Sen. Barack Obama today called for a troop reduction in Iraq, defended John Murtha, and offered the White House a helpful suggestion that the Bush gang will surely ignore. Obama said Americans want to find solutions to the “difficult and complicated situation in Iraq.” “The President could take the politics out of Iraq once and […]
I can’t say I’m terribly surprised, because this is just so typical. Fox News is refusing to air an ad critical of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, citing its lawyers’ contention that the spot is factually incorrect. A spokesman for the groups sponsoring the ad said the network’s decision reflects the political right’s effort to […]
In the latest sign that Antonin Scalia has completely given up on the reality-based community, the Supreme Court justice suggested yesterday that the high court did not inject itself into the 2000 presidential election. Speaking at the Time Warner Center last night, Scalia said: “The election was dragged into the courts by the Gore people. […]
It’s encouraging to see at least a couple of Republican senators agree with Dems that top-ranking administration officials should be compelled to answer questions about what they told the nation before the war. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has emerged as a leading opponent of the Bush administration’s policy on interrogating detainees in the war […]
The American Family Association is like a jukebox that only plays one song. The religious right group doesn’t have a lot of money, or members, or influence, but they can organize a boycott at the drop of a hat. According to an alert issued yesterday by James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, the AFA is […]
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: * Sen. Hillary Clinton may be cruising to re-election in New York, but she may have a primary opponent before taking on Jeanine Pirro. Newsday reported today that Steven Greenfield, a sax player […]
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did some appearances together in South Carolina yesterday, and were about half right about their party’s troubles. With the war in Iraq, higher energy costs and breakneck government spending, the GOP faces a tough round of congressional elections in 2006 unless things change, two key Republican senators […]
In a year filled with embarrassing, often shameful, congressional theatrics, last Friday’s “debate” on withdrawal from Iraq was among the more disturbing. Apparently, we may see a repeat soon. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) called for a redeployment of U.S. troops in Iraq, prompting the GOP to pull a little stunt. House Republicans unveiled a one-sentence […]
Last week, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) lashed out at Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) on the House floor, and relayed remarks she claimed to have received from Marine Colonel Danny Bubp: “[He] asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.” As Avedon noted yesterday, Col. Bubp’s background suggests […]
It’s difficult to overstate just how much Michael Scanlon’s plea deal strikes fear into the heart of Congress. A onetime congressional staffer who became a top partner to lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to bribe a congressman and other public officials and agreed to pay back more than $19 million he fraudulently […]