A month ago, House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.), who leads a special committee investigating the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, sounded like he was fed up with the White House. His panel had waited for the Bush gang to produce documents lawmakers had requested — relating in particular to communication records between […]
For months it seemed that the ethical/legal crises for Tom DeLay and Randy “Duke” Cunningham were two equally-outrageous but unconnected scandals. Cunningham was taking bribes from defense contractors; DeLay was skirting campaign finance rules and doing illegitimate favors for corrupt lobbyists. As it turns out, there may have been a connection after all. Texas prosecutors […]
The First Amendment explains that the “right of the people peaceably to assemble” shall not be abridged. It doesn’t say anything, however, about the Pentagon spying on those same people (via Kevin). A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of […]
I’m fond of posting updates on Bush’s approval ratings when they’re slipping badly, so it’s only fair to note that the president has seen a slight up-tick in his support over the last few weeks. Perhaps more importantly, it’s worth asking why. (That’s only half-way rhetorical; I’m hoping someone can explain it to me.) Gallup […]
Republican talking points have insisted for months that ethical and legal problems facing GOP lawmakers may be fascinating to political junkies and inside-the-beltway observers, but Dems shouldn’t get their hopes up about this being a campaign issue in 2006. There was limited proof to bolster the talking point, but that was the Republican story and […]
In light of the ongoing debate on the Hill over whether to include oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into the federal budget, it’s hardly surprising that the Bush administration, which supporting ANWR drilling, is pushing the issue hard. What is surprising is the desperation with which they’re spinning the benefits of the […]
If there’s one thing we know about the president’s philosophy about the Constitution, it’s that he loves strict constructionists. None of that “the law evolves” stuff for Bush; the president, like all good conservatives, claim that “originalism” — the Constitution should be interpreted as the Founding Fathers intended — is the only way to go. […]
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: * The drama that has become Jeanine Pirro’s Senate campaign took another turn yesterday when county Republican leaders from across New York met privately and concluded that Pirro should drop out of the […]
NBC’s Brian Williams posed a pretty good question to Bush yesterday afternoon, presenting the president with a handful of his pre-war assumptions and asking if they proved to be right or wrong. I was particularly fond of the first one — and Bush’s response. Williams: A lot of people have seen in this series of […]
The idea of Republicans using deceptive ads to exploit the war is not new. Many of us still chuckle remembering that the Bush campaign manipulated a photo of troops in uniform for one of their end-of-the-campaign commercials. But as Slate’s John Dickerson discovered, the Republican National Committee has taken image manipulation one step further. The […]