Mitt Romney

CHART: How Romney's Tax Rate Stacks Up To Recent Presidential Candidates'

Brian Beutler | January 30, 2012, 5:27AM

Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann.

When Mitt Romney tries to avoid scrutiny for his exceptionally low effective tax rate by noting that, in absolute terms, he's paying "a lot" in taxes, he won't be fooling most of his political colleagues. It takes a special kind of affluence to reduce one's tax burden so dramatically. And despite their significant wealth most recent Presidential candidates have paid significantly more in taxes as a percentage of their incomes in the year (or two) before their campaign.

The exception is John Kerry. Though Kerry himself had a modest income (for a politician) his wife, Teresa Heinz, comes from great wealth and, like Romney, made millions in investment income in 2003 -- the year she and he both released their tax returns. Together, their effective tax rate was a bit lower than Mitt and Ann Romney paid in 2010.

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Barack Obama

GOP Furious As Obama Recess Appoints Cordray

Brian Beutler | January 4, 2012, 11:23AM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) conducts a news conference along with fellow GOP members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2011.

No surprise here. Top Republicans are ripping President Obama's decision to recess appoint his top consumer watchdog, Richard Cordray.

"Although the Senate is not in recess, President Obama, in an unprecedented move, has arrogantly circumvented the American people by 'recess' appointing Richard Cordray as director of the new CFPB," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an official statement. "This recess appointment represents a sharp departure from a long-standing precedent that has limited the President to recess appointments only when the Senate is in a recess of 10 days or longer. Breaking from this precedent lands this appointee in uncertain legal territory, threatens the confirmation process and fundamentally endangers the Congress's role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch."

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Super Committee

Republican Acknowledges GOP Pushed Ryan Plan In Super Committee Negotiations

Brian Beutler | November 22, 2011, 12:34PM

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)

If you're having a hard time buying that one party was more reasonable than another in the Super Committee negotiations, read Republican co-chair Jeb Hensarling's obituary for the panel in the Wall Street Journal. Specifically, check out this part about the GOP's big ask:

Democrats on the committee made it clear that the new spending called for in the president's health law was off the table. Still, committee Republicans offered to negotiate a plan on the other two health-care entitlements--Medicare and Medicaid--based upon the reforms included in the budget the House passed earlier this year....

Republicans on the committee also offered to negotiate a plan based on the bipartisan "Protect Medicare Act" authored by Alice Rivlin, one of President Bill Clinton's budget directors, and Pete Domenici, a former Republican senator from New Mexico. Rivlin-Domenici offered financial support to seniors to purchase quality, affordable health coverage in Medicare-approved plans. These seniors would be able to choose from a list of Medicare-guaranteed coverage options, similar to the House budget's approach--except that Rivlin-Domenici would continue to include a traditional Medicare fee-for-service plan among the options.

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Balanced Budget Amendment

Despite Packed Agenda, Congress Returns To Radical Balanced Budget Amendment

Brian Beutler | November 14, 2011, 6:01AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Houser Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Congress is busy. It has to extend federal funding for all federal agencies before November 18, or else the government will shut down, and the deficit Super Committee has to recommend a big package of budget cuts to the House and Senate by November 23, or set in motion dramatic automatic spending cuts to defense programs and Medicare providers. But it's still suffering a hangover from the debt limit fight. And so this week House GOP leaders will fulfill one of the terms of the debt limit law, and appease some conservatives, by holding a vote on a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment.

There's a bit of a strife among Republicans -- and even among some Democrats -- over the details of such an amendment. But almost any version would constitute a radical policy shift for the country, and threaten key safety net programs as the country ages and the cost of health care soars. It would lead to dramatic swings in U.S. fiscal policy, and at a time of high unemployment, would cost the economy dearly.

Don't believe me, here's what analysts at Macroeconomic Advisers said about it.

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Condoleezza Rice

Qaddafi Wrote Song For Rice: 'Black Flower in the White House'

Susan Crabtree | October 26, 2011, 10:35AM

In what may well be the most awkward personal moment in U.S. diplomatic history, in her new memoir Condoleezza Rice recalls a creepy 2008 meeting with then-Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi that ended with Qaddafi showing her photos of herself he had collected and a serenade of a song he had a famous Libyan composer write for her.

Rice's reaction? Run away, run away!!

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CBO

CHARTS OF THE DAY: Where'd All The Income Growth Go? To The 1 percent!

Brian Beutler | October 25, 2011, 3:47PM

At the request of the Senate Finance Committee, the Congressional Budget Office has produced a report analyzing trends in the distribution of household income from 1979 until 2007 -- just before the economy fell off a cliff.

The results will be familiar to economists and policy wonks, but they're eye-popping. These charts and graphs tell a story of a massive income growth in the Reagan and post-Reagan years, and particularly during the George W. Bush administration -- but only for the famous 1 percenters.

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Occupy Wall Street

CHART OF THE DAY: The '47 Percent' Pay Their Fair Share

Brian Beutler | October 21, 2011, 6:03AM

Conservatives are continuing their counter-protest against the so-called "47 percent." Specifically, that's the share of recession-era households that pay no federal income taxes. Most of them pay payroll taxes and other federal taxes (not to mention state taxes), but Republicans have chosen to depict them as the free-riding half of the country.

The fact of the matter, though, is that those other taxes constitute a huge chunk of federal revenues. Check out the charts below. Over the 58 years preceding the Lesser Depression, the share of federal revenues that came from individual income taxes has remained fairly stable, fluctuating between 40 and 50 percent, and peaking just before George W. Bush slashed rates in 2001.

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Barack Obama

How The U.S. Came To Fight The Lord's Resistance Army

Thomas Lane | October 17, 2011, 5:58AM

Soldiers from the Lord's Resistance Army

Rush Limbaugh's reaction to the news that President Obama was sending 100 combat-ready troops to help fight the Lord's Resistance Army was probably similar to that of many Americans.

Speaking on his radio show last Friday, shortly after the President's letter informing Congress of the deployment had been released, the right wing talk show host did a mini-straw poll among his callers.

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Barack Obama

Just The Facts: Republicans Falsely Claim Obama Seeks Biggest Tax Hike In History

Brian Beutler | September 29, 2011, 11:19AM

President Barack Obama

After President Obama unveiled his jobs and deficit reduction plans, he took to the road to draw a contrast between himself and the Republican politicians who want to end his political career. Obama's proposes to spend money now on hiring people and cutting taxes temporarily to spur further job growth, and pay for it in just over a year, in large part by raising taxes on wealthy Americans.

The Republican vision -- phasing out safety net programs like Medicare in order to maintain low tax rates on the same group of affluent people -- is far less popular. So in their own tried and true way, Republicans recast Obama's plan for "shared sacrifice" as "the largest tax increase in history."

What a difference! But also untrue.

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Environment

Obama Smog Decision Will Leave In Place 'Legally Indefensible' Environmental Standard

Brian Beutler | September 2, 2011, 12:42PM

Image From Pichugin Dmitry / Shutterstock

President Obama pulled the plug Friday on a long-delayed environmental regulation that would have further limited industrial smog emissions, leaving in place an ozone standard that EPA administrator Lisa Jackson recently described as "legally indefensible." The development most likely means smog standards in many states will remain lower than they would have been if President George W. Bush's lax policy had been fully pursued.

The proposed limits have been under assault by congressional Republicans and the business community for months. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently called it "possibly the most harmful of all the currently anticipated Obama Administration regulations."

Obama's decision comes the same day new employment figures show the economy created zero net jobs in August.

What was the regulation, and what does it mean now that it's been scotched? In short, it means Bush-era smog standards, declared inadequate by government science advisers, will likely remain in effect until mid-decade if not longer.

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FEMA

Ex-FEMA Official On The Risks Of Offsetting Disaster Aid

Brian Beutler | September 1, 2011, 6:15AM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Faced with growing criticism Tuesday, including from members of his own party, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) appeared to soften, slightly, his general view that federal disaster relief should be offset with equal or greater budget cuts.

He told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, that relief funds would not get bogged down in the sort of protracted budget fight that has dominated Congressional politics all year. His spokesman Brad Dayspring, in a statement to several reporters, echoed this. "People and families affected by these disasters will certainly get what they need from their federal government," he said. "The goal should be to find ways to pay for what is needed or to find offsets whenever possible, that is the responsible thing to do. Clearly when disasters and emergencies happen, people expect their government to treat them as national priorities and respond properly. People also expect their government to spend their dollars wisely, and to make efforts to prioritize and save when possible."

That will come as welcome news to victims and FEMA alike, if it turns out that they need Congress to pass emergency legislation in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

Mark Merritt, a former senior FEMA official in the Clinton administration said these kinds of budget impasses can be a big drag in a disaster management situation.

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2012

W's Revenge: Ex-Bushies Gang Up On Rick Perry

Benjy Sarlin | August 16, 2011, 4:23PM

Karl Rove

Rick Perry is facing a full-on assault from former Bush aides over his comments on Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, pushing a long-rumored rivalry between the two ex-governors' camps out into the open.

Acknowledging to TPM that "there is no love lost between the W camp and the Perry camp," one Bush veteran appealed for detente.

"I do not think it serves any purpose for any Bushy to fuel to fire or resentment," the person said. "The goal for us should be to defeat Obama not defeat ourselves.

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Super Committee

Sherrod Brown Hugs Rob Portman -- Claims He's Open To Closing Deficit With Taxes

Brian Beutler | August 10, 2011, 5:32PM

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Surely Super Committeeman Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) will appreciate his fellow Ohioan Sherrod Brown (D-OH) vouching for his willingness to compromise.

"Rob has shown a willingness to find common ground by looking at both tax reform and spending cuts in order to reduce the deficit," Brown said in a statement after GOP leaders announced their six appointees.

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Super Committee

GOP Leaders Pick Conservative Members To Serve On Deficit Super Committee

Brian Beutler | August 10, 2011, 12:19PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have announced their selections to serve on the new so-called Super Committee -- the panel called for in the debt limit bill that's been tasked with reducing deficits by at least $1.2 trillion.

McConnell's picked his Whip, Jon Kyl (R-AZ), as well as conservative freshman Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), and arch-conservative Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Boehner tapped Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chair of the GOP conference, and the caucus' top message man; Dave Camp (R-MI) chair of the Ways and Means Committee, which controls tax revenue; and Fred Upton (R-MI), whose powerful Energy and Commerce Committee has broad jurisdiction over just about everything other than taxes, but particularly health care.

As head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, Boehner was asked to name the committee's GOP co-chair, and for that he chose Hensarling -- an extremely conservative member who in recent weeks falsely characterized the debt limit fight as a consequence of spending policies enacted by President Obama and past Democratic congresses. By quite a ways, most existing debt is the result of GOP policies, or bipartisan initiatives like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hensarling served on President Obama's fiscal commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, but ultimately opposed their recommendations, because they included higher revenues.

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2012

Rick Perry's Lousy Grades On Par With Past Nominees

Benjy Sarlin | August 5, 2011, 1:49PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Rick Perry's newly released college transcript may not look like much, but graded on a curve he's not doing so bad.

Per the Huffington Post, which obtained Perry's college records, he scored mediocre to lousy marks in a broad array of subjects:

While he later became a student leader, he had to get out of academic probation to do so. He rarely earned anything above a C in his courses -- earning a C in U.S. History, a D in Shakespeare, and a D in the principles of economics. Perry got a C in gym.

Perry also did poorly on classes within his animal science major. In fall semester 1970, he received a D in veterinary anatomy, a F in a second course on organic chemistry and a C in animal breeding. He did get an A in world military systems and "Improv. of Learning" -- his only two As while at A&M.

Taken in the broader context of presidential nominees, however, Perry looks much better. President Bush, Perry's predecessor in the Texas governors' mansion, was a famously "meh" student at Yale University and graduated with a 77 average. His highest grade was an 88 which he received in three classes. He only had one "D" however.

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Constitution

Bush-Appointed Former Scalia Clerk Upholds Constitutionality Of Health Care Law On Appeal

Brian Beutler | June 29, 2011, 1:40PM

President Barack Obama

For the first time, a Republican appointed federal judge -- part of a three-judge circuit court panel -- has ruled that the individual insurance mandate in President Obama's health care law is constitutional.

The Sixth Circuit appellate court panel -- the first appellate court to rule on the question -- dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that levying a penalty against people who choose not to purchase insurance exceeds Congress' Commerce Clause powers. The justices also dismissed the underlying argument that the provision amounts to "regulating inactivity."

The development represents a significant victory for the Obama administration, which is facing numerous challenges to the mandate from individuals, conservative interest groups and Republican governors. A number of district court judges have ruled on the question already, and in a striking pattern, all Republican-appointed judges have ruled against the administration, and all Democratic judges with the administration. Today's development upends that trend.

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Sarah Palin

Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher Casts Shadow Over GOP Primaries

Benjy Sarlin | June 28, 2011, 5:45AM

They say the sun never sets on an English friendship. Certainly that's the case in the Republican primary this year, where Ronald Reagan's partnership with Margaret Thatcher comes up often in speeches, interviews, and even campaign slogans.

Britain's "Iron Lady," famed for her free market ideals and tough-minded style of governance, has always been a popular figure in Republican circles across the pond, but she seems to have taken on new relevance in recent years for the party's leading lights. While George W. Bush identified strongly with wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, as he struggled to prosecute the War on Terror, national security has fallen far down the list of priorities for the party and the field is significantly divided on foreign policy. Instead, the focus is on the weak economy, which is clearly Maggie's wheelhouse.

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Congress

CHART OF THE DAY: If Congress Does Nothing, The Deficit Will Disappear

Brian Beutler | June 24, 2011, 6:20AM

President Barack Obama meets with Democratic and Republican leaders

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office released its updated long-term budget forecast, which looked surprisingly like the previous version of its long-term budget forecast.

It showed, as one might expect, that if the Bush tax-cuts remain in effect and Medicare and Medicaid spending isn't constrained in some way, the country will topple into a genuine fiscal crisis -- not the fake one the Congress is pretending the country's in right now.

Republicans, of course, seized on that particular projection, and claimed (a bit ridiculously) that it proved the government must adopt their precise policy views: major spending cuts, particularly to entitlement programs.

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Libya

McConnell: GOP Outspoken On Libya Because There's A Democrat In The White House

Brian Beutler | June 22, 2011, 10:48AM

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Here's an impressive package of candor from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who spoke to reporters Wednesday at a breakfast roundtable hosted by the Christan Science Monitor.

McConnell admitted that his party is divided over President Obama's military action in Libya, but that you're only hearing about it because Obama's a Democrat. Many of these same divisions, he said, existed under President Bush, but party loyalty "muted" the dissent.

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Tim Pawlenty

CHART OF THE DAY: Tim Pawlenty's Tax Cuts Are Bush's On Steroids -- Lots Of Steroids

Brian Beutler | June 15, 2011, 3:45PM

Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty has a plan for America, and it would force the government out of just about every sphere of American life where it exists now.

Pawlenty's tax plan, by design and effect, would dramatically erode the government's revenue base. As noted here, his plan would reduce the top individual income tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, cut the top corporate rate from 25 percent to 15 percent, and allow pass-through corporations to pay taxes at the corporate -- not the individual -- rate. He also wants to completely eliminate capital gains taxes, taxes on dividends and interest, and the estate tax.

An independent analysis found that it would cost the Treasury over $11 trillion over the course of a decade -- nearly three times the cost of the Bush tax cuts -- most of which would benefit the wealthiest Americans.

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Israel

Obama Didn't Shift U.S. Policy On Israel -- A Look Back At The Record

Susan Crabtree and Igor Bobic | May 27, 2011, 2:52PM

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

There has been so much uproar in the last week over President Obama's statements about Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations beginning around 1967 borders - along with land swaps -- that TPM wanted to lay out the record on whether this policy really amounted to a shift - if even ever so slightly - from the policies of previous administrations.

Prime Minister Netanyahu flat-out rejected any return to 1967 boundaries a week ago Friday during a tense meeting at the White House, saying that such a plan was "indefensible." Days later, to rapturous applause at a joint session of Congress, he once again turned down any suggestion that Israel withdraw to its 1967 borders, although by then he and Obama appeared to have mended some fences after Obama gave a speech to the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee reiterating his commitment to Israel as close friend and ally.

But does Obama's position constitute a tangible shift in U.S. policy towards the peace process, or is it merely an affirmation of a long-recognized understanding?

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CBPP

CHART: Bush Policies Dominant Cause Of National Debt

Brian Beutler | May 25, 2011, 12:33PM

Fmr. President George W. Bush

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer made this argument in broad strokes on Monday. Hard numbers back it up.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has updated and refined a widely cited chart, laying out the origins of the country's current fiscal trajectory. And as before, the lion's share of the problem comes from ongoing George W. Bush-era policies -- particularly deficit-financed tax cuts, which eliminated Clinton-era surpluses and left the Treasury poised for a huge hit when the financial crisis and economic downturn further eroded federal revenues.

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Torture

Senate Intel Chair: Torture Did Not Lead To Bin Laden In Any Way

Brian Beutler | May 3, 2011, 12:59PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

More and more evidence suggests a key piece of intelligence -- the first link in the chain of information that led U.S. intelligence officials to Osama bin Laden -- wasn't tortured out of its source. And, indeed, that torture actually failed to produce it.

"To the best of our knowledge, based on a look, none of it came as a result of harsh interrogation practices," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee in a wide-ranging press conference.

Moreover, Feinstein added, nothing about the sequence of events that culminated in Sunday's raid vindicates the Bush-era techniques, nor their use of black sites -- secret prisons, operated by the CIA.

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Andy Card

GOP's Tortured Logic: How We Got Osama Bin Laden

Brian Beutler | May 3, 2011, 8:42AM

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and Former President George W. Bush.

Like so many memes that persist in politics, this one started on the Internet. The morning after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan, conservatives started crowing that credit should be given to President George W. Bush -- specifically, for having the foresight and courage to torture the people who provided the initial scraps of intel that ultimately led the CIA to a giant compound just north of Islamabad.

The most prominent of these conservatives was Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who took to Twitter to ask sardonically, "Wonder what President Obama thinks of water boarding now?

About two hours later, the Associated Press published a brief story claiming that the CIA obtained the initial intelligence it needed to find bin Laden from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the so-called mastermind of 9/11 -- and his successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi at CIA black sites in Poland and Romania.

Those secret prisons, which the Obama administration contends to have abandoned, were the facilities where Mohammed and al-Libi were waterboarded. There, the detainees supposedly identified by nom de guerre a courier who would years later be located by American intelligence officials, and lead them to bin Laden's compound.

"The news is sure to reignite debate over whether the now-closed interrogation and detention program was successful," the AP wrote. "Former president George W. Bush authorized the CIA to use the harshest interrogation tactics in U.S. history. President Barack Obama closed the prison system."

There's just one problem. The key bit of intel wasn't acquired via torture, according to a more fleshed out version of the same report.

But the myth provided a brief opening. Thus have Republicans constructed a version of events by which they -- and Bush in particular -- deserve some of credit for bin Laden's death. Not all of it. Indeed they have by and large acknowledged Obama's role, and congratulated him on it. And most have not been as brazen as King or the Tea Party Express in attributing the success of the mission to Bush's interrogation policies. But Bush, they argue, played a big part as well, akin to the husband who loosens the lid to a Mason jar only to watch his wife open it effortlessly.

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George W. Bush

George W. Bush: I Congratulated Obama On The Death Of Bin Laden

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 1, 2011, 11:58PM

Former President George W. Bush

Former president George W. Bush says he spoke with President Obama by phone this evening and congratulated him on the death of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

"I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission," Bush said of the conversation in a statement to reporters. "They have our everlasting gratitude."

Bush called the killing of the man behind the 9/11 attacks by U.S. military forces in Pakistan Sunday "a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world."

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Barack Obama

White House: Obama's Signing Statements Are Legit -- Unlike Bush's

Susan Crabtree | April 18, 2011, 4:09PM

President Barack Obama

The White House is disputing any notion that President Obama broke a campaign promise by using a signing statement to ignore Congress' attempt to defund the positions of four so-called administration czars.

The President in the early evening on Friday -- a time notorious for news dumps -- raised reporters' and his critics hackles by adding a signing statement to the resolution that funds the federal government through September and avoids a government shutdown. The signing statement suggests Obama would ignore some parts of the deal, including language defunding the czars overseeing healthcare, climate change, the auto industry and urban affairs. Republicans have long lambasted Obama's use of czars, senior presidential advisers on major issues who do not require Senate confirmation.

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Barack Obama

It's A Deal: Dems, Republicans Strike Spending Deal To Avoid Government Shutdown

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2011, 11:15PM

They've got a deal!

Their negotiations have teetered erratically on the brink of collapse for weeks. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner have finally shaken hands on a spending bill to fund the government through September and avoid a government shutdown.

"We have agreed to an historic amount of cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year, as well as a short-term bridge that will give us time to avoid a shutdown while we get that agreement through both houses and to the President," read a joint statement from both leaders. "We will cut $78.5 billion below the President's 2011 budget proposal, and we have reached an agreement on the policy riders. In the meantime, we will pass a short-term resolution to keep the government running through Thursday. That short-term bridge will cut the first $2 billion of the total savings."

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'Obama's Wars'

Obama Doctrine Emerges: International Support Critical To Military Missions

Susan Crabtree | March 27, 2011, 9:38AM

After weeks of withering criticism of the White House's delayed response in Libya, as well as his decision to authorize air strikes, President Obama is beginning to articulate his philosophy for the use of military force overseas.

The President plans to lay out the strategy behind his foreign policy decisions in Libya in a prime-time address to the nation Monday night at 7:30 ET, something his critics say he should have done before missile launches began in the North African country last Friday.

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George W. Bush

Bush Warns U.S. Is Becoming 'Nativist' (VIDEO)

David Taintor | February 7, 2011, 10:10AM

Fmr. President George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush said recently he is concerned the U.S. is returning to a 'nativist' mindset.

To explain his concern, Bush spoke of three recurring "isms" in America: "One is isolationism, and its evil twin, protectionism, and its evil triplet, nativism," Bush said at Southern Methodist University in Dallas late last month.

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Health Care

Florida Judge Voids Entire Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2011, 3:00PM

President Barack Obama

A federal district court judge in Florida ruled today that a key provision in the new health care law is unconstitutional, and that the entire law must be voided.

Roger Vinson, a Ronald Reagan appointee, agreed with the 26 state-government plaintiffs that Congress exceeded its authority by passing a law penalizing individuals who do not have health insurance.

"I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate," Vinson writes. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."

[Emphasis added]

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START treaty

Collins: The Bushes Should Green Light START Treaty

Brian Beutler | November 29, 2010, 9:43AM

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Today in outrageous new benchmarks for bipartisanship, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says she'd be more likely to vote to ratify the START Treaty if former Presidents, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were to speak out in support of it.

"It would be wonderful if President [George H.W.] Bush would come out for the treaty. That would be so powerful and definitely help," Collins told the Washington Post.

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Sarah Palin

Barbara Bush: I Hope Sarah Palin Stays In Alaska (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | November 20, 2010, 3:28PM

Doesn't look like former First Lady Barbara Bush is a big Sarah Palin fan.

In a taped interview scheduled to air Monday on "Larry King Live," Bush was asked for her thoughts on the former vice presidential candidate.

"I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there," Barbara Bush said.

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George W. Bush

Will Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' Banner Hang In His Presidential Library?

David Taintor | November 19, 2010, 8:36AM

Former President George W. Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003.

Former President George W. Bush and members of his administration broke ground on the new George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas earlier this week, but at least one question about the decor remains unanswered: will the infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner be put on display?

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Waterboarding

Bachmann: The Left Defends Terrorists By Opposing Waterboarding (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2010, 12:47PM

During an appearance last night on The O'Reilly Factor, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Bill O'Reilly tried to sort out just why liberals seem to be so up in arms about former President George W. Bush's authorization of waterboarding.

"He protected us. He had to dunk these three guys. And he did, and he got information. And, we captured a whole bunch of really bad, bad people from it," said O'Reilly. "Could he have gotten it another way? Maybe, maybe, okay? But, he had guys sitting there, he had psychiatrists sitting there, he had medical doctors sitting there. So, to me, I would have done the same thing. But to hear the left, this is the worst thing the United States has ever done, we're a terrible country for doing it. Why? Why are they doing this?"

Bachmann then replied sternly: "Well, it almost seems as though they need to come up with some sort of a case to defend the people who are making this action, the radical terrorist. And here, take a look at the terrorists who have beheaded people like Daniel Pearl. They don't think twice about that."

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George W. Bush

Colbert And Stewart To Bush: Come On Our Shows!

David Taintor | November 10, 2010, 10:00AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert last night did their best to entice former President George W. Bush to come on their shows, offering easy interviews and tasty gifts.

Following the release of his memoir "Decision Points," Bush has embarked on a media blitz, and is set to appear on, as Stewart lamented, "NBC, CBS, Fox, Fox, Fox, and Fox and more Fox ... you get the point." But alas, not The Daily Show or The Colbert Report.

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Latinos for Reform

Maker Of Ad Telling Latinos Not To Vote Has Long History In GOP (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2010, 1:20PM

The man behind a new Spanish-language ad, encouraging Nevada Latinos not to vote is a veteran of Republican politics and now an advocate for what most would consider conservative, business-friendly immigration policy.

In an interview with TPM, Robert de Posada, founder of Latinos for Reform, said he's become equally disgruntled with both parties. His current goal, though, is to punish Democrats for failing to deliver on a promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform. And his CV includes a long list of affiliations with conservative immigration reform groups.

In 1994, according to de Posada, he helped create the Hispanic Business Roundtable, which later became the Latino Coalition, where he was president until 2007. He served as co-director with Dick Armey on Americans for Border and Economic Security, on George W. Bush's Social Security Commission, and as director of Hispanic affairs at the Republican National Committee until becoming disgruntled with the GOP and settling into conservative advocacy.

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DE-SEN

Christine O'Donnell's Claremont Class: A Dentist, A Felon, A Libertarian Who Called Her 'Susie Homemaker'

Christina Bellantoni and Jon Terbush | October 14, 2010, 8:47AM

Delaware GOP Senate Candidate Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) believes her participation in an eight-day conservative think tank fellowship is the "number one" thing qualifying her for service in the U.S. Senate. O'Donnell says the "deep analysis of the constitution" taught at Claremont Institute's competitive Lincoln Fellowship program would help her make sound decisions in the Senate, but the teachings couldn't keep one of the other fellows from facing jail time.

Among the 10 fellows awarded the fellowship with O'Donnell in 2002 was Scott Bloch -- the "Geeks on Call" guy who headed the Office of Special Counsel under President George W. Bush who pled guilty this April to criminal contempt of Congress for withholding information from a House oversight committee.

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