Federal tax law, as it relates to tax-exempt religious ministries, is pretty clear — houses of worship may not legally intervene in political campaigns, either in support of or opposition to a candidate or a party. Those who violate the law run the risk of losing their tax-exempt status. With some regularity, the IRS reminds […]
House Republicans take a firm stand — against Mother’s Day
Well, now they’ve done it. Congressional Republicans took a right turn at Main Street and hit the gas quite a while ago, but I had no idea they would actually vote against motherhood. On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, “Celebrating the role of mothers in […]
Friday’s campaign round-up
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: * It’s getting tough to keep up with superdelegate developments, but Obama has picked up Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Maryland DNC member John Gage, while Chris Carney of Pennsylvania announced his […]
Gerson sinks his teeth into Obama’s ankle — and won’t let go
Some high-profile columnists at major dailies become kind of obsessed. They’re given a great platform, but become so consumed with one aspect of the political world, they tend to write about nothing else. The NYT’s Maureen Dowd, for example, seems to write about little other than her disdain for Hillary Clinton. The NYT’s Bill Kristol […]
McCain campaign more than a little touchy about the age issue
Barack Obama stopped by CNN’s “Situation Room” yesterday, and Wolf Blitzer asked about John McCain’s recent assertion that Hamas wants Obama to be president. Obama noted McCain is wrong on the substance (Obama and McCain have largely the same position on policy towards Hamas), and wrong on the style (McCain had vowed to take the […]
About that record of ‘working across party lines’…
Marc Ambinder noted that this clip of Fox News personality Juan Williams is making the rounds in “Republican circles.” For those who can’t watch clips online, the video features Williams, on Fox News, saying, “You think about everything from campaign finance to immigration and on and there’s John McCain working across party lines. Sen. Obama […]
Digging a little deeper into McCain ethical lapses
When considering John McCain’s history of unethical behavior, the list usually starts (and ends) with the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s, for which McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for having shown, at a minimum, poor judgment. While McCain took on the role of a “reformer” in the scandal’s aftermath, his ethical […]
Heavyweights head to the Hill
At this point, the dust has settled after Tuesday’s contests in Indiana and North Carolina. What’s the state of the Democratic race? Consider an anecdote: when Barack Obama was making the rounds on Capitol Hill yesterday, he stopped by the House to visit with lawmakers and shake a few hands. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) greeted […]
Thursday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Relief efforts shouldn’t be this difficult: “Relief supplies from the United Nations arrived in Myanmar Thursday, but U.S. military planes loaded with aid were still denied access by the country’s isolationist regime five days after a devastating cyclone. The military junta also continued to stall on visas for U.N. […]
A closer look at McCain’s ‘spiritual guide’
At a certain point, a couple of months ago, news outlets decided that Barack Obama’s association with Jeremiah Wright was the single most important facet of this year’s presidential campaign, at least so far. How could a presidential hopeful have a relationship with an intemperate pastor? Who’s said nutty things? What does it say about […]