About a year ago, [tag]Media Matters[/tag] released a fascinating report called, “If It’s Sunday, It’s Conservative.” MM found that the Sunday-morning [tag]talk shows[/tag] on ABC, CBS, and NBC, which play a huge role in shaping the conventional wisdom and prevailing political opinions, feature more conservative voices than liberal, “in some cases, dramatically so.” What’s more, […]
Mr. Rove, Sen. Schumer would like a word with you
Six weeks ago, Sen. Chuck [tag]Schumer[/tag] (D-N.Y.) seemed to immediately appreciate the significance of the prosecutor purge scandal. He told reporters, “What happened here doesn’t sound like business as usual,” Schumer said. “Even the hiring and firing of our top federal prosecutors has become infused and corrupted with political, rather than prudent, considerations.” He vowed […]
Neoliberalism, R.I.P.
The NYT’s David Brooks seems to have caused a bit of a stir with his latest column, which laments what he sees as the death of neoliberalism, “a movement which, at least temporarily, remade the Democratic Party, redefined American journalism and didn’t really die until now.” As Brooks sees it, neoliberals changed politics, apparently in […]
Walter Reed scandal forces third major resignation
You did a heckuva job, Kiley. The Army forced its surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, to retire, officials said Monday, making him the third high-level official to lose his job over poor outpatient treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Kiley, who headed Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004, submitted […]
‘Some are too injured to wear their body armor’
Given the reports lately about the Bush administration neglecting injured troops and sending additional soldiers into combat without the necessary equipment, I suppose it was only a matter of time before the two narratives were combined — sending injured troops into battle without the protection they need. In Salon today, Mark Benjamin has the painful […]
That’s one
Political office and atheism tend not to mix. Gallup released a poll just a few weeks ago in which Americans were asked which group they’d be least likely to vote for. Atheists finished last, behind Catholic, African American, Jewish, Mormon, women, Hispanic, and gay candidates. Indeed, atheists were the only group in which a majority […]
Monday’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: * Sen. [tag]Chuck Hagel[/tag] (R-Neb.) announced this morning that he had nothing new to announce. He told reporters that he will decide “later this year” on a potential presidential run. “In making this […]
I’m not ready to ‘get over it’
When the president nominated Sam Fox, a major right-wing donor who gave $50,000 to the Swiftboat Vets, to be ambassador to Belgium, it raised a few eyebrows. When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Fox’s nomination, Sen. John Kerry, as one might imagine, wasn’t pleased to see him. Kerry was hardly alone. […]
The cover-up is about as bad as the crime
Last week, the prosecutor purge scandal picked up considerably when we learned that Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, told one of the fired U.S. attorneys that if the purged prosecutors “continued to criticize the administration for their ousters, previously undisclosed details about the reasons they were fired might […]
Time to go, Alberto
After meeting with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week, Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told Reuters, “One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later.” It seems to be an increasingly common perspective. Gonzales’ decisions and conduct have managed to do the impossible — […]