February: Q: Do you believe it’s a civil war, sir? THE PRESIDENT: I can only tell you what people on the ground, whose judgment — it’s hard for me, living in this beautiful White House, to give you an assessment, firsthand assessment. I haven’t been there; you have, I haven’t. Today: Q: Are there any […]
It’s rarely wise to jump to conclusions, but General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan certainly appears to have violated the Hatch Act. In fact, that’s what the Office of Special Counsel, headed by a Bush partisan, concluded after a thorough investigation. In January, Karl Rove’s office conducted a highly partisan political presentation for GSA […]
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: * CNN: “Arizona Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign issued a stinging attack on GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney’s stance on abortion Wednesday, claiming a new YouTube video indicates the former Massachusetts governor supported […]
In some ways, it was the scandal that got away. In March, we learned that Bush Justice Department, more specifically the FBI, was engaged in widespread, illegal misuse of “national security letters” (NSLs). Using NSLs, the FBI has the power to obtain secret information about Americans — including phone calls, internet visits, even credit ratings […]
In all sincerity, I would like nothing more than to stop highlighting the problems with David Broder’s WaPo columns. At this point, I’m tempted to believe that he’s intentionally writing nonsense for the sole purpose of generating annoyed responses from progressive bloggers. But Broder is the “dean” of the DC media establishment, and his columns […]
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.” Specifically, von Spakovsky was “Tweedledee to Schlozman’s Tweedledum at the Civil Rights Division. The two worked together in overseeing the voting rights section, and in particular in ensuring that the […]
With the White House’s “surge” policy in full swing for months now, the president frequently talks about “progress.” Dick Cheney sees “progress.” Joe Lieberman and Senate Republicans insist there’s all kinds of “progress.” But the Pentagon, which didn’t exactly think the surge was a good idea in the first place, sees “little progress.” Three months […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * GSA Adminstrator Lurita Doan was back before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, and her explanations for her legal violations were no more persuasive than last time. Eventually, Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) urged Doan to resign. * Frustrating news from the AP: “An Iraq war […]
Media Matters and the Campaign for America’s Future teamed up for a remarkably thorough report on the evident trends of U.S. public opinion. We’re already all-too-familiar with the conventional wisdom, hammered home by the media: the United States is a conservative country, uncomfortable with social change, unconcerned with class differences, and distrustful of an active […]
Sorry for all the Giuliani-related posts today, but the former mayor is popping off quite a bit and making overwhelmingly clear just how ignorant he is. The poor guy is just out of his league running for president right now, and the more he opens his mouth, the more it become clear that Giuliani should […]