Whenever the subject of torture comes up, the White House responds reflexively with a simple, categorical statement: “We don’t torture.” Occasionally, the president and his team will go even further in their denials, adding statements such as, “We do not render to countries that torture. That has been our policy, and that policy will remain […]
Republican ‘rebranding’ stumbles amid infighting
A month ago, congressional Republicans quietly announced that they were crafting a comeback plan, which would get the party back on track. It would include new attacks on Dems, a new GOP policy agenda, and a series of new bills. The whole package was going to be awesome. To be sure, the party needs something. […]
Rudy’s buddy moves closer to indictment
As in comedy, sometimes in politics, timing is everything. Just this week, for example, Rudy Giuliani was praising the work of his disgraced former police chief, Bernie Kerik. “Sure, there were issues [with Kerik], but if I have the same degree of success and failure as president of the United States, this country will be […]
Note to Dems: Newt Gingrich is not ‘a great thinker’
He may have decided to drop a possible Republican presidential campaign, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich isn’t done trying to shape the political world. Much to my dismay, some powerful Democrats have decided to take him seriously. Roll Call reports today that Gingrich was on Capitol Hill last week, pitching the results of a […]
Wednesday’s political 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: * In light of Sam Brownback’s popularity among Christian conservatives, there’s been a fair amount of interest in which of his former presidential rivals he’ll endorse. Apparently, he’s made his decision — he’ll […]
What Robertson’s Giuliani endorsement means for the race
TV preacher Pat Robertson, himself a former Republican presidential candidate, bucked the religious-right trend and threw his official support to Rudy Giuliani today. Pat Robertson, one of the most influential figures in the social conservative movement, will announce his support for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential bid this morning in Washington, D.C., according to sources familiar with […]
Voting is nearly complete
Some of you have been kind enough to vote for The Carpetbagger Report in the 2007 Weblog Awards, and we’re now in second place. How about one last push? This time, I’ll make it really easy for you. I learned by way of Tim F. that we can embed the voting right into the site. […]
How to lose with dignity — or not
For a couple of decades, supporters of private school vouchers have insisted that Americans really want public funding for private tuition, but elected officials won’t budge. So, proponents keep putting vouchers to statewide referenda — presumably giving people a chance to get what they want — and they keep losing. Indeed, none of the votes […]
Military forced to lower standards once again
With military recruiting still struggling badly, the Pentagon wants to make it even easier for people with criminal records to join the military. The review, in its early stages, comes as the number of Army recruits needing waivers for bad behavior — such as trying drugs, stealing, carrying weapons on school grounds and fighting — […]
Far-right food fight at Regnery
If you’ve perused the selection of right-wing political books at a bookstore, you’ve no doubt seen titles from Regnery Publishing, a major part of the conservative movement. The publishing house has become a darling of the right by churning out one right-wing hatchet job after another, most of which real publishers would never touch. Conservative […]