The ACLU and six Muslim groups launch the first constitutional challenge against the Patriot Act. This should be one to watch. In related news, James Ridgeway examines the Clintonian antecedents of the Act.
Category: Democrats
Internecine Warfare.
As Dean scores another Internet coup and looks even more competitive in New Hampshire, the DLC tries to scare the left into submission with polls suggesting a mass defection of white males (veterans notwithstanding, I presume.) Perhaps it should be noted that Mark Penn is currently working for the Lieberman campaign. In related news, Jonathans Chait and Cohn debate Dean’s effect on the race in TNR. And, finally, John Edwards announces his health care plan in New Hampshire in Clintonesque fashion. (Veteran link via Follow Me Here.)
Don’t Call Him George.
Garance Franke-Ruta, an old friend from college, checks in with the Dean campaign and tries to dispel the McGovern comparisons emanating from the DLC.
The Freefall continues.
“The president’s approval rating fell to 59%, its lowest level since March…Democrats had a 17-point advantage, 53%-36%, when poll respondents were asked which party would do a better job handling the economy. In January, the GOP had a 43%-42% edge.“
Self-Immolation.
Along with an Anti-Dean cover story (“Must he be stopped?” asks the Jonathan Chait piece), the New Republic evaluates the political consequences of Dean’s rise for the rest of the field. Given how absurdly in the tank for Gore TNR was during the last Dem primary, their endorsement holds very little weight with me. In related news, the Greens start planning for their own 2004 campaign, for which we can once again thank the DLC. So long as Republicratic Dems continue to attack their own left flank in the early going, the Greens will continue to ignore the Democrat in the general election. It’s not rocket science, y’all. You don’t see the GOP declaring war on their own true believers.
It’s getting ugly.
District police are forced to break up a House party on the Hill, after Republicans and Democrats almost come to blows over a pension bill. It’s not exactly Lyon v. Griswold or Brooks v. Sumner, but it is a sad reflection of the loss of civility occasioned by Newt Gingrich and Tom De Lay’s exterminator politics. You didn’t see this type of thing happening in the Tip O’ Neill era.
Pile On.
Weaponsgate fallout continues, with Ted Kennedy decrying Dubya’s foreign policy, John Kerry lambasting Homeland (in)Security under Bush, and Dean and Lieberman calling for Tenet’s head. Whether or not Tenet continues to fall on his sword for the Bushies, the buck stops with the White House, and the GOP Senate can only play defense for so long. What did Dubya know, and when did he know it?
Bring the Pain.
Perhaps taking a page from the Governor of Vermont (whom he declined to attack), Kerry turns up the heat on Dubya and Weaponsgate, as do the Congressional Dems. Good…the pressure from now herein should be furious and unrelenting. And under no circumstances should the Bushies be allowed to get away with lying to America by pinning it on John Bull.
From the Sidelines.
Ralph Nader discusses the possibility of a 2004 run (less if Kucinich or Dean win the Dem nomination), while Wesley Clark’s noncampaign continues to gain steam.
Fratboy Kissinger, Dean Acheson?
What happened to free trade under Dubya? According to this article, it appears Bush prefers the frat trade approach — help your buddies, stiff everyone else. Also in TNR, political scientist Daniel Drezner examines Dean’s foreign policy, and finds more rigorous thinking than critics have given him credit for.