Earlier this week, there were multiple reports that House Republicans were pressuring House Speaker Dennis Hastert to resolve the impasse over ethics rules with House Dems. For his part, however, Hastert expressed little interest in undoing the damage he and Tom DeLay and worked so hard to do earlier this year. The caucus pressure, however, […]
A few weeks ago, I reported on the 10-year, $21-million investigation into former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros. To summarize, Cisneros, during an FBI background check, acknowledged an extramarital relationship he had years prior, and admitted to having paid the woman, but misled investigators about how much he gave her. An independent investigator, David Barrett, began […]
The Bush White House would have us believe that the eviction of three law-abiding citizens from a presidential event because of a bumper sticker was a reasonable move. It was, WH press secretary Scott McClellan said, just a “volunteer” who was “concerned that these people were coming to the event to disrupt the event.” The […]
When we last heard from the White House on its response to Americans getting removed from public presidential events due to a bumper sticker, a top Bush aide seemed to admit that an official working for the White House was directly responsible. The Denver Post’s Diana Carman reported today that there’s been some follow-up — […]
Theodore Olson, who was the solicitor general in the Bush administration for over three years, can hardly be described as a liberal lawyer. It was Olson who represented Bush in the infamous Bush v. Gore case at the Supreme Court; it was Olson who wrote anonymous articles for the American Spectator as part of the […]
Senate Republicans came up with the name “nuclear option” in 2003 — and have spent the last six month trying to get the rest of us to stop using it. As Matthew Yglesias noted today, there’s yet another label in the mix. The Weekly Standard hands down a new party line on what you’re supposed […]
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may have been a little intemperate when he called Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan “one of the biggest political hacks we have here in Washington” last month, but then again, if the shoe fits… Bloated budget deficits pose a danger to the nation’s long-term economic health, Federal Reserve Chairman […]
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: * As if Sen. Linc Chafee (R-R.I.) didn’t have enough party pressure to worry about, a possible primary challenger is starting to make some noise. Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey (R) has been the […]
I’ll get into the possible candidates and musical-chairs game in today’s political round-up this afternoon, but it’s important to consider the choice before Vermont Dems when looking at the now-open Senate race. Sen. Jim Jeffords, who announced yesterday he would not seek re-election, is an independent who left the GOP in 2001 to caucus with […]
Since 2003, no one has shown as much enthusiasm for the nuclear option than Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum. He’s not only demanded it’s use, he’s promised every right-wing group in DC that he’d help make it happen. That is, until this week. Suddenly, the man who couldn’t wait to go nuclear has sensed a […]