The GOP's Priorities

According to the NY Times, "the federal government will be able to require millions of college students to shoulder more of the cost of their education" under the new 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill approved by Congress Saturday. The cut to the Pell Grant program means "nearly 100,000 more students may lose their federal grants entirely" and thousands more will see their grants reduced.

In that same bill, the GOP has included funding for a new "presidential yacht" for George W. Bush.

What a commentary on the Republican Party's priorities.

Still Letting Them Off

The New York Times today reports that there has been an increase in the number of IRS audits of wealthy individuals and large corporations - welcome news considering just a few years back the Times reported that the IRS was more likely To audit the poor than the rich. However, even today's news shows how bad things have become:

"The audit rate for high-income taxpayers last fiscal year rose to nearly 1.5 percent, up from 1.1 percent in fiscal year 2003. But it was well below the rate for 1996, when 3.2 percent of high-income taxpayers were audited...Corporate audits have been sharply declining for nearly a decade."

GOP Overreaching Has Officially Started

These two moves to brazenly ignore existing law and bend the rules for their own benefit should officially symbolize the starting gun for the GOP's radical right-wing overreaching:

PROTECTING THEIR LEADER IF HE IS CRIMINALLY INDICTED: The Washington Post reports, "House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders... House GOP leaders and aides said many rank-and-file Republicans are eager to change the rule to help DeLay, and will do so if given a chance at today's closed meeting."

HIDING THEIR OWN FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: The LA Times reports top congressional Republicans "are trying to limit the personal financial information that top federal officials must disclose" as part of the 9/11 Intelligence Reform Bill. Tucked within the 497 page bill "is a provision to repeal the requirement that senior-level officials report their personal financial assets valued at more than $2.5 million. It also would end the practice of disclosing the dates of stock transactions." The proposal to limit financial disclosures "initially covered only top-level intelligence officials [but] it was recently expanded to include all executive branch officials...new disclosure policies would make it harder to detect when officials have personal financial stakes in matters before them."

GOP Playing With Fire on Public Lands Issues

In my piece about Democrats success in Montana, I pointed out how Republicans are potentially losing a chunk of their base as they cater to the whims of far-right wing private landowners. Specifically, the GOP is forsaking hunters/anglers in their efforts to sell off public lands and restrict stream/hunting access rights. The issue is a good one for progressives, because, as the article notes "it let us speak to both left-leaning environmentalists, who want public lands and wildlife herds maintained, and right-leaning outdoorsmen, who wanted a place to recreate and a steady population of game to hunt." It also is a poignant issue in suburban/exurban communities who are concerned about open space and sprawl.

And now, it is becoming clear that the public lands issue is not just confined to Montana. In California, for instance, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has opened himself up to criticism for trying to sell off public property, and for choking off funding to maintain state parks. Similarly, the Washington Post reports that in Maryland, Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) has moved forward on a "broad strategy to offer up state-owned acreage to developers...[Ehrlich] plans to put a considerable amount of state land up for sale."

All of this shows that the debate is shifting from the narrow focus exclusively on gun control to the broader debate about hunting/fishing rights. And that could mean serious gains for progressives.

Top Billings

Here is my new article for the Washington Monthly, called Top Billings. It is a piece about my experience working for Brian Schweitzer's campaign for governor, and what his win should teach Democrats and progressives throughout the country.

CLAIM vs. FACT: Specter on Judicial Nominees

CLAIM:

"I don't make the decisions" about whether pro-life judges get on the bench.

- Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees all judicial nominations, 11/8/04

FACT:

"According to the Constitution, the Senate's advise and consent responsibility gives senators the authority to approve [or reject] the president's nominees to the court system and elsewhere."

- Fox News, 3/28/04

Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT)

You may have noticed that I had been posting less frequently to this blog over the last 6 weeks or so...it is because I took a leave of absence from my job to go out to Montana to work for Brian Schweitzer, who on Tuesday was elected governor. The first picture here is Schweitzer (left) and his runningmate State Sen. John Bohlinger (right) addressing the crowd on election night...below it is an earlier picture of me about to shoot clay pigeons on Schweitzer's ranch during a lunch break.

In a state that gave about 60% of its vote to Bush, Schweitzer won a solid victory, most other statewide offices went Democratic, as did the State Senate and maybe the State House. It was quite a showing of how Democrats can compete - and win - in areas the national media often too-quickly write off.

Read more about Schweitzer's race on his website. He will be an up-and-coming force in the years ahead.