Quick quiz: a prominent political figure in Washington criticized congressional Republicans yesterday for their lack of ideas and leadership. Howard Dean? Rahm Emanuel? Harry Reid? Try [tag]Tom DeLay[/tag]. Departing Rep. Tom [tag]DeLay[/tag] of Texas said yesterday that House Republicans have no vision or agenda and have let the Democrats choose the GOP leadership. “We don’t […]
I hesitate to even mention this because the revelation is painfully obvious, but the New York Times’ front-page piece on who benefited from [tag]Bush[/tag]’s [tag]tax cuts[/tag] on investment income was so good, it deserves all the attention it’s getting. The first data to document the effect of President Bush’s tax cuts for investment income show […]
John McCain doesn’t have a lot of experience pandering to the GOP’s religious right base. For years, he believed that the party should distance itself from “agents of intolerance.” All of that came to an end last week, of course, when McCain embraced Jerry Falwell and announced that he no longer believed that the man […]
The more we learn about [tag]Jack Abramoff[/tag], the more breathtaking his conduct appears. His outreach to the [tag]Sudanese[/tag] government, however, is not only appalling, it also includes a helpful tie-in to [tag]Ralph Reed[/tag]. Two eyewitnesses say that former lobbyist Jack Abramoff proposed to sell his services to the much-criticized government of [tag]Sudan[/tag] to help improve […]
This gave me a crazy idea. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who is no longer running for reelection and is leaving Congress shortly, should do well in the private sector — as long as he doesn’t get convicted of anything serious. The immensely profitable — ask Bill Clinton — speaking circuit awaits, along with perhaps a […]
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: * Though several recent polls show Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race running very close, a new Quinnipiac poll shows some distance between Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[/tag] (D) and former football player [tag]Lynn Swann[/tag] (R). According to […]
We learned in January that the [tag]Bush[/tag] administration and congressional Republicans are directing a large percentage of federal grants to combat [tag]AIDS[/tag] directly to religious groups, which, of course, emphasize disease prevention through [tag]abstinence[/tag]. [tag]Contraception[/tag] is downplayed in these publicly-funded programs, if it’s mentioned at all. So, how’s that working out? Surprise, surprise, not terribly […]
I mentioned Peter Beinart’s piece on Russ [tag]Feingold[/tag] a few weeks ago, but it’s relevant again in light of the senator’s comments yesterday on [tag]gay marriage[/tag]. As [tag]Beinart[/tag] explained, Feingold is taking chances by staking out bold positions on controversial public policies, but in the process he’s helping Dems make incremental progress. The conventional wisdom […]
Last week, the [tag]president[/tag] sounded rather [tag]impatient[/tag] with the lack of political progress in [tag]Iraq[/tag]. Bush said that he wanted “the Iraqi people to hear” that “pretty soon it’s time to shut her down and get governing.” He did not, however, set any conditions, establish any deadlines, or explain whether there would be any consequences […]
Every time the [tag]president[/tag] talks about the war in Iraq, without fail, he speaks passionately about promoting [tag]democracy[/tag] in the region. It’s the ultimate defense for his disastrous [tag]war[/tag] — democracy is such a powerful force, [tag]Bush[/tag] argues, that it will make all the sacrifices worthwhile. But for a president who claims to cherish democracy […]