Last week, the prosecutor purge scandal picked up considerably when we learned that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told one of the fired U.S. attorneys that if the purged prosecutors “continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might […]
After meeting with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told Reuters, “One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later.” It seems to be an increasingly common perspective. Gonzales’ decisions and conduct have managed to do the impossible — […]
At a certain level, it was hardly a mystery who was helping pull the strings on the [tag]prosecutor[/tag] [tag]purge[/tag]. Last fall, stripped of his policy responsibilities, [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] was focused exclusively on improving Republicans’ chances in the midterm elections. So, when we learn that U.S. Attorneys have been fired for maintaining the integrity of their […]
On Friday, Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, told McClatchy’s Ron Hutcheson, “It would be enormously problematic if, in fact, the Justice Department or the White House were trying to use U.S. attorneys for political purposes.” Hutcheson added that many in Washington “want to know whether Karl Rove, Bush’s […]
In our two-party system, there are bound to be divisions and conflicts between intra-party factions. For the Republicans, the most common is between social and economic conservatives. For Democrats, it’s not unusual to see flare-ups between labor unions and free-traders. But Democratic consultant Mike Lux wrote a provocative piece this week about a budding new […]
Every weekend, I look forward to reading the latest column from Fred Barnes, the executive editor of The Weekly Standard. There are plenty of Bush shills in the conservative media, but Barnes is in a league of his own. He seems to enjoy being an unpaid public relations rep for the White House. Barnes’ latest […]
Considering his 9/11 platform, Rudy Giuliani needs a fight with firefighters like he needs another sex scandal. And yet, his latest tussle with the International Association of Fire Fighters — and his campaign’s comically dishonest response — may prove to be quite embarrassing for the former NYC mayor’s campaign. At least, it should be. First, […]
More than any other candidate in the Republican presidential field, John McCain argues that his foreign policy “expertise” makes him qualified for the Oval Office. But when it comes to getting policy advice on international affairs, who does the senator turn to? None other than Henry Kissinger. The Associated Press reports that McCain let the […]
First up from the God Machine this week is a political battle for the future of the evangelical movement. For some, Falwell, Robertson, and Dobson have had their say, but Christianity is (or should be) about more than abortion and gays. A struggle for control of the evangelical agenda intensified this week, with some leaders […]
In retrospect, one really has to wonder who thought this was a good idea to begin with. Fox News co-sponsored a 2004 presidential debate and, predictably, did an awful job. And yet, there was the Nevada Democratic Party partnering with the Republicans’ news network to host one of the season’s major Democratic presidential debates in […]