Just to follow up on an item from last week, it appears that I misjudged the Dems’ appetite for a fight. The Supreme Court ruled that states were free to re-draw congressional-district lines whenever state lawmakers chose to do so, validating Tom DeLay’s 2003 Texas scheme, which produced five new GOP House members in 2004 […]
It’s been about three weeks since congressional Democrats unveiled their election-year agenda — “New Direction for America” — but unfortunately, some of the caucus didn’t get the memo. Asked Thursday to comment on their agenda, a half-dozen House Democrats remained fuzzy on the particulars. “The new model, etc., etc?” faltered Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). “I […]
[tag]Ken Lay[/tag] [tag]died[/tag] this morning, reportedly from a massive heart attack. The recently convicted former [tag]Enron[/tag] chairman Kenneth L. Lay, 64, died early today in Aspen, Colo., a family spokeswoman and the sheriff’s office said. Lay, convicted of fraud and conspiracy for his part in the Houston-based energy company’s collapse, faced the possibility of life […]
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: * New Mexico Republicans may have switched their gubernatorial candidate recently, but the latest Rasmussen poll shows it may not make much of a difference. Gov. [tag]Bill Richardson[/tag] (D) enjoys a big lead […]
The one issue that’s supposed to always work for the Republicans isn’t quite packing the same punch this year. Support for [tag]tax cuts[/tag] — a signature campaign issue for congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag] — is waning on Capitol Hill, with the GOP-led Congress reaching its Independence Day recess with no tax-trimming victories to tout in home districts. […]
If you’ve been away from your computer this week, here’s a quick recap: [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag]’s campaign officially began the process of collecting signatures for an independent campaign for Senate, in the event he loses the Democratic primary. Lieberman subsequently referred to the strategy as his “[tag]insurance policy[/tag].” In trying to garner support from those same […]
Arianna Huffington had a great item today on the other fascinating documentary of the year that deals with the environment, politics, and public policy. It’s called “[tag]Who Killed the Electric Car[/tag]?” Who Killed the Electric Car? starts out as an informative history of the energy-efficient vehicles. We learn that their development was jumpstarted by the […]
For months, [tag]Bush[/tag]’s buzzword when it came to immigration policy was “[tag]comprehensive[/tag].” During his prime-time national address on the issue, the [tag]president[/tag] said, “An immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed together, or none of them will be solved at all.” A few days later, discussing […]
Americans usually love explosions in the sky on the 4th of July, but I don’t think this is what we had in mind. North Korea has test-fired a seventh missile amid international furor over the regime’s launch of six missiles earlier in the day. The Japanese Defense Agency said one ballistic [tag]missile[/tag] was fired Wednesday […]
A couple of pieces on the holiday that I enjoyed: E. J. Dionne Jr.: You can be certain that on this, as on every July 4th, patriotic oratory will flow as well from liberals declaring their love of flag, country and the Declaration of Independence. Many will speak of how our constitutional republic is to […]