Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) struck an important deal as part of a “kingpin strategy.” Prosecutors already had the goods on the corporations making improper donations, but negotiated agreements whereby the businesses would get immunity in exchange for cooperation with the investigation. […]
In recent weeks I’ve noted that a Republican president and Republican Congress are burdened by multiple political scandals, but let’s not leave Republican governors out of the fun. In Ohio, Gov. Bob Taft (R) is overwhelmed by charges of corruption; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) seems to have become a magnet for controversy, and former […]