July 1, 2009
Franken Wins (Bill Press)
It only took 239 days, but Al Franken is finally and officially the new Democratic senator from Minnesota.
And now comes the moment of truth for Senate Democrats: Are they willing and able to lead?
For too long, Democrats have been hiding behind the lame excuse that they needed 60 votes to get anything done in the Senate.
Of course, that was not true. But that flimsy excuse no longer exists. Now, in fact, there are no more excuses. With Al Franken, Democrats have 60 votes. They’ve got the power. And they’ve got the support of the American people. > Read More
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What's This June 24, 2009
Sanford: Missing in Action (Bill Press)
First rule politicians must learn: When somebody tells you, “Go take a hike!” — don’t take it literally!
Obviously, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford never learned that lesson. He disappeared last Thursday from Columbia, the state capital — and nobody heard from him for the next five days.
Nobody even knew where he was: not his staff; not the lieutenant governor; not even his wife and kids. He didn’t tell them where he was going. He didn’t tell them where he was. He didn’t tell them whom he was with. He didn’t call once. He didn’t even call his wife or kids on Father’s Day. > Read More
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What's This June 23, 2009
Public Plan Option Wins by Landslide (Bill Press)
The votes are in and counted, and the winner is …
No, I’m not talking about the election in Iran. I’m talking about the latest New York Times/CBS poll on healthcare. Which contains some very interesting results.
Does our existing healthcare system need fixing? Eighty-five percent of Americans say yes!
Which party do you trust to do the job? Fifty-seven percent say the Democratic Party. Only 18 percent trust Republicans. > Read More
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What's This June 17, 2009
Ensign Should Swallow His Own Medicine (Bill Press)
“Did you hear the news? John Ensign’s changing political parties — because he’s already acting like a Democrat!”
That’s the joke going around the White House press corps. Yes, it’s funny, but it’s not true! Not anymore.
Democrats no longer have a monopoly on sex scandals. In fact — when you add up Newt Gingrich, Bob Baumann, Henry Hyde, Dan Burton, Bob Packwood, Bob Livingston, Mark Foley, Ken Calvert, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Rudy Giuliani and others — Republicans are far ahead of Democrats in the cheating game. > Read More
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What's This June 10, 2009
Stop Whining About Sotomayor (Bill Press)
Senate Republicans are turning everybody off with all their whining about the timetable for Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings.
No sooner had Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) set July 13 as the date for her first hearing than Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) started sobbing about needing more time. “We’d have to read 76 cases a day to review her entire judicial record by that date,” they complained. > Read More
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What's This June 9, 2009
Bill O’Reilly Finally Exposed (Bill Press)
The big media shootout is over, and the final score is: CNN 1; Bill O’Reilly 0.
In case you missed it, the shootout kicked off when O’Reilly and other Fox News anchors started spreading the outrageous claim that CNN gave massive coverage to the murder, in church, of Dr. George Tiller, but zero coverage to the murder in Arkansas of Army recruiter William Long.
Using talking points no doubt provided by the Republican National Committee, O’Reilly told his viewers that “all day long,” CNN anchors had ignored Long’s murder until Anderson Cooper’s 10 p.m. broadcast. This proved the “liberal bias” of CNN, O’Reilly charged. They care more about abortion doctors than members of the military.
The only problem: It wasn’t true. Not even close. > Read More
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What's This May 27, 2009
Parting Shot (Bill Press)
I was in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday when President Obama announced his choice to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.
She is Judge Sonia Sotomayor, whom the president called an “inspiring woman” who proves that “no dream is beyond the reach of any American.”
First, and most importantly, she is eminently qualified for the Supreme Court. She was both a district attorney and corporate litigator. She was named to the federal bench by the first President Bush, and elevated to the Appeals Court by President Clinton. She’s already been confirmed by the Senate twice. > Read More
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What's This May 20, 2009
Republicans Outfox Democrats on Gitmo (Bill Press)
In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama delivered on his campaign promise to shut down our military prison at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay, giving the Pentagon a year, until January 2010, to come up with a plan for closing the facility and transferring the remaining 240 prisoners.
But, suddenly, Senate Democrats have joined Senate Republicans in undermining his decision. Because, they say, they don’t want “terrorists” on American soil. From both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, anguished politicians are pleading: “Please, Mr. President, don’t send those dangerous terrorists to my home state, or my congressional district.” > Read More
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What's This May 15, 2009
You Can’t Blame Pelosi for Torture (Bill Press)
In a classic “change the subject” ploy, Republicans are trying to blame the whole torture scandal on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). But I think people are smart enough to recognize this for what it is: a giant, deliberate, cynical distraction.
True, Pelosi was once the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. And, as such, she was one of four congressional leaders briefed by the CIA on the interrogation of prisoners. > Read More
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What's This May 14, 2009
Why Cover Up for Bush and Cheney? (Bill Press)
After promising transparency in his administration, and after promising to release whatever evidence a court ordered, President Obama has suddenly reversed course and decided to fight the release of photos of prisoners tortured inside American military camps in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama said he would challenge a federal court order because release of the photos would only “inflame anti-American opinion.” The White House also cited fears expressed by military commanders that publication of the photos would further endanger our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. > Read More
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