Yesterday’s edition of quick hits. * So, around 2:50 eastern yesterday afternoon, I noticed that my site was down. Then I noticed that my host’s site was down, and every site on its servers. Fine, I thought, it happens. But in the ensuing hours, it never came back. I could access everything except sites from […]
Religious right leaders to meet again on third-party plans
As part of my ongoing effort to convince people that the religious right really isn’t bluffing, and that the Dobson/Perkins crowd really will break with the GOP if Rudy Giuliani is the party’s presidential nominee, Salon’s Michael Scherer reports that the same cast of characters who met in Utah last month are poised to meet […]
House GOP protects Bush’s S-CHIP veto
In September, the House passed the bipartisan expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) by a wide margin, 265 to 159. But in the wake of a Bush veto, would proponents have the votes to override? Regrettably, no. Just moments ago, the House voted 273 to 156 in support of the bill. Supporters […]
With WWIII reference, Bush was only ‘making a point’
Asked at a White House press conference yesterday whether he believes Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon, the president was unusually careless in his choice of words. “We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I’ve told people that if you’re interested in avoiding World War […]
Thursday’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: * Before the end of the year, former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is expected to announce his resignation from Congress, setting up a special election to replace him. Hastert announced his intention to […]
The callous limits of the ‘pro-life’ crowd
An early version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) bill included Medicare provisions that some conservatives believed might lead to government-sponsored euthanasia. The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) actively opposed that bill, and told lawmakers it would count towards the group’s annual scorecard. But Dems agreed to drop the provision, leading to […]
And then there were eight
Just a week ago, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R) conceded that he would drop out of the presidential race unless he finishes in the top four in the Iowa caucuses in January. “I need to finish in that group to move on forward,” Brownback said. As it turns out, Brownback apparently won’t wait quite that […]
For McConnell, the lying trumps the smear
Nearly two weeks later, the right’s smear of 12-year-old Graeme Frost and his family is long over, but the problems for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) remain. His office was, as we know, directly involved in pushing the attacks on the Frosts, but just as importantly, McConnell appears to have been caught lying about […]
White House, lawmakers reach deal on telecom immunity
At yesterday’s White House press conference, a reporter asked the president whether he could find “common ground” with the congressional majority on anything. Bush brought up FISA. A few seconds after saying it was a “good law” that shouldn’t be changed, the president said, “[T]he law needs to be changed, enhanced, by providing the phone […]
How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law 101
After weeks of wrangling, positioning, and debate, the House was poised yesterday afternoon to vote on the RESTORE Act, a measure to improve the FISA law that corrects some of the mistakes of a similar bill from August. It didn’t go well — House Dems had to pull the bill from the floor after GOP […]