They never learn

You’d think that after the Mike Brown fiasco at FEMA, the Bush gang would go out of its way to make sure anyone involved with emergency/disaster response work would be experienced and capable, not just some Republican crony who’s been loyal to the Bush machine. Alas, we’re dealing with an administration that doesn’t learn from […]

The religious right’s dissatisfaction — with one notable exception

We’ve heard from the conservative blogs on Harriet Miers, but what about the religious right groups that drive the Republican base? What’s the word from the constituency C&L likes to call “God’s Own Circus”? So far, the sentiment is clearly one-sided, but there’s one 800-pound gorilla who’s standing with the White House. Concerned Women for […]

And then there were three (DeLay indictments)

Last week, we learned that Tom DeLay’s transfer of $190,000 from TRMPAC to the RNC and then back to TRMPAC’s candidates in Texas was enough to get the up-until-recently House Majority Leader indicted. Yesterday, the situation got worse for DeLay. Much worse. A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday for alleged involvement […]

An overly simplistic question

This is probably too simplistic a question to even be asked, and I should know better than to put my naiveté in print by raising the point, but I have a query for the White House. Is Harriet Miers the best person in the country for the Supreme Court? I don’t mean whether she’s qualified […]

A real opportunity for a right-wing senator

About 24 hours later, most of the conservative movement is still unconvinced, to put it mildly, about the merits of Harriet Miers’ nomination to the Supreme Court. With this in mind, there are a lot of right-wing activists out there who aren’t happy with the White House and who might appreciate a like-minded senator to […]

Another day, another indictment charge against DeLay

Step away from the computer for an hour and look what happens. A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader. Both indictments accuse DeLay […]

The Dems’ next move

It’s possible Bush isn’t aware of it (it’s more likely he just doesn’t care), but the White House has come under some criticism of late for having a “cronyism” problem. The president seems to fill just about every high-level government post he can find with a close and loyal ally, experience and qualifications be damned. […]

The Miers nomination and the right

There’s a certain political reality that was hard to escape during John Roberts’ confirmation process — Republicans had 55 seats in the Senate and nary a one was prepared to break party ranks on this nomination. Can the same be said about Harriet Miers? I’m not entirely sure. About a week ago, the NYT had […]

Miers’ online paper trail

So, you’re anxious to read up on Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. She has no public record, so it’s going to be a little tricky. After a cursory look, I can’t find any papers she’s published in the academic world, she hasn’t done much in the way of public speaking, and there’s no way on […]

Monday’s political round-up

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: * North Dakota Gov. Gov. John Hoeven (R) announced late last week that, despite heavy pressure from the White House, he will not take on Sen. Kent Conrad (D) next year. The announcement, […]