This is so crazy, it just might work. With their foes vigorously trying to portray them as the party of gay marriage and flag burning, Democrats next week are set to unleash a counteroffensive to define themselves as defenders of “family security,” devoted to the [tag]everyday[/tag] [tag]pocketbook[/tag] issues that affect Joe Voter. The action on […]
The New York Times has a fascinating-but-disturbing item today on problems with the administration’s policy of funding Somali warlords. A covert effort by the Central Intelligence Agency to finance Somali warlords has drawn sharp criticism from American government officials who say the campaign has thwarted counterterrorism efforts inside Somalia and empowered the same Islamic groups […]
In the mid-’90s, Gingrich & Co. thought there would be minimal political backlash if they tried to slash funding for PBS. They were wrong, the public rallied behind [tag]Sesame Street[/tag] characters (Save [tag]Big Bird[/tag]!), and the GOP backed off. Ten years later, conservatives in the House have decided to give this another shot. House [tag]Republicans[/tag] […]
Here’s a fun little game. I’ll give you the quote and source; you guess what outrage the person is describing. “It’s amazing. Such [tag]incompetence[/tag] is worse than anything I’ve ever seen in six administrations,” Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said during a news briefing. “At some point, this administration has got to stop […]
News reports this morning confirm that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed last night in Iraq. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind hundreds of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings whose leadership of the insurgent group al- Qaeda in Iraq made him the most wanted man in the country, was killed Wednesday evening by an air strike near […]
The three big rally-the-base votes in the Senate — [tag]ban[/tag] on [tag]gay marriage[/tag], ban on [tag]flag[/tag] “[tag]desecration[/tag],” and permanent repeal of the [tag]estate tax[/tag] — are all expected to lose, but more importantly, they’re expected to put [tag]Democrats[/tag] on the defensive while uniting [tag]Republicans[/tag] and their base. But a funny thing happened on the way […]
The WaPo had an interesting item on Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) today, talking about the senator’s faith and conversion to Catholicism. There was one anecdote, however, that caught my eye. This notion of falling short is a big part of Brownback’s identity. He’s even humble about his own humility, saying there are others who surpass […]
State lawmakers in [tag]Louisiana[/tag] passed a pretty sweeping [tag]ban[/tag] on [tag]abortion[/tag] this week, dependent on the [tag]Supreme Court[/tag] overturning [tag]Roe v. Wade[/tag]. A leading sponsor of the bill, state Senator Ben Nevers (D), said, “I had a strong belief that we could finally protect the innocent life of an unborn child. This is about the […]
So, the [tag]FMA[/tag] failed again today, managing to do slightly worse than about the same as in 2004. How did supporters manage to regress after gaining allies in [tag]Congress[/tag]? I suspect exchanges like this one from a press conference on the Hill help explain part of the problem. [Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.)] held a news […]
The Bush administration’s policy on Iran was, for the most part, unambiguous. The president believed the United States should not take part in negotiations with the Iranians and Europeans, should not offer Iran nuclear fuel to be used in a peaceful [tag]nuclear[/tag] [tag]energy[/tag] program, and should not offer [tag]Iran[/tag] any incentives that might “[tag]reward[/tag] [tag]bad […]