In a letter to the NY Times: To the Editor: Re "Democrats See Dream of ’06 Victory Taking Form" (front page, Oct. 13): The key to a Democratic success in next year’s Congressional election is clearly in the party leadership’s coming up with a campaign that does not concentrate on the Bush administration’s failures but offers alternative programs to fix … Read More
Plamegate – The Latest
Lot of buzz and reaction to Judy Miller and the fact that the name "Valerie Flame" appears in her handwritten notes for a date in which she had a conversation with Scooter Libby. Most of the invective against Miller is centered around the inescapable fact that she was merely a White House secretary, rather than being an independent reporter. Well, … Read More
Miers 2.0
The Bush White House wants a do-over on Miers: Get ready for a whole new Harriet. After a disastrous two weeks, White House officials say they hope to relaunch the nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court by moving from what they call a "biographical phase" to an "accomplishment phase." In other words, stop debating her religion and personality … Read More
Democratic Ideas – No. 7
Democracy Begins at Home. Equal opportunity in this country is based upon equal representation and fair voting. Democrats are determined to reforming the voting system in this country to create Federal standards for our elections. The bill adds verification, accountability and accuracy to the system. It increases access to the polls with Election Day registration, shorter lines and early voting. … Read More
Democratic Ideas – No. 6
Making Health Care More Affordable. Spiraling health care costs are putting the opportunity of America at risk, making it harder for families to buy health insurance and placing a difficult burden on small businesses and manufacturers. Democrats will address these concerns by making prescription drugs more affordable through the legalization of prescription drug reimportation and more safe by ensuring drugs … Read More
Democratic Ideas – No. 5
Quality Education for All Democrats are committed to providing a quality education to all Americans because we recognize that education has always been the cornerstone of equal opportunity. Democrats will keep our promise to our children by increasing support for pre-school education, fully funding No Child Left Behind and improving its implementation. We are committed to providing safe and reliable … Read More
The Bush Photo-Op
The MSM is covering it, so I won’t. Of course, that’s the real story: that the MSM is finally (and openly) exposing the Bush Administration for their silly staged events. But you can see good NBC/MSNBC reports about it here and here (both Windows Media Player files) And then there’s the AP story: I’m going to ask somebody to grab … Read More
Yet ANOTHER Bush Administration Scandal
Investigators at the Education Department have contacted the U.S. attorney’s office regarding the Bush administration’s hiring of commentator Armstrong Williams to promote its agenda. The action was disclosed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who has pressed for a criminal fraud investigation focused on questions about whether Williams actually performed the work cited in his monthly reports to the Education Department. … Read More
Democratic Ideas – No. 4
Expanding Economic Opportunity. Democrats understand that the most effective means of increasing opportunity for our families is a high quality, good paying job. Democrats will fight to restore overtime protection to 6 million workers and increase the minimum wage for 7.4 million workers. We must do more to create good jobs today and in the future and the Democratic bill … Read More
Bush Denies Photo-Op At Photo-Op
This is from the L.A. Times. All I have done is reverse the paragraphs, and add the word "then": Before starting his brief work shift, Bush verbally hammered critics who have accused him of staging politically motivated "photo ops" in the hurricane zone instead of staying in Washington and drafting a comprehensive recovery plan. President Bush then strapped on a … Read More
Miers and Election 2008
The N.H Union Leader reports: The White House political arm is taking a special interest in U.S. senators who are potential 2008 Presidential candidates, especially when they come to New Hampshire. The goal is to put them on the record on the Harriet Miers nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is under fire from the right and left. Bush … Read More
Bush Photo-Op – Scripted
In this morning’s gaggle, Scott McClellan got asked whether the teleconference the president had with troops in Tikrit was scripted. Here’s what he said … QUESTION: How were they selected, and are their comments to the president pre-screened, any questions or anything… MCCLELLAN: No. QUESTION: Not at all? MCCLELLAN: This is a back-and-forth. Here’s how the pool report (i.e., from … Read More
Harriet Miers And The Christmas Card Debacle
With so little known about Harriet Miers, this story may take on certain undue significance. We know that Harriet Miers, as White House staff secretary, was responsible for vetting documents that made their way onto Bush’s desk. Apparently, she was a bit of a tyrant in this area, although this is arguably necessary for anyone in that position (after all, … Read More
Democratic Ideas – No. 3
Fulfilling Our Duty to America’s Veterans. A key component of keeping America secure is protecting the rights of our veterans. Since the time of Lincoln, Americans have made and kept a sacred commitment to those who served this nation in the defense of freedom. As a new generation of veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, Democrats are united to fulfill … Read More
Olbermann On “The Nexus Of Politics And Terror”
MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann does an excellent story on how the terror alert level goes up whenever the Bush Administration is in trouble, citing thirteen specific examples. Video here, courtesy of Crooks & Liar. And if you want to read it, do so here. Here’s an example: Number Three: February 5th, 2003. Secretary of State Powell tells the United Nations Security … Read More