When it comes to taking on the Bush administration over its dubious, secretive, and extra-constitutional tactics, successes are so rare, it’s easy to forget what they look like. Yesterday, when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told lawmakers that the administration’s warrantless domestic surveillance program would no longer exist, it was a key triumph for the rule […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Best wishes go out to Jane Hamsher. * The Dems are gearing up to cut student loan interest rates, which is a key part of the parties’ 2007 legislative agenda and is scheduled to get a vote today. Yesterday, the Bush administration announced it would oppose the measure. * […]
Here’s an odd twist. For the last two weeks, Republicans have been daring — almost begging — Democrats to take up a measure cutting off funding for the war in Iraq. Polls notwithstanding, the right believes Dems would be walking into a political nightmare. It came as a surprise, therefore, to see House Republicans go […]
To wrap up what is probably the end of the controversy, Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, has apologized. Sort of. To quickly summarize, Stimson appeared on a radio show last week and targeted law firms that have helped represent detainees at Guantanamo Bay with McCarthyism-like criticism and veiled threats. His […]
You may recall about a year ago when the nation first learned that the Bush administration, in secret, had asserted the right to conduct warrantless wiretaps on domestic conversations, without any judicial oversight. The key part of the debate wasn’t, as conservatives argued, about whether or not to conduct surveillance on suspected bad guys; it […]
Former White House aide Scooter Libby’s trial in DC is just getting started, with jury selection underway. In a city in which Republicans are outnumbered 9 to 1, finding DC residents who can be objective about Dick Cheney’s right-hand man is apparently pretty difficult. How difficult? Consider this one. A former Washington Post reporter who […]
Getting a realistic estimate for the financial cost of the war in Iraq is tricky, if not impossible. We have direct spending, interest on the debt (the war is almost entirely going on the national credit card), increased medical costs, major future expenses, etc. One thing’s for sure — Bush administration estimates of a $50 […]
As you’ve probably heard, conservative activist/writer Dinesh D’Souza has a new book out, which effectively argues that terrorists are right about the problems with the culture in the United States. Osama bin Laden and other dangerous Islamic radicals believe the U.S. is too secular, too permissive, too diverse, too free, and too tolerant … and […]
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: * Despite the new opening in Colorado’s 2008 Senate race, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), a virulent opponent of immigration, announced yesterday that he will form a presidential exploratory committee. Noting the reaction he […]
A familiar pattern is taking shape: a qualified, competent official joins Bush’s counterterrorism team, grows frustrated by the administration’s priorities, resigns, and joins the Dems. The latest is Todd Hinnen. A counterterrorism adviser to President Bush is leaving the White House to join the staff of a prominent Democratic senator gearing up to investigate the […]