For those of us who’ve been watching the [tag]religious right[/tag] for a long while, a pattern emerges. The political movement helps elects [tag]Republicans[/tag], who in turn take the theocrats for granted, which prompts the religious right to threaten GOP leaders. The party throws the base just enough bones to placate [tag]James Dobson[/tag], which eases tensions […]
An interesting report was published in the May issue of American Politics Research, a poli sci journal, which suggests that young Americans’ political views are “negatively impacted” by watching my favorite show, [tag]The Daily Show[/tag] with [tag]Jon Stewart[/tag]. From the report: We test the effects of a popular televised source of political humor for young […]
On Thursday, in response to a growing national controversy over federal monitoring of Americans’ phone calls, the president publicly explained that there was no cause for concern. The administration’s target, [tag]Bush[/tag] said, is “[tag]al Qaeda[/tag] and their known affiliates.” Today, however, [tag]ABC News[/tag]’ Brian Ross and Richard Esposito reported that an administration sources have said […]
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: * [tag]Tommy Thompson[/tag], the former Wisconsin governor and former HHS secretary, told reporters recently that he’s considering a return to politics. “I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said in a telephone […]
Over the weekend, Truthout’s [tag]Jason Leopold[/tag] reported that [tag]Karl Rove[/tag] has, in fact, been [tag]indicted[/tag] for [tag]perjury[/tag] by [tag]Patrick Fitzgerald[/tag]’s grand jury. I’m more than a little skeptical about the report, but it occurs to me that I should take a moment to explain why, instead of just ignoring the [tag]Truthout[/tag] piece altogether. Obviously, this […]
I didn’t realize conservatives considered “[tag]24[/tag],” the [tag]Fox[/tag] action/drama, a [tag]Republican[/tag] [tag]show[/tag]. According to TNR’s Christopher Orr, it’s a fairly common sentiment. American hero [tag]Jack Bauer[/tag] is an ex-swat, ex-Delta Force commando working for the Los Angeles branch of the (fictional) Counter Terrorist Unit ([tag]CTU[/tag]), an elite, high-tech CIA spin-off. As befits his training, he […]
The poll results didn’t make any sense. Friday, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that the public didn’t much mind that the government has kept a secret [tag]database[/tag] that logs almost every [tag]phone call[/tag] made by every American. What’s worse, respondents were asked specifically if it would bother them if there was a record of […]
In case you missed it, [tag]John McCain[/tag] appeared alongside Jerry “agent of intolerance” Falwell over the weekend, delivering the commencement address at the televangelist’s Virginia college. Would the bold, straight-talking senator stay true to his alleged principles and “sister souljah” the man who said America “deserved” the attacks of 9/11? Not so much. With the […]
In the third week in February, speculation about [tag]Al Gore[/tag]’s future picked up considerably with high-profile columns from Roger J. Stone Jr. and Dick Morris. In the third week in March, a cover story for The American Prospect renewed talk about another [tag]presidential[/tag] [tag]campaign[/tag] for Gore. The third week in April, it was once again […]
Three years ago, Josh Marshall wrote a terrific item highlighting a disconcerting trend: most of the Bush administration’s biggest blunders came at the direct hand of [tag]Dick Cheney[/tag]. And the article was written before the war in Iraq even began. I re-read the article last night after discovering that the Bush White House has two […]