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Chris Hedges
$20.00
By Lynne Joiner
$27.32
$23
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The troubles of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have endangered one of the Democratic Party’s safest U.S. Senate seats.
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By Eugene Robinson — Despite the popular myth, lemmings don’t really hurl themselves off a cliff to reduce their numbers. That sort of behavior is seen only among Republicans in the Senate, who gave us a demonstration when they torpedoed legislation to bail out the auto industry.
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Flickr / jburwen
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How many Illinois state House members voted Monday to begin impeachment proceedings against Gov. Rod Blagojevich? 113. How many Illinois state House members are there? 113. But in a twist, the governor retains the power to name Barack Obama’s successor, although the U.S. Senate has no intention of recognizing a Blagojevich appointee.
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AP photo / Rex Arbogast
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What’s it going to take to oust scandal-ridden Rod Blagojevich from his position as Illinois’ governor? Impeachment? A forklift? State Attorney General Lisa Madigan doesn’t want to waste any more time and is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to help by finding Blagojevich unfit to serve.
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AP photo / Rick Browmer
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Read the devastating bipartisan report from the Senate Armed Services Committee that indicts high-level Bush administration officials—including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld—as bearing major responsibility for the torture at Abu Gharib, Guantanamo, and other detention facilities.
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By Eugene Robinson — Obama’s statements in the Blagojevich case have been cautious and precise. For most politicians, that would be good enough. For the man who inspired the nation with a promise of “change we can believe in,” it’s not.
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A bipartisan report released by Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain blames former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other high-level officials for interrogation abuses. Based on an 18-month investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the report determined that prisoner abuse “was not simply the result of a few soldiers acting on their own,” as the administration has claimed.
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By Marie Cocco — How can Democrats, who ridiculed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as an inexperienced political wannabe, now embrace the idea of elevating Caroline Kennedy—who hasn’t served a day in public office—to Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat?
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newsblogs.chicagotribune.com
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For three years, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been under scrutiny by federal investigators on the lookout for signs of corruption, and on Tuesday Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested.
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AP photo / Rick Bowmer
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By Bill Boyarsky — With unemployment soaring, the need grows daily for guaranteed health care. But that may not happen in the coming year because of the desperate need to revive the economy and put people to work.
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Flickr / Franco Folini
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As congressional leaders, the White House and President-elect Obama came to terms with a $15-billion loan package for the auto industry, Sen. Chris Dodd suggested Sunday that not all executives should stick around to spend that money. GM CEO Rick Wagoner “has to move on,” the senator declared on “Face the Nation.”
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By David Sirota — A month after Barack Obama’s triumphant victory, we are still celebrating America’s only authentic national religion, and it isn’t Christianity—it’s presidentialism.
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Collage: US Census / the-isb.com
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In case you haven’t been following Al Franken’s fortunes in Minnesota’s ongoing recount, here’s a brief recap: He was down, but not by much, then down by less and, a little later, even less, then he claimed to be up, but now it looks like he’s down again, but not by much. Confused? You’re not alone.
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Flickr / Savannah Grandfather
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Saxby “Big Daddy” Chambliss has successfully defended his U.S. Senate seat against rival and fraternity brother Jim Martin. After a close contest in the general election, the two were forced into a runoff Tuesday, which Chambliss won handily.
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Flickr / SteelCityHobbies
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — The auto industry bailout would have no chance of passing without the muscle of the Big Three’s unionized work force. Yet you can’t turn around without hearing someone trash autoworkers for the terrible crime of trying to earn a decent living.
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USAF / Staff Sgt. Maria L. Taylor
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Still locked in a bitter recount battle for the right to represent Minnesota in the upper house, Al Franken’s lawyer says he might take the matter directly to the U.S. Senate, which the Constitution allows to be the “Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.”
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minnesota.publicradio.org
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Minnesota’s ballot showdown is underway as Al Franken and Norm Coleman’s contest for the U.S. Senate comes down to a recount and voter intent. Minnesota Public Radio has decided not to let the campaigns have all the fun of chucking (or un-chucking) ballots. Now you can, too!
Posted on Nov 20, 2008
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By Marie Cocco — It is time to stop kidding ourselves. This wasn’t a breakthrough year for American women in politics. It was a brutal one.
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By Ellen Goodman — Sen. Robert Byrd, 91, announced that he will give up the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee to Sen. Daniel Inouye, 84. The torch has passed to a new generation.
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Those famous “multiple Democratic sources close to the transition” have revealed three more members of Barack Obama’s Cabinet: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as secretary of health and human services, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as chief of homeland security and Obama’s billionaire buddy and top fundraiser Penny Pritzker to head the Commerce Department. Update: Pritzker is out.
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Flickr / marcn
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Sen. Ted Kennedy has asked Sen. Hillary Clinton to take up an important post shaping landmark health care legislation. The offer comes as Clinton reportedly weighs continuing her work in the Senate against joining Barack Obama’s administration as secretary of state.
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senate.gov
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Ted Stevens will not be returning to work in the Senate after surviving there longer than any Republican ever. The convicted felon lost his re-election battle with Democrat Mark Begich by a few thousand votes after leading on election night. The news came on Stevens’ 85th birthday.
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Sen. Joe Lieberman is back in the Democratic fold—sort of. Sen. Harry Reid explained the outcome of his party’s huddle on Lieberman’s future role, and Lieberman expressed his relief, in a press briefing on Tuesday.
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Flickr / SteelCityHobbies
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The chief executives of the Big Three American car companies head to Washington Tuesday along with the head of the United Auto Workers to beg Congress for a bailout that seems less and less probable.
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By David Sirota — Bush reportedly suggested to Obama he might support an economic stimulus package and aid to struggling automakers if Democrats drop their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia. Strange behavior? Yes and no.
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senate.gov and Flickr / aflcio2008
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While Minnesota gets ready for a recount, it looks like one way or another the state’s U.S. Senate race will be decided in court. With bad memories of Florida, Al Franken and Norm Coleman’s campaigns are already arguing about whose vote should count and why.
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As Alaska election officials continue to count ballots, Democrat Mark Begich has gone from roughly 3,000 votes down to a lead of about 800. His rival, convicted felon and “series of tubes” prophet Sen. Ted Stevens, will likely be expelled from the U.S. Senate if he somehow wins.
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By Joe Conason — Is there enough muscle behind the GOP filibuster threat to block Obama’s mandate? The short answer is no—and the new president’s own political arsenal should enable him to call the Republican bluff.
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By Ellen Goodman — Have you ever seen a transformation this fast? Think of it as evolution on steroids. But don’t think Sarah Palin will go quietly into that good Arctic night.
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realcities.com
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Having suggested that fellow Minnesotan Al Franken should concede defeat earlier in the week, Norm Coleman was keeping mum by Friday afternoon, when it was discovered that Franken was trailing his Republican rival for the U.S. Senate by only 238 votes.
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Flickr / Lieberman 2006
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Time’s political sage offers the thorniest of olive branches to the Connecticut senator, who, he writes, “has been a flagrantly dreadful public figure these past two years.”
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By David Sirota — Obama and the rest of the party should retire the Innocent Bystander Fable—the myth about being powerless onlookers.
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Wikimedia Commons / Lokal_Profil
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The Democrats fell short in their quest for 60 U.S. Senate seats, but the race isn’t quite over. After a fierce battle in the politically fascinating state of Oregon, Democratic usurper Jeff Merkley has been projected by The Oregonian to defeat Sen. Gordon Smith. That leaves Minnesota and Georgia. Update
Posted on Nov 6, 2008
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By Marie Cocco — Republicans will try to tie memories of Jimmy Carter to the new Democratic president by conjuring up disturbing visions of policy failure and “malaise.”
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publicradio.org
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A razor-thin margin in the contest for a Minnesota Senate seat between comedian Al Franken, the Democrat, and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman will trigger an automatic recount that is likely to stretch into December.
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AP photo / Al Grillo
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By G.W. Schulz, Center for Investigative Reporting —
When Sarah Palin brags about the self-reliance of her state, she doesn’t mention the mobile command communications vehicle, bought with federal dollars to help keep her home town of 7,028 safe from terrorism. Thanks in part to an anti-terrorism bonanza, Alaska is one of the greatest per-capita beneficiaries of federal funding among the 50 states.
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inkycircus.com
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A Diebold voting machine with the ironic name of “AccuVote” was impounded after a voter in Colorado’s Adams County noticed that the machine wouldn’t take a vote for a Democratic state Senate candidate. Luckily, the ever-vigilant Brad Blog is on the case.
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By Marie Cocco — For a steel sculpture of migrating salmon, amongst other goodies, Ted Stevens—one of the lions of the Senate—was willing to forfeit the kingdom.
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Flickr / Svadilfari
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Not everyone is feeling the credit crunch: The DNC is borrowing $10 million to spend on Senate and House races. Encouraged by polls, the party wants to win as many seats as possible before the public stops hating on the GOP.
Posted on Oct 28, 2008
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senate.gov
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Even as his conviction has politicos rethinking Senate filibuster math, Ted Stevens of Alaska says he’ll fight the verdict and continue campaigning for re-election. It’s not all bad news for the longest serving Senate Republican—and you really can’t make this up—the Senate doesn’t ban convicted felons.
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senate.gov
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Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, has been convicted on seven counts of lying about gifts he received while in office. Unless he steps down, the Republican Party will be running a convicted felon for the Senate in the Nov. 4 election.
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AP photo / Jim Mone
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A couple of months ago, Al Franken’s U.S. Senate bid might have seemed like a long shot, even when it came to politics as (un)usual in his quirky home state of Minnesota. Now, victory may be within reach for the former “SNL” star in his race against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.
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By David Sirota — No Republican says aristocrat like Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon. And no Senate election could more intensely shift economic politics than his state’s.
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Flickr / Jeff Kubina
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It’s hard to get cell reception in an out-of-the-way place like Sedona, Ariz., but it helps if you sit on the Senate committee that oversees the telecommunications industry. The Washington Post has learned that AT&T and Verizon, both of which have lobbying ties to the McCain campaign, provided cell towers for the McCains’ ranch at no charge to the couple.
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By David Sirota — Is Henry Paulson a crony communist or a businessman? The answer could be the difference between economic disaster and recovery.
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During the first presidential debate, John McCain gave a high-profile shout-out: “I suggest that people go up on the Web site of Citizens Against Government Waste, and they’ll look at those projects.” The group quickly returned the favor—its political action committee is calling McCain a “taxpayer hero” in TV ads airing over the next two weeks in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
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AP photo / Susan Walsh
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By Chris Hedges — The passing of the $850-billion bailout pulled the plug on the New Deal. The Great Society is now gasping for air, mortally wounded, coughing up blood. It will not recover. It was murdered by the Democratic Party.
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commons.wikimedia.org
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The Bloomberg news service counts 10 lawmakers who may be ready to switch their votes when the bailout proposal takes another run at the House of Representatives. The original measure failed by only 23 votes and has since been substantially fattened by the Senate.
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npr.org
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And to think that anyone thought James Dobson would sit out this presidential race. The Christian right leader and his advocacy group, Focus on the Family Action, are planning a multistate strategy to help elect McCain, and to prevent Democratic gains in Congress while they’re at it.
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