Brilliant. The Dubya administration is currently looking for ways to justify raising taxes on the poor. As Tim Noah pointed out in Slate, between this and Trent Lott it seems the GOP is showing their true colors all of a sudden.
Category: GOP
Mississippi Burning.
On the other side of the aisle, the GOP starts thinking harder about dumping their own embarrassing baggage, despite Trent Lott’s BET plea. If only Lott had taken a page from his idol and merely pretended to be remorseful from the get-go. Update: With Dubya on the sidelines, pundits are putting it in the fridge: Lott will be removed from the Senate leadership. Who will replace him is still up in the air.
Resignations Aplenty.
Along with Kissinger’s resignation today from the 9-11 commission (Sorry, Walter), Mary Matalin has left Cheney’s office in order to spend more time with family. Must be a relief not to have had a veep heart attack on her watch.
A Lott of Trouble.
With some lexis-nexis searches establishing a dubious pattern in Trent Lott’s rhetoric, even Dubya’s piling on now. For his part, Lott’s decided to try the contrition route to see if he can save his seniority. I’d say at this point it’s probably better for the Dems to have him around, just as an ever-present reminder of exactly who the GOP likes to cater to.
The Good Old Days.
After a flurry of Internet criticism, GOP Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is forced to apologize for his paean to segregation at Strom Thurmond’s birthday party, a paean which echoed his prior support for such racialist organizations as the Council of Conservative Citizens. So, were Lott’s remarks really a “poor choice of words” or a brief glimpse of something more sinister in the Majority Leader’s character? You be the judge.
Timberrrrr.
According to Slate writer Douglas Gantenbein, Dubya’s recent forest bill isn’t only bad for the environment – it’s lousy business, even for the timber industry.
Freedom of Disinformation.
Also courtesy of Looka, John Ashcroft is encouraging Justice Department lawyers to evade — or break — the Freedom of Information Act whenever possible. How frighteningly typical of our Attorney General…you gotta wonder at this point if he dresses up like Judge Dredd when nobody’s looking.
Kerry steps out.
Democratic hopeful John Kerry bashes Dubya’s tax plan, and makes the case for payroll tax cuts instead. Nice move…payroll tax reduction isn’t only smart policy, it puts the GOP in an unhappy position – explaining why they’re suddenly against tax cuts that help average Americans at the expense of corporations.
Show Trial for the Mayberry Machiavellis.
Fredo, you’re my brother and I love you. But don’t ever take sides against the family again…ever. Actually, Frankie Pentangeli (of the roman bath) is probably a better Godfather reference in this case. Either way, former Bush appointee John DiIiluio is forced to take a dive after making anti-Rove statements in Esquire.
Not-so-Safety Dance.
“Two years ago the only places it was illegal to dance were Manhattan and Afghanistan. And now you can dance in Afghanistan.” The Village Voice delves into Manhattan’s bizarre cabaret law, used since the Giuliani era to preserve “Quality of Life” and to stop New Yorkers from spontaneously getting their groove on. Speaking as somebody with happy feet (or, in the parlance of this article, an “incidental dancer,”) I find this particularly annoying, and can think of a lot of other bar habits I’d rather see made verboten.