National Republicans
What Would Jesus Do?
At Christmas, I want to reflect on the Christian example being set by Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. He’s a Republican who wants to be the Christian Right candidate for President. Brownback had held up the confirmation of a federal judge because the nominee – horror of horrors! – had attended a same-sex commitment ceremony.…
Read MoreBackward, March!
News reports suggest that President Bush may overrule military commanders and order more American troops into Baghdad. Which makes sense. After all, he and Rumsfeld overruled military commanders and sent fewer troops when the war started. So at least he’s consistent in ignoring military advice. If Bill Clinton had done this, Republicans would have started…
Read MoreUnseating Liddy Dole
Democrats nationally and in North Carolina are zeroing in on Senator Dole in 2008. She is vulnerable â to the right opponent. Beating an incumbent Senator is tough. I learned that working for Jim Hunt against Jesse Helms in 1984 and for John Edwards against Lauch Faircloth in 1998. Democrats need a tough, well-funded opponent…
Read MoreBush’s Other Foreign Policy Disaster
Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” He was right. George W. Bush said he looked into Vladimar Putin’s soul and saw a man he could trust. He was wrong. One side effect of Bush’s Iraq disaster is his lack of attention to what’s happening in Putin’s Russia: murder, war crimes and growing…
Read MoreThe Most Powerful Man in America?
No, it’s not George Bush. Not even Dick Cheney. Or Harry Reid. Or a woman – Nancy Pelosi. How about Mike Rounds? Who? Rounds is the Republican Governor of South Dakota. He could end up with the power to put Republicans back in charge of the Senate if the ailing Senator Tim Johnson can’t serve.…
Read MoreThe Republican Dam Breaks
Presidents should know they’re in political trouble when members of their own party break with them, especially U.S. Senators. That has happened now on Iraq. The Republican Senator is Gordon Smith from Oregon. CNN quoted Smith – “in an emotional speech on the Senate floor” last week – as saying the U.S. military’s “tactics have…
Read MoreLook at Me, I’m Harry Truman
Here’s how you can tell how much trouble George Bush is in because of Iraq: he’s comparing himself to Harry Truman. I always know a Democratic candidate is doomed when he starts comparing his race to Truman’s upset over Dewey in 1948. It’s a sure sign of sheer desperation. Now Bush is comparing his place…
Read MoreElizabeth Dole’s Tough Three Weeks
Politics is odd but Elizabeth Dole must feel the world turned upside down in the three weeks after the election. The Sunday before the election she was on TV defending Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, saying he didn’t need to resign. Three days later President Bush fired Rumsfeld. Senator Dole was also Chairman of the Republican…
Read MoreA New Bipartisanship?
It sounded like love in bloom on the cable political shows last night. Democrats and Republicans alike were talking about a new era of cooperation. Bush and Pelosi were making nice. The pundits pontificated about how the politicians of both parties had heard the voters’ yearning for partnership to replace partisanship. As Jon Stewart would…
Read MoreBush’s Fast Footwork
George Bush ran a terrible midterm campaign, but he made a fast recovery the day after the election by dumping Rumsfeld. He stole the cable headlines and the front pages from Nancy Pelosi. In 1994, President Clinton stumbled and staggered for weeks while Newt Gingrich dominated the news. Bush was savvy enough to avoid that…
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