The WaPo’s Dana Milbank had an entertaining item on yesterday’s House “debate” on a [tag]constitutional amendment[/tag] to ban [tag]gay marriage[/tag], and some of the least compelling arguments offered by the measure’s supporters. I’m having trouble picking the most ridiculous…. Choice A: “Marriage is not about love,” volunteered Rep. [tag]Todd Akin[/tag] (R-Mo.), who noted his 31 […]
[tag]Ralph Reed[/tag], a man who once bragged about leaving his political opponents in “body bags,” saw his political career come to a screeching halt last night. In fact, it wasn’t even close. Ralph Reed, the former director of the [tag]Christian Coalition[/tag] and a former Republican lobbyist involved in the Jack Abramoff scandal, suffered an embarrassing […]
Sixty three votes is great, but it won’t be enough to reverse Bush. The Senate voted Tuesday after two days of emotional debate to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and sent the measure to President Bush for a promised veto, the first of his presidency. The bill passed 63-37, four votes short […]
Today’s vote in the House on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage went about as expected; 236 lawmakers voted for it (including 34 Dems), 187 members voted against it (including 27 Republicans). The majority still fell 46 votes short of the two-thirds majority it needed. But the predictable outcome aside, one lawmaker raised a […]
The NYT’s Adam Nagourney explains today that the [tag]GOP[/tag] made a concerted effort a few years ago to reach out to [tag]African-American[/tag] voters — including Ken Mehlman’s acknowledgement that Republicans were “wrong” to try to “benefit politically from racial polarization” — but it hasn’t worked out the way the party had hoped. The reality is […]
This may or may not be of interest, but an unaired, 13-minute documentary of Al Gore and his family in the summer of 2000 has worked its way onto Google video. The video was shot by Spike Jonze (yes, that Spike Jonze) and shows a very relaxed, self-effacing Al Gore. I don’t know any of […]
Four years ago, the [tag]neocons[/tag] argued that “regime change” in Iraq was key to spreading freedom and establishing stability in the [tag]Middle East[/tag]. [tag]Bush[/tag] listened — and things haven’t worked out particularly well. The neocons have adapted their strategy and now believe invading Iran is the key to the regions problems. Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich, […]
Back in May, the Department of Justice’s [tag]Office of Professional Responsibility[/tag] was prepared to launch an investigation into how and why the agency’s lawyers approved the president’s warrantless-search program. The probe came to a sudden halt, however, when the OPR discovered it had been “denied [tag]security[/tag] [tag]clearance[/tag]s for access to information about the N.S.A. program.” […]
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 new Rasmussen poll in Rhode Island offers discouraging news for Sen. [tag]Lincoln Chafee[/tag], “whose support has gone from bad to worse,” highlighting why this is a key Dem pick-up opportunity. Chafee […]
A not-so-liberal emailer contacted me over night with a fair argument about today’s vote in the Senate about expanding [tag]stem-cell[/tag] [tag]research[/tag]. The email suggested a certain hypocrisy: if we know [tag]Bush[/tag] is going to [tag]veto[/tag] the bill, then there’s no point in going through the motions. I’ve criticized lawmakers repeatedly for wasting time on legislation […]