At the end of the AP article on today’s House Judiciary Committee vote on contempt charges, the piece mentions this: The last time a full chamber of Congress voted on a contempt citation was 1983. The House voted 413-0 to cite former Environmental Protection Agency official Rita Lavelle for contempt of Congress for refusing to […]
As a rule, presidential campaigns that reshuffle senior staffers are also experiencing fairly significant trouble. This isn’t always the case — Howard Dean and John Kerry both excelled in 2004 after major staffing changes — but it’s generally a bad sign. Fred Thompson’s staff troubles, though, are even more noteworthy than most because of two […]
There are three steps for the House to bringing contempt charges against an individual: committee approval, a floor vote in the House, and a referral to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The House passed step one less than an hour ago. The House Judiciary Committee voted contempt of Congress citations Wednesday against […]
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: * The latest Clinton/Obama spat is still going strong, with Clinton insisting Obama was “irresponsible and frankly naïve” for his debate comment on international diplomacy, and Obama insisting about Clinton, “If you want […]
Just 11 days ago, the WaPo’s Christopher Lee noted, “If anything looked like a sure thing in the new Congress, it was that lawmakers would renew, and probably expand, the popular, decade-old State Children’s Health Insurance Program before it expires this year.” It’s a no-brainer, right? Who’s going to balk at an established, successful program […]
Back in April, the New York Sun ran one of the year’s more ridiculous editorials, calling on Dick Cheney to put aside his feelings and run for the GOP presidential nomination. The Sun called it a “fine idea,” arguing, “[Cheney] could help settle some of the arguments about the Bush years in favor of Mr. […]
Following yesterday’s front-page revelations about Karl Rove’s office offering detailed political briefings to diplomats and officials who help shape the administration’s international affairs, Tony Snow did his level best to argue the briefings were irrelevant. Q: Could you offer some reaction to the story today that members of the diplomatic corps got briefings about the […]
Years ago, I was having a conversation with a jazz pianist who told me, “When I hit a wrong note, I keep hitting it — so the audience will think it’s intentional.” To move away from the wrong note would be a subtle admission of a mistake. The president, apparently, lives by the same principle. […]
Andrew Cohen, who writes the Bench Conference online column for the WaPo, summed up the feelings a lot of us had yesterday, after watching Alberto Gonzales make a fool of himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee. No reasonable person watching Gonzales’ tragically comedic performance Tuesday’s on Capitol Hill … can any longer defend his appalling […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * I’ll have an analysis in the morning on Alberto Gonzales’ latest humiliation before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but in the meantime, go take a look at Paul Kiel’s last nine or so posts. As you might have expected, the Attorney General was in a hole before the day started, […]