When Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) became the first congressional Republican to call on Tom DeLay to resign, the political establishment held its collective breath to see if it was the start of a trend. It never really materialized. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) said it’s “probably not the worst idea” for DeLay to step down, but that […]
I mentioned earlier that the right-wing Progress for America, probably best known for its “Ashley’s Story” ads from the campaign, will be spending $1.5 million on television commercials over the next two weeks to help bolster support for the nuclear option. I wanted to add, however, that Progress for America has tapped Benjamin Ginsberg to […]
To follow up on an item from Saturday guest-poster Morbo, PBS’s future is looking increasingly bleak. A brief interview with the New York Times Magazine recently highlighted the fact that Ken Ferree, the new Republican president of PBS, doesn’t watch the network he’s taking over. Today we learn that the problem is even worse than […]
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: * Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) announced over the weekend that he will not run for the Senate next year, despite pressure from party leaders. He will instead seek a third gubernatorial term […]
After last week’s press conference, talk of the president finally having something of a “plan” for Social Security started to solidify. This, at least at first, sounded like a change. We’ve been playing this annoying game for months. Most it comes down to semantics and strategy, but for nearly all of the current fight over […]
I’m on board with the entire Dem strategy when it comes to judicial nominees. I agree with the filibusters, the strategy in dealing with the nuclear option, the attempts at negotiations that aren’t going anywhere, the whole shebang. I do, however, realize that there are semi-legitimate arguments on the other side. I think the Republicans […]
I try to avoid linking to Paul Krugman columns — it’s just too easy; they’re all gems — but today’s column is particularly important. In fact, it’s a complete refutation of a column on the same op-ed page that ran over the weekend. The newly-hired John Tierney wrote on Saturday that Bush’s plan to cut […]
On Meet the Press yesterday, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) had just finished explaining that he’s against “cutting benefits for those middle income and low income,” which is exactly what Bush just told the nation he wants to do. When Russert pressed him on whether he supports the president’s plan, Allen said: “I support what I’m […]
If Dems are really lucky, TV preacher Pat Robertson will be a mainstay on the Sunday-morning talk shows from now on. For all the left’s efforts to paint the Republicans and their base as radical extremists, there’s just no substitute for a leading right-wing voice going on national television to confirm everything we’ve been saying […]