Dems, and more than a few Republicans, have made it clear for quite some time that Alberto Gonzales should not be the Attorney General, but after the AG’s ridiculous appearance this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which Gonzales appears to have lied rather recklessly, Senate Dems are taking their frustrations to the next […]
Kaplan scrutinizes the ‘Joint Campaign Plan’
This week, the NYT reported on a classified plan, which “represents the coordinated strategy of the top American commander and the American ambassador,” that foresees a significant U.S. role in Iraq for the next two years, with a goal of “sustainable security” throughout the country by the summer of 2009. The approach is called the […]
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: * John Edwards unveiled a fairly detailed tax plan this morning in Des Moines. Among the highlights: repealing tax breaks for families earning more than $200,000, raising the top tax rate on long-term […]
DLC snub not part of a larger trend
The AP’s Ron Fournier suggests in his latest piece that the Democratic presidential field is “snub[bing] party moderates.” Bill Clinton will be there. So will 300 officeholders from more than 45 states. But one thing will be missing when Democrats gather in Tennessee this weekend to discuss how to appeal to moderate, independent-minded voters in […]
Banging on the table
As I’ve been told, there’s an old law-school joke that everyone learns fairly quickly: when you have the facts, argue the facts … when you have the law, argue the law … and when you have neither, bang on the table. Yesterday, after the House Judiciary Committee approved contempt citations against former White House Counsel […]
Clash of the Democratic Titans (Part III?)
I’ve heard some talk from the punditocracy that the Democratic presidential candidates have been surprisingly nice to one another so far. Kucinich and Gravel have lashed out at the top tier with angry outbursts, which tend to be ignored, but the more competitive candidates have been getting along fairly well. I think that initial let’s-all-be-pleasant […]
AP docs point to Gonzales perjury
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, Tony Snow actually bragged about how strong Alberto Gonzales appears after having been exposed as a corrupt, incompetent and dishonest fraud. Bush’s press secretary boasted that the Senate Judiciary Committee never “laid a glove on him.” Maybe Snow and I have different definitions of “gloves.” Does perjury count? Documents […]
Wednesday’s Mini-Report
Today’s edition of quick hits. * Rep. Jack Murtha (D-Pa.) is back with a new Iraq bill that would mandate U.S. troop withdrawal begin in two months, following a vote in September. As Murtha sees it, the plan would take about a year to complete. “This is big time,” Murtha told reporters, explaining why he […]
If O’Reilly wants to nutpick, there is plenty of nutpicking to go around
Nutpicking: (verb) 1. the practice of trawling through open comment threads in order to find a few wackjobs who can be held up as evidence that liberals are nuts. About a week ago, Bill O’Reilly launched what might be the most high-profile nutpicking fight of all time, launching a massive offensive against JetBlue for its […]
A convenient convert to states’ rights
Like Kevin, I found it hard to believe the LA Times’ Ron Brownstein is willing to take Rudy Giuliani’s “federalism” argument at face value. I thought it was a fairly transparent sham, but apparently, the former mayor has fooled at least one prominent political analyst at a major news outlet. Social issues such as gay […]