Yesterday, the president, speaking from the Rose Garden, sounded like he had excellent news. “I asked the Generals to go up to Capitol Hill to brief members of the House and Senate on our strategy for victory, on our operations in Iraq. They updated me on what recently took place in Baghdad, in which Iraqi […]
It’s not unusual for congressional candidates to return campaign contributions once a donor is exposed as controversial. No one, for example, wants to be connected with taking money from a criminal. But what if the contentious donor is your party’s leader in Congress? New Hampshire’s Jeb Bradley (R) may not realize it, but he’s done […]
In July 2003, the president said, “Anytime this nation puts one of our youngsters into harm’s way, we’d better — and we will — make sure they get the best training, the best equipment, the best possible support.” The quote may be a little old, but Bush has said similar things repeatedly ever since. 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: * Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) formally began his campaign for governor yesterday, pledging in an address to hundreds of supporters gathered in a city park “to get Maryland moving again.” O’Malley did […]
Just moments ago, in a vote that surprised absolutely no one, the Senate confirmed John Roberts to the Supreme Court. The final vote was 78 to 22. All 55 Republicans and Independent Jim Jeffords of Vermont voted for Roberts, while the 44 Dems were split right down the middle, 22 to 22. Update: Just to […]
It was just a couple of months ago that Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was getting serious about political outreach to the African-American community. One problem, however, is that Mehlman characterized the Republicans’ race problems as a thing of the past — and they clearly remain a part of the GOP’s present. Consider, for […]
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, ABC’s Terry Moran was brave enough to ask the question that had to be asked: “Is the President concerned that there’s a stench of corruption around the Republican establishment in Washington?” Scott McClellan, whose briefing began shortly after DeLay’s indictment was announced, was hardly in a position to dismiss […]
It’s a relatively minor point, but I’ve seen several news reports explain that Tom DeLay has been rebuked by the House Ethics Committee three times. That’s not quite accurate — he was reprimanded three times last year, but there have been five admonishments over DeLay’s House career. * In 1997, the Ethics Committee rebuked DeLay, […]
Part of the trouble with following Tom DeLay is that, unlike with most controversial politicians, there isn’t just one scandal to watch. Upon learning that a scandal led to a DeLay indictment yesterday, a casual political observer might be tempted to ask, “Which scandal”? It’s a reasonable question; DeLay has been busy. Is this one […]
It was an odd series of events. Executing a plan that had been crafted in advance, House Speaker Dennis Hastert told reporters yesterday afternoon that Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) would serve as “acting” Majority Leader following Tom DeLay’s indictment. Then there were rumors that Dreier would share the post with Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). […]