A couple of weeks ago, Bush delivered what was billed as a “major speech” on the war on terror, which included one new claim: “Overall, the United States and our partners have disrupted at least ten serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United […]
James Dobson has claimed on more than one occasion to have been given secret insights into Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination by Karl Rove and the Bush White House. Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter apparently wants to know more about those conversations. The Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to summon a leading conservative Christian to […]
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: * With just two weeks before the election, Virginia’s gubernatorial race remains too close to call. A new Mason-Dixon poll has former state attorney general Jerry Kilgore (R) ahead with 44%, Democratic Lt. […]
Let’s return, once again, to the death of conservatism as a governing philosophy. It’s worked its way into the grave slowly, through expansion of federal influence over education, expansion of Medicare, expansion of federal law enforcement power (Patriot Act), and an expansion of federal transportation spending. We knew conservatism was really dead when Tom DeLay […]
When disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff needed access to the White House, he could generally count on David Safavian, the Bush administration’s top federal procurement officer, who is now facing multiple criminal charges as a result of his Abramoff-related work. But sometimes, Abramoff needed more access. He always took comfort knowing he could count on […]
In a January 2003 television interview, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said, “So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock.” Referring to his trust, Frist said, “I have no control. It is illegal right now for me to know what the composition of those trusts are. So I have no idea.” […]
I had more or less assumed that when Harriet Miers acknowledged that she had lost her law license twice and the Senate Judiciary Committee sent back her questionnaire because her first try was “insulting,” this nomination couldn’t get much worse. I was wrong. Over the weekend, there were a couple of interesting developments regarding Miers, […]
In addition to the embarrassing showing Kay Bailey Hutchison put on yesterday, there have been several interesting Plame-related developments since we last checked in. * Bob Novak apparently didn’t fight too hard to keep his secret sources confidential. A critical early success for Fitzgerald was winning the cooperation of Robert D. Novak, the Chicago Sun-Times […]
I can appreciate the difficulty in spinning a scandal as serious as the Plame Game, but when Republican senators are reduced to arguing that perjury is a trivial “technicality,” you know the party is bottoming out. And yet, that’s exactly what Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) did on Meet the Press yesterday. (C&L has video) […]
Upon learning that Special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had set up a website, a lawyer “involved with the case” said, “It sure doesn’t look like he’s folding up his tent and going home without some charges.” Given what little we know, it seems like a fair assessment. But it’s far too vague. No one outside Fitzgerald’s […]