We’re well past the point in which House [tag]GOP[/tag] [tag]scandals[/tag] are embarrassing; we’re now quickly approaching farcical. Federal authorities in Arizona have opened an inquiry into whether Representative Rick Renzi introduced legislation that benefited a military contractor that employs his father, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. The officials said the inquiry was at an early […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * I fully acknowledge the fact that I’m a sucker for Olbermann’s monologues. What’s more, I just keep enjoying them more and more. Last night’s was another gem on the nature of Republican fear-mongering. As with the other special commentaries, don’t miss it. * Roll Call noted this morning that […]
I realize House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) must be a little on edge — he’s about to lose his job, he unexpectedly was forced to talk to investigators about his role in the Mark Foley scandal — but if he doesn’t want people to think he’s desperate, he’ll probably have to tone down the hysterical […]
At one of my previous places of employment, I took great pleasure in preparing analyses of the Christian Coalition’s legislative scorecards. Every year, the CC would pull together 10 to 15 specific floor votes in each chamber, many of which were carefully chosen to help improve Republicans’ ratings. The results were rather predictable — Democrats […]
U.S. and Iraqi officials rolled out the latest in a series of “plans” for the future of the war, but looking over the details, there are some new words, but old substance. Top U.S. officials in Iraq today predicted that Iraqi security forces could be largely self-sufficient within 12 to 18 months and said the […]
When Republicans express dismay over public disappointment with the economy, it’s generally indicative of how out of touch the party really is. When the New York Times does the same thing, it’s just odd. In many ways, the economy has not looked so good in a long time…. But Republican candidates do not seem to […]
In May 2005, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) raised a few eyebrows when, during a debate on the “nuclear option,” he compared Democrats’ approach to Bush’s judicial nominees to Adolf Hitler in Paris in 1942. Some of the cooler heads among us argued that Santorum was not necessarily drawing a moral parallel; he was only using […]
This seems entirely out of character for the president. President Bush said yesterday he’s “astounded” by some of the astronomical salaries that corporate CEOs collect and thinks companies should rethink the practice. “I don’t think government should control salaries, but I would hope shareholders would take a close look at some of these compensation packages […]
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: * In Tennessee’s closely-watched Senate race a new Mason-Dixon poll shows Bob Corker (R) with a very narrow lead over Rep. Harold Ford (D), 45% to 43%. It’s a subtle shift in Corker’s […]
When critics of the Bush White House talk about the president having undermined our national prestige and moral authority, this is exactly what we’re talking about. Several governments around the world have tried to rebut criticism of how they handle detainees by claiming they are only following the U.S. example in fighting terrorism, the U.N. […]