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: * Barack Obama will unveil a new tax plan today, which will propose more than $80 billion in annual tax relief for workers and seniors funded by an increase on wealthier investors. According […]
In case there was any doubt that the religious right’s power is on the wane, even in Republican circles, the evidence was quite clear last night in South Florida. Several evangelical groups co-hosted what they labeled the “Values Voter Debate,” featuring theocratic right-wing luminaries like Phyllis Schlafly, Roy Moore, Paul Weyrich, Don Wildmon, Rick Scarborough, […]
Over the last couple of years, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) has been one of the chamber’s least progressive on foreign policy. It’s why it came as such a surprise to see the senator, who has only supported toothless measures in the past, raise the specter of a funding cut-off yesterday. Congress should look at cutting […]
Following up on yesterday’s item, the Politico’s Jonathan Martin asked yesterday why John McCain’s claim about being a Baptist matters. The notion of being identified with one Protestant denomination but attending services at another doesn’t strike me as terribly odd or really all that uncommon. Is the fuss in South Carolina because McCain pointed out […]
With the nomination of retired federal judge Michael Mukasey as Attorney General, the White House seems to realize that its biggest hurdle may be on the right, not the left. The NYT reported today that Bush aides have made “a furious attempt” to “sell the nomination to conservatives. As part of the effort, six “leading […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Rudy Giuliani has been taking quite a few swings at MoveOn.org over the last several days. This afternoon, MoveOn swung back. * On a related note, Dick Cheney waded into the fight himself today, saying, “The attacks on him by MoveOn.org in ad space provided at subsidized rates in […]
As expected, the president officially nominated former New York district judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. Also as expected, large contingents of the conservative movement just aren’t sure how upset they should be right now. Schumer and Fielding went so far as to discuss names, and Mukasey’s came up. “We’re in […]
The president who goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid dissent sure is selective about who gets inside The Bubble. Last October, Bush arranged a gathering of conservative luminaries — including Sean Hannity, Neil Boortz, Laura Ingraham, Michael Medved, and Mike Gallagher — for a mutual-admiration confab. In July, it was time for another meeting of […]
Dick Cheney, based on nothing but on-the-job performance, is unlikely to receive kind treatment from historians, but The Examiner noted today there’s another reason for scholars to get frustrated with the Vice President. Anyone awaiting an anthology of Vice President Dick Cheney’s papers might be in for a disappointment. Speaking on Friday at the Gerald […]
Following up on an item from May, we’ve known for quite a while that the ambiguous legal, political, and practical implications of Blackwater’s private security forces in Iraq can create some very awkward circumstances. Apparently, the Maliki government has seen enough and has given Blackwater an eviction notice. (thanks, tAiO, for the heads-up) The Iraqi […]