The last several election cycles, after Democrats lose, party activists and leaders debate why things went poorly. Fingers are pointed, strategies are blamed, solutions are discussed … it’s all fairly routine. Republicans, meanwhile, who are not necessarily accustomed to losing, get angry. When they assign blame, they’re not just talking about a tersely-worded op-ed; they’re […]
I imagine it’s pretty tough being a 10-term incumbent congressman facing a very tough re-election fight in a difficult campaign environment, but I don’t think Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) is handling the pressure well. Earlier this week, Shays highlighted what’s become of House Republican standards when he compared the Mark Foley scandal to Chappaquiddick, saying, […]
Peggy Noonan wrote an interesting item today for the Wall Street Journal about the role of dissent in public discourse. Apparently, Noonan believes the left isn’t nearly tolerant enough of competing views, and pointed to four specific examples. * A student protest shut down a speech at Columbia University from Jim Gilchrist, the founder of […]
Following up on yesterday’s items, I’ve been curious to see how the religious right might respond to new accounts from [tag]David Kuo[/tag], the deputy director of the White House Faith-Based Office. After all, Kuo saw first hand that the Bush gang held evangelical supporters in contempt — Karl Rove reportedly called them “the nuts” — […]
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’s closely-watched Senate race, a new Rasmussen poll shows Rep. Harold Ford (D) still leading former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker (R), 48% to 46%. Ford also has an edge with the […]
Because I live in a state bordering New York, I see a lot of New York candidates’ ads on TV, and I have to say, Eliot Spitzer’s (D) commercials are really good. They’re different from traditional campaign spots, and there’s a reason — they were written by a screenwriter whose background isn’t in politics, it’s […]
Way back in December 2005, we learned about a secret Pentagon database that included “intelligence” obtained by spying on anti-war protestors, who were monitored at meetings and/or events no where near military installations, posts or recruitment centers. In all, Pentagon officials kept information about four dozen protests in their “Talon” database. What’s more, even after […]
Perhaps you’ve wondered why, exactly, it seems so many Bush administration officials seem unqualified and incapable. As it turns out, the answer is getting clearer. At least 135 federal employees, including a White House staff member and National Security Agency employees, bought bogus online college degrees from a diploma mill, a lawyer in the case […]
I mentioned this briefly yesterday, but it warrants a closer look. To best understand exactly why there’s so much pre-election panic in Republican circles right now, it’s probably because they party’s most reliable voting bloc is moving away from the GOP. The latest Gallup poll, released yesterday, divided Americans into three groups based on race […]
It’s one thing when a retired military officer appears on TV to suggest that troops be withdrawn from Iraq. When General Sir [tag]Richard Dannatt[/tag], chief of the British Army (the British equivalent of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), makes the argument publicly, it’s a far bigger deal. The Army could ‘break’ if […]