It’s hard to muster the will to mock Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) anymore. His story has been repeated, scrutinized, and pilloried in every possible way since the details of his bathroom arrest surfaced in August. But now that Craig sat down with NBC’s Matt Lauer for an hour-long interview, aired last night, we get a […]
Why Giuliani is the scariest possible candidate
Yesterday, speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Rudy Giuliani’s bluster towards Iran was unrestrained. He almost seemed to be looking forward to a military confrontation, insisting without proof that Iran is currently building nuclear weapons and emphasizing that the “military option is not off the table.” Giuliani said every new American president prayed to avoid […]
Bush taps birth-control opponent for family planning office
It’s become something of a cliche to talk about the “reality-based community” (i.e., anyone outside the circle of Bush and his supporters) vs. those who “create their own reality (the president and his team), but once in a while, we’re reminded why this became a cliche in the first place. Less than a week ago, […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Keep an eye on this one: “Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran.” * Responding to Putin’s comments, Matt Yglesias argues that the developments “deserve to be taken very […]
Giuliani says he gave his ‘blood’ for the GOP
Over the last five days or so, each of the top four Republican presidential hopefuls has asserted, aggressively, that they are more reliably partisan than their rivals. It started with Mitt Romney claiming that he represents the “Republican wing of the Republican Party,” then shifted to John McCain saying he was the real Republican, and […]
Study: ‘little evidence of Islamic jihadists’ in the U.S.
For six years, we’ve been warned that the Bush administration needs sweeping new authority, free of checks and balances, in order to keep us safe. Officials, without warrants, should be able tap Americans’ phones and read their emails. The Patriot Act was absolutely necessary. Torture policies should be written and practiced in secret. Habeas corpus […]
Religious right groups are raking in the cash
Given the political climate, it would appear the religious right movement is at a crossroads. Whereas its political power and influence were once unquestioned, there’s ample reason to believe these groups, leaders, and activists may soon be an afterthought on the landscape. Key religious leaders have died recently (Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy), some major […]
When the GOP turns to the generals
When it comes to some of the higher-profile U.S. generals, most take issue with the Bush administration’s policies, especially in Iraq. Names like Clark, Zinni, Sanchez, Eaton, Batiste, and Johns are all notable, not just for their lengthy military careers and stars on their shoulders, but also because they want nothing to do with the […]
McConnell’s office helped drive the Frost smear
Shortly after the right started its coordinated criticisms of 12-year-old Graeme Frost and his family, there was some question about what role, if any, the Republican establishment had in the smear. It’s bad enough when Limbaugh, Malkin, and the National Review launch a campaign like this, but official, top-down support makes matters considerably worse. Last […]
On S-CHIP families, some conservatives can’t help themselves
I noted earlier that, two weeks after much of the right went after the Frost family, another S-CHIP family stepped up to endorse the bipartisan compromise legislation recently vetoed by the president. Bethany Wilkerson, a two-year-old who was born with a heart defect, was able to get life-saving surgery thanks to her S-CHIP coverage. The […]