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: * According to the latest fundraising tallies, the DCCC has $22.1 million in the bank, and $3.1 million in debt, for a total of $19 million. It’s Republican counterpart, the NRCC, has $1.6 […]
Ahmadinejad vs. Khrushchev
The fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was allowed into the United States, and was given an audience at a prestigious university, continues to shock the conscience of many of our conservative friends. Unlike most instances of conservative apoplexy, I sincerely understand the right’s argument on this one. Ahmadinejad is a dangerous despot with radical […]
‘It’s not the children’s’ fault that their parents are poor’
The good news is, the House easily passed the expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) last night, 265 to 159. Whereas five House Republicans supported the original measure in August, 45 GOP lawmakers broke party ranks and voted with the Dems yesterday. The bad news is, even with the large, bipartisan majority, the […]
Von Spakovsky and the FEC: Don’t let this fox near the henhouse
Hans von Spakovsky, as a top political appointee in Bush’s Justice Department, was a leading player in what McClatchy straightforwardly calls the administration’s “vote-suppression agenda.” When it came to voter disenfranchisement, von Spakovsky was a reliable member of Team Bush. That’s not a compliment. Now, of course, the president is anxious to give him a […]
Blackwater ‘may be worse than Abu Ghraib’
To describe the ongoing Blackwater scandal as a fiasco would be a dramatic understatement. Not only do we have a situation in which private security contractors stand accused of killing Iraqi civilians without provocation, we also have deep divisions brewing between the Pentagon and the State Department, coupled by State stonewalling a congressional investigation. A […]
Tuesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * The streets are heating up in Burma: “The military government banned assemblies of more than five people and imposed curfews in Myanmar’s two largest cities on Tuesday, after thousands of Buddhist monks and sympathizers defied orders to stay out of politics and protested once again.” * The Senate was […]
Coy Craig considers course correction?
It’s Sept. 25, meaning that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) will officially give up his Senate seat in just five days, right? I wouldn’t bet on it. Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig declined to say Tuesday whether he would resign his seat as planned if his guilty plea stemming from a Minneapolis bathroom sex sting is […]
Herbert makes it plain: GOP is ‘anti-black’
In the new issue of the Washington Monthly, T.A. Frank argues that New York Times columnist Bob Herbert is “boring,” writing easy-to-ignore pieces on the nation’s most valuable op-ed page. “Twice a week, Herbert yells at them for their indifference,” Frank notes. “Twice a week, they slam the door and run out for a joyride […]
GOP senator agrees: Bush holding kids’ healthcare ‘hostage’
With Congress set to vote on a consensus, bipartisan bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), it’s clear that this is an issue on which Dems have decided to take a stand. They’re still getting pushed around on Iraq policy, but when it comes to passing a good bill to help more […]
Dems crush GOP in new Gallup poll
Most of the recent national polls have shown widespread discontent with politicians in Washington. Both the White House and Congress are wildly unpopular, leading a lot of conservatives to boast that the new Democratic congressional majority has already lost the electorate. After all, if Americans liked what they saw from the new Democratic Congress, the […]