Frank James

Former IRS Head To Senate: It Wasn't My Fault

Frank James — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:13:00 +0000

It was the Senate's turn Tuesday to grill the Internal Revenue Service, or more accurately, former agency officials, about its handling of the scandal involving the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Unlike last week, when House lawmakers got to beat up only on Steve Miller — until recently the IRS' acting director whose "resignation" President Obama reported at a hastily called appearance before news cameras last week — this time Miller was joined by Douglas Shulman, the former commissioner who left that post in November. They were joined by J.

Why the IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

Frank James — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:31:00 +0000

Of all the controversies swirling around the Obama White House, the Internal Revenue Service scandal seems likeliest to have the longest shelf life.

While the Benghazi affair has long been in the news, it's never really taken off as an issue beyond the Republican base.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration's position that national security considerations justified the Justice Department's gathering of journalists' phone records in a leak investigation may be enough to remove fuel from the outrage.

A New Front In The War On Obamacare: Twitter

Frank James — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:36:00 +0000

A simple idea: attack Obamacare tersely.

On the same day House Republicans scheduled their latest symbolic vote to repeal Obamacare, as part of their full-court press against the law they also took to Twitter to say, in three words, why they oppose the legislation.

Speaker John Boehner led the GOP tweet slaps that used the trending hashtag #ObamaCareInThreeWords: "Repeal for jobs" and "Scares small businesses" showed up on his timeline.

Hou

Ten Things We Learned From the IRS-Inspector General Report

Frank James — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:19:00 +0000

Scintillating isn't how you'd describe the report issued by the Treasury inspector general's report on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups.

It was written, after all, by government bureaucrats for government bureaucrats.

Controversies Risk Starving Obama's Agenda Of Air

Frank James — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:53:00 +0000

This was the critical moment, the brief time between his inaugural and when the nation's collective focus turns to whom his successor will be, when President Obama had to make real progress on his second-term agenda and thus forge his legacy.

Instead, the president finds his administration, the public, Congress and the news media distracted by controversies over Benghazi, the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups and a leak investigation in which the Justice Department secretly obtained months of phone records of Associated Press journalists.

The result?

Clinton White House Crisis Manager Dings Obama's Message Team

Frank James — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:55:00 +0000

Lanny J. Davis, a former special counsel for President Clinton, is a man who knows something about managing a White House crisis. And he isn't exactly impressed by how President Obama's aides have handled the fallout from numerous crises, from Solyndra to Benghazi and now with the Internal Revenue Service controversy.

"Honestly, I voted for Obama.

Both Sides In Sanford, Colbert Busch Race Hopeful In Last Hours

Frank James — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:08:00 +0000

Updated at 9:29 pm ET --- Former South Carolina Republican governor Mark Sanford easily beat Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch to regain the House seat he once held.

For Sanford, the victory in the strongly Republican 1st Congressional District was sure to be widely viewed as a personal redemption.

DeMint's Departure: One-Time Ally Spurns Rubio

Frank James — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:51:00 +0000

There was a time when Jim DeMint was committed to helping Sen. Marco Rubio achieve his goals.

Not anymore.

At least not when it comes to remaking the nation's immigration laws.

DeMint is president of the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation, which on Monday released a report contending that an immigration overhaul would cost U.S.

Ayotte Becoming Gun Control Lightning Rod

Frank James — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000

Of the senators who have become lightning rods for voting against expanded criminal background checks for gun buyers, New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte is drawing the most bolts.

Video of Ayotte being questioned by the daughter of the principal killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., has gone viral.

And Ayotte has become an early target of an election-season-style media campaign by a gun control superPAC created by former Arizona Rep.

Giffords Group's Radio Ads Hit McConnell, Ayotte On Gun Vote

Frank James — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:54:00 +0000

After the Senate failed to pass bipartisan legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases, the superPAC created by shooting victim and former Rep.

Plenty Of Finger-Pointing As Budget Cuts Delay First Flights

Frank James — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Blame shifting was in high gear Tuesday on Capitol Hill and at the White House as the first air traffic delays tied to the furloughs of Federal Aviation Administration controllers began to get attention.

The Republicans' message: Delays at some airports this week — a result of automatic spending cuts known as the sequester that took effect in March, but whose resulting furloughs are just kicking in — was a "manufactured crisis," and that the administration wants voters angry enough to force Congress to give President Obama the higher taxes he seeks.

Senate Republicans pointed to congressio

Immigration Overhaul Seems On Track Despite Boston Tragedy

Frank James — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:38:00 +0000

No sooner did the first reports emerge that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were Chechen immigrants than did that fact intrude into Washington's debate on immigration.

Opponents of immigration reform seized on the fact to raise doubts about efforts to change immigration laws to, in part, bring the estimated 12 million people now in the U.S.

Stubbornly, Manchin Maintains Background Checks Optimism

Frank James — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:39:00 +0000

Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who lent his name to bipartisan legislation that would have extended background checks for gun purchasers to gun shows and online sales, isn't letting go.

At least not yet.

To Manchin, the bipartisan compromise he co-sponsored with Sen.

Obama Uses And Loses Political Capital On Gun Control

Frank James — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:53:00 +0000

The Senate's rejection of more robust gun purchase background checks was a stinging blow to President Obama that raised questions about his second-term agenda.

Expanding background checks had become a key part of Obama's post-Newtown push for tougher federal gun control laws.

Obama's 'Terrorism' Description Follows Cautious First Words

Frank James — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:50:00 +0000

On Monday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and some others made a point of highlighting President Obama's failure to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" in his first remarks following the Boston Marathon bombings.

On Tuesday, the president changed the dynamics somewhat: "This was a heinous and cowardly act," Obama said in a brief statement he delivered in the White House press briefing room.

Gun Control Gains Momentum On Capitol Hill And Beyond

Frank James — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:41:00 +0000

The Senate was due on Tuesday to take up legislation embodying the bipartisan compromise reached by two senators, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey.

The effort to extend background checks to weapons purchases at gun shows and online received a boost over the weekend when an important gun rights group, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, announced its support for the measure.

Robert Spitzer, one of the nation's top experts on the politics of gun control and a political scienc

Tiny Group Behind McConnell Recording Causes Outsized Stir

Frank James — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:07:00 +0000

So who exactly comprises Progress Kentucky, the superPAC linked to the surreptitious recording of a meeting at Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign headquarters?

Blacks' Election-Day Waits Nearly Double Those Of Whites, But Why?

Frank James — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:11:00 +0000

On Election Day 2012, black voters waited on average nearly twice as long to vote as did white voters, while the wait time for Hispanic voters fell in between those two groups.

So say the available data, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology political scientist Charles Stewart III.

Obama Riles His Own Party With Social Security Offer

Frank James — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:36:00 +0000

Few things indicate a president no longer needs to worry about re-election more than his willingness to ignite an intraparty firestorm.

President Obama's decision to include in the budget proposal he's scheduled to unveil Wednesday a less generous way to calculate Social Security cost-o

Sen. Landrieu's First GOP Rival Sets In Motion Key 2014 Contest

Frank James — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:07:00 +0000

Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, considered among the most vulnerable of the Senate's red-state Democrats facing 2014 re-election, now has at least one potential Republican opponent, Rep.

Reality Often Rivals Fiction In Political Corruption Scandals

Frank James — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:38:00 +0000

The federal criminal complaint against New York politicians arrested after an FBI sting was a reminder of how often real-life political scandals can read like the imaginings of Hollywood screenwriters.

Immigration Overhaul Inches Forward, But Big Hurdles Remain

Frank James — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

It's still far too early to know whether Congress will actually be able to achieve a comprehensive overhaul to the nation's immigration laws.

A Hint Of Bipartisanship On This Obamacare Tax?

Frank James — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:12:00 +0000

Anyone looking for a glimmer of bipartisanship in Washington might want to pay attention to the medical device tax that is part of Obamacare.

Biden: Administration Still Fighting For Assault Weapons Ban

Frank James — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Vice President Joe Biden told All Things Considered co-host Melissa Block in an interview Wednesday that he and the Obama administration plan to continue to fight for a ban on assault weapons to be included in a larger bill in Congress.

That despite signs that such a ban doesn't have enough support, even from members of Biden's own party, to make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Biden was the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman in 1994 during the passage of a 10-year-long assault weapons ban that was part of a larger crime bill.

Pew Poll: For Many Who've Changed Same-Sex Marriage Views, It's Personal

Frank James — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:09:00 +0000

Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio conservative Republican who recently said he now supports same-sex marriage because he has a gay son, evidently has plenty of company.

A new poll from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press suggests that many Americans have changed their minds — going from opposing to supporting same-sex marriage — because they personally know someone who is gay.

Overall, 28 percent of gay-marriage supporters say they used to be opponents.

Scholar Outlines The Long, Rocky Road Of GOP Outreach Efforts

Frank James — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:23:00 +0000

One of the most interesting observations we've seen regarding the Republican National Committee's latest effort to win the hearts and minds of minorities, women and young voters was to be found on a blog that promotes a

Republicans' Secret To Success? Sound And Act More Like Democrats

Frank James — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:53:00 +0000

Updated at 3:40 p.m.

Romney, Yesterday's Man At CPAC, Gets A Winner's Reception

Frank James — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:27:00 +0000
It was one of the most anticipated moments at this year's large gathering of conservative activists.
What would Mitt Romney say in his first major speech since he lost the presidential election and, even more importantly, how would the crowd treat him?
After all, many of the Republicans attending the Conservative Political Action Conference had long harbored suspicions about Romney's conservatism, wondering if it wasn't more a matter of convenience and political opportunity than conviction.

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul Bring Charisma, Red Meat To Receptive CPAC

Frank James — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:55:00 +0000
The next Republican presidential primary is so far off that some of those attending the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday could be spotted wearing stickers for two potential candidates: Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.
It's just too early to choose.
Mike Demkiw, a Syracuse University political science major and College Republican, sported stickers for both men on his lapels.

Will CPAC Tell Us Which Way The GOP Is Headed?

Frank James — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:43:00 +0000
Which way the Republican Party?
In the hope of getting answers to that and other questions, many activists, party big wigs and political journalists have descended on a hotel in a Washington suburb to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference, which started Thursday.
This annual CPAC gathering is the first since President Obama thwarted Republican efforts to retake the White House, a defeat of Mitt Romney that many in the GOP didn't see coming.
While there will be some backward glances (at least two panels on the agenda are specifically aimed at understanding what went wrong: "