As Dubya tries to rally the worried Republican troops, Speaker Hastert questions John McCain’s GOP cred. Hey, if you don’t want him, we’ll take him. Didn’t you guys learn anything from the Jim Jeffords defection?
Category: Congress
Patriotic Defectors.
A handful of GOP libertarians join Dems in blocking reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
Shoot the Messenger.
Earth to Inhofe? Earth to Inhofe? Nope, no answer. While several GOP leaders are turning on Dubya (and Rumsfeld) after recent events, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) is not among them. To the contrary, he lost it in committee today, proclaiming that he is “probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment” of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. (For their part, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) disavowed Inhofe immediately.) One would be tempted to write Inhofe off as simply a crank, until you peruse the many similar responses emanating from the Right about the relative newsworthiness of US soldiers engaging in torture and assorted other depravities. Mind you, these are the exact same Defenders of American Values who wore moral outrage like a cheap cologne all through l’affaire Lewinsky…some people have no shame. Update: Sure enough, the Right rallies around Inhofe.
Losin’ It.
Continuing his recent spate of bizarre pronouncements, Zell Miller calls for repeal of the 17th Amendment, as apparently the direct election of senators is the primary cause for the domination of special interests in Washington these days. Well, the principle of federalism aside, it’s hard to take seriously any such special interest prescription from a guy like Zell, who’s gone so far out of his way to prostrate himself before Dubya and his cadre of corporate cronies. Sorry Zell…it’s Miller time no longer.
Iraq-Contra?
“Woodward reports that in July 2002 Bush ordered the use of $700 million to prepare for the invasion of Iraq, funds that had not been specifically appropriated by the Congress, which alone holds that constitutional authority. No adequate explanation has been offered for what, strictly speaking, might well be an impeachable offense.” Sidney Blumenthal sees the behavior underlying Reagan’s Iran-Contra fiasco revived, while law professor Cass Sunstein delves deeper into the illegality and unconstitutionality of Dubya’s likely misappropriation of funds.
Kerry ’04.
So, to no one’s real surprise over these past few weeks, our horse is John Kerry. Ok, then, let’s bring it on (and let the veep sweepstakes begin.) I’m sure it’ll be a tight race before it’s over, but for the moment, even the House GOP is thinking Kerry these days.
Culture War, 2004.
As the Senate GOP tries to schedule embarrassing votes for Johns Kerry and Edwards, Richard Rosendall of Salon remembers the last election cycle the GOP invoked the culture wars so heavily: 1992. Thanks again, Pat Buchanan.
What did Dubya know, and when did he know it?
The Senate Intelligence Committee moves toward subpoenaing Bush for various documents regarding the lead-up to war, documents which the administration has tried to withhold on the grounds of executive privilege. Hmm, I wonder…will the shrill echoes of Dubya’s gay-baiting be enough to mask the whirring of the shredders? Somehow, I doubt it.
Lock up the Kittens.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist begins paving the way for a 2008 presidential bid. I can see it already…Vote Frist, it’s cheaper than neutering.
Shadiness, Inc.
Tom De Lay’s homegrown PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority, comes under scrutiny for misusing corporate donations. I never would have guessed. In semi-related news, the Senate GOP feels the heat from the soon-to-be-concluded investigation into stolen Dem documents. Lie, cheat, steal…all in a day’s work for today’s Republican Party.