by Bill Scher | Aug 13, 2007 | Blog
As I've noted before, conservatives like to use China's and India's increasing carbon pollution as an excuse to do nothing on global warming, Of course, all they're doing is following our dirty lead. But, as the Los Angeles Times reports, they're not just following...
by Bill Scher | Aug 13, 2007 | Blog
After actually asking a Watchdog question last month, the Sunday show hosts return to their traditional pattern, as the Watchdog goes 0-for-3. On Face The Nation, Gov. Mike Huckabee was not forced to address his false statement about the Senate children's health...
by Bill Scher | Aug 10, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
by Isaiah J. Poole | Aug 10, 2007 | Blog
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to lead a House delegation to New Orleans and the Mississippi coast starting Sunday in an effort that should draw fresh attention to what remains the shame of the nation, two years after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast....
by Bill Scher | Aug 9, 2007 | Blog
Last month, a bipartisan global warming bill from Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., was uniformly rejected by environmental organizations, because it kept down the cost for creating carbon pollution, making it impossible to reduce enough...
by Bill Scher | Aug 9, 2007 | Blog
Last month, I remarked that Rep. John Dingell's attempt to undermine progress on global warming with a disingenuous carbon tax proposal was "more likely to fizzle out than spark intra-party warfare." And it appears to be fizzling. The American Prospect's recent...
by Bill Scher | Aug 9, 2007 | Blog
Yesterday, President Bush told reporters he's considering more tax cuts for those who need it most -- corporations, of course -- while reiterating his plans to veto more health insurance for kids. The Moderate Voice makes the connection, exposing the priorities of the...
by Bill Scher | Aug 8, 2007 | Blog
Congressional conservatives are spending their August recess in an interesting way: telling their constituents about their hard work ... to keep health insurance away from kids. Well, they're not quite that honest. Following the lead of the HHS Hacks, they're...
by Bill Scher | Aug 7, 2007 | Blog
Four regional directors of the Department of Health and Human Services signed their names on copycat letters sent to editorial pages across the country, spreading misinformation about opposing children's health insurance proposals. At minimum, in the southeast Chris...
by Bill Scher | Aug 6, 2007 | Blog
Prospects for a stronger energy bill brightened Saturday, as the House passed a version requiring 15% of our electricity to come from renewable sources, and funding more renewable energy by repealing tax breaks for Big Oil. Conservatives had kept those provisions off...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Aug 4, 2007 | Blog
There is a telling graphic inside Friday's New York Times that puts into perspective the Republican Party's summer theme song, "Do-Nothing Congress." It bears remembering as just one example of the difference Democrats are trying to make in how our country is...
by Bill Scher | Aug 3, 2007 | Blog
The following was emailed to Campaign for America's Future supporters by our Director of Online Communications Ian Mishalove. No progress on ending the war. No progress on new energy. No progress on health care costs. Why is the new Congress gridlocked? Conservatives...
by Robert Borosage | Aug 2, 2007 | Blog
“The strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail ... and so far it's working for us." —Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss. Roll Call, April 18 A partisan minority in the U.S. Senate has blocked legislation that would...
by Bill Scher | Jul 30, 2007 | Blog
Later today, the Senate is expected to snuff out a filibuster and approve more health insurance for kids. But the bill is not likely get the 67 votes needed to overcome President Bush's threatened veto. Obstruction still reigns. Bush and other congressional...
by Bill Scher | Jul 30, 2007 | Blog
The five-week long streak is over! A Watchdog question was actually asked on the Sunday shows yesterday. On ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked Sen. Chuck Schumer, if the Justice Department's Solicitor General failed to appoint a special counsel, would...
by Bill Scher | Jul 27, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
by Bill Scher | Jul 27, 2007 | Blog
When the McClatchy Newspapers reported that the conservative minority in the Senate may triple the number of filibusters, Republicans tried to spread the blame. McClatchy reported: Republicans also say that Democrats are forgetting how routinely they threatened...
by Bill Scher | Jul 27, 2007 | Blog
No doubt there are legitimate arguments against funding children's health insurance by raising taxes on harmful products like tobacco. But this isn't one of them. (From CQ, sub. req'd): Kentucky Republican Ron Lewis tried his best to protect his tobacco state...
by Robert Borosage | Jul 26, 2007 | Blog
The corporate wing of the Democratic Party - the Democratic Leadership Council—will meet in its "National Conversation" this weekend in Nashville. The press is already noting that while all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls will appear at the YearlyKos...
by Bill Scher | Jul 26, 2007 | Blog
A long-standing Weekend Watchdog question is why Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., hadn't exercised his authority to issue a subpoena to Karl Rove and other White House officials and their role in the Prosecutor Purge. Since then, several staffers have been subpoenaed. But...
by Bill Scher | Jul 26, 2007 | Blog
The blogosphere is abuzz this morning after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took to task the Washington Post editorial board, in the paper's own pages. (DailyKos, Eschaton, TPMCafe, D-Day, Skewering The Chimp and Slow Roasted have praised Reid's letter to the...
by Bill Scher | Jul 25, 2007 | Blog
Two weeks ago, a bipartisan global warming bill was roundly criticized for making it too easy for industries to keep creating carbon pollution. This week, another bipartisan effort was announced, and it's garnering relatively more praise. Allies of polluters often try...
by Bill Scher | Jul 25, 2007 | Blog
Republican leaders apparently like to lose. Top GOP senators Mitch McConnell and Trent Lott are opposing the bipartisan deal to cover more kids with health insurance, siding with President Bush over other Republicans like Senators Orrin Hatch and Charles...
by Bill Scher | Jul 24, 2007 | Blog
Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum, looking at filibuster stats from McClatchy Newspapers showing conservatives taking obstruction to new heights, writes: ...the number of filibusters has been relatively steady since 1986 — until this year, when Republicans found...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jul 23, 2007 | Blog, Minimum Wage
With all of the talk about the conservative obstructionism in Congress that is keeping important bills from becoming law, Tuesday brings something worth celebrating: The federal minimum wage, which had been frozen at $5.15 an hour for almost 10 years, increases 70...
by Bill Scher | Jul 23, 2007 | Blog
Last week, President Bush pledged to veto a bipartisan Senate bill that would cover three to four million more kids with health insurance. Does that mean children will be left out in the cold until Bush is out of office? Not necessarily. This week's Congressional...
by Bill Scher | Jul 23, 2007 | Blog
It's another 0-for-3 Sunday for the Watchdog, as the Sunday shows fail to recognize who is impeding bipartisan sentiment to end the Iraq occupation. On CBS' Face The Nation, Bob Schieffer sought to be "fair and balanced" by spreading blame for obstructionism in his...
by Bill Scher | Jul 20, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
by Bill Scher | Jul 20, 2007 | Blog
Back in March, Campaign for America's Future Co-Director Robert Borosage lamented the state of the presidential campaign in his piece for The Nation, "When's the Idea Primary?" He concluded: Activists, particularly in the early primary states, should continue to...
by Bill Scher | Jul 20, 2007 | Blog
During the past few days, there have been some positive developments as the House continues to put together its energy bill. While Senate conservatives previously blocked consideration of increased renewable electricity, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is working to build enough...
by Bill Scher | Jul 19, 2007 | Blog
...let's deny kids health insurance! This time, the obstruction may not come from the Senate conservatives, but from Mr. Lame Duck himself, President Bush. Today, the Senate Finance Committee passed a bipartisan compromise to expand the State Children's Health...
by Bill Scher | Jul 18, 2007 | Blog
An attempt to break the conservative minority filibuster of a proposal to effectively end the Iraq occupation fell short today. A majority of 53 senators, including four Republicans and one independent, supported an up-or-down vote (52 of which support the actual...
by Bill Scher | Jul 17, 2007 | Blog
Minutes ago, Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid asked for unanimous consent to move to a vote on the Levin-Reed amendment to effectively end the occupation. Sen. Minority Whip Trent Lott objected, and the filibuster continues. Reid admonished the obstructionists: "The...
by Bill Scher | Jul 17, 2007 | Blog
I'll say this for Sen. John McCain. He thinks ahead. During today's Senate floor debate, Sen. Carl Levin urged McCain and his fellow conservatives to refrain from filibustering his Iraq proposal, and allow for an "up-or-down" vote. McCain shrugged him off, saying both...
by Bill Scher | Jul 17, 2007 | Blog
When you’re Senate Majority Leader, everyone’s fighting for your ear. Today, the netroots have Harry Reid’s ear, instead of the punditocracy. This blog has long been calling for Senate leaders to fight for bold, popular legislation and stand up to those blocking its...
by Bill Scher | Jul 16, 2007 | Blog
On Saturday, Micheal Moore posted an open letter to CNN, blasting the network: "still no apology, no retraction, no correction of your glaring mistakes." Warning CNN that "I ain't ever going away," Moore pledged to "start looking into the veracity of other reports you...
by Bill Scher | Jul 16, 2007 | Blog
Surge advocates were not held to account on the Sunday shows yesterday, as called for by the Watchdog. On NBC's Meet The Press, Sen. Lindsey Graham was not reminded by Tim Russert of his December claim that the surge would bring stability and political compromise in...
by Bill Scher | Jul 13, 2007 | Blog
Every Friday in our Weekend Watchdog feature, we post suggested questions for scheduled Sunday guests. You can add your own questions in the comment thread. We'll also include contact information for the shows, so we can let them know what their viewers want asked....
by Eric Lotke | Jul 12, 2007 | Blog
Purely by chance, I was in the middle of reading Katharine Graham’s autobiography when President Bush commuted I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s sentence. I had just reached the part where Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post during the Watergate era, was despairing...
by Bill Scher | Jul 12, 2007 | Blog
Yesterday, MoveOn.org announced that former Sen. John Edwards won the straw poll following its Virtual Town Hall Meeting on the Climate Crisis (co-sponsored by Campaign for America's Future and others). And by a considerable margin. Edwards won 33% of the vote, while...
