National Politics
Opinions have, predictably, been split about the verbal ping-pong match of Fox News’s Major Garrett and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. On the left, that pushy reporter from the conservative propaganda network was forcing baseless accusations into the public discourse. On the right, he was speaking truth to power. Well, well, well: The White House said…
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s office has sent a response to my inquiry as to the senator’s knowledge of the complexities of the healthcare bill: Thank you for your interest in the important work of reforming our health care system. As a temporary member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee over the last several months,…
Bill Sammon recalls a day, back in 2002: When Bush visited Portland, Ore., for a fundraiser, protesters stalked his motorcade, assailed his limousine and stoned a car containing his advisers. Chanting “Bush is a terrorist!”, the demonstrators bullied passers-by, including gay softball players and a wheelchair-bound grandfather with multiple sclerosis. One protester even brandished a…
If anything, Mark Steyn’s latest lays on the wordplay a bit too thick, but apart from his usual humor, this one’s worth reading if only to sow the last four sentences of this block quote into the conservative repartee: “The right-wing extremist Republican base is back!” warns the Democratic National Committee. These right-wing extremists have…
John Loughlin, the presumed Republican candidate for Patrick Kennedy’s seat in Congress, has issued a press release stating that “the Congressman has a basic obligation to share his in-depth knowledge” about healthcare legislation at three to five town-hall-style meetings. As a matter of an elected representative’s responsibility, Loughlin is absolutely correct, but constituents might have…
As reports of a less than agreeable reception for members of Congress at health care town halls have circulated, other congressional delegations around the country, not excluding Rhode Island’s, have been strangely slow to schedule town halls in their own states. However, the tax-payer funded body which characterized the use of private jets by taxpayer…
In one of the meaningful transitions that used to make me daydream about the possibilities now manifested in MP3 players that can put an entire music collection on shuffle, the Eagles’ “Hotel California” followed directly upon the “We Are the Ones” Obama-adulation song. “You can check out anytime you want,” sings Don Henley, “but you…
… is pretty obvious and substantial, actually. About Sarah Palin’s resignation, David Frum has made this observation. Sarah Palin’s most notable achievement as governor of Alaska was to increase the payout from the state’s energy tax take by $1200 per resident. Isn’t it odd then that she would use her farewell address to warn against…
It is definitely not our practice to run political ads for political reasons (or only for political reasons), but this one from the Republican National Committee on the healthcare legislation is funny enough to merit a few minutes of your time. As one might expect, the “side effects” disclaimer is the key.
I’m not sure what to make of this, from David Brooks… It was interesting to watch the Republican Party lose touch with America. You had a party led by conservative Southerners who neither understood nor sympathized with moderates or representatives from swing districts. They brought in pollsters to their party conferences to persuade their members…