Stop me if you’ve heard this one… objective researchers find a public-health threat, new safety regulations were drafted, Bush gets lobbied, and the tougher regulations are weakened and ignored. In a story that should surprise no one, it’s happened again. After massive underground plumes of an industrial solvent were discovered in the nation’s water supplies, […]
[tag]Reflections Photography[/tag], which made headlines in January when it scrubbed its site for pictures of the president and [tag]Jack Abramoff[/tag], also has rare pictures of vulnerable GOP incumbents hanging out with top members of the Bush gang, including the president himself. But, as Roll Call noted today, the company is keeping them securely out of […]
To follow up on yesterday’s post about the [tag]John McCain[/tag]-[tag]Jerry Falwell[/tag] courtship, it’s also worth noting that McCain’s once-firm opposition to the right’s anti-gay constitutional amendment isn’t quite as clear as it was. When the so-called “[tag]Federal Marriage Amendment[/tag]” last came to the Senate floor, McCain joined Dems in defeating the [tag]gay-marriage[/tag] measure, calling it […]
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: * Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R-Fla.) may have a good reason for holding back on spending her $10 million inheritance — she’s still losing badly. In a new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida, Harris trails […]
At the ever-entertaining “War on Christians” conference in Washington this week, [tag]Tom DeLay[/tag] was not only presented as a martyr, he was also compared to Jesus and designated God’s official lawmaker from Texas. At least according to [tag]Rick Scarborough[/tag]. “I believe the most damaging thing that Tom DeLay has done in his life is take […]
The real problem with public perceptions on the war in Iraq, the White House and its allies argue, is that we’re all too focused on the negative. News outlets focus on violence, kidnappings, U.S. casualties, and a country on the brink of disaster. Conservatives have argued that the media is not only misleading the electorate, […]
The [tag]Senate Judiciary Committee[/tag], in its latest hearing on the Bush White House’s warrantless-search program, heard from five former [tag]FISA[/tag] court judges yesterday, each of whom urged lawmakers to enforce the law and allow judicial oversight. In a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the secretive court, known as the [tag]Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court[/tag], […]
The good news for Republicans in Washington these days is that they control everything. The bad news is they’re poised to lose a good chunk of that control in November and they’re not sure what to do about it. GOP pollster [tag]Jan van Lohuizen[/tag] wrote a memo for Republican National Committee Chairman [tag]Ken Mehlman[/tag] earlier […]
The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting item on its front page today, explaining that some congressional Dems are proposing a ban on [tag]insider trading[/tag] on the Hill. Amid broad congressional concern about ethics scandals, some lawmakers are poised to expand the battle for reform: They want to enact legislation that would prohibit members of […]
The clamoring in Washington for a change at the White House has, oddly enough, not come from Dems. By and large, most Dems on the Hill don’t particularly care who’s running Bush’s White House; they’re more concerned with the guy in the Oval Office. The unsolicited advice for the president has come from Republicans, who’ve […]