The Hagel vote

The Republicans successfully blocked Senator Hagel’s nomination to the post of Secretary of Defense today. Why’d they do that? Brian Beutler argues that it’s more about the sanctity of Senatorial prerogatives, specifically the right to place a “hold” on a candidate for any reason at all, than it is about Hagel specifically. It’s highly unusual …

Continue reading ‘The Hagel vote’ »

Alas, poor Rubio

In my view, Marco Rubio’s response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night was just warmed-over Republican dogma in a newer package, a Latino cynically calculated to solve all the party’s problems with the Hispanic voters in the country. It’s counter-intuitive, but maybe the GOP should be happy about the water bottle …

Continue reading ‘Alas, poor Rubio’ »

The Republican Party in all its splendor

So the Prez is gonna give his State of the Union address this evening, and in the audience as an invited guest of a crazed Republican legislator named Steve Stockman, who hails from the Houston suburbs, is noted gun enthusiast, draft-dodger, and former rock musician Ted Nugent. Nugent’s previously made threats against President Obama, threats …

Continue reading ‘The Republican Party in all its splendor’ »