By Ben Smith 12:00am

Dubai or Not Dubai: Chuck On Killed Deal

Even by Chuck Schumer standards, there were a lot of cameras set up outside the Farley Post Office in midtown, where he and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer were expected to denounce illegally mailed cigarettes. As Mr. Spitzer and the press pack waited for the Senator to arrive, Mr. Schumer’s press secretary, Risa Heller, fielded a Read More

By Joe Conason 3/13/06 12:00am

Desperate G.O.P. Attacks the Clintons

When Republican politicians get in trouble, their defense often includes one or both of the following arguments: The Democrats are equally guilty, and it’s all Bill Clinton’s fault anyway. Such claims may be inaccurate as well as irrelevant, but if echoed often enough by conservative pundits on the airwaves and in the papers, they can Read More

By Joe Conason 2/27/06 12:00am

Bush Puts Port Safety In Some Dubious Hands

When Washington politicians protest the purchase of American port facilities by an Arab company, it is natural to suspect prejudice or protectionism or both. When normally supine Republicans such as Bill Frist and Peter King defy the Bush administration to join Democrats like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, the smell of election-year opportunism is Read More

By Staff 2/23/06 12:36pm

Port Polls

In today’s Crain’s Insider [subscription required]:

“A straw poll yesterday of the New York congressional delegation shows unanimous opposition to letting Dubai Ports World operate in New York Harbor, at least pending an investigation.” Crowley, Serrano, Owens, and Velazquez did not respond to the paper’s inquiry.

Also opposing the deal: 69% of Read More