About four months ago, William J. Stuntz, a professor at Harvard Law School, wrote an item for The New Republic arguing that Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominees should be scrapped. If the Senate Judiciary Committee insisted on discussion, Stuntz argued, the nominee shouldn’t be forced to be there. That sounds crazy, and it’s politically […]
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 York Republicans, running out of options in their drive to take on Eliot Spitzer in the state’s gubernatorial race, have a new idea: back a Democrat. The New York Post reported […]
Even now, nearly three years after the war in Iraq began, 41% of Americas Saddam Hussein had “strong links” with Al Qaeda. Why? Because even now, nearly three years after the war in Iraq began, people like Dick Cheney are repeating discredited talking points. Cheney: …I hark back to testimony by George Tenet when he […]
Bush defended his warrantless-search program yesterday and touched on one of the White House’s key talking points: congressional oversight. “We have briefed the leadership of the United States Congress, both Republican and Democrat, as well as the leaders of the intelligence committees, both Republicans and Democrats, about the nature of this program. We gave them […]
It’s making the rounds, but Tom Edsall’s WaPo piece on the role of lobbyists in the GOP machine is definitely worth reading. It dovetails nicely with the seminal pieces on the K Street Project, but further highlights the fact that the distinction between lawmaker and lobbyist over the past few years has all but disappeared. […]
It hasn’t generated much in the way of media or political attention, but the latest on the budget for the National Institutes of Health might be worth a look. Defense and space projects account for most increases in the $135 billion federal research-and-development budget next year, worrying scientists who fear that after years of growth […]
Clearly, the “culture of corruption” charges against congressional Republicans have the GOP worried and the public keyed in on events on Capitol Hill. But to maintain integrity and consistency, Dems have to be prepared to root out problematic behavior within their own ranks. For example, there’s Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) A Louisiana congressman demanded bribes […]
I can appreciate that Samuel Alito’s allies are having trouble justifying Alito’s membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, and the fact that he touted said membership in 1985 to help highlight his conservative bona fides. I can also appreciate the fact that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has a tendency to be, shall we say, […]
Just last month, intelligent-design creationism faced its first major legal challenge — and lost miserably. The second round is about to begin, this time in California. Americans United for Separation of Church and State today filed a lawsuit in federal court in California to stop a public school district from teaching a course that promotes […]
Behind the scenes, the White House hopes the Senate Judiciary Committee will forgo hearings on the president’s warrantless-search program. In fact, Time quoted a GOP official saying that the White House is “going to lean on Specter very hard not to hold hearings.” In front of the cameras, however, Bush has a different story. President […]