Yesterday, the AP highlighted some absurd comments from Mike Huckabee, offered during his 1992 Senate campaign, when he advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public and warned that homosexuality could “pose a dangerous public health risk.” “If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take […]
NBC reverses course, offers conservatives access to airwaves
For quite a while, it seemed as if the only political ads that were rejected by television networks came from the left. Last week, for example, Fox News rejected an ad from the Center for Constitutional Rights about the administration’s torture because, as Bill O’Reilly insisted, the ad was “anti-American.” Last year, NBC refused to […]
Who knew what about waterboarding and when?
I’m hesitant to jump to conclusions, but I think there are a few lawmakers, including some Democratic leaders, who might want to comment on torture-policy briefings they received way back in 2002. In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital […]
Investigations to review destruction of CIA torture tapes
In a move that should surprise no one, the CIA’s decision to destroy videos of “enhanced interrogation techniques” in action has prompted multiple investigations, including a preliminary probe from the Justice Department. The Justice Department and the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General said Saturday that they had launched a joint inquiry into the CIA’s […]
And the GOP nominee will be … none of the above
Rudy Giuliani, the thrice-married serial adulterer who supported abortion rights, gay rights, gun control, and a liberal immigration policy, can’t possibly win the GOP nomination. Neither can Mitt Romney, who’s flip-flopped on practically every issue under the sun, whose religious faith is a regrettable deal-breaker for many Republican voters, and whose support in the polls […]
Latest Iowa poll shows ongoing shake-up
Most of the polls out of Iowa from the last two weeks point to two general trends: Barack Obama inching towards the lead among Democrats, and Mike Huckabee inching past Mitt Romney among Republicans. With this in mind, the latest poll from Newsweek reinforces the prior, and exaggerates the latter. The most dramatic result to […]
Mike Huckabee believes strange things
It’s probably fair to say that Mike Huckabee has had a strange week. On the one hand, he’s been surging in the polls, picking up religious right endorsements, and is now considered the frontrunner in the Iowa caucuses. On the other hand, he’s been caught lying about the Wayne Dumond scandal, he’s proven that has […]
Forget JFK, Romney aims even higher
This week, it was hard to miss comparisons between Mitt Romney’s speech on religion in America and JFK’s historic 1960 speech on his support for church-state separation. Both speeches came from candidates facing discrimination, both were in Texas, and there was at least one picture of Romney striking a Kennedy-esque pose. Apparently, though, the political […]
McCain discovers the Tax Fairy
In the president’s first term, John McCain was unusually responsible when it came to taxes. When Bush’s costly 2001 tax cuts went to the floor, McCain was one of two Senate Republicans to vote “no.” He said at the time, “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the […]
It’s still not the crime; it’s the cover-up
It’s as if politicians never learn. The old Watergate adage, “It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up” became a cliche precisely because of its political salience. And yet, even now, leading Republican presidential candidates seem oblivious to the lesson. In Rudy Giuliani’s case, the Shag Fund scandal continues to dog the former mayor, not just […]