This probably won’t cause much of a blip in the major media outlets, but John McCain’s newest aide for his all-but-announced presidential [tag]campaign[/tag] is a pretty big deal. Over the past several months, Sen. [tag]John McCain[/tag] (R-AZ) has quietly recruited for his presidential campaign some of the most influential online strategists in the country, including […]
DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel sat down with New York magazine for an interview that was published this week. One exchange in particular stood out. NY: Are bloggers too powerful? RE: Do I think they’re important? Yes. Do I think the [bloggers] and Al Sharpton alone are the future of the Democratic Party? No! Welcome in, […]
At the national level, the Christian Coalition, a one-time political powerhouse created by TV preacher Pat Robertson, has been a bit of a joke for a while now. The group may have, at one time, been synonymous with the religious right political movement, but now, instead of scaring lawmakers, it’s dodging debt collectors. At the […]
Back in April, one of the nuttier religious right groups complained bitterly that Wal-Mart stores decided to sell “Brokeback Mountain” DVDs, including in-store advertising displays. A spokesperson for the American Family Association said, at the time, “It’s quite obvious to anyone who shops at Wal-Mart that they’re no longer the family-friendly company that they used […]
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: * Further proof that Pennsylvania’s Senate is getting much more competitive comes by way of a new Keystone poll (.pdf), which shows [tag]Bob Casey[/tag] (D) leading Sen. [tag]Rick Santorum[/tag] (R), 44% to 39%. […]
I foolishly believed this kind of breakthrough would change the debate over [tag]stem-cell[/tag] [tag]research[/tag]. Alas, no such luck. Biologists have developed a technique for establishing colonies of human embryonic stem cells from an early human embryo without destroying it. This method, if confirmed in other laboratories, would seem to remove the principal objection to the […]
I hear plenty of talk from the right about supporting the troops, but talk is cheap. Congress appears ready to slash funding for the research and treatment of brain injuries caused by bomb blasts, an injury that military scientists describe as a signature wound of the Iraq war. House and Senate versions of the 2007 […]
Twelve days after Sen. [tag]George Allen[/tag] (R-Va.) kicked off quite a firestorm with his use of the word “[tag]macaca[/tag],” the senator hoped to finally put the story to rest with a direct apology. Virginia Sen. George Allen apologized directly to S.R. Sidarth yesterday, telling the 20-year-old Democratic campaign staffer that he was sorry for offending […]
You know, this sure does sound familiar. Some senior [tag]Bush[/tag] administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the [tag]threat[/tag]s that they say [tag]Iran[/tag] presents to the United States. Some policy makers have accused [tag]intelligence[/tag] agencies of playing down Iran’s role in Hezbollah’s […]
Calling up troops to involuntary duty through the Individual Ready Reserve came to the fore in June 2004, when 5,600 former soldiers were called up for year-long tours, mostly assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was not, however, a one-time deal. President Bush has authorized the U.S. Marine Corps to recall 2,500 troops to active […]