Last year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), perhaps best known for the campaign finance reform measure that bears his name, sponsored another reform measure that would require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. For McCain, at the time, it was all about his signature domestic policy concern: transparency and accountability in the political process. […]
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: * After a campaign cycle in which the DNC and DCCC didn’t get along well at all, new DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has pledged a new era of cooperation. He and […]
It appeared for a while that Senate Democrats, dominated by presidential aspirants, were being unresponsive when it came to the war in Iraq. Voters, and more specifically, Democratic activists, were demanding that Congress do more to stand up to the White House. Silence and passivity weren’t options, but few Dems were stepping up with proposals. […]
For the better part of 2006, congressional Republicans convinced themselves that the notion of a “culture of corruption” lacked political salience. GOP lawmakers were being indicted and resigning in disgrace, but it was an “inside the beltway” story, they thought. The typical American wasn’t terribly interested. They were, of course, completely wrong. As Zachary Roth […]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had a number of interesting things to say yesterday, but my very favorite was his response to recent Bush administration criticisms that he’s less than reliable when it comes to leading Iraq through its current crisis. Maliki disputed President Bush’s remarks broadcast Tuesday that the execution of former Iraqi president […]
When it comes to taking on the Bush administration over its dubious, secretive, and extra-constitutional tactics, successes are so rare, it’s easy to forget what they look like. Yesterday, when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told lawmakers that the administration’s warrantless domestic surveillance program would no longer exist, it was a key triumph for the rule […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Best wishes go out to Jane Hamsher. * The Dems are gearing up to cut student loan interest rates, which is a key part of the parties’ 2007 legislative agenda and is scheduled to get a vote today. Yesterday, the Bush administration announced it would oppose the measure. * […]
Here’s an odd twist. For the last two weeks, Republicans have been daring — almost begging — Democrats to take up a measure cutting off funding for the war in Iraq. Polls notwithstanding, the right believes Dems would be walking into a political nightmare. It came as a surprise, therefore, to see House Republicans go […]
To wrap up what is probably the end of the controversy, Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, has apologized. Sort of. To quickly summarize, Stimson appeared on a radio show last week and targeted law firms that have helped represent detainees at Guantanamo Bay with McCarthyism-like criticism and veiled threats. His […]
You may recall about a year ago when the nation first learned that the Bush administration, in secret, had asserted the right to conduct warrantless wiretaps on domestic conversations, without any judicial oversight. The key part of the debate wasn’t, as conservatives argued, about whether or not to conduct surveillance on suspected bad guys; it […]