What drives conservative opposition to a minimum-wage increase? Occasionally, a Republican offers a glimpse into their motivations. Barry Bennett, chief of staff for Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, said, “Of all the things we get mail about from our district — immigration, the pension bill, Iraq — we don’t really hear a lot about the minimum […]
When Ezra said that TNR’s Lee Siegel blamed bloggers for the continuation of the war in Iraq, I thought maybe he had read it wrong. Alas, Ezra didn’t — Siegel actually wrote that. All the bite-sized thoughts, rapid disses, and inanely meandering threads make it hard to concentrate on anything for very long. Linking is […]
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 the all-consuming Dem Senate primary in Connecticut, [tag]Ned Lamont[/tag] will pick up an endorsement today from [tag]Michael Schiavo[/tag]. As the Stamford Advocate reported, Schiavo will emphasize [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag]’s support for the […]
The “[tag]don’t ask, don’t tell[/tag]” policy has been a frustrating mess for years now, but we’re reaching a point in which it’s actually dangerous. A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay […]
I have mixed feelings about [tag]Bush[/tag] meeting today with the finalists from the [tag]American Idol[/tag] competition. All presidents have had social calls for public relations purposes, whether it’s entertainers or athletes, so it’s hard to begrudge Bush for hosting a little event with some amateur singers. Tony Snow said it’s going to be “a very, […]
After the incidents at Haditha, Ishaqi, Hamandiya, and Samarra, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians. That was last month. This month we learn of Sgt. Lemuel Lemus’ decision to change an earlier account of a May 9 raid […]
[tag]Patrick Michaels[/tag] is a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia — and noted [tag]global-warming[/tag] [tag]skeptic[/tag]. When reporters, desperate for unnecessary “balance” need a scientist willing to refute [tag]climate change[/tag], Michaels is the go-to guy. As it turns out, however, Michaels may have a bit of a [tag]conflict-of-interest[/tag] problem. Coal-burning [tag]utilities[/tag] are contributing […]
First, the good news. Fifty House [tag]Republicans[/tag], most of them slightly less conservative and nearly all of them worried about re-election, wrote a letter this week urging Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) to schedule a floor vote on a [tag]minimum-wage[/tag] [tag]increase[/tag] this week. [tag]GOP[/tag] leaders, suddenly worried about “bolstering a thin list of legislative accomplishments” […]
I’ve been supportive of the idea that [tag]congress[/tag]ional [tag]Democrat[/tag]s should remind voters of their differences with the [tag]GOP[/tag], and explain to the electorate what a Dem Congress would do differently than what we have now. It now appears that the party is taking the strategy pretty seriously. [tag]Democrats[/tag] plan to press for a minimum wage […]
You may have seen the very nice pictures of the president stopping at some kids’ lemonade stand in West Virginia this week. What you may not have heard is that the whole scene was, as Dan Froomkin described it, a “cynically staged photo op.” The president’s motorcade came to a halt when Bush stopped to […]