While a fierce battle over President Bush's "new way forward" in Iraq is being joined in the halls of Congress, an even more ferocious war of words is taking place to win the hearts and minds of the American people. Among Democrats, Republicans and the media at large, a rhetorical conflict to control the marketing […]

In Washington this week, the Democratic-controlled House takes on the first minimum wage increase since 1997. But while the federal government has blocked help for 13 million working Americans (9.8% of the workforce) for a decade, many states have already moved forward with their own minimum wage hikes. And as you might imagine, few of […]

President Bush is now scheduled to deliver his "new way forward" in Iraq in nationally televised address on Wednesday, January 9th at 9:00 EST. Ironically, Bush's coming strategy of "surge and purge" features troop increases he previously rejected, benchmarks for the Iraqis he hitherto scoffed at, cleansing the military leadership of the generals Bush once […]

Earlier today, I described President Bush's cynical and shameless plan to use the banner of "sacrifice" to market his coming call for a surge of U.S. forces in Iraq. Americans of all political stripes should view this clarion call for sacrifice as nothing less than an obscenity. Not just because the President's escalation supports no […]

In one of the least surprising revelations of the New Year, the BBC on Tuesday reported that President Bush's coming new Iraq strategy will feature his ill-advised "surge" of U.S. troops as its centerpiece. What is even less surprising is Bush's cynical plan to proclaim "sacrifice" as the theme of his address to the nation. […]

In the Washington Post this New Year's Day, former counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke has a compelling op-ed piece ("While You Were At War...") on the dangerous and rising opportunity costs of the Bush administration's Iraq fixation. In a nutshell, Clarke argues that while President Bush and the U.S. national security apparatus have been focused like […]

Out of Austin, Texas comes word that the president of the University of Texas is forming a panel to decide the fate of numerous campus statues depicting Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. President William Powers Jr. summarized the lingering controversy: "The whole range of options is on the table. A […]

As 2006 comes to a close, the Top 10 GOP Sound Bites chart has been turned upside down. In the wake of the Republicans' midterm election nightmare and the battering of the Iraq Study Group report, a bevy of GOP favorites have fallen off the list. Nowhere is the shake-up more evident than in the […]

Back in November, BlueOregon highlighted the key role played by Oregon's Gordon Smith in restoring Trent Lott to the Republican leadership in the Senate. Now, the December 18th issue of the New Republic offers the rich backstory on Smith's indispensable help in resurrecting the disgraced Lott at the expense of the milquetoast Tennessee Senator Lamar […]

In its December 18th issue, the New Republic offers a window into the soul of Kansas Republican Senator and 2008 White House hopeful Sam Brownback. Tracing Brownback's dual conversions from small government Gingrich acolyte to red meat culture warrior and from devout evangelical to Catholic firebrand, TNR ponders his presidential prospects. But Brownback's' new found […]