You’ve seen the ad. USA Next, a new right-wing front group led by the hacks that brought us the Swiftboat Vets, began their drive to help Bush privatize Social Security with a bizarre smear of the AARP, suggesting the seniors’ group is anti-military and pro-gay marriage. But as part of the smear, USA Next ran […]
Those of us who’ve been hoping that Dems will give Republicans a dose of their own re-redistricting medicine may need to wait quite a bit longer: Illinois, the most likely target for these efforts, has been effectively taken off the table. Illinois Democrats on Capitol Hill said Wednesday they have essentially shut the door on […]
As Red states go, you can’t get much redder than Alabama. The state hasn’t been competitive at the presidential level in a generation, Bush won it in 2000 by 15 points, and won it again last year by almost 26 points. The president, it’s safe to say, is a pretty popular guy in the Yellowhammer […]
This was good news for the environment, but from a political angle, it’s also a sign of Bush’s limits on the Hill. A Senate committee handed President Bush a setback Wednesday by failing to pass his key environmental initiative — a rewriting of the Clean Air Act that would change air pollution rules for power […]
The Bush White House might be able to make a reasonable case for “tort reform,” if only evidence and facts didn’t keep getting in their way. In his pitch for legislation imposing a “hard cap of $250,000” on medical malpractice awards for non-economic damages, President Bush points the finger at what he calls “a broken […]
Aside from his often overwhelming ethics problems, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay also has that possible indictment hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles in the ongoing grand jury investigation into illegal fundraising in Texas. At this point, the facts keep looking worse for the former bug spray man. Yesterday, the New York […]
My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may nevertheless be of interest to political observers: * Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) may be laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2008, but he may want to consider spending more time at home. A new […]
The White House drive to privatize Social Security clearly isn’t going too well, but that doesn’t mean Bush aides have been pushed into making sense. Exhibit A: Allan Hubbard. The top White House economic adviser rejected as “absolutely a non-starter” bipartisan proposals that the administration put aside its drive to create individual investment accounts in […]
It’s nice to see some media outlets continue to be amazed that Dick Cheney’s former company does business with Iran. It’s just another Halliburton oil and gas operation. The company name is emblazoned everywhere: On trucks, equipment, large storage silos and workers’ uniforms. But this isn’t Texas. It’s Iran. U.S. companies aren’t supposed to do […]
There was widespread consternation last week — OK, in some circles, downright panic — that the Federal Election Commission was prepared to start regulating the blogosphere under federal campaign laws. The alarm was raised when FEC Commissioner Brad Smith, a Republican, did an interview with CNET, noting that “it’s very likely that the Internet is […]