It hasn’t dominated the Republican primaries thus far, but the majority of the GOP presidential candidates support scrapping the existing U.S. tax structure, replacing it with a consumption tax (which proponents call the “fair tax”). As part of the plan, all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, […]
The WaPo’s Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza sat down with House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) yesterday, who told them that a positive progress report on Iraq from Gen. David Petraeus would likely split House Dems and undermine the party’s efforts to press for a withdrawal timetable. Clyburn … said Democrats might be wise to […]
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: * Bill Clinton said yesterday he didn’t want to wade into the Hillary-Obama “spat” from last week, but he shared a few thoughts anyway. “We have to get back to more diplomacy,” Clinton […]
I hesitate to mention this because there’s no way on earth that any presidential candidate would consider Bill Clinton as a running mate. It’s a fanciful idea that’s never going to happen. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun mulling it over. The subject came up yesterday in comments, and coincidentally, was […]
Roll Call noted today that Senate Republicans are poised to hold a special, behind-closed-doors retreat this week, in which the GOP caucus will focus their attention on “rebranding” themselves. It’s a tall order, especially given that old Culture of Corruption brand is still going strong. Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service raided […]
Over the weekend, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) said he expects Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to “revise” his deceptive testimony this week, or the matter would escalate. Yesterday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he’s not even willing to wait the full week. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), emerged from […]
We all had a good laugh last month when Dick Cheney’s office argued, in all sincerity, that the Vice President could ignore executive orders because he’s not part of the executive branch of government. Eventually, the Bush gang dropped the argument from their talking points, but not until they’d humiliated themselves. Yesterday, CBS News’ Mark […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Details are still a little sketchy, but Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was taken to the hospital this afternoon after falling at his summer home in Maine. A spokesperson for the court said the hospital visit was just a “precaution.” * The O’Hanlon/Pollack op-ed that we talked about […]
It’s been clear for a while now, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious all the time: among Democratic presidential hopefuls, populism is in. (via Greg Sargent) Democratic Sen. Barack Obama lashed out at the power of the oil, insurance and pharmaceutical industries in blocking progressive policy in Washington as he sought to bolster his credentials as […]
There’s been some talk of late about impeachment proceedings for the Attorney General, but if the idea is going to go anywhere, lawmakers will need something specific to support. In other words, no one can endorse impeachment without an impeachment resolution. Tomorrow, some House Dems will take care of that. A group of House Democrats […]