Tag: Congress

Voinovich Bolts.

“It’s a good guess that one of two things is going to happen in the coming days and weeks: Either Bolton goes down — or we start learning a lot of unpleasant things about Sen. George Voinovich.” (And, right now, it’s looking like the latter.) To his credit, Senator Voinovich (R-OH) follows his conscience and admits “real concern” about John Bolton, forcing the Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to forestall the vote on Bolton’s nomination. And, if Slate‘s Fred Kaplan is correct and Bolton has perjured himself, Dubya had better start warming up another right-wing freakshow for the post.

Morally Bankrupt, pt. II.

Even as the fundies rattle the leash, the House moves to placate the GOP’s real masters by approving the corporate-friendly bankruptcy bill 302-126. “Its passage by Congress is a victory for executives in the credit card, retail and auto financing industries who have pushed it for nearly a decade.” But, not to worry, y’all — the base is protected: The bill “preserve[s] loopholes that enable wealthy individuals who file for bankruptcy to shield unlimited amounts of money in complex trusts and in multimillion-dollar homes in states including Texas and Florida.”

Two Suns in the Sunset.

“‘I think Senator Frist has backed himself into a corner where I don’t see how he can avoid pulling the nuclear trigger,’ said Charlie Cook, editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.” According to the WP and various lookers-on, the Senate Majority Leader is “all but certain” to go nuclear on the question of judicial filibusters in the next few weeks, mainly so he can shore up his possible presidential candidacy with freak-show conservatives. In addition, his nascent 2008 bid also explains why Catkiller has chosen to appear on a forthcoming fundie telecast that claims Democrats are “against people of faith.” That’s a low blow even from you, Senator…How dare you? Update: Election 2008 maneuvering heats up among the GOP as Frist’s allies go after John McCain for his apostasy on the nuclear option.

Plenty of time, no love or tenderness.

“In short, John Bolton came off as strikingly lacking in the credibility, values, and basic commitment that, especially these days, the job of U.N. ambassador requires.” Slate‘s Fred Kaplan, a frequent critic of Dubya’s freak show choice for UN ambassador, sizes up Bolton’s performance before the Senate today.

Momentum v. DeLay.

“Tom‘s conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election.” Calling Boss DeLay “an absolute embarrassment to me and the Republican Party,” moderate Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) calls for the Hammer’s removal. And even right-winger Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), forced to shore up his centrist cred for a tough 2006 reelection bid, now says DeLay has some questions to answer.

And here’s even more trouble for the Hammer: The investigatory noose is tightening around “Casino Jack” Abramoff, a sleazeball GOP lobbyist of the first order and one of DeLay “closest and dearest friends.” Can the DeLay Ring be saved? While the Dems may even want him around at this point, it doesn’t look like it, not with Dubya already suffering terrible poll numbers. “‘Within six months, Karl will force him out,’ a senior administration official from the first term says.“

Feeding Frenzy.

American Airlines is not alone. “‘Neither the House nor Senate offices responsible for keeping records on K Street’s activities have audit or investigative powers,’ said Roberta Baskin, the center’s executive director. ‘It is impossible, for example, to determine how many lobbyists there actually are in Washington.’” A report by the Center for Public Integrity finds that, while lobbying expenditures have doubled in the past six years, nobody in DC is minding the store.

Feeding the Beast.

Need a loan? Call American Airlines. By way of Drop the Hammer, a spokesman for the company rationalizes its $5000 donation to the Tom DeLay defense fund on the grounds that, despite laundering half a mill of PAC-money through his family over the past three years, the Hammer is “facing substantial legal bills that he was unable to pay personally because of their size and his limited resources.” Aw, shucks, how nice of ’em. It’s like something out of a Capra film, ain’t it? Hopefully, American will be equally generous to the 500 workers they just laid off in Kansas City.

By the way, if you haven’t been keeping up with Boss DeLay’s recent shenanigans, Lou Dubose offers a concise overview in today’s Salon, with further comment by David Paul Kuhn on the political fallout for the GOP and Joe Conason on previous DeLay family boondoggles.

From Russia with Cash.

Sorry, GOP’ers, you really should have dropped him when you had the chance. The WP unearths yet another lobbyist-financed boondoggle taken by the Hammer in recent years, while the NYT finds that Boss DeLay’s PAC has paid his wife and kid over $500,000 since 2001. Didn’t the 1994 Contract with America say something about restoring “accountability to Congress” and ending “its cycle of scandal and disgrace“? Well, if the Republican Party had any shred of credibility left, they’d start working on phasing out Tom DeLay immediately. But, sadly, no.

Update: DeLay’s response? “[I]t’s just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass me.” Nice. Liberal media or no, I’d say you’re doing a pretty bang-up job of embarrassing yourself, Tom. Unfortunately, you’re bringing down the country with you…so it’s time to go.