The bad news came last week when we learned that Bush’s Department of Veterans Affairs came up at least $1 billion short in meeting the current health care needs for veterans. The worse news came when we learned the shortfall was actually over $2 billion. The good news is, thanks to Senate Dems, Congress is […]
The Republican coalition of wealthy corporate donors and evangelical Christian activists is usually not on the same page. The factions want different things and have significantly different visions for America. Sure, they’ll smile at one another at parties, but theirs is a marriage of convenience. Once in a while, they’ll act like competitive siblings, with […]
Kudos to Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) for his valliant effort to stop an automatic pay raise for members of Congress. Alas, it didn’t work. The House on Tuesday agreed to a $3,100 pay raise for Congress next year to $165,200 after defeating an effort to roll it back. In a 263-152 vote, the House blocked […]
Perhaps the strangest part of Bush’s speech on Iraq last night wasn’t the address but the reaction. The nearly 800 troops on hand at Fort Bragg, N.C. were eerily silent for nearly the entire event. For a president who thrives on sycophants cheering his every word at carefully-scripted rallies, it must have been unnerving. There […]
Polls taken immediately after a political event (campaign debate, State of the Union, etc.) tend to be a little unreliable. These events need a little time to sink in, and the public’s perceptions are influenced by further reflection, news coverage, and water-cooler conversations. Having said that, a poll taken last night of people who watched […]
To be fair, we were warned. The White House press corps specifically asked if there would be anything resembling fresh material in the president’s prime-time address on the war in Iraq. Scott McClellan said: “I think many Americans have not heard much of what the President has to say tomorrow night.” Now I understand what […]
Bill Frist is going to deliver a speech to the Heritage Foundation this afternoon on judicial nominations and how the Senate should approach the likely Supreme Court vacancy. According to The Note, which obtained a copy of Frist’s speech, the Senate Majority Leader will emphasize the need for “civility.” I won’t be on hand for […]
OK, one more post about the Ten Commandments rulings from yesterday. In a strange dissent in the Van Orden case, Justice Clarence Thomas not only argued that public officials should be able to promote the sacred text in official settings, he also explained his belief that the First Amendment shouldn’t apply to state governments. This […]
After my yesterday’s post on the Denver Three, a handful of you wrote to ask why I find this particular controversy so fascinating. At last count, I’ve written 16 posts about the incident, most other blogs don’t seem nearly as interested, my comments section doesn’t exactly light up at the mention of the story, and […]
Polling firm SurveyUSA has been quite the font of information lately, hasn’t it? First it did a poll of all of the nation’s governors, then all of the senators, and today it released data showing Bush’s support on a state-by-state basis. There are lots of entertaining ways to break down the numbers, but I was […]