Trick or Treat?—It’s fitting that it was Halloween when Senate Democrats held a secret meeting and hatched their plan to temporarily shut down the Senate so that the decision to go to war in Iraq could be fully examined, as promised. The invocation of the arcane “Rule 21” on November 1 surprised virtually everyone, not […]

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Banana Republic—Forget John Kerry; it’s House Republicans who are perfecting the art of the flip-flop—especially when it comes to holding open crucial floor votes for indefinite periods so they can twist arms and get their wavering soldiers to switch votes. The Medicare reform vote in 2003 lasted three hours in the dead of night, instead […]

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The commission that investigated the events of 9/11 has been highly praised and sharply criticized, but one aspect of its task has virtually escaped notice: its responsibility to leave behind a complete, lasting, and easily accessible public record of its investigation. For all the good work that the panel did, some of its decisions have […]

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With his nomination of Harriet Miers to be a Justice of the Supreme Court, George W. Bush has demonstrated once again that he is running a patronage operation in the White House. For high-level jobs with our government, only close friends or fellow ideologues need apply. The result of this mindless favoritism has been a […]

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Meet Madam Justice—Does Bush know something his conservative base doesn’t about Harriet Miers? He must, considering the outcry that has accompanied his pick to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Following the announcement, Bush’s choice was met with a firestorm of disapproval, this time from his supporters. They wanted another Scalia or Thomas. […]

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