Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has never been known as a champion of civil liberties, and with a tough re-election campaign coming up, including a likely primary challenge, I realize he’s a little desperate. This, however, is ridiculous. …Perry is wasting no time getting the message to conservative Republican voters that he has delivered. The […]
Chris Cox’s nomination to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission is a unique opportunity for Dems. Because the post needs Senate confirmation, Dems can highlight Cox’s record of hostility for corporate regulations as further evidence of the Bush administration’s willingness to comply with the demands of Wall Street lobbyists. If only Dems would take advantage […]
The Washington Post ran — on the front page, above the fold — what it believes is a major scoop in the ongoing saga surrounding corrupt GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff: he gave money to Dems. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes […]
No matter how often they happen, I never tire of stories on life-long Republicans who have grown so saddened by their party’s shift to the far right that they become Dems. Calling Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick a “DeLay Disciple” and decrying the Republican Party’s move to the right, former Republican Bucks County [Pa.] commissioner Andy Warren […]
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid sat down with Rolling Stone for a fairly brief interview, but it generated this gem (via Taegan Goddard): RS: You’ve called Bush a loser. Reid: And a liar. RS: You apologized for the loser comment. Reid: But never for the liar, have I? Have I mentioned lately how much I […]
In a sense, we can consider William Donaldson’s tenure at the Security and Exchange Commission a rare example of Bush admitting a mistake. The White House tapped Donaldson to replace Harvey Pitt over two years ago, and expected Donaldson to follow the conservative line on corporate regulation. Which is to say, ignore and disregard all […]
Some of you may be wondering what the status is of the House ethics investigation into Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Now that the rigged rules have been repealed and the Ethics Committee can operate, the investigation is finally on track, right? Wrong. Despite an apparent breakthrough when Republican congressional leaders reversed ethics committee rule changes […]
Bob Novak has entered a Twilight Zone so free of irony, he now feels justified in questioning the motives of Mark Felt during Watergate. Everybody knew that Felt was leaking information to Woodward and Bernstein about the Watergate investigation. The reporters made no secret of the fact that they were getting leaks from inside the […]
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: * Top-tier Republican candidates in Michigan have steered clear of taking on Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) and a new poll out this week shows why. In hypothetical match-ups against her four most likely […]
The official line from James Dobson and his Focus on the Family is that there is no shortlist of judges they’d like to see on the U.S. Supreme Court. Bruce Hausknecht, a legal-issues analyst for Dobson, has said, “No shortlist has been developed and we have not been asked for input by the White House. […]