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: * Maryland’s gubernatorial race, widely considered one of the Dems’ best pick-up opportunities, is looking more and more favorable all the time. A new Washington Post poll shows Baltimore Mayor [tag]Martin O’Malley[/tag] leading […]
[tag]Congress[/tag]ional [tag]Republicans[/tag] gave up, quite literally, on passing a substantive policy agenda several weeks ago, choosing instead to focus on divisive bills, which they didn’t expect to pass, in the hopes of rallying the base in advance of the [tag]midterm[/tag] [tag]elections[/tag]. The result has been as annoying as it is futile. The better part of […]
Earlier this month, House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Jim McCrery (R-La.) raised a few eyebrows when he told a conference of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that he’d like to see lawmakers take up [tag]Social Security[/tag] [tag]privatization[/tag] again next year. Apparently, he’s not the only one — Bush wants another round, too. […]
Dan Froomkin summarized the problem nicely yesterday: “In accusing the press — and specifically, the [tag]New York Times[/tag] — of putting American lives at risk, President [tag]Bush[/tag] and his allies have escalated their ongoing battle with the [tag]media[/tag] to nuclear proportions.” Indeed. We’ve see Bush and his supporters get upset over media revelations on the […]
Just to follow up on yesterday’s item about Arlen Specter’s hearings on Bush’s penchant for [tag]signing statements[/tag], the discussion in the Judiciary Committee turned out to be unusually compelling. At one point, [tag]Bruce Fein[/tag], an associate deputy attorney general during the Reagan administration, addressed Congress’ options in restricting a president’s ability to announce which parts […]
The Senate came within one vote of actually passing a constitutional [tag]amendment[/tag] on [tag]flag burning[/tag] yesterday afternoon, giving us another two-year reprieve before [tag]Orrin Hatch[/tag] starts this nonsense up again. In the end, the [tag]vote[/tag] went exactly as it was supposed to. The 66 senators who had expressed support — 14 Dems and 52 Republicans […]
I’ve been waiting and waiting for [tag]congressional[/tag] Dems to do something exactly like this. [tag]Democrats[/tag] ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal [tag]minimum wage[/tag] Tuesday by promising to block a [tag]congress[/tag]ional [tag]pay hike[/tag] unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get their first raise in nearly a decade. “Congress is going […]
It’s been six months since [tag]Bush[/tag]’s [tag]signing statements[/tag] — those pesky little White House documents in which the president signs legislation into law, but points out he’ll [tag]ignore[/tag] certain provisions of a [tag]law[/tag] whenever he wants to — first generated attention in the political world. As regular readers know (from dozens of posts on the […]
As Faiz noted, GOP pollster/consultant Frank Luntz, as recently as 2000, encouraged his Republican clients to not only be skeptical of global warming, but to plant seeds of doubt with the public. As one infamous Luntz memo advised: Voters believe there is no consensus about global warming within the scientific community. Should the public come […]
I noted last month that Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are on the decline. Apparently, it’s not just him; it’s his whole network. As Jonathan Singer noted Broadcasting & Cable, a trade publication for the TV industry, reported that [tag]Fox News[/tag]’ ratings are “dropping precipitously.” Slackers at [tag]Fox News Channel[/tag], you’re on notice! Your […]