Everyone seemed quite polite yesterday when the president had a nice Oval Office chat with Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi. “Bi-partisan” was the buzz-word of the day, and both congressional Dems and the White House seemed to appreciate the inconvenient reality that they’ll each need the other side to accomplish anything. For Bush, who is unaccustomed to […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * In Virginia this afternoon, Sen. George Allen (R) officially conceded his race to Sen.-elect Jim Webb (D). * A couple of hours prior, in Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns (R) conceded his race to Sen.-elect Jon Tester (D). Taken together, the Dems went +6 for the cycle and officially claimed […]
The elections are over, and there’s a temptation to put some of the unpleasantness of the campaign season behind us, but the stunts Republicans pulled in Maryland may have a lasting impact. We talked on Tuesday about one of this year’s more egregious stunts. Republican campaign operatives, working for Bob Ehrlich (governor) and Michael Steele […]
Here’s a helpful bookend for my last post. The few remaining GOP moderates believe Republicans lost because they’re too conservative, while religious right leaders like James Dobson insist the party isn’t conservative enough. Conservative Christian leader James Dobson accused the Republican Party of abandoning values voters in the midterm elections — and paying the price […]
I’m not exactly optimistic, but I suppose it’s at least a little encouraging that the remaining GOP centrists are trying to reassert themselves. The Republican Majority for Choice, a lobbying group for Republicans who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, blamed the losses Tuesday on Iraq and “social extremism,” Co-chairwoman Jennifer Stockman said. […]
I have to wonder if some of these leading conservative voices fully appreciate how foolish this makes them sound. For example, responding to the Dems reclaiming the majority in Congress, Rush Limbaugh said: “The way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I’m going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I […]
It’s largely faded from memory, but it’s worth noting that Karl Rove was demoted from his job as White House chief of staff back in April for one reason: the GOP establishment wanted him to focus exclusively on the midterm elections. He’d been given all kinds of policy responsibilities — including heading up the administration’s […]
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: * MSNBC reported this morning that Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) will host a 3pm press conference, and Jim Webb (D) will hold one of his own shortly thereafter. According to National Journal, he […]
National Republican Congressional Committee Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) managed to survive an unexpectedly strong challenge in his home district, but he nevertheless woke up yesterday with a certain ignominious label: he was the NRCC chairman when Republicans lost the House for the first time in 12 years. In an attempt to understand what went wrong, Reynolds […]
I’m not at all happy about it, but I can’t help but notice that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), in a 51-49 Senate, holds a lot of cards right now. And he knows it. The morning after a six-month roller coaster of an election season, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman stood victorious, again promising to burnish his […]