Author: Elspeth Reeve

Obama's Two Weeks of Scandalmania, in Photos

Associated Press

Three big scandals. Two Marine umbrellas. And a non-salute en route to Memorial Day. Plus more visual evidence from 12 days of scandal town.

By Elspeth Reeve

May 6, 2013

The GOP's Big Gay Immigrant Dilemma

One important fight in this week's dizzying array of amendments to the bill is simply about extending current laws to gay people. "Guns, gays and immigration — it's too much," one senator reportedly told the White House. "I can be with you on one or two of them, but not all three." What about two in one bill? Does that have a better chance? Or a better chance to kill the whole thing?

Comments | 1,186 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 6, 2013

Hackers Turned the NRCC Website into Spam for Viagra

People are so mean when Republicans try to highlight there are actual young people who like the GOP.

Comments | 2,614 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 6, 2013

The Ghost of Sandra Fluke Is Haunting Rush Limbaugh's Mega-Deal

Rush Limbaugh enied that the advertiser boycott of his show after he called Fluke a slut would cost him anything, but a year later, it's clear that prediction wasn't true. It has, at the very least, cost him his relationship with the radio network giant Cumulus Media.

Comments | 8,438 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 3, 2013

The NRA Convention Is Packed with Heat, Dip, and Sore Winners

The NRA just had an amazing victory in defeating a bill to require universal background checks on gun purchases — something it endorsed 15 years ago — and yet the speakers at its 142nd annual convention in Houston sounded awfully bitter. Here's how Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, and more defended freedom against those sissies in the White House.

Comments | 7,387 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 3, 2013

The GOP-Fox News Benghazi Feedback Loop

Congressional Republicans have had little luck convincing anyone other than Fox News and its viewers that there's something scandalous about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazie. But to keep the story's momentum going a feedback loop has emerged in which Fox reports something, the House holds hearings on it, and then Fox reports on those hearings.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 3, 2013

Marco Rubio Won't Please Everyone, and Not Everyone in the GOP Is Very Pleased

Rubio's op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal says that while he'll listen to upset voters about immigration reform, there's only so much criticism from professional conservatives he'll put up with. There's plenty to go around.

Comments | 596 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 2, 2013

Just Why Won't Obama Have a Drink with These People?

In a desperate attempt at virality, or perhaps simply to make their boss look cool by comparison, Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign team has created a Tumblr in which McConnell fans send in their own photos of themselves drinking alone.

Comments | 2,964 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 2, 2013

Penny Pritzker Is Obama's Mitt Romney

She promised to stay in the business world then, but here's how President Obama's kiss-worthy new Cabinet member-to-be now stacks up against his temporary worst enemy. Just count the dollar signs.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 2, 2013

Karl Rove's Anti-Akin Strategy Is Really Full of Mini Todd Akins

Rove writes today that Republicans have an "outside chance" of winning a majority in the Senate in 2014, as long as they don't nominate awful candidates who "self-destruct" like Akin and Richard Mourdock did last year. Here's an analysis of some of the most promising seats for the GOP to pick up, with an analysis of their Akin potential.

Comments | 2,186 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 2, 2013

Bringing Up the Boston Bombing Seems to Work for Opponents of Immigration

As several politicians and pundits using the Boston bombing as a cautionary tale about immigration, public support for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants has dropped 7 percentage points in less than a month, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 1, 2013

Don't Believe the 2014 Midterm Myths — Believe the Math

The conventional wisdom going into the midterm elections is that Obama fatigue puts Democrats in major trouble, but the historical evidence says otherwise.

Comments | 1,383 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 1, 2013

The House and Senate Are on Different Planets on Immigration

One way to understand how hard it is for Republicans to agree amongst themselves on immigration reform is to look at what's controversial in the Senate — and compare all of that to what's controversial in the House. Because they are very, very different things.

Comments | 790 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 1, 2013

Ted Cruz Could Be the Barry Goldwater of 2016 — Except Win!

The junior Senator from Texas is a man who clearly has tremendous confidence in his own abilities — he's publicly scolded fellow senators, he read Shakespeare during an anti-drone filibuster, and now he's reportedly thinking about a run for president. This has not made him many friends inside the Senate, but it has won him many, many fans outside of it.

Comments | 2,365 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 30, 2013

Obama Is Maybe Kind of Thinking About Deciding to Arm the Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration is getting ready to send arms to Syrian rebels, The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung reports, by way of very convoluted descriptions from anonymous senior administration officials attempting to describe the Obama administration's thinking. Got that? Didn't think so. Here's a guide to where we're at — almost.

Comments | 591 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 30, 2013

Lindsey Graham Is a Terrible Expert on Everything

Of the Senator's latest expert suggestions — that the Boston bombings and Benghazi showed a national security weakness — President Obama said, "No, Mr. Graham is not right on this issue, although I'm sure it generated some headlines." Wrong. What it generated was cable news hits for Graham. And the No. 1 thing Lindsey Graham is an expert on... is getting on TV.

Comments | 3,548 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 30, 2013

Anthony Weiner Marvels at Himself

Not only is Weiner bragging about cashing in, he's bragging about how easy it was to cash in.

Comments | 1,958 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 30, 2013

Big, Dumb Government: Why the GOP Is Winning the Sequester

Why hasn't the American public risen up in fury at Republicans over the sequester's annoyances and inconveniences, as President Obama had clearly hoped? Because the annoying things about the sequester perfectly play into the Republican talking point that government is dumb and wasteful and run by people with no common sense.

Comments | 4,134 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 29, 2013

The Mock Congress Hearing on Aliens Is Heavy on Real-Life Mulders, Not Scullys

Six former members of Congress will hold a faux hearing this week on whether the American government has covered up evidence of the existence of aliens. This could have been fantastic, because aliens are cool, and because science says the idea of life on other planets is not crazy. But it should have come from people who actually care about science.

Comments | 1,573 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 29, 2013

Would You Let This Man Buy You a Drink?

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Obama joked: "Some folks still don't think I spend enough time with Congress. 'Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask… Really? Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?" It got a laugh. Today, McConnell has a snappy comeback.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 29, 2013

Three Things the CIA Is Doing to Undermine American Values

No one is getting off the island during the Guantanamo hunger strike, where there aren't review boards. And did we mention the latest on drones and financing Afghan warlords? Here are a few core democratic principles the CIA is glossing over these days.

Comments | 1,179 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 29, 2013

Obama Is Not the Reason There Aren't More High-Profile Black Politicians

Answers to a Politico story today amount to a polite way of noting that since Obama's election, the national conversation about race hasn't always been enlightening. But while racism among some people, particularly in the South, plays a role, there are other barriers keeping black politicians from winning statewide.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 26, 2013

Glenn Beck Glad He Escaped Fox News Before He Got 'Too Enamored'

It's generally understood that in the Fox News and Glenn Beck breakup, Fox was the dumper and Beck the dumpee. But, in most breakups where the couple shares a social circle, neither party wants a reputation as the dumpee. Beck says he's the one who wanted to leave — because the network was so depressing so amazing.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 26, 2013

Since When Is Anyone Being Nice About the (Alleged) Boston Bombers?

You might have watched the first riveting week of the Boston bombing news coverage and thought people needed to calm down a little bit. But now, after a second week with few public answers and a brand-new federal prosecution, it turns out we've been too restrained, apparently.

Comments | 6,838 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 26, 2013

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Abortion Right Now

As president Obama spoke to Planned Parenthood on Friday, Fox News aired footage of the Kermit Gosnell trial. The coverage is a perfect representation of the split in the abortion debate: on one side, a triumphant march of progress for women, and on the other side, a fixation on late-term abortion nationally. Less covered is how some states are working to stop all abortions.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 26, 2013

Washington: More Incestuous Than Ever — and Proud of It!

Politico gives the big "Behind the Curtain" splash today to a shameless embrace of shameless DC navel-gazing, and just in time for the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the annual peak of media loathing. So who's really the most incestuous here?

Comments | 1,370 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 25, 2013

Frank Luntz's Secret Tape Reveals the Right-Wing Media's True Cruise Control

We've gotten so used to the idea that conservative media parrot official Republican Party talking points that even Luntz — king of the on-air focus group, prompter of Fox News teleprompters — is surprised when they fail to do so.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 25, 2013

The Tsarnaevs Are the New Welfare Queens

Rush Limbaugh has struggled mightily to come to grips with why Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev bombed the Boston marathon. Now he and others are reminding us that the Tsarnaevs were possibly aided by the thing liberals apparently love most of all — the bloated welfare state.

Comments | 3,907 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 25, 2013

People Sure Do Feel Sorry for George W. Bush

Here's the curious thing about the defenses of Bush during his legacy tour: rather than saying he did a good job as president, his allies are emphasizing that he had a really hard job.

Comments | 3,321 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 24, 2013

Let's All Support John Boehner and His 'Really Cool' New Son-in-Law

The National Enquirer, which is a tabloid but occasionally very reliable on marital matters, reported Wednesday that the fiancé of Boehner's daughter, Dominic Lakhan, was pulled over in Florida in 2006 and reportedly charged with a misdemeanor having to do with marijuana. But there's so much more than that — including wedding registries!

Comments | 2,331 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 24, 2013

Jeb Bush Is Cleaning Out His Closet for 2016

Have enough Americans forgiven George W. Bush that they'll vote for his brother for president? Jeb Bush is doing several things that indicate he thinks so — speeches, a book, more speeches... oh, and he just got some potentially embarrassing news out of the way.

Comments | 3,121 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 24, 2013

Donald Trump Outs Jon Stewart as a Jew

Jon Stewart is pretty great at skewering Donald Trump, and Donald Trump is pretty good at typing on an electronic device in order to post a short message on Twitter. Trump struggles in this asymmetrical warfare.

Comments | 18,839 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 24, 2013

Rand Paul Doesn't Want to Send Drones to Your Liquor Store After All

The senator said his position on using drones on Americans hasn't changed, clarifying an interview on Fox Business Network Tuesday that gave the impression he thought droning a robber might be OK.

Comments | 773 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 24, 2013

Americans Aren't That Mad Gun Control Failed

After senators filibustered a gun background checks bill, President Obama gave an angry speech, promising that "we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence so long as the American people don't give up on it." But according to a new Washington Post/ Pew Research Center poll, the American people are kind of over it.

Comments | 1,754 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 23, 2013

Rush Limbaugh Thinks 'Lovable' Photos of Tsarnaev & Trayvon Are a Conspiracy

"He's not a normal kid," Limbaugh said on his radio show Tuesday. "There's nothing normal about this, and we don't want it to be normal." Well, yeah, that's the point.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 23, 2013

Here Comes the Post-Boston Anti-Muslim Paranoia

The Tsarnaev brothers don't provide an easy answer for how to stop something like the Boston marathon bombing to ever happen again. That leaves the Tsnarnaevs' religion — and, apparently, all the liberals who think religious profiling is a bad idea.

Comments | 9,726 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 23, 2013

For a Libertarian, Rand Paul Supports Awfully Broad Police Powers

Since his anti-drone filibuster, the Kentucky senator has been celebrated as the leader of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party. But there are limits to his belief in national security limits.

Comments | 972 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 23, 2013

The Campaign to Love George W. Bush Has Arrived

George W. Bush always claimed that he would be vindicated by history. Even he might be surprised at how quickly history worked its magic. 

Comments | 6,219 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 22, 2013

Mark Sanford's Bare-All Apology Tour Isn't Working

Mark Sanford placed a full-page ad to explain why he was busted for trespassing on his ex-wife property, following many other explanations in his campaign for a political comeback. But his endless confessions work for Oprah's couch, not for politics.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 22, 2013

There's Nothing Wrong with Prosecuting Tsarnaev as the American He Already Is

When the U.S. served Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with federal charges and announced that it would be trying him in civilian court — not as an enemy combatant — it was a moment when rationality beat emotion. What the brothers Tsarnaev allegedly did was really awful. But the Constitution still covers people who committed really awful crimes.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 22, 2013

Rand Paul Wants to Ban 8-Year-Old Immigrants from America

The Kentucky senator won the coveted position of "Republican liberals kind of like" with his drone-related filibuster earlier this year. Paul will surely disappoint them today with his demand that the Senate delay immigration reform until until we figure out how the Boston marathon bombers got into America, and how to prevent that from happening in the future.

Comments | 3,494 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 22, 2013

Jeff Flake Pulled a Fast One on This Aurora Victim's Mom with His Gun Vote

The Arizona Republican senator told her, in a handwritten letter, that "strengthening background checks is something we agree on." A few days later, background checks was not something they could agree on, because he voted to filibuster the bill.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 22, 2013

The GOP Fends Off the GOP from Using Boston to Block the Immigration Deal

Conservative supporters of immigration reform are reportedly coordinating their talking points to marginalize Republicans who say the Boston bombings are reason to rethink proposals for more lax immigration laws.

Comments | 970 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 19, 2013

The Surreal Sight of SWAT Teams in Banal Suburbs of Boston

One of the strangest things about watching heavily-armed tactical teams sweep through Watertown, Massachusetts in search of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the fugitive Boston marathon bomber, was seeing all this war pouring through quaint suburban streets.

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By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 19, 2013

The Lessons of the Bombing Are Clear to These People: Boston Needs More AR-15s

Politicians finally have enough material to begin exploiting the Boston marathon bombing. Immigration, plus a little guns.

Comments | 6,179 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 19, 2013

The U.S. Anti-Muslim Crowd Is Quite Pleased with Itself

The suspected Boston marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsaraev, are Muslim.Were their actions motivated by religion? And if it was, were they part of an organized radical Islamist group? We don't know. But that doesn't matter to a segment of anti-Islam bloggers who are latching onto the sparse biographical details as vindication.

Comments | 28,384 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 18, 2013

So Much for the Hunt for a 'Dark-Skinned Male'

Unlike the the 17-year-old track star of Moroccan descent featured on the front page of Thursday's New York Post, the immediate reaction to the FBI's release of photos of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing was how normal these guys looked. Which, after two days of false reports, sounded a lot like code for: they don't look Middle Eastern.

Comments | 19,067 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 18, 2013

Being 'Sweet and Nice' Is Driving the DG Sorority Sisters at Maryland to Madness

A profane and occasionally ALL-CAPS email to the sorority's listserv offers a compelling (and funny) portrait of a woman driven into social anxiety and paranoia by her club's middling social success, no matter which way success has been measured at UM and beyond since the letter went public.

Comments | 29,616 Views

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