Among the revelations contained in the latest DOJ document dump is the central role of the Federalist Society in entrenching the permanent Republican majority among the ranks of the U.S. attorneys. As FireDogLake, ThinkProgress and others have reported, membership in the Federalist Society was crucial to a favorable ranking by the Gonzales team entrusted with […]

With Harry Reid's stem cell research bill headed to a Senate vote this week, Congressional Democrats and President Bush are on the brink of yet another confrontation. But while the White House is promising to repeat its 2006 veto, the ending can be different this time. All the Reid legislation needs is a name change […]

On Wednesday, former Wisconsin Governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson joined the increasingly crowded field in the 2008 Republican presidential race. But thanks to his enabling role in President Bush's Medicare prescription fiasco, Thompson's White House prospects were already dim even before last week's announcement. Like Michigan's John Engler and New Jersey's […]

Among the loyal hacks who permeate the Bush administration, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has been one of the most reliably banal. So when Chertoff described the threat to the United States from so-called "clean skin" terrorists, most liberal bloggers understandably assumed this was just the latest example of that brand of casual conservative racism […]

"Diversity" is one word that is rarely associated with the conservative movement in general and the Republican Party in particular. From immigration and affirmative action to redistricting and minority voting rights, the lily-white GOP and its amen corner advocate a monotone, melanin-free vision for America. But when it comes to efforts by Republicans Alberto Gonzales […]

Today's announcement that a Congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will meet with Syrian President Bashir Al-Assad during a four nation Middle East swing was sure to raise the ire of the White House. But because the bipartisan group includes the Muslim Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, the predictable conservative catcalls of treason are […]

In a surreal interview today with Alberto Gonzales, NBC's Pete Williams highlighted the shifting sands underneath the Attorney General's increasing untenable position. With a single question, Williams revealed Gonzales' Catch-22 in the firings of U.S. attorneys: he cannot claim to both have played no role in the evaluations of the fired attorneys and know that […]

When it comes to defending the criminal wrong-doing of the Bush administration, few Republicans in Congress circle the wagons better than Texas Senator John Cornyn. With the exploding scandal over the firings of U.S. attorneys threatening the White House, Cornyn has come to the assistance of fellow former Texas Supreme Court justice, Attorney General Alberto […]

Watching Republican Senator Arlen Specter challenge Bush administration wrong-doing is like witnessing a failed rocket launch. After the initial furious explosion of hot air, Specter almost immediately loses momentum and never breaks the dark gravitational pull of planet Bush. Specter's performance Thursday during the Senate Judiciary Committee's debate over issuing White House subpoenas in the […]

Perrspectives is pleased to announce the winners of the "Sentence Scooter Contest." Two weeks ago, we asked readers to provide a fitting sentence for Mr. Libby, Dick Cheney's former chief of staff convicted on four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. And what could be more […]