I think so. Resigning as Governor in 2009 for a Presidential contest in 2012 didn’t make much sense to anyone. Resigning to run in a 2010 primary? Not so crazy. Everyone had the White House and 2012 in their sights when Sarah Palin surprisingly announced her resignation days ago, but I guess they didn’t look at Palin’s record. Sarah Palin became Governor through a primary challenge...
By David Swanson Trying to squeeze any sort of peace on earth out of our government in Washington has been a steep uphill climb for years. For the most part we no longer have representatives in Congress, because of the corruption of money, the weakness of the media, and the strength of parties. There are not 535 opinions on Capitol Hill on truly important matters, but 2. Our supposed representatives...
I was going to write a diary about this. But then I came across this clip from Rachel Maddow, from a show that I somehow had missed. It hits all the high points I had in mind, and I don't have to go searching through archives of the NY Times from the 1980s. Answer to the question I asked: Because that's the way the GOP wants it. [Update on the Flip:] Some detail on his record prosecuting black voter...
With Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) looking to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary, much is being made of Maloney is doing so much to the dismay of the Obama administration. But Rep. Charles Rangel thinks President Obama should stay out of race—and the NY Times says the same in an editorial! President Obama called Rep. Steve Israel (D-Long Island) to...
Congress returns for its midsummer session Monday with a Senate supermajority not super enough for President Barack Obama's top priorities to pass without Republican support.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following statement after Gov. Sarah Palin's announcement that she plans to step down as governor later this month. "I am deeply disappointed that the Governor has decided to abandon the State and her constituents before her term has concluded." Sen. Murkowski is in interior Alaska and communicating via satellite phone...
Rep. Charles Rangel defended colleague Carolyn Maloney’s right to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and lashed out anew at President Obama for butting into New York’s Democratic primary. “I really cannot say anything negative about a senior member who wants to run and whose polls, at this point in time, appear to be in her favor,” [...]
The dawning of Sen. Owen Johnson’s ninth decade brought the Senate together in smiles and applause today. “We did something together!,” said Sen. Eric Adams, after Dean Skelos rose to deliver the chamber’s best wishes. Skelos was careful to refer to Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins as just “senator,” and Malcolm Smith was careful to refer to himself [...]
No doubt you've read about Blue America's Health Care Choice Campaign and later today (5pm, PT) we'll be announcing which TV ad got the most votes. It isn't too late to vote-- just click that link above and view all 3 ads and tell us which one you think will be most effective in helping persuade Conservadem Blanche Lincoln that it's time to think of the best interests of her constituents-- the working...
The US Senate race seems to be taking shape on the Democratic side. Incumbent appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will face at least one major candidate in the primary campaign next summer in the form of Manhattan Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Some recent news has come out of this race that is worth noting. The first is that [...] Related posts: A Tale of Two Carolyns Maloney to challenge Gillibrand...
I mean a real, old-fashioned filibuster, where they bring in the cots to the floor of the Senate. Broder does the math. With 60 votes, the Democrats can ... cut off any filibuster threat if they can muster all their members . With solid majorities in both houses, the Democratic leaders, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, could dismiss Republican objections to any bill without a second thought. So all it...
A week before her Senate hearings, Republicans are floundering in their efforts to trip up Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, unable to find an effective message about why she's not fit to serve.
In many ways, electoral politics is like any other career: you enter as a grunt and "pay your dues" for many years before you eventually have the chance at the big-fish posts. Leaders around the world have made their way in this manner, slowly gaining credibility inside and outside the political establishments within which they reside. Boxes need to be checked and experience accrued, with...
Behind the Times by Mark Steyn on National Review Online : "President Obama was supposed to be “cool.” But he isn’t. He’s square. Not just mildly so, but embarrassingly square. He’s squaresville squared. It’s like you’re having a party with your friends and he’s the cringe-making middle-aged parent who wants to show he digs where the young people...
Swearing in on a stack of Bibles, the Senate and House are getting back to the work of whatever it is they do these days. Unfortunately, two tree stumps will still run Congress - Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
The American President, George W. Bush, announced this morning that the US government has agreed to extend $17.4 billion in loans to the struggling car manufacturers of Detroit. The cash has its source from the White House-controlled Troubled Asset Relief Program, a large fund initially set up to assist Wall Street banks.
The request for a $14 billion bailout package for the car industry in the US has failed in the US Senate, as Republican legislators declined to move with regards to some main issues of the funding. The initial application was for $34 billion which the car manufacturers foresaw would enable them to stay fluid until March 2009.
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