First up from this week’s God machine is news that should get Bill O’Reilly and the Fox News gang very excited: a war on Easter. (thanks to reader M.C. for the tip) The Easter Bunny hopped into St. Paul (Minn.) City Hall, but was quickly bounced out Wednesday. A sign with some Easter decorations in […]
Many thanks to all of you who have voted for The Carpetbagger Report in the Koufax Awards. The voting is nearly complete — the “polls” close tomorrow night — and I thought I’d make one last request. Those of you who have not yet voted can still do so. It takes 15 seconds, max. Here’s […]
We’ve all heard about the high-priced, lobbyist-only meetings at which senators like Conrad Burns (R-Montana) spends so much of their time, but have you ever wondered what it was really like inside? Not just for the average schmoe, but for the lobbyists themselves? Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi snagged an invitation to a Burns birthday party […]
We’ve all heard the firearm-enthusiast saying about gun control: “You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hand.” In Tom DeLay’s case, it may have to be modified to: “You can have my gun now since I’ve been indicted for a felony.” Apparently, under Texas law, those Texans who’ve been […]
The conventional wisdom on Russ Feingold’s censure resolution seemed to shift rather suddenly about a week ago, when the first of a few national polls showed considerable public support for the effort. This “crazy,” “radical,” and “over-the-top” idea had broad national support. That same conventional wisdom shifted a little more this morning, when The New […]
The very idea that a person could literally be put to death for converting from one faith tradition to another is a human-rights nightmare. But from a purely political perspective, the fate of Abdur Rahman may prove to be a different kind of problem for the Bush White House. The Bush administration stepped up pressure […]
It’s official, Ben Domenech has resigned. In the past 24 hours, we learned of allegations that Ben Domenech plagiarized material that appeared under his byline in various publications prior to washingtonpost.com contracting with him to write a blog that launched Tuesday. An investigation into these allegations was ongoing, and in the interim, Domenech has resigned, […]
Whenever the White House is asked if the president’s dwindling public support will prove to be a liability for Republican candidates, the Bush gang dismisses the idea out of hand. As proof, they point to the president’s long list of invitations from GOP candidates nationwide, all of whom are anxious to have the president help […]
The Bush White House has become quite fond of “signing statements,” in which the president explains what he thinks of a bill as he signs it into law. Reagan popularized the tool in the ’80s, issuing 71 signing statements. Clinton had 105. George W. Bush passed the 500 mark a few months ago — despite […]
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: * Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) is still struggling in his re-election efforts, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. The results show Schwarzenegger trailing both of his Dem rivals — State Comptroller Steve Westly […]