First up from the God machine is a story about a local government realizing the inherent problem in asking people to vote in a house of worship. Orthodox Jews in a Cleveland suburb unhappy they had to vote in a Christian church were relieved the polling place has been moved. The Cuyahoga County elections board […]
Guest Post by Morbo Remember the days when conservatives were clear-eyed realists and liberals were tagged as naïve folks prone to wear rose-colored glasses? That stereotype of progressives was never accurate, of course, but the right wingers sure loved sticking it in our faces and waving that straw man before the American people. Sadly, they […]
Guest Post by Morbo Walking to work the other day, I passed by a row of newspaper boxes. Two headlines caught my eye. The Washington Post carried a story headlined, “[tag]Bush[/tag] Stands Firm on Policies.” Next to it, USA Today blared, “All-Time High in Baghdad Violence: Sectarian Killings More Than Triple.” I could only sigh. […]
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Grover Norquist? Crooked? You don’t say. * In hoping to provide a defense against the Mark Foley scandal, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said congressional Republicans didn’t investigate because they didn’t want to appear homophobic. Poor Orrin; that argument was so last week. * Speaking of Foley, House Majority […]
Sometimes, it’s helpful to take a step back and see the forest for the trees. Consider, for example, what we’ve seen from Republican members of Congress today. Rep. [tag]Bob Ney[/tag] (R-Ohio) pleaded guilty today to corruption charges stemming from his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. In a written statement, Ney said, “I never acted […]
The last several election cycles, after Democrats lose, party activists and leaders debate why things went poorly. Fingers are pointed, strategies are blamed, solutions are discussed … it’s all fairly routine. Republicans, meanwhile, who are not necessarily accustomed to losing, get angry. When they assign blame, they’re not just talking about a tersely-worded op-ed; they’re […]
I imagine it’s pretty tough being a 10-term incumbent congressman facing a very tough re-election fight in a difficult campaign environment, but I don’t think Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) is handling the pressure well. Earlier this week, Shays highlighted what’s become of House Republican standards when he compared the Mark Foley scandal to Chappaquiddick, saying, […]
Peggy Noonan wrote an interesting item today for the Wall Street Journal about the role of dissent in public discourse. Apparently, Noonan believes the left isn’t nearly tolerant enough of competing views, and pointed to four specific examples. * A student protest shut down a speech at Columbia University from Jim Gilchrist, the founder of […]
Following up on yesterday’s items, I’ve been curious to see how the religious right might respond to new accounts from [tag]David Kuo[/tag], the deputy director of the White House Faith-Based Office. After all, Kuo saw first hand that the Bush gang held evangelical supporters in contempt — Karl Rove reportedly called them “the nuts” — […]
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 Tennessee’s closely-watched Senate race, a new Rasmussen poll shows Rep. Harold Ford (D) still leading former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker (R), 48% to 46%. Ford also has an edge with the […]