One of the more common complaints from Senate Republicans lately is that Dems “abuse” the filibuster by using it too often. It’s an inherently subjective complaint — is blocking 10 right-wing judges excessive? — but the argument is not entirely without merit. When it comes to judicial nominees, there have been more filibusters in the […]
The ongoing struggle to combat the administration’s use of public funds to create fake-news segments has finally taken legislative form. Late last week, Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the Truth in Broadcasting Act. The legislation would require that “prepackaged news stories” produced by the Administration contain a disclosure of the source […]
Some of you may recall the controversy surrounding Stephen Williams, a California school teacher who was disciplined and allegedly ordered not to tell his students about the Declaration of Independence because it includes a reference to a “Creator.” Talk radio, Fox News, and conservative blogs went apoplectic, using Williams’ example as proof of secularists gone […]
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 poll of voters in Tom DeLay’s district shows faltering support for the flailing House Majority Leader. A poll conducted by SurveyUSA for a local television station showed 51% disapprove of […]
A couple of weeks ago, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) told Roll Call that she had agreed to listen to the White House’s pitch about Social Security privatization, but was surprised at how little she heard with which she could agree. Lincoln has flirted in the past with Fainthearted Faction status, so her trip down Pennsylvania […]
As with every poll released in the last couple of months, if there’s good news in the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll for the Bush White House, it’s hiding very well. * Approval rating — Bush’s approval rating remains at 48%, which is exactly where it was a month ago. The percentage of poll respondents who […]
The past couple of years have not been kind to military chaplains and there’s no indication the problems are going away soon. There was the fiasco surrounding Capt. James Yee, a Muslim Army chaplain stationed at Guantanamo Bay; a report that some Defense Department chaplain services have been directing military personnel to a Web site […]
As a conservative House member, Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) is pretty predictable. Especially when it comes to “family values” issues, Sherwood toes the party line and makes the GOP base happy — he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Marriage Protection Amendment” to the Constitution, and was re-elected to Congress with a […]
Looking back, one of the more disturbing moments from the president’s prime-time press conference came in response to a question about military readiness. Q: Do you feel that the number of troops that you’ve kept there is limiting your options elsewhere in the world? Just today you had the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency […]
Today’s White House press briefing included a lengthy exchange on whether the president believes in supporting the Treasury’s obligations. It didn’t go well. A reporter asked Scott McClellan about the president’s belief that the current Social Security system “leaves behind file cabinets full of IOUs.” The journalist asked if the president is suggesting that there’s […]