The decision this week by the Republicans’ top-tier presidential candidates — Giuliani, Thompson, Romney, and McCain — to skip the debate in Baltimore focused on the concerns of the African-American community, continues to stir debate. No one seriously believes the “scheduling” explanation, and several prominent Republican voices — Gingrich, Kemp, Mehlman, Watts, and Steele — […]
If you’re politically active, and occasionally donate to a party or candidate, you no doubt receive plenty of solicitation emails. For years, fundraisers have made the email pitches more attention-getting — with lots of colors, graphics, photos, and links. The idea, apparently, is that most emails just include text, and these “jazzed up” emails will […]
It must be terribly frustrating for the Senate Republican leadership, knowing there’s not much they can do to force embattled Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to go away. The party can take away his committee assignments, but that’s already happened and it didn’t have much of an effect. Officials can withhold re-election campaign funds next year, […]
When Freedom’s Watch burst upon the political scene last month, it was part of a coordinated effort to rally support for staying the course in Iraq. The group unveiled four slick TV ads, including one featuring a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq who argued that we have to stay in Iraq because “they […]
About a year ago, I was working on a Washington Monthly piece about the historical oddity of admitted adulterers running for president as Republicans. I ended up speaking with about a half-dozen prominent conservative leaders affiliated with the religious right movement — include representatives of Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council — […]
Perhaps the moral of the story is that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would be far better off avoiding religion as a campaign issue. It’s been dogging him for years, and his fall from grace continues. In 2000, the Arizona senator gambled that denouncing religious right leaders like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson would pay off, […]
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but it appears that the Bush administration is dropping the ball, intentionally, in prosecuting polluters. Who could have imagined it? The Environmental Protection Agency’s pursuit of criminal cases against polluters has dropped off sharply during the Bush administration, with the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions all […]
When it comes to the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, national polls show Hillary Clinton with a significant lead. In New Hampshire, the latest CNN/WMUR poll showed Clinton way out in front with 43% support, followed by Barack Obama with 20%, and John Edwards with 12%. (It’s worth noting that 55% of poll respondents […]
The headline on the AP report on Freedom’s Watch reads, “Outsiders aim to frame political debate.” If there’s a less accurate description of the powerful conservative activists behind this new group, I can’t think of it. Freedom’s Watch and MoveOn.org could be the left and right bookends not only on the war, but on a […]
The scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s marriage has been excessive. The scrutiny of her hairstyle has been absurd. The scrutiny of her cleavage has been offensive. The scrutiny of her clothing has been almost comical. And so I suppose it was only a matter of time before the media turned its attention to her laugh. [S]he […]