Author: Bill Scher

Midnight tomorrow is the deadline to submit a nomination for the second annual Maria Leavey Tribute Award, to be announced at Take Back America 2008, convening March 17th to 19th. This your chance to recognize an unsung progressive hero you know and have seen toiling behind the scenes to strengthen the progressive movement, without fuss…

As we\’ve said before, nothing that President Bush says in a State of the Union address can been taken at face value. But sometimes, there\’s import beneath the insincerity. And there is import in this line: \”And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth…

The Washington Post previews tonight\’s State of the Union address with this: For years, President Bush and his advisers expressed frustration that the White House received little credit for the nation\’s strong economic performance because of public discontent about the Iraq war. Today, the president is getting little credit for improved security in Iraq, as…

For the second week in a row, the Sunday shows ask a Watchdog question. But this week\’s victory is a little hollow. After Sen. John McCain lied to Tim Russert during Thursday\’s debate about his past comments admitting a lack of knowledge on economics, Russert did take the Watchdog\’s cue and confronted McCain on NBC\’s…

Tomorrow, the conservative minority in the House is expected to sustain President Bush\’s second veto of expanding the State Children\’s Health Insurance Program. SCHIP has already successfully provided health coverage to six million kids, but nine million more remained uninsured. The bipartisan compromise bill would extended coverage to four million more kids, and even that…

The Sunday shows score their first question for the Watchdog in 2008! Fox News Sunday\’s Chris Wallace did ask Mitt Romney about the federal lobbyists on his campaign team, despite his claim that he doesn\’t have any lobbyists running his campaign. Romney\’s response? \”There\’s no question in a campaign of 200 staff and probably 100…

Today\’s edition of Environment & Energy Daily (sub. req\’d) reports on a conference featuring the chief lobbyists for the fossil fuel industries. And they\’re in panic mode. While David Parker, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, noted \”general disagreement the energy industries have with the climate bill sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)…

National Review editor Rich Lowry, while trying to dismiss the potency of economic populism among middle-class Republican voters, offered this analysis of Mitt Romney\’s victory in Michigan and the limited appeal of Mike Huckabee: It turns out that anxious middle class voters don\’t cotton to a candidate whose economic policy consists almost entirely of attacking…

Conservatives appear confused what argument to make about the struggling economy: pander with newfound populism, make excuses for tax handouts to CEOs, and/or insist everything is going fine. Mitt Romney outpandered John McCain and Mike Huckabee in Michigan, finally winning with Republican voters earning less than $100,000. But it is far from clear that any…

Everyone\’s favorite Bush 2000 Flashback. From the 6/28/00 New York Times: Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude. \”I would work…