Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) raised a few eyebrows a few days ago when he labeled George W. Bush “the worst president this country has ever had.” Would the mini-flap over the comment prompt Reid to back down? Not so much. The next day, Reid was still not holding back. Reid also responded to […]
The controversy surrounding the Washington Post hiring Republican Ben Domenech to be a resident blogger is fueled, in large part, by the fact that the WaPo is yielding to conservative complaints and trying to create an unnecessary “balance” between a far-right activist and a liberal that doesn’t exist. A secondary element of the uproar, however, […]
On Monday, Bush spoke in Cleveland and tried something a little different — he opened the floor to questions from an audience that hadn’t been pre-screened or prepped to stay on message. The results were encouraging, at least in terms of faith in the electorate. As Dan Froomkin noted, Bush “faced a handful of really […]
For a straight-talking champion of reform, John McCain hasn’t had much trouble shifting gears and becoming a more typical Republican presidential candidate lately. For example, reform advocates don’t usually hire aides linked to Tom DeLay’s shady deals. But that doesn’t stop McCain. McCain’s Straight Talk America PAC signed Terry Nelson, political director for the Bush-Cheney […]
At first, this seemed like something that couldn’t possibly be true. Maybe the reporter got confused. Maybe it was a big misunderstanding. Alas, it’s true. The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns. If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers will be able to sell information from individual […]
I’ve been following Bush’s faith-based initiative since it was unveiled five years ago, and it never ceases to amaze me how it manages to get worse over time. It was bad enough when the president was ignoring the separation of church and state, and funding religions against the will of taxpayers, and putting families in […]
This story has kind of been simmering just below the surface for a few weeks, but it’s pretty interesting. It deals with a legislative typo — generally not fascinating stuff — but it also speaks to some of the major issues in politics right now, most notably Republican incompetence and willingness to cut corners. Washington […]
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: * Among the big winners in Illinois’ various primaries were Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth in the 6th congressional district and investment banker David McSweeney in Illinois’ 8th. As expected, in the state’s […]
A couple of weeks ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s office put together some materials for the Dem caucus on how best to use their time during this week’s St. Patrick’s Day recess. Roll Call obtained a copy of the internal planning document last week and noted that Reid’ office encouraged Dems to focus their […]
I’ve long been troubled by the lucrative federal grants the Bush administration has directed to a charity run by TV preacher Pat Robertson. But what about the voluntary contributions from everyday Americans who enjoy The 700 Club? Would you believe that donations to Robertson have grown considerably in recent years? Inexplicably, they have. Pat Robertson’s […]