Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has never been known as a particularly religious politician, and his relationship with the GOP’s religious-right base has varied between awkward and chilly. Anxious to make up ground with this key Republican constituency, McCain probably thought it’d be a great idea to sit down for a brief chat with BeliefNet, a […]
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: * In an interview with the AP, Barack Obama threw a relatively sharp elbow in the direction of the Democratic frontrunner. “They want to make the argument that Senator Clinton is just an […]
By all indications, Hillary Clinton had a pretty good week last week. She had another strong performance in a nationally televised debate; a New Hampshire poll showed her with a huge lead over her Democratic rivals in the first primary state; and the responses to the senator’s Sunday show performances were quite positive. What’s more, […]
Last week, we saw one of the more effective media “gotcha” moments in recent memory. David Shuster, filling in for Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, interviewed Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, primarily on the congresswoman’s outrage over MoveOn.org’s “Betray Us” ad and the New York Times’ mistaken ad rate. Shuster made Blackburn look pretty foolish […]
The president is connecting Iran to attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. Cheney’s rhetoric is becoming more strident. Senate Republicans and a few too many Dems have labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as “terrorists.” Freedom’s Watch is considering a national advertising campaign focused on Iran, comparing Ahmadinejad to Hitler, and hoping to convince Americans that […]
Following up on an item from the weekend, the highly-secretive Council for National Policy, made up of many heavy-hitters from the religious right and conservative movement in general, met over the weekend in Utah. While participants at these gatherings are usually tight-lipped, yesterday attendees were dishing quite a bit about the CNP’s thoughts on the […]
The decision this week by the Republicans’ top-tier presidential candidates — Giuliani, Thompson, Romney, and McCain — to skip the debate in Baltimore focused on the concerns of the African-American community, continues to stir debate. No one seriously believes the “scheduling” explanation, and several prominent Republican voices — Gingrich, Kemp, Mehlman, Watts, and Steele — […]
If you’re politically active, and occasionally donate to a party or candidate, you no doubt receive plenty of solicitation emails. For years, fundraisers have made the email pitches more attention-getting — with lots of colors, graphics, photos, and links. The idea, apparently, is that most emails just include text, and these “jazzed up” emails will […]
It must be terribly frustrating for the Senate Republican leadership, knowing there’s not much they can do to force embattled Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to go away. The party can take away his committee assignments, but that’s already happened and it didn’t have much of an effect. Officials can withhold re-election campaign funds next year, […]
When Freedom’s Watch burst upon the political scene last month, it was part of a coordinated effort to rally support for staying the course in Iraq. The group unveiled four slick TV ads, including one featuring a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq who argued that we have to stay in Iraq because “they […]