PERRspectives: February 2006 Archives

February 2006 Archives

	Bush, Dubai and the Ties That Bind I tend to agree with Kevin Drum over at the Washington Monthly that the Dubai port deal is not necessarily the grave and gathering security risk its opponents decry. (The shocking political tone-deafness is another matter altogether.) But it certainly smells bad, in no small part because of the cronyism and close ties the Bush White House - and family -have to Dubai Ports World and the government of the UAE. As has been reported previously, the Bush team is... more Posted on February 28, 2006 \| Comments (4)

	GOP Scandals Converge in Texas Redistricting Case On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that brings together three simmering Republican scandals. The GOP's unprecedented Congressional gerrymandering, Tom Delay's ethical failings and the Department of Justice's gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 will be among the story lines as the Roberts Court takes on the 2003 Texas redistricting cases. On its face, the Texas cases concern the constitutionality of a new Congressional district map put in place by Texas Republicans in 2003. Coming only... more Posted on February 27, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Hammer Time: Texas GOP Sends IRS After Delay Foe Two years ago, I wrote about the "Payback Principle" as one of the hallmarks of the Bush presidency. As it turns out, declaring total war to smear, intimidate, defame and destroy political opponents is common practice within the Texas GOP. That's what Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) found out when a Tom Delay ally in Congress triggered an IRS audit of the non-profit. As the Washington Post reported today, the IRS cleared Texans for Public Justice after an audit commenced... more Posted on February 27, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	From Bad to Worse for Katherine Harris Things just keep going from bad to worse for Katherine Harris. The GOP's 2000 Florida recount heroine is facing almost certain defeat in her upcoming 2006 Senate race, a campaign her one-time Republican backers in DC pulled out all the stops to prevent. Now comes the news that Harris accepted $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions from Duke Cunningham's bagman, Mitchell Wade of defense contractor MZM. Michael Crowley in The New Republic details Harris' fall from grace among national Republicans. Celebrated... more Posted on February 25, 2006 \| Comments (4)

	Perrspectives at Harvard Larry Summers may be out at Harvard, but it appears Perrspectives is in. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my recent piece, "GM and the War on Labor," was on the required reading list for Economics 1812, a class on the U.S. labor market. The class, not surprisingly called "The U.S. Labor Market," also features readings from the Washington Post, the Detroit News and Bloomberg, as well as pieces from the Wharton School and economist Robert J. Samuelson. I... more Posted on February 22, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The Republicans' Constitutional Crisis When it comes to President Bush's illegal domestic spying program, his Republican allies over the last several days have shown that discretion is indeed the better part of valor. From the beginning, the administration's amen corner has aggressive claimed that the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) and the wartime Commander-in-Chief powers give President Bush the statutory and constitutional basis for sidestepping the FISA process for domestic electronic surveillance. But most in the GOP are downright sheepish... more Posted on February 20, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Presidents' Day Scandal Watch On this Presidents' Day, Washington and Lincoln must be spinning in their graves. While the government enjoys a day off, the Republican scandals enveloping the capitol continue to mushroom out of control. Among the lowlights: President Bush's allies in Congress are trying to block an inquiry into the illegal NSA domestic wiretapping program. Even as critics in his own party such as Lindsey Graham, Chuck Hegel and Arlen Specter question the legality of President Bush's NSA program, Intelligence Committee chairman... more Posted on February 20, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	The Cost of Don't Ask, Don't Tell Rarely is a precise price tag put on bigotry. But that's just what happened this week, when a University of California commission totaled the costs associated with the Pentagon's indefensible and staggeringly counterproductive "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding gays in the American military. That cost, according to the commission, is $369 million over 10 years, almost double the estimate originally offered by the Department of Defense. That shocking figure includes $79.3 million for recruitment of service members, $252.4 million... more Posted on February 17, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Courting Same-Sex Marriage Rights In Trenton on Wednesday, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments in the latest legal challenge to state prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Coming just weeks after a Baltimore Circuit Court struck down a 1973 Maryland statute barring same-sex couples from wedding, the New Jersey case reflects what may be the best strategy for pursuing equal marriage rights for all Americans. As Perrspectives argued back in 2004, considerations of federalism and separation of powers argue that same-sex marriage advocates' best recipe... more Posted on February 15, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	The Avenging Angel Blasts Cheney, Starr and Steele It's been a busy few days for the Avenging Angel, smiter of right-wing miscreants. First, Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele found out the hard way that you shouldn't get caught pretending to be a moderate. The African-American Senate hopeful angered Jewish voters with his comparison of stem cell research to the Holocaust. As the Baltimore Jewish Council learned last week, Steele doesn't know from Mengele. Just days later, Clinton Grand Inquisitor Ken Starr found himself in the spotlight last week... more Posted on February 13, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Just Say Noe to Thugs For those who have been following the ethical trials and travails of the GOP, the Buckeye State brings us the latest chapter of the Banana Republicans. Ohio Republican fundraiser extraordinaire Tom Noe, a Bush pioneer and close supporter of Governor Robert Taft, has been indicted on 53 new counts of stealing over $1 million from a dubious state investment in rare coins. These counts come on top of earlier charges of illegally funneling over $45,000 to President Bush's 2004 reelection... more Posted on February 13, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	Playing Dumb: Bush on Abramoff, Lay and Libby Facing increasing pressure over his ties to convicted Republican uber lobbyist Jack Abramoff, George W. Bush is doing what comes naturally: playing dumb. And why not? It worked for him with Ken Lay and the Valerie Plame leak. On January 26th, President Bush denied any relationship with Abramoff, a "Pioneeer" who raised over $100,000 for his reelection campaign: "You know, I, frankly, don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him." Sadly for the President,... more Posted on February 9, 2006 \| Comments (2)

	The White House Flip-Flops on NSA Program Oversight President Bush has flip-flopped once again. Just 24 hours after Vice President Cheney firmly declared the administration would not more broadly share information with key Congressional committee members regarding Bush's NSA domestic spying program, the White House reversed course - sort of. The seeds of the turnabout were sown with yesterday's challenge from House Intelligence Committee member, Republican Heather Wilson of New Mexico. Wilson, who is also one of the few House GOP members to return contributions from Tom Delay's... more Posted on February 8, 2006 \| Comments (0)

	The GOP's "Give Me Death" Defense on Domestic Spying During a break in the Senate testimony by Attorney General Gonzales this morning, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions resorted to the now standard Republican defense of President Bush's illegal domestic spying program. Call it the "Give Me Death" strategy. During brief comments to the press, Sessions referring to the rightness of Bush's domestic spying after 9/11 declared melodramatically: "Over 3,000 Americans have no civil rights because they are no longer with us." The Republican leadership is singing from the same Karl... more Posted on February 6, 2006 \| Comments (3)

	Dishonoring Mrs. King In Atlanta this weekend, thousands braved unusually cold weather to pay their final respects to Coretta Scott King, who lay in state at the Georgia Capitol. That honor, withheld from her slain husband in 1968 by the legendary racist Governor Lester Maddox, comes as a bitter irony. For it was in the same Georgia Capitol only days before that the GOP-controlled legislature passed and Republican Governor Sonny Perdue signed a restrictive new voter ID card program designed to suppress minority... more Posted on February 5, 2006 \| Comments (9)

	CPAC 2006: Republican Party Animals Just in time for Lincoln's birthday, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will arrive in Washington. Next Thursday, February 9th, hundreds of right-wing activists, high-profile Republican politicians and conservative groups of all stripes will descend on the capital to give lie to the Great Emancipator's words, "with malice toward none; with charity for all." The CPAC 2006 speakers include Vice President Cheney, whose scheduled remarks are said to include a primer on Senate floor etiquette. UN Ambassador John Bolton... more Posted on February 2, 2006 \| Comments (1)

	Top 10 GOP Sound Bites: SOTU Edition With the NSA domestic spying scandal and Pesident Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address, the past week has seen another shake-up in the Top 10 GOP Sound Bites. Jumping to the top of the charts is the hard rocking smash hit, George W. Bush's "Terrorist Surveillance Program." Another cut from that same broken record, Karl Rove's "Pre-9/11 Mindset," vaulted to the #3 in the rankings. Still strong in second place is Scott McClellan's lyrical magic, "Ongoing Investigation." Dropping off... more Posted on February 1, 2006 \| Comments (4)