Yesterday, the Senate was poised to vote on a non-binding resolution, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), to get the chamber on record supporting some aggressive language towards Iran. The measure was, as Josh Marshall described it, a building block towards an eventual military confrontation with Tehran, following the same pattern […]
In February 2003, the president was insistent that he hoped to find a peaceful solution to his standoff with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, and would work with and through the United Nations to resolve the conflict. At least, that was what he was saying publicly. According to a new report published today by El Pais, Spain’s […]
Several years ago, Rudy Giuliani asked his staff to put together a “vulnerability study,” which would highlight potential weaknesses on the campaign trail. The report identified plenty of flaws, but highlighted Giuliani’s “weirdness factor.” It was an interesting choice of words — Giuliani’s own aides seem to realize that their boss is just odd. This […]
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: * According to the latest fundraising tallies, the DCCC has $22.1 million in the bank, and $3.1 million in debt, for a total of $19 million. It’s Republican counterpart, the NRCC, has $1.6 […]
The fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was allowed into the United States, and was given an audience at a prestigious university, continues to shock the conscience of many of our conservative friends. Unlike most instances of conservative apoplexy, I sincerely understand the right’s argument on this one. Ahmadinejad is a dangerous despot with radical […]
The good news is, the House easily passed the expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) last night, 265 to 159. Whereas five House Republicans supported the original measure in August, 45 GOP lawmakers broke party ranks and voted with the Dems yesterday. The bad news is, even with the large, bipartisan majority, the […]
Hans von Spakovsky, as a top political appointee in Bush’s Justice Department, was a leading player in what McClatchy straightforwardly calls the administration’s “vote-suppression agenda.” When it came to voter disenfranchisement, von Spakovsky was a reliable member of Team Bush. That’s not a compliment. Now, of course, the president is anxious to give him a […]
To describe the ongoing Blackwater scandal as a fiasco would be a dramatic understatement. Not only do we have a situation in which private security contractors stand accused of killing Iraqi civilians without provocation, we also have deep divisions brewing between the Pentagon and the State Department, coupled by State stonewalling a congressional investigation. A […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The streets are heating up in Burma: “The military government banned assemblies of more than five people and imposed curfews in Myanmar’s two largest cities on Tuesday, after thousands of Buddhist monks and sympathizers defied orders to stay out of politics and protested once again.” * The Senate was […]
It’s Sept. 25, meaning that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) will officially give up his Senate seat in just five days, right? I wouldn’t bet on it. Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig declined to say Tuesday whether he would resign his seat as planned if his guilty plea stemming from a Minneapolis bathroom sex sting is […]