ABC News is reporting that Edith Clement is not the president’s choice and will not be nominated this evening. A giant bluff? Head-fake? Has the media establishment been thrown off track on the Supreme Court again? Feel free to share unsubstantiated rumors and speculation here. Only three-and-a-half hours until we know for sure.
The fight over the future of the Supreme Court is not just about abortion rights. There’s so much more at stake, including the wall of separation between church and state, civil rights and civil liberties, privacy rights, environmental protections, and the ability of the government to regulate businesses to protect workers and consumers. Having said […]
Just about everyone seems to believe that the decision has been made in advance of tonight’s press conference and that the president will tap Judge Edith Clement of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to succeed Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. For the time being, let’s work under that assumption. Politically, […]
Less than eight hours to go before we learn Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court. The president is set to announce his Supreme Court nominee tonight at 9, according to spokesman Scott McClellan. Many Republican strategists are anticipating that his choice will be Judge Edith Clement of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, though […]
It’s helpful to get a reminder, now and again, as to why watching Fox News can be so painful. My friend D.S. alerted me to FNC’s John Gibson’s latest rant in defense of Karl Rove leaking Valerie Plame’s identity. One has to read it to believe it. First, to provide context, it’s worth noting that […]
There’s plenty of ways to examine the the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and the Espionage Act, but there’s that the old adage: the cover-up is sometimes worse than the crime. In this case, the cover-up may not literally be worse — leaking classified information is pretty atrocious — but it may be what sparks indictments. […]
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 sweeping scandal surrounding Ralph Reed and his ties to Jack Abramoff is already undermining Reed’s campaign to become Georgia’s lieutenant governor, but if he wins the GOP primary, there’s another challenge […]
I’ve been waiting anxiously to see if one, just one, Republican member of Congress will say something vaguely critical of Karl Rove and his role in the Plame Game scandal. I think I’ve finally found one. “The real issue is whether or not it’s true,” said Pennsylvania Representative Phil English, who said he’s known Rove […]
Almost immediately after Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement, word came down — sometimes subtly, other times less so — that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was at the top of the president’s short list. In fact, the key conservative insider guiding the selection process made Bush’s intentions clear early on. “It’s a fairly sophisticated choice […]
Those pesky federal regulations could end up annoying the White House almost as much as the Dems who keep brining the up. Yesterday, there was ample discussion of Standard Form 312, which is a nondisclosure agreement for federal officials, which Karl Rove signed, which prohibited him from even confirming confidential information, which, late last week, […]