In March 2005, John Orman, a poli sci prof at Fairfield University who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1984, said he would take a big risk: he’d take on Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) in a Dem Senate primary. Six months later, Orman looked at his campaign coffers — he’d raised $1,000. Lieberman had $3.8 million. […]
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Fred Phelps and his truly deranged, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church have taken to protesting at the funerals for troops killed in Iraq, literally celebrating their deaths. Phelps and his deranged followers carry signs that read “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “Thank God for IEDs,” because they […]
The ol’ “God Machine” has a lot to offer this week…. First up, in an international edition, is an interesting lawsuit in Italy, where a judge heard arguments yesterday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed. The priest’s atheist accuser, Luigi Cascioli, says the Roman Catholic Church […]
Earlier this month, Wal-Mart lost a key political battle when lawmakers in Maryland overrode a gubernatorial veto and effectively required Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care. The retail behemoth’s biggest concern was how many other states would follow suit. The fears are well-founded — Wal-Mart now has to worry about Washington state. More […]
When it comes to his warrantless-search program, Bush’s honesty has been in short supply. He’s misrepresented his legal authority, his predecessors’ decisions, Congress’ authorizations, and his administration’s congressional briefings. But there’s one particular distortion Bush has emphasized that’s more annoying than the others. “In the weeks following September the 11th, I authorized a terrorist surveillance […]
In the 2004 presidential race, John Kerry offered a very clear approach as to how the United States should deal with Iran: have the international community offer Iran nuclear fuel to be used in a peaceful nuclear energy program. As Kerry put it at the time, “We should call their bluff and organize a group […]
According to the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, only 39% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of the economy. In some polls, it’s even lower. This isn’t likely to make things any better. The economy grew at only a 1.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, the slowest pace in three […]
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) made his first appearance on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” yesterday and got to chat with a woman in Arkansas who was concerned about illegal immigration. The woman declared: “It’s only after the influx of illegals that you were elected, sir. How is this possible?” Visibly unhappy, Villaraigosa responded, “Are you […]
About a week ago, Washington Monthly published a reform plan from Paul Begala and James Carville that goes much further than anything leaders from either party seem willing to put on the table. The Begala/Carville plan, called “Not One Dime,” would effectively ban lawmakers from accepting anything of value from anyone; ban raising money altogether; […]
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: * A new Zogby poll delivers the latest in a series of encouraging polls for Eliot Spitzer’s (D) gubernatorial campaign in New York. The results show Spitzer with huge leads over his most […]