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Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter went back on his word to Republican caucus members and conservative groups alike when he recently hired Hannibal G. Williams II Kemerer, who until recently was the NAACP's assistant general counsel. Specter hired Kemerer against the wishes of his senior Judiciary Committee staff. "We warned him this was going to cause trouble, but Specter said it was his committee, we are his staff, and he's going to do what he believes is right," says a Judiciary Committee staffer. Kemerer was a protégé of Elaine Jones, who three years ago, as head of the NAACP...

Members of Congress are becoming frustrated with bureaucrats who have put roadblocks in the way of a program to arm airline pilots that Congress first authorized months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Three years later, only an estimated 4,000 of the more than 95,000 commercial pilots have participated in the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program. But this lack of participation does not indicate a lack of pilot interest, proponents say. They claim the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has intentionally stymied the program. A soon-to-be-released poll from the pro-gun Airline Pilots Security Alliance indicates upwards of 50,000 commercial...

Ditto, Tom...Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle says goodbye.     This is an email-able, copyright-ready graphic you can use in emails, on blogs, in flyers, on posters... anything that's noncommercial.

The other day I was interviewed by a magazine which very closely follows what is happening in the Congress. The reporter wanted to get my views on whether the President would nominate the same kind of judges he did during his first term. I said that I believe that the President firmly believes in the sort of judges he has put forth and I saw no reason why he would change in his second term. The reporter, with whom I speak frequently, told me he had just interviewed Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Minority Leader for the 109th Congress,...

A group representing more than 300 families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terror attacks says Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) is the "true obstructionist" blocking passage of an intelligence overhaul bill. The group "911 Families for a Secure America" held a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday -- "to set the record straight," they said. They said Sen. Lieberman's insistence that no "immigration safeguards" be included in the final bill is blocking its passage. But Democrats and other supporters of the intelligence bill say two House Republicans are the ones obstructing passage of the bill. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman...

THE SENATE'S COLD WAR over judicial nominations is at a crossroads. With a newly minted chamber taking office January 4, and a new minority leader already designated, the time seems ripe for a fresh start. The Republican majority wants an end to all active Democratic filibusters of appellate court nominees and the cession of such tactics in the future. Will the opposition comply?The answer hinges on two unknowns: first, what lessons Senate Democrats draw from the 2004 election; second, the tone set by their new leader, Nevada senator Harry Reid. Retiring senator Bob Graham has predicted "less willingness" among Democrats...

Senate Republicans, boldly confident after their Nov. 2 electoral success, are preparing to end months of frustrating delays over President Bush's judicial picks by hitting Democrats with Republican's ultimate legislative weapon. But the Republican threat to neuter long-cherished filibuster rules by steamrolling Democrats is risky — so potentially destructive that Capitol Hill calls it the "nuclear option." Democratic retaliation would be swift and long-lasting, raising the prospect of escalating clashes in a body that prides itself on gentility and cool judgment. Even so, Republican leaders are signaling their intent to go nuclear in word and deed. "We're going to use...

Never one to mess up a good story by sticking with the facts, the liberal media in Washington refuse to tell us much about the inner-workings of the Senate. Oh sure, they are quick to carp about anything they think may be a misstep by a Republican member. But that is about as deep as their news reports usually go. No one ever reports that few senators fully understand, or even read, any of the bills before voting. Nor are we often informed that an inordinate amount of each senator's time is spent seeing lobbyists and other campaign contributors, rather...

If nothing else, we have to admit that the dorks on the left are certainly fun to watch. The so called unbiased "media elite" came to work dressed in black after the election. Most of what we hear coming from the left these post-election days is a perpetual whine. There have been no real specifics about what they are whining about. Other than the fact that their socialist candidate lost, they just seem to want to be difficult. Yeah, it's very interesting to hear the constant vitriol coming from the very same liberals who gave us perpetual sensitivity training. Their...

With Election Day come and gone, President George W. Bush and the Republican National Committee have got to be feeling fairly good. Values voters have made Republicans the majority party. Increased margins in the U.S. House and Senate give Republicans a solid majority, albeit vulnerable to filibuster. With U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) ceding his seat to former U.S. Rep. John Thune (R-S.D.), the so-called obstructionist-in-chief will be forced to watch from the sidelines. Poor Daschle. From last summer, I vividly remember seeing him enter the Senate dining room while I ate lunch with U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.). The...

Life After Daschle Will a 55-seat majority be enough to end Senate obstructionism? BY KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL Friday, November 5, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST The pressure builds on those red-state Senators up for election in 2006. Is New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman going to vote down a Miguel Estrada nomination, with a state home to the largest proportion of Hispanics in the country? Look too for Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Kent Conrad of North Dakota to be heeding the Ghost of Daschle's Past. The GOP's best shot for leveraging this fear of home state voters is...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - For months, Tom Daschle traveled this prairie state asking voters to send him back to Washington, his speeches invoking the hopeful image of a sunrise. But in the wee hours of yesterday morning, the sun set on the 26-year political career of Daschle, the Senate Democratic leader. In a historic upset that left Republicans rejoicing and sent already dispirited Democrats reeling, John Thune, a popular former congressman and close ally of President Bush, defeated Daschle by 4,534 votes, garnering 51 percent of the ballots to the minority leader's 49 percent. Not for half a century had...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--About the only thing you need to know about the Senate race here is that it's really about one guy. True, South Dakotans have been watching two men debate, viewing two sets of political commercials and preparing to choose between two names on the November ballot. But in the end, this race is all about Tom. Daschle, that is--though right now the Senate minority leader is probably wishing he wasn't getting quite so much attention. Mr. Daschle is used to the spotlight, having spent 26 years working his way up House and Senate ranks, tutoring at the knees...

South Dakota's Senate race is a referendum on filibuster politics. SIOUX FALLS, S.D.--About the only thing you need to know about the Senate race here is that it's really about one guy. True, South Dakotans have been watching two men debate, viewing two sets of political commercials and preparing to choose between two names on the November ballot. But in the end, this race is all about Tom. Daschle, that is--though right now the Senate minority leader is probably wishing he wasn't getting quite so much attention. Mr. Daschle is used to the spotlight, having spent 26 years working his...

I don't understand how such clearly conservative people can even consider returning this obstructionist to his seat.

To adequately follow along, I suggest several sheets of paper (for the flow charts) and a heavy dose of Tylenol (so your head won’t explode). Go back with me in time – just to last summer – those idyllic days when the stench of political tomfoolery had not yet overwhelmed our senses and triggered our gag reflexes. Then the so-called “intelligence memos” appeared on the radio talk show scene. A memorandum written by a Democrat Senate Intelligence Committee staffer detailed a strategy to painstakingly undermine the President’s policies in Iraq and the War on Terror. National security be damned, so...

The Congress on Racial Equality plans to run advertising in John Edwards' home state of North Carolina challenging him to stop blocking the nomination of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the federal appellate bench:California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown is among a half dozen of Bush's nominees to the appeals court who've been blocked in the Senate by Democrats. The Senate confirms all judicial appointments. Her nomination is opposed by groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But the more conservative Congress of Racial Equality says Brown is a role model who...

(CNSNews.com) - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi stands opposed to the nomination of Rep. Peter Goss (R-Fla.), an eight-term congressman and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, to head the CIA, but just two months ago, Pelosi pledged to support Goss for the position. On Tuesday, Pelosi suggested Goss is too "political" to be named director of the Central Intelligence Agency. "But I will say what I said before is that there shouldn't - a person should not be the director of central intelligence who's acted in a very political way when we're dealing with the safety of the American...

I received this email today... -----Original Message----- From: info@johnthune.com [mailto:info@johnthune.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 13:23 Subject: Donation Confirmation Thank you for your contribution to my campaign for the United States Senate. Please consider this email a confirmation that we have received your generous donation. We appreciate your willingness to make a real difference in the future of South Dakota and the Nation by supporting our agenda. With the help and commitment of good people like you, we will win this race. Sincerely, John Thune----------------------------------------------------- MASTERS OF OBSTRUCTION The Daschle-Democrats in the United States Senate have become notorious for preventing...

Abortion Advocate to Head Democratic Program Against Bush Judges Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Just days after a coalition of groups announced an ad campaign designed to blast President Bush for selecting pro-life judges to federal courts, a leading abortion advocate will head up a new campaign for the Democratic Party to attack the president. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Terry McAuliffe unveiled a new campaign last week that will be headed up by former NARAL president Kate Michelman. The DNC's Campaign to Save the Court will “highlight the critically important issue of how the 2004 Presidential election will affect the...