timran

Posted By jwilkes - Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 4:52 PM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed As former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs considers what to do with the abundance of free time he has since resigning the position he held for the better part of the last 30 years, rumors about possible political ambitions have begun to swirl.  But while Dobbs publicly eschews either party, his financial contributions paint a slightly different story. Not long following his... Read Full Story

Recent Blogs Sen. Byrd Becomes Longest Ever Serving Member of Congress Marijuana Decrim, Frank Chopp, and the Case of the Missing Balls Former Rep William Jefferson (D-LA) Sentenced to 13-Years GOP Scrambles to Strike Abortion from Own Health Plan Related Blogs Sen. Byrd Becomes Longest Ever Serving Member of Congress Former Rep William Jefferson (D-LA) Sentenced to 13-Years GOP... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 10:42 AM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed After 56 years and 320 days, Robert Byrd, the longtime Senator and former Congressman from West Virginia, has surpassed all others to achieve the longest record of uninterupted service of any member of either house of Congress. On Friday, the Dean of the Senate will celebrate his 92nd birthday.  And on Monday, chances are that he'll be back at work like any other... Read Full Story

According to multiple, well-placed sources (both inside the Legislature and those observing), Chopp, through a lack of political will and leadership, is the legislator most responsible for the death of marijuana decrim in the last session. A reliable inside source, in a position to know, tells me Chopp doesn't want to force a "controversial" marijuana decrim vote by the entire Legislature, because he doesn't want to force fellow Democrats (in the majority) to vote on pot any time before the... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 6:34 PM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed Former Louisiana Democratic Representative William Jefferson, who was convicted in August on federal corruption charges including conspiracy to solicit bribery, has been sentenced by a state court in Virginia to 13 years in prison, the longest sentence ever handed down to a former federal elected official. Jefferson became known as, "Mr. Freeze" after federal... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:15 AM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed Just one day after a report from Politico.com that the employer-provided health plan extended by the Republican National Committee to its employees covers "elective abortion" procedures, the GOP committee has striken such coverage from its plan.  The Cigna health care plan had covered the procedure under the agreement with the RNC for years without being noticed... Read Full Story

Recent Blogs House Passes Health Care Reform Bill New York 23 Demonstrates Real Trouble for Republicans in 2010 Dems Win Big in NY, GOP Wins Big in NJ The Other Special Election: Garamendi Winning Big in CA-10 Related Blogs House Passes Health Care Reform Bill New York 23 Demonstrates Real Trouble for Republicans in 2010 Dems Win Big in NY, GOP Wins Big in NJ The... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 12:13 PM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed Late Saturday night, the House of Representatives passed its own version of the health care reform bill that has formed the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's legislative agenda thus far.  The Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962) would ensure that 95–96% of US citizens receive affordable health care. The final roll call tally counted 220 yeas over... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 1:47 PM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed If Democrats seem to have really lost anywhere in the off-year elections on Tuesday, it's mostly in public opinion.  Major media outlets and blogs alike have been citing what they suppose to be a "shift" in opinion ahead of a potential watershed year in 2010.  A closer look at the factors behind each of the individual contests shows why that isn't necessariy the case... Read Full Story

Posted By jwilkes - Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 1:38 AM   |   Report Abuse   |   RSS Feed Interpreting the election may be more difficult than even the most seasoned political pundit may be willing to admit.  Democrats won huge in New York 23.  Republicans won (arguably) even bigger in New Jersey.  And both parties fared just about as expected in both Virginia and the California 10th Congressional District Special Election. Let's take them one by one... Read Full Story