By Steve Huff 4/21/12 5:36pm

Obits

Chuck Colson (ChuckColson.org)

Watergate Figure Chuck Colson Dead at 80

Charles “Chuck” Colson, evangelist, author and former hatchet man for President Richard M. Nixon, died today, two weeks after surgery on a blood clot in his brain. Mr. Colson was 80 years old.

As President Nixon’s special counsel, Mr. Colson played a major role in the Watergate scandal. While serving on the committee to re-elect the president he took part in the plan for White House “plumbers” like G. Gordon Liddy to steal background information from Democratic foes. Read More

By The Editors 8/02/11 7:44pm

Opening Shot

Boehner and Obama.

As the Debt Ceiling Rises, the Dow Drops

It would almost seem that the stars had finally aligned. After weeks of stalled talks and contentious meetings between House Republicans and Democrats that escalated into a public spat between Speaker John Boehner and President Obama, a bill finally made it through the House and into the Senate, where it was speedily approved Tuesday morning Read More

By Steve Kornacki 7/20/09 1:30am

Hold ‘Em Republicans

Asked on Sunday’s Meet the Press whether he believes there’s a need for Congress to pass some kind of health care reform, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell replied, “Oh, absolutely. I’m not in favor of doing nothing.”

Well, of course he’d say that. Voters have long ranked health care as one of Read More

By Joe Conason 1/13/09 5:12pm

The Stimulus Killers

Would it be rude to ask whether the Republicans have any new proposals to save the country from this worsening recession? The question arises not because anyone expects the minority party to burst forth with creative ideas, but because conservatives in Congress and the media seem so determined to thwart or stall the economic stimulus Read More

By Joe Conason 1/06/09 7:03pm

Hypocrisy From the Party of Pork

As the government contemplates spending very large sums of money, it is reassuring to know that somebody still worries about waste. Or it would be reassuring, if only that somebody were not Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, who promises that he and his fellow Republicans will “protect taxpayers against the rush to spend their Read More

By Steve Kornacki 11/05/08 1:10am

Mitch McConnell’s Challenger Not Done Yet

The good news for Democrats is that nearly 20 percent of the vote in Kentucky has been tabulated, and even though the state was called early for John McCain, Bruce Lunsford remains relatively close to Mitch McConnell in the race for U.S. Senate, trailing by about 12,000 votes. McConnell seemed to be widening his lead Read More

By Joe Conason 6/26/06 12:00am

A Burning Issue on Capitol Hill

Sometime before the Fourth of July, the Senate will vote on a constitutional amendment to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag. The House of Representatives already has passed the same legislation by the required two-thirds margin, and enough state legislatures would vote for the amendment to assure its approval.

So the final bulwark Read More

By Joe Conason 4/01/02 12:00am

An Unlikely Ally Of Kenneth Starr

When George W. Bush reluctantly signs the campaign-finance reform legislation that bears the name of his most bitter Republican rival, it will be easy to celebrate John McCain’s moment of triumph. After so many years of struggle against autocratic Congressional leaders, after so many cases of transparent bribery at the highest levels of politics and Read More