For a couple of months, as Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) openly considered a Senate campaign next year, there were many reports about Harris meeting with Karl Rove about the race. No one was sure, however, whether Rove was offering encouraging words of support or advising her to steer clear of the campaign. Looking back, it […]
We’ve been waiting for a Supreme Court retirement, but it turns out, we were watching the wrong justice. Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman Supreme Court justice and a decisive swing vote for a quarter-century on virtually all the major legal issues of our time, announced her resignation today. Because she is a moderate, her […]
The criticisms of the Supreme Court’s Kelo vs. New London ruling have been loud and constant since it was issued eight days ago, particularly from the right. Indeed, the disapproval prompted Congress to take steps to restrict the government’s eminent domain powers. The House voted yesterday to use the spending power of Congress to undermine […]
The Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled an 18-point agenda this week, and it sounds like they’re largely on the right track. The Progressive Caucus on Tuesday night unveiled its agenda for the 109th Congress, including few surprises in an outline ranging from plans to end the Iraq war to universal health care, in its attempt to […]
I intentionally avoid talking about impeaching Bush, not because the idea lacks merit, but because it’s just too implausible for me to even consider. The Republican majority in Congress, short of video footage showing the president selling military secrets to Osama bin Laden, would simply never consider it. With this in mind, I try not […]
It was expected Monday morning. The morning passed? OK, Monday afternoon. No? OK, Tuesday for sure. Um, Wednesday, no doubt. Maybe Thursday? The political world keeps looking to Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, whom we’re all sure is definitely going to retire, waiting for word that he’s stepping down. This was supposed to be […]
I noted yesterday that members of the House approved another boost in their own pay this week, because, in the immortal words of Tom DeLay, lawmakers needed “an adjustment so that they’re not losing their purchasing power.” I noted that these pay increases, which bring congressional salaries to $165,200, come at a time when the […]
I’m trying to think of the reasoning behind these efforts, but I’m having a little trouble. House Republican leaders promised yesterday to hold a vote as early as this summer on adding personal accounts to Social Security, but said they might do it without any effort to stave off the system’s insolvency. The leaders also […]
For about a month now, the religious right and other conservative activists have been waging an uphill battle to convince the Senate not to do what the House has already done — approve a measure to greatly expand federal funding for stem-cell research. Now, they’ve reconsidered the political landscape and are giving up on 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: * A new Field Poll in California suggests more voters in the state are ready for a new governor in 2006. Just 39% of registered voters are inclined to give Arnold Schwarzenegger a […]