When a high-profile Republican runs into serious trouble, as Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) clearly has, he or she inevitably turns to a few reliable rejoinders that are supposed to help make things better. The first is “9/11 changed everything.” That probably won’t work in this case. The second is “Tempest in a teapot.” When an […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Roll Call reported this afternoon that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) regrets his guilty plea, and may yet have an opportunity to reverse his decision: “Under Minnesota law, the Senator could file a motion requesting the withdrawal of the guilty plea. According to University of Minnesota Law School professor Steve […]
He got caught, pled guilty, and saw his career start to slip away, but this afternoon, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) decided to roll the dice and deny everything. Under fire from leaders of his own party, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday said the only thing he had done wrong was to plead guilty after […]
In 2002 and 2003, in making the case for a war with Iraq, the president and his team would frequently tell Americans that we couldn’t wait for actual proof to justify an invasion, because the “smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud.” In 2007, in describing a possible confrontation with Iran, Bush has decided to […]
Remember Jeff Gannon (James Guckert), the alleged gay prostitute who inexplicably was invited to the White House 200 times? Who got a daily press pass using a pseudonym? Sure you do — he’s the one who would ask ridiculously-slanted, groan-inducing softball questions for the White House, and would then publish “news” items that lifted Republican […]
Jamie Kirchick published an email this morning he received from an “internationally-renowned journalist” whose parents endured World War II, and who suspects we — Americans, the British — aren’t tough enough now. After detailing the incredible challenges faced by her family in 1940, even after a German bomb destroyed their home, Kirchick’s emailer explained that […]
When it comes to fundraising pitches, the rhetoric is supposed to be accurate but exaggerated. Reasoned, sensible requests tend not to raise money; donors have to be shocked into reaching for their checkbook. The Republican National Committee tends to take this idea to the extreme with pretty loathsome fundraising appeals. Indeed, the RNC has developed […]
Last week, a declassified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq said there has been “measurable but uneven improvements in Iraq’s security situation,” in the midst of what was otherwise a gloomy and depressing report. Indeed, the NIE added that, despite some security improvements, severe violence in Iraq was likely to continue over the next six to […]
As political theater goes, the Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) story is hard to resist. A conservative Republican senator, who touts “family values” and champions anti-gay legislation, is caught (literally) with his pants down. It’s a scandal with sex, lies, and police reports. There’s an angle for hypocrisy, and another for the intersection of the Republican […]
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: * Top Republican officials, including Karl Rove, pushed hard to get Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy to leave the Dems and join the GOP, and yesterday, he did. The plan is apparently to have […]