Today’s edition of quick hits. * Despite some GOP objections, the House passed three bills to expand public access to government records, as part of Sunshine Week. As the AP noted, the measures “would force government to be more responsive to Freedom of Information Act requests, make contributions to presidential libraries public and overturn a […]
“When it’s possible the law was broken, admitting mistakes, but not doing anything about it, does not cut it,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said today. “Simply apologizing and firing a fall guy is not enough. We need a full accounting from the White House as to what went on here, the resignation of the Attorney […]
At this point, I’m afraid that veteran CIA officer Tyler Drumheller’s revelations about pre-war intelligence just aren’t surprising anymore. That said, I’d argue that his perspective never really generated the attention it deserved the first it came to the public’s attention. Drumheller should be a household name — it’s his perspective that utterly and completely […]
Now that [tag]Senate[/tag] [tag]Republicans[/tag] have decided to end their obstructionist tactics and allow debate on the war in [tag]Iraq[/tag], it’s probably a good time to consider the options available to Congress right now, as far as the [tag]war[/tag] is concerned. Walter Dellinger and Christopher Schroeder, each of whom served as head of the Justice Department’s […]
In 2001, then-Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) had the opportunity to recommend a U.S. Attorney for the Chicago area. As TP noted, Karl Rove apparently urged him to “choose a U.S. Attorney who he believed would be lenient in probing state corruption.” According to Fitzgerald, who was determined to bring in a prosecutor from outside the […]
The president picked a good time to leave the country. Just as the political world was erupting in a series of White House-related scandals — Walter Reed, FBI surveillance, Libby case, and this week, the prosecutor purge — Bush was in South America. Lucky him. The president returns to the States today and, fortunately, he’s […]
Here we go again? In 2003, for reasons that have never been entirely clear, the Congressional Black Caucus co-sponsored a Democratic presidential debate with Fox News. It didn’t go well — the questions were slanted, the in-studio analysis was ridiculous, and the coverage of the event itself on Fox News was cut short so conservative […]
Alan Simpson was a three-term Republican senator from a reliably “red” state. He’s also an Army vet who voted for “don’t ask, don’t tell.” But as Simpson explained in a powerful op-ed on the policy today, “[M]uch has changed since 1993.” In less than 1,000 words, Simpson makes the case for ending discrimination as effectively […]
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 a new book by Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, John Edwards’ instincts told him to vote against the Iraq war resolution in 2002, but he was “pushed into it by advisers […]
Red State: “There seems to be an awful lot of selective outrage here. I don’t see why this dust up should be all that embarrassing for the White House or Republicans. Furthermore, I don’t see why the White House should be answering any questions about this matter at all, from Congress or from anywhere else. […]