Apparently, I don’t read right-wing blogs and columns nearly enough, because if I did, I might have realized that some very high-profile conservative voices have been downplaying the significance of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation along the Gulf Coast. We all heard early estimates about literally thousands of people who may have been killed by the storm. […]
Roll Call had an interesting piece today on congressional Dems, reflecting on their biggest political success of the year, and deciding it needs duplicating. Congressional Democratic leaders are in serious talks with labor unions and other activists about replicating the model used to fight President Bush’s Social Security proposal, using an “inside-outside” approach on a […]
Talking with people in the education field, you hear often that a lot of states aren’t thrilled with federal abstinence-only guidelines and curricula. They don’t work, they’re usually wrong, and they tie the hands of good teachers who want to educate students with reliable, accurate information. But, at least until 2009, there’s not a whole […]
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: * Confirming a series of other polls showing a tightening race, a new SurveyUSA poll shows Virginia’s gubernatorial campaign getting closer with each passing week. Former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore’s (R) kead […]
Slowly but surely, little by little, the number of Republicans willing to at least “revisit” the lavish tax cuts passed over the last five years is growing. The question then becomes how quickly — or how successfully — will the rest of the party smack down the very idea. Yesterday, Treasury Secretary John Snow opened […]
Looking back at the transportation bill passed in July, unnecessary spending was a bi-partisan problem. Nearly every lawmaker on the Hill saw an opportunity to bring home some highway money for their district — and they took it. But with Hurricane Katrina relief poised to cost as much as $200 billion, it’s interesting to note […]
I realize that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s background is in medicine, but there have been a series of odd investment decisions he’s made that raise a few questions about his judgment. We first learned in December, for example, that Frist’s campaign committee suffered big losses (more than $524,000) in the stock market and ultimately […]
I noted yesterday that David H. Safavian, the Bush administration’s top federal procurement official, was arrested for obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Safavian’s former employer. It was the first major story linking the Abramoff scandal to the White House, but it’s also worth taking a moment to recognize other connections that […]
John Ashcroft is generally considered a darling of the far right. Especially when it comes to indecency issues, the fact that Ashcroft went so far as to cover up bare-breasted statues highlights the fact that priggish conservatives who fear the scourge of pornography knew they had a reliable ally at the Justice Department, right? Wrong. […]
Kudos to Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and 171 of his Democratic colleagues for introducing legislation to undo the president’s executive order that suspended the Davis-Bacon Act along the Gulf Coast, allowing federal contractors to pay local workers less money on construction projects. Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced legislation [Sept. 13] that would undo President Bush’s […]