I’ve never been able to relate to Rick Santorum’s values or worldview, but I never expected him to equate supporting his Senate campaign with serving in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan. [Santorum] literally said that putting one of his bumper stickers on your vehicle was a way “to step up and serve your country.” […]
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the frontrunner to replace Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader, has a successful political action committee that complements his own “K Street” operation. And who are the top donors to Blunt’s Rely On Your Beliefs PAC? According to a report in subscription-only Roll Call, it’s a funny story. Seeing as he’s […]
A few things of interest… * Think Progress put together a really good web video in advance of Bush’s upcoming State of the Union address (Tuesday, Jan. 31). Think Progress, not surprisingly, found that “a review of his previous State of the Union addresses demonstrates that Bush often includes lofty, promising rhetoric but falls short […]
Last week, Salon’s Walter Shapiro spoke with several Dem insiders who lamented the fact that the party was going after Bush on his warrantless-search program, fearing that it would keep the political debate exactly where the White House wants it — with an emphasis on national security, Bush’s alleged strength. The WaPo’s E. J. Dionne […]
As a rule, Insight, which is an off-shoot of Sun Myung Moon’s far-right Washington Times, is not a reliable source for news. But for reasons I can’t figure out, the magazine keeps publishing strange items about internal turmoil at the Bush White House. The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress. “A coalition […]
In a nutshell, when Dems complain about how the Republican legislative/lobbying process works, this is what they’re complaining about. House and Senate GOP negotiators, meeting behind closed doors last month to complete a major budget-cutting bill, agreed on a change to Senate-passed Medicare legislation that would save the health insurance industry $22 billion over the […]
In a move that surprised no one, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination less than an hour ago. By a 10-8 party line vote with sometimes bitter partisan debate, the Senate Judiciary Committee today recommended that Samuel A. Alito Jr. be confirmed by the full Senate as associate justice of the […]
Gauging public opinion on Bush’s warrantless-search program has been tricky. The story broke over the holiday season when the public was less engaged and at least one oft-cited poll was worded so poorly, it didn’t offer anything of substance to anyone. The latest poll from USA Today/CNN/Gallup, however, not only offers useful data, it also […]
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: * When it comes to public attention vulnerable Republican incumbents, Rick Santorum’s race tends to be big news. But let’s also not forget the competitive race in Missouri, where incumbent Sen. Jim Talent […]
The president said something yesterday about the military with which I agree wholeheartedly. “It is really important for the United States of America to have an all-volunteer Army. The best way to keep people volunteering in the Army is to make sure they got good pay, good training, good equipment and good housing for their […]