The Carpetbagger Report

Federal agencies have Inspectors General as a kind of internal check on abuse. The point is to have an independent “watchdog” with oversight authority who can ensure agencies’ integrity, while preventing fraud and mismanagement. When it comes to the State Department’s IG office, things haven’t gone according to plan. Instead of a watchdog that prevents […]

With 27 electoral votes and an evenly divided electorate, Florida is generally considered one of those states that presidential candidates are desperate to impress. On the other hand, Fred Thompson, for reasons that remain unclear, seems anxious to make a bad impression. It started in a couple of months ago, when Thompson alluded to Cuban […]

The last couple of weeks have been disappointing for opponents of the president’s war policy, at least as far as congressional action is concerned. While progressive activists have been hoping to see Democratic leaders fight aggressively for withdrawal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid & Co. indicated that they’re willing to compromise with Senate Republicans on […]

I understand that Republicans would rather talk about a controversial newspaper ad than Iraq policy. I even understand why the right wants to demonize an effective and successful liberal activist organization. But the problem in the wake of last week’s “Betray Us” ad from MoveOn.org is that the GOP just doesn’t know when to quit. […]

Today’s edition of quick hits. * A bill to give the U.S. taxpayers who live in the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House of Representatives had majority support in the Senate today, but it wasn’t enough to overcome GOP obstructionist tactics. The bill’s 57-vote majority was three short of the total needed […]

Last week, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) pretended to be a regular ol’ senator, issuing a statement in response to Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony. This week, the senator who’s allegedly just 12 days from resigning his seat, returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since his men’s room scandal broke. The Republican senator had a […]

A year ago this month, in response to a Supreme Court ruling on handling of detainees, Congress quickly and recklessly passed the Military Commissions Act. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) recently described just what a disaster the legislation was for the rule of law. Of the many assaults on our civil liberties and […]

For a variety of conservatives, most notably Rudy Giuliani and Joe Lieberman, supporting aggressive counter-terrorism measures isn’t enough. Credibility on national security is based largely on whether someone is willing to use the words “Islamic” and “terrorism” next to each other. It’s worth noting, of course, that the president, who enjoys the enthusiastic support of […]

I noted earlier that the top four Republican presidential candidates angered the religious right by blowing the first-ever “Values Voter” debate. But my friends at Right Wing Watch reminded me that one of the most interesting parts of the debate wasn’t who was there, or what was said, but rather, the song that got the […]

As you may have heard, Sen. John Kerry spoke and answered questions at the University of Florida yesterday. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a particularly noteworthy event, but when it came time for one particularly animated student to ask the senator a question, events quickly spiraled out of control. (This video includes quite a bit of […]