In a strange moment of candor, Wolfowitz tells Vanity Fair that the WMD argument for overthrowing Saddam was chosen “for bureaucratic reasons,” since “it was the one reason everyone could agree on.” (He also lends credence to the argument advanced in this Fred Kaplan article that removing troops from Saudi Arabia was one of the central purposes of the Iraq war.) Meanwhile, in the same AP story, the head of US Marines in Iraq says of the WMDs, “they’re simply not there.” Looks like the Bushies have some explaining to do…If they follow the usual pattern, I suspect they’ll answer any tough question with a flurry of 9/11-esque horror stories.
Category: Politics (2002-2004)
No Child Left Behind?
Surprise, surprise. Dubya and the GOP’s new tax cut leaves out an increased child tax credit for the nation’s poorest Americans. After all, gotta keep the priorities straight…Some families out there might want a second SUV.
War between the States.
“Bipartisanship is another name for date rape.” Ah, the wit and wisdom of a GOP flak…On what planet would that not be offensive? Republican strategist Grover Norquist also revels in the increasing acrimony within state legislatures. “We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals – and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship.” I guess he’s a divider, not a uniter. (Via Medley.)
1896 it ain’t.
Resembling nothing so much as the guy who takes out a $10000 credit card advance and suddenly feels flush, the GOP contemplates an era of political dominance. (In fact, the administration is feeling so sure of itself these days that they’re bringing old Iran-Contra hacks like Elliot Abrams out of the woodwork.) Sorry, y’all, but the “young college Hipublican” vote only goes so far…most of these kids will drop you faster than a Linear Algebra class once their parents’ portfolios finish taking the Dubya tumble. As for the purported hepcats in this pic, I guess it all depends on your definition of “hip.” I can’t say I’m too plugged into the youth zeitgeist these days, but I do live and work at a university…and somehow I doubt these five Bushies are the leading lights of campus. They just look like five angry and self-satisfied white people to me, and there’s plenty of those to go around.
Media Blackout.
The networks stay mum on media consolidation as the Powell FCC prepares to lift cross-ownership caps in local and regional markets. Not surprisingly, it looks like the FCC vote will be party-line, with the three Republicans voting as a bloc to facilitate Rupert Murdoch’s ambitions and enlist free-market ideology in order to kill free-thinking media outlets. We’ll always have the web, I guess.
Cash Advance.
As it turns out, Dubya’s profligate ways have forced Congress to increase the federal debt limit (so as to avoid a government default) in the very week they mull over his (now Voinovich-friendly) tax giveaway for the rich. Coincidence? I think not.
Capital Gains, National Losses.
The House and Senate GOP agree on a compromise bill that cuts the tax rates on dividends to 15%. (Don’t worry, Mr. Burns – the wealthy also get their fix in the form of a capital gains rate cut to 15%.) But, problems for the dividend debacle remain…particularly in that the $383 billion package goes over the $350 billion cap established by GOP moderate George Voinovich. Can the Dems mount a last stand?
Read Their Lips.
With the Dubya dividend debacle virtually a done deal, the Democratic field rethinks their election strategies in lieu of the Bush tax cuts. Given the inroads Dubya’s making into Dem territory (well, at least according to Fox News), hopefully Kerry, Edwards, Dean & co. will realize the only way to play it is straight – the tax cuts are a horrible idea and they need to be repealed.
McCain-Feingold Mulligan.
In suspending their recent convoluted ruling on McCain-Feingold today until the Supreme Court has a go, the DC District Court once again puts a halt to soft money fundraising for the time-being. No word yet if this stay will accelerate the timetable for the Supremes hearing the case.
Here Comes the Judge.
With talk of Supreme Court vacancies opening up over the summer, the Post sits down with White House counsel (and prime contender) Alberto Gonzales. Good to hear that private sources find him “insufficiently conservative”…there might still be hope for the guy. In related news, Jeffrey Toobin surveys the judicial confirmation battlefield for the New Yorker.