Jack Abramoff

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule
By Thomas Frank
Metropolitan Books, 384 pages, $25

Call it the Thomas Frank Problem: Since What’s the Matter With Kansas? (2005), the journalist and polemicist has become a figure of irresolvable promise and consternation to the American left. Kansas, of course, put in straight and strident words what liberals previously felt compelled to dance around: that the conservative revolution was won, in large part, by convincing anxious citizens to vote directly against their economic interest. Four years later, and the Problem raises clamors on least two fronts.

The first is factual. As a number of academic number-crunchers have discovered, class—and especially the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses issue of "relative deprivation"—remains a fairly good indicator of political behavior, as long as you’re asking the right questions.  read more »

To the Editor:  read more »

To the Editor:    read more »

When future historians of the current Gilded Age in our nation’s capital need to designate its zei  read more »

While Mark Green and Andrew Cuomo are still working on their definition of negative campaigning, a similarly constructive dialogue is being carried out between the Democratic candidates in Brooklyn's 11th Congressional district.

Outside the candidate forum in Park Slope last night, a flier was distributed that said, "Why is David Yassky, a Democrat, taking money from Jack Abramoff's law firm and from supporters of Rick Santorum?"

Yassky, reading from the flier on stage, noted that it did not say who paid for it and was therefore a violation of FEC regulations. He then addressed the accuracy of the attack, explaining that he worked at one of the law firms in question, and that his friend from law school worked at another firm referred to in the flier.

Then, to move things in a more positive direction, Yassky asked if all the candidates if they would agree not to negative campaigns for the remainder of the primary.

Yvette Clarke and Carl Andrews, whom Yassky praised for not going negative, agreed.

Chris Owens didn't.

Later, Owens said the person distributing the flier was a volunteer, not a paid member of his campaign.

-- Azi Paybarah

Tom DeLay resigned his Congressional seat with all the dignity, discretion and probity that have mar  read more »

The modern city dweller must suffer rats, cockroaches, the occasional snakefish and lately, it seems  read more »

The modern city dweller must suffer rats, cockroaches, the occasional snakefish and lately, it seems  read more »

The White House possesses several photographs of George W.  read more »

It's only January, but get used to a lot more of this.

It's a campaign spot for Kirsten Gillebrand, who's running for congress against John Sweeney. Leading with stills of Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and a narrative of the scandal, the ad says: "It's worth asking -- what is our congressman doing to fix this mess? He's going skiiing. In Utah. With lobbyists."  read more »

The ad, by Hudson Partners (the Glover Park Group's political arm) cuts to footage from the slopes, with music by the Go-Gos. And lots of details of Sweeney's pharmeceutical-industry funded junket.

(One imagines that Sweeney will be more eager to talk about wiretapping.)

If we are to believe the latest press releases from Capitol Hill, the leaders of Congress aren&rsquo  read more »

If we are to believe the latest press releases from Capitol Hill, the leaders of Congress aren’t a  read more »

CNN is reporting that ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff is pleading guilty to corruption charges. Now the question becomes who goes down with him.

Here's Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who runs a liberal watchdog group, in Bloomberg News:  read more »

"I believe he has to be giving up members of Congress...Otherwise, Abramoff is as high as you go.''

For a crude bully who used to bray about lining up Democrats and anti-war protesters to be “sh  read more »

For a crude bully who used to bray about lining up Democrats and anti-war protesters to be “shot,  read more »

Back when Republicans still behaved like Republicans and conservatives actually believed in conserva  read more »

"Never stay for the second act," Web log pioneer Matt Drudge said. Mr.  read more »

"Never stay for the second act," Web log pioneer Matt Drudge said. Mr.  read more »

As the rhetoric of the radical right turns shrill and even violent, the stunning moral emptiness of  read more »

The deepening reds and blues of America's political map are making it harder and harder to be a Repu  read more »

Two months ago, the Republican members of the House of Representatives voted to repeal the rule that  read more »