We’ve seen and heard a few doozies over the last week as conservatives have mounted a counter-attack against the Mark Foley sex scandal — blaming the GOP for political correctness is my personal favorite — but the principal argument theory is that Dems are behind the whole sordid mess. The theory has always lacked a […]
Rumor has it that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will host a press conference in Chicago this morning. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he, at a minimum, announces that he will not seek the speakership in January, because at this point, it’s hard to see how his authority can remain intact. The […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Kirk Fordham, fired today from Rep. Tom Reynolds’ (R-N.Y.) staff, is fighting back against GOP talking points. He told the AP today that he told House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s office in 2004 about worrisome conduct by former Rep. Mark Foley with teenage pages. It is, the AP noted, “the […]
TNR’s Eve Fairbanks wrote a great piece a couple of weeks ago about Rep. Don Sherwood (R), a conservative Republican 15-year incumbent representing Pennsylvania’s rural, traditionalist 10th district, despite a fairly serious sex scandal two years ago. The Mark Foley controversy casts Sherwood’s race in a whole new light. In 2004, the world learned that […]
Any possibility that the Mark Foley sex scandal would start slowing down disappeared this afternoon as the intra-party implosion proceeds apace. First up, Kirk Fordham, NRCC Chairman’s Tom Reynolds’s chief of staff, has been made a scapegoat. Fordham, who apparently tried to suppress the most incriminating evidence against Foley by approaching ABC News about a […]
On Monday, responding to the political crisis created by the Mark Foley sex scandal, Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) insisted Republicans “need to up and do something dramatic.” His solution: abolishing the congressional page program altogether. This morning, LaHood appeared on CNN to defend his proposal. According to the transcript, emailed by Carpetbagger regular J.W., LaHood […]
For reasons that defy comprehension, congressional Republicans are so optimistic about the Middle East, they thought it’d be a good idea to put aside $20 million for a DC celebration of winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seriously. Even as the Bush administration urges Americans to stay the course in Iraq, Republicans in Congress […]
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has defended his role in the Foley sex scandal by insisting he took concerns about Foley’s emails to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). But it’s also worth noting that it’s not all Reynolds did. In another stunning development, Robert Novak today reveals in his […]
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: * Democratic chances of beating California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) in November appear to be slowly fading away. A new San Jose State University poll shows the incumbent with a 13-point lead over […]
Of all the political issues that I cover here, the one I enjoy more than any other is the Bush White House’s “bubble-boy” policies. It simply amazes me the extent to which the Bush gang will shield itself from anyone, or anything, that even resembles dissent. We’re dealing with a group that believes it has […]