When I worked at AU, I’d receive a bunch of calls every November from angry people who thought it was wholly inappropriate to ask voters to go to a house of worship to cast a ballot. It’s a fairly common scenario: some localities don’t have large enough facilities to host a polling station, so officials […]
As part of my ongoing fascination with the oddly anti-Bush articles appearing in Insight magazine, an off-shoot of Sun Myung Moon’s far-right Washington Times, the latest issue suggests the neocons, who consistently railed against Colin Powell when he led the State Department, are none too pleased with his successor. Conservative national security allies of President […]
With the Senate [tag]Judiciary Committee[/tag] scheduled to hold a hearing today on Committee Chairman [tag]Arlen Specter[/tag]’s (R-Pa.) “[tag]compromise[/tag]” proposal on warrantless searches, it’s worth taking another moment to remember just how awful the senator’s idea really is. In the end, the [tag]White House[/tag], which has circumvented the law with a [tag]warrant[/tag]less-[tag]search[/tag] program that operates with […]
Remember six weeks ago, when Iraqi and Bush administration officials announced a new plan to bring some stability to [tag]Baghdad[/tag]? It failed. But don’t worry; there’s a new plan. Saying the security situation in Baghdad remained “terrible,” [tag]President[/tag] [tag]Bush[/tag] announced an agreement with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-[tag]Maliki[/tag] on Tuesday to significantly strengthen the United […]
It’s bad enough when religious right groups get federal grants from the Bush administration to tell teenagers that condoms are dangerous and won’t offer protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. But when a doctor-turned-senator argues the same thing during a policy debate, you really have to shake your head. During today’s Senate debate on […]
You know it’s a tough political environment for the GOP when a Republican Senate candidate sits down with reporters and says: On the Iraq war: “It didn’t work. . . . We didn’t prepare for the peace.” On the response to Hurricane Katrina: “A monumental failure of government.” On the national mood: “There’s a palpable […]
I’ve heard of churches throwing their weight around in a campaign context, but the New York Times reported today on a new twist to the old model, this time in Missouri. Supporters of Health Research and Treatments is an organization that promotes stem-cell research, which is part of Missouri’s burgeoning bio-tech industry. It’s also a […]
Earlier this month, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she wouldn’t recommend members make an appearance on The [tag]Colbert Report[/tag]’s “[tag]Better Know A District[/tag]” segment. As Pelosi put it, “Why would anybody go on there?” In retrospect, Rep. [tag]Robert Wexler[/tag] (D-Fla.) probably should have paid closer attention. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat who represents the […]
Desperate congressional [tag]Republicans[/tag] have been working overtime to impress the party’s far-right base. An article in the Washington Times today suggests the effort is working. The Republican base is being rejuvenated, some conservative [tag]activists[/tag] say, by a flurry of congressional action on “[tag]values[/tag]” issues such as marriage safeguards, flag protection and abortion restrictions, as well […]
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: * In Tennessee, Gov. [tag]Phil Bredesen[/tag] (D) is cruising to a second term, enjoying a 33-point lead over Republican state Sen. [tag]Jim Bryson[/tag] in a new Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the Chattanooga Times […]