White House aides leaked word to reporters yesterday that Bush would exploit Veterans Day this afternoon with a blistering partisan speech in Pennsylvania. “It will be the most direct refutation of the Democrat charges you’ve seen probably since the election,” one official said But the description wasn’t quite right. It would have been more accurate […]
After several weeks of hiding, Karl Rove reemerged last night, delivering a largely predictable speech to the Federalist Society on the scourge of “activist” judges. To hear Rove’s allies tell it, after not being indicted by Patrick Fitzgerald, he’s back to his old self. “I’ve noticed a big difference,” said one Republican in regular contact […]
Call me crazy, but I think there’s something deeply amusing about the fact that Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), perhaps the most socially conservative member in the Senate, holds hearings with the most explicit sexual content on the Hill. “I think most Americans agree and know that pornography is bad. They know that it involves exploitive […]
Earlier this week, the WaPo ran an item, on the front page, explaining that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito “has signaled he would be highly reluctant to overturn long-standing precedents such as the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling.” The piece went on to quote a variety of senators, most of them pro-choice centrists, […]
I’ve been posting all week about all the various polls highlighting Bush’s faltering public support, but the one issue that has to keep the Bush gang up at night is the question of the president’s honesty. Most Americans say they aren’t impressed by the ethics and honesty of the Bush administration, already under scrutiny for […]
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: * Now that Tim Kaine (D) has highlighted the Dems’ ability to win in Virginia, the DSCC is looking anew at taking on Sen. George Allen (R) next year. I noted two weeks […]
For Dems who’ve hoped to see Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination spark a massive fight that would ultimately force the White House to retreat, the past few weeks haven’t been going well. Key Dem senators have balked at the idea of a filibuster, and closely-watched GOP moderates have signaled that Alito may be acceptable to […]
Sure, the legislative implosion made the Republican majority look pretty inept yesterday, but if you’re a conservative worried about the right-wing agenda, there’s a bright side. GOP lawmakers can’t pass a budget, but they can move a constitutional amendment on gay marriage. U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded subcommittee passage of the Marriage Protection Amendment […]
About a month ago, Tom DeLay’s lawyer went public with a claim that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle offered DeLay a plea bargain deal whereby the lawmaker could plead guilty to a misdemeanor and save his job as House majority leader, but DeLay and his legal team rejected the offer. The disclosure didn’t really […]
There was a flurry of activity on the Hill yesterday, most notably the breakdown in the House over the budget, but there was one vote that warrants attention and shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to push the Pentagon to inform lawmakers about “black sites,” the CIA’s secret prisons in Europe […]