When Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court, the right was not only pleased to have vanquished the candidate they disapproved of, but said that a genuinely conservative nominee could finally spark a national discussion about the federal judiciary. It was a conversation they claimed to welcome. But as Dahlia Lithwick explained, it […]
When Patrick Fitzgerald saw the term of his original grand jury expire last month, he was not expected to convene a new one. After all, after indicting Scooter Libby, Fitzgerald said the “substantial bulk” of his work had been “completed.” And yet, as of today, there’s a new grand jury. Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said […]
The Hill reported this week that there’s a growing concern among powerful DC lobbyists that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) just isn’t giving them the attention they believe they deserve. It’s the kind of story that offers a helpful contrast when compared to the relationship between lobbyists and Tom DeLay. Dozens of powerful lobbyists […]
After suffering the humiliation of losing a vote on their Labor, Health and Human Services spending bill yesterday afternoon, House Republicans regrouped and — just barely — managed to pass a sweeping budget cut plan early in the a.m. To hear Republicans, and even several news accounts, tell it, the cuts passed after House GOP […]
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: * In the always-important Jimmy Buffett Primary, only two 2006 candidates have emerged. During an appearance at Harvard yesterday, the singer said he frequently receives requests from candidates for support, but next year […]
Reports of fraud and corruption in Iraqi contracting are, alas, no longer new. But even in a system known for its deceit, this is just depressing. A U.S. official working in Iraq accepted $546,000 in illegal payments for steering more than $13 million in contracts last year to an American businessman, the Justice Department alleged […]
When Republicans in Georgia created a new “voter-identification law” earlier this year, they said it wasn’t about race. Their only intention, they said, was to protect the integrity of the voting process and reduce instances of fraud. When they crafted the law to force Georgians without driver’s licenses (disproportionately poor, black and elderly citizens) to […]
Gen. Tommy Franks once described former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith “the f***ing stupidest guy on the face of the earth.” More recently, Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s chief of staff at the State Department, said of Feith, “Seldom in my life have I met a dumber man.” But now we can call Feith something else: […]
It’s certainly tempting to single out for praise the handful of Republican members of the House who balked at some of their leadership’s indefensible budget decisions. When lawmakers see the GOP going too far off the right-wing cliff, it’s encouraging to see some of them announce they won’t take the leap with the rest of […]
It doesn’t happen often, so when House Republicans defeat one of their own spending bills on the floor, it’s cause for a minor celebration. Rank-and-file House Republican lawmakers stunned congressional observers Thursday by joining with Democrats to defeat the $142.5 billion Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations conference report by a vote of 209-224. It […]