Via Dave Weigel and Robert Costa at the Washington Post, here’s the complete draft — second draft, actually — of the letter Republican candidates are considering sending to TV networks, with their questions/demands about the upcoming debates. None of the candidates have actually signed this yet, so it still could change. And note that it isn’t a “demand” so much … Read More
RIP Fred Thompson
Actor, lawyer, senator, and even presidential candidate. This guy did a lot of cool things. He died yesterday at the age of 73 in Nashville. I first noticed him way back during the Watergate hearings in 1974. Back then, when there was a congressional investigation, Congress was smart enough to hire lawyers to ask the questions and get information, rather … Read More
GOP Debate #3 Preview
On CNBC tonight. I will not be watching. Ratings will be lower than the others I expect. Trump is already complaining that the debate is unfair, even though it hasn’t happened yet. I expect him to be more Trumpian than ever because of the recent polls showing that Ben Carson has passed Donald Trump as the top choice among the GOP electorate … Read More
Palin Started It
Light blogging as things are busy, but I had to draw attention to this op-ed by William Paley in the Washington Post, entitled “The GOP’s dysfunction all started with Sarah Palin” because I think it is right on the money, i.e.: Once McCain put Palin on the ticket, Republican “grown-ups,” who presumably knew better, had to bite their tongues. But after … Read More
Hillary Clinton vs. Benghazi Committee
Before I get into this, if you’re not up to speed on what the whole Benghazi controversy is about, Vox has a really great primer on the issue. As the primer states, the number of investigations and hearings into the Benghazi incident is unprecedented. Check out these graphs: Today, Hillary Clinton is appearing before the House Benghazi Committee to testify, … Read More
GOP In Disarray: House Freedom Caucus Cools To Ryan
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced Tuesday night that he will consider a bid for House speaker as long as a few conditions are me and one of those conditions is that he doesn’t have to kiss ass to the House Freedom Caucus, the group of 40 far-right Republicans who don’t want to compromise, who want to shut down government, etc. Basically, … Read More
David Brooks On His Own Party
He’s pissed: Over the past 30 years, or at least since Rush Limbaugh came on the scene, the Republican rhetorical tone has grown ever more bombastic, hyperbolic and imbalanced. Public figures are prisoners of their own prose styles, and Republicans from Newt Gingrich through Ben Carson have become addicted to a crisis mentality. Civilization was always on the brink of … Read More
Dems In Disarray*
*If you don’t get the joke, there is a political meme out there known as “Dems In Disarray”. It seems that certain columnists and websites every so often love to write what is known as a “Dems in Disarray” piece, usually when there is very little about the Democratic Party which is in disarray. (I’ve even seen “Dems In Disarray” … Read More
Breaking: Who Is The House Speaker?
As my Twitter feed suggests, something is happening with the GOP House. Kevin McCarthy was expected to voted in as House Speaker. But the rumor is he is out. He dropped out. Chaffetz is it. Yup, not a rumor. McCarthy, who admitted that the Benghazi investigation was politically motivated to get Hillary, dropped out. Election postponed. Remember, this person comes … Read More
Quote Of The Day
From former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, in his new memoir, The Courage To Act: [I] lost patience with Republicans’ susceptibility to the know-nothing-ism of the far right. I didn’t leave the Republican Party. I felt that the party left me. That’s a Reagan quote, except Reagan was talking about the Democratic Party. Bernake was nominated for the job by president … Read More
Republicans Don’t Really Want “Religious Freedom”
Someone at Daily Kos pulled certain results of this PPP poll and turned it into this revealing bar graph: What does it mean? While most Republicans want religious freedom, almost half of them mean they want religious freedom for Christians only (and/or no freedom for followers of Islam). Perhaps they don’t understand what “freedom” means, or perhaps they think “religion” means Christianity … Read More
Shut Down The Benghazi Committee
The normally-unfriendly-to-Hillary New York Times has had enough of the Benghazi thing. That’s pretty surprising since The New York Times has run one phony exclusive after another. First, her famous emails were illegal, except they’re not. Then they were contrary to regulations enacted, oops, 18 months after she left office. Next Hillary was the subject of an FBI criminal probe. … Read More
Aid For Me And Not For Thee
What a jerk Washington (CNN)Sen. Lindsey Graham is asking for federal aid for his home state of South Carolina as it battles raging floods, but he voted to oppose similar help for New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2013. “Let’s just get through this thing, and whatever it costs, it costs,” Graham told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on … Read More
What Democrats Have Said All Along
“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi Special Committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping.” — Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the candidate to replace House Speaker John Boehner, to Sean Hannity on Tuesday Don’t think the Hillary Clinton campaign hasn’t jumped on this. The House Majority Leader just … Read More
Departing Boehner Takes A Swipe At Tea Party Congresscritters
The exiting John Boehner is free from his shackles and can say anything he wants. And boy, does he hate the rightwing extremists: Outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) ripped into some of his Republican colleagues on Sunday for failing to be realistic about what the party can and cannot do, and took a jab at bombastic Texas … Read More