CNN's story on the possibility of a Senate compromise on judges contains this little gem. Republicans have said no judicial nominee has been filibustered in the Senate's history, although they filibustered the nomination of Abe Fortas to be chief justice in 1968. Actually, Republicans and Democrats briefly filibustered the Fortas nomination -- though no one […]
GOP Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio suggested that had nominee John Bolton had a short fuse that would have got him fired in the private sector. This analysis of what is a fireable offense in the private sector comes from a man who hasn't held a private sector job since 1967.
Earlier this week, when I wished Vermont's Jim Jeffords well in his post-legislative career, a commenter suggested that we need more moderates/centrists in the Senate. That got me to thinking. Let's list some Republican moderates/centrists/"mavericks" in the Senate: Lincoln Chafee, R.I. John McCain, Ariz. Olympia Snowe, Maine Susan Collins, Maine Arlen Specter, Pa. If you […]
The Drudge Report linked to this shocking story at MSNBC by Michael Fletcher of the Washington Post. President Bush is requiring Cabinet members to spend several hours a week at the White House compound, a move top aides say eases coordination with government agencies but one seen by some analysts as fresh evidence of the […]
The media today started to pick up on Sen. Robert Byrd's GOP=Nazis comment after Jewish groups denounced him. Byrd's response? Not apology, but denial. Sen. Robert Byrd's description of Adolf Hitler's rise to power was meant as a warning to heed the past and not as a comparison to Republicans, a spokesman for the West […]
It's hasn't seen much use since 2000, but it's time to dust it off and post it again. Forty-three Democrats in the Senate and that pesky former-Republican/turncoat have put their names to a letter demanding that President George W. Bush stop picking on Harry Reid. "This is a new Democratic Party," Sen. Charles E. Schumer […]
You can find the transcript here. Video of it is available here. I've got the video running in another window right now, and for the most part I think the speech is pretty good. President Bush spent a lot of time on Social Security reform. This speech was probably the best time to really get […]
Are you a Republican? Then you are dumb, dumb, dumb -- and greedy. News reports last week showing that Republicans are a miniscule minority in the ivory towers of academia, unsurprisingly, has brought out the smarter-than-thou Democrats. To the Editor: Re "Republicans Outnumbered in Academia, Studies Find" (news article, Nov. 18): Would it be surprising […]
You can sometimes find some interesting things regarding the state of journalism on the bulletin board. Someone posted New York Times reporter Fox Butterfield's annual article on the drop in the crime rate. Despite Drop in Crime, an Increase in Inmates By FOX BUTTERFIELD The number of inmates in state and federal prisons rose 2.1 […]
Barring any unexpected, last-minute developments, the GOP will have a 55-44-1 majority in Congress' upper chamber. After President Bush and Vice President Cheney helped Pennsylvania's senior Senator Arlen Specter fend off a strong primary challenge from conservative Pat Toomey, Specter has decided to bite the hand that feeds him. Specter, as presumptive chairman of the […]