A couple of weeks ago, a few polls showed Bush’s job approval ratings ticking back up, perhaps in light of strong GDP growth in the third quarter. Nevertheless, three national polls from the last week show that if Bush was enjoying a small bounce in the popularity, it’s since disappeared. First, the latest CNN/USA Today […]
In a decision that will likely reverberate in legal and political circles for a long time, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court ruled this morning that the state cannot deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. The 4-3 ruling said the state “failed to identify any constitutionally adequate reason for denying civil marriage to same-sex couples.” […]
I hope you’re sitting down because I have mind-blowing news from Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie: the GOP is now officially concerned about the influence of wealthy donors in the political process. Gillespie’s not talking about the power the wealthy have over the Republicans, of course, he’s deeply troubled by the support financier George […]
It’s hard to get too worked up over the latest religious right scheme to gather signatures to “demand” that Congress “save” the Ten Commandments. After all, the Decalogue isn’t in any danger, and therefore does not need saving. Just as importantly, folks can gather all the signatures they want, but unless they plan on scrapping […]
I saw in the New York Times today that a new group is being created to help the left counter the religious right’s influence when it comes to political campaigns, policy debates, and voters who take faith seriously. “In an effort to counter the influence of conservative Christian organizations, a coalition of moderate and liberal […]
Univ of Maryland prof Thomas Schaller had a really interesting item in the Washington Post yesterday in which he suggested that Democratic presidential candidates can’t expect to win in the South, so they’d be better off giving up on the region and focusing attention elsewhere. “Solid Republican victories in the Kentucky and Mississippi governors’ races, […]
I heard from many of you last week who were disappointed to learn that Wesley Clark supports a constitutional amendment to prohibit flag burning. While I, too, found the news upsetting, I’m not prepared to join some of you in writing off Clark because of it. And for those of you who wrote to say […]
The Republicans are having a fit over the fact that Senate Democrats have successfully blocked four of Bush’s 172 judicial nominees. I get that. The question then becomes what the GOP is willing to do about it. So far, the Republicans have decided their best course of action is to hold a 39-hour marathon session […]
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is well-known for his hyper-aggressive fundraising tactics, but the New York Times is reporting on a new scheme that’s not only disturbing, it may also violate federal tax law. In a devastating article today, the Times is reporting that DeLay is offering GOP donors a rare opportunity — in […]
The conventional wisdom in Dem circles has changed in the last week or so. While Howard Dean has been the frontrunner for a while, the combination of his enormous fundraising advantage, his near-lock on the New Hampshire primary, and key union endorsements from the SEIU and AFSCME have led many to believe that Dean will […]