I have to admit, I’m frequently surprised at what drives the right to apoplexy. Last week, it was a NYT piece about the Maryland town where Cheney and Rumsfeld bought weekend homes. This week, it’s a [tag]DCCC[/tag] web [tag]video[/tag] that laments the crises that [tag]Republicans[/tag] have mismanaged in recent years, and includes an image of […]
I keep an eye on all of the major statewide races, but I have a special fondness for Florida’s Senate race and Georgia’s race for Lt. Gov. because they feature two of my least favorite political figures in the country: [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] and [tag]Ralph Reed[/tag]. Fortunately, as events this week show, the two are going […]
About a month ago, after the Dems unveiled their domestic [tag]policy[/tag] [tag]agenda[/tag] for 2007, I suggested that Republicans do the same. After all, voters should know about the parties’ legislative priorities for the future before they vote in November, and right now, the [tag]GOP[/tag] appears reluctant to put forward any specific ideas on anything. Even […]
National Journal published a list this week of salaries for the several hundred political appointees who work at the White House. As TP noted, one guy, [tag]Stuart Baker[/tag], makes $106,641 a year to serve as the president’s “[tag]Director for Lessons Learned[/tag].” It is, by any reasonable measure, the most patently absurd title in Washington. It’s […]
We’re almost half-way through July, which means August is right around the corner — and that’s the month Bush likes to take off. The president easily broke the record last year for most vacation days for a two-term president (with three years to spare!) thanks in large part to the fact that he enjoys month-long […]
The Washington Times reported today that Senate Dems are considering a filibuster for William J. [tag]Haynes[/tag]’ [tag]nomination[/tag] to the U.S. [tag]Court of Appeals[/tag] for the 4th Circuit. My first choice would be to see the Bush White House have the decency to pull the nomination. My second choice would be to see enough reasonable [tag]Senate[/tag] […]
It’s been days since I said anything derogatory about [tag]Fox News[/tag], so I hope readers won’t mind if I take note of an odd statistic about [tag]Bill O’Reilly[/tag]’s audience. The New York Times had an interesting item yesterday about O’Reilly’s arch-nemesis — [tag]MSNBC[/tag]’s [tag]Keith Olbermann[/tag] — and his success in an otherwise-bleak MSNBC prime-time line-up. […]
In a year in which almost nothing of any substance is passing Congress, renewing the Voting Rights Act was supposed to be an easy one for the GOP. Especially in light of the controversies surrounding voting problems, which in some instances may have racially motivated, protecting the rights of minorities to vote was a no-brainer. […]
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 Minnesota, Veterinarian and philanthropist [tag]Ford Bell[/tag] (D) ended his Senate campaign yesterday, clearing the way for Hennepin County Attorney [tag]Amy Klobuchar[/tag] to win the Dem (technically, the DFL) nomination in September. […]
Yesterday’s announcement from the administration on extending protections from the Geneva Conventions to U.S. detainees was not quite as elucidating as it could have been. As Spencer Ackerman noted, the policy still doesn’t protect prisoners in CIA custody, and as Slate’s Eric Umansky explained, “Terror suspects in U.S. custody won’t get full POW status under […]