Archive: July 2008
Party Time '08 - Dems Ready to Shake, Rattle & Roll
Organizers of the event are billing it as the "hippest party" at the Democratic convention in Denver. And odds are very high given that the bash, which will be hosted by the get-out-the-vote group HeadCount, features the electrifying Robert Randolph & The Family Band. "This should be one of the most mind-blowing events of the convention!" says Bruce Kieloch, the event chairman. And if you've...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 31, 2008; 1:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Rep. Conyers Gets Out Latino Vote for Obama (Or Maybe Not)
It wasn't exactly the crowd he was going after, but Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) really turned heads at Tuesday evening's reception to celebrate the gorgeous new chancery building of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. It was something he wore: a button that said "Latinos for Obama." (barackobama.com) Conyers, the subpoena-wielding chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is African American, not Latino. And...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 31, 2008; 9:50 AM ET | Comments (11)
Rep. DeGette on 'Sex, Science and Stemcells' and Obama
It's not just the most powerful congressional leaders who are writing books these days. Backbencher Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) has one hitting bookstores next week. And even if the book itself isn't that sexy, the title helps: "Sex, Science and Stem Cells." DeGette, a chief architect of the stem cell research bill that was vetoed twice by President Bush, writes about the Bush administration's politicization...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 30, 2008; 3:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
GOP Rep. Sessions' Defends His Burlesque Fundraiser
We had never heard of a member of Congress holding a fundraiser at a Las Vegas burlesque nightclub... until now. And the culprit is card-carrying conservative Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.). The same Pete Sessions who scolded Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for forcing "their liberal values upon the rest of the country" after their infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime striptease. But that was then. Now...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 29, 2008; 4:55 PM ET | Comments (38)
Obama Backs Larry Craig? Change We Can't Believe In!
Just as Dewey defeated Truman, Barack Obama supports Sen. Larry Craig (R-Men's Room). A la the Chicago Tribune's famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline, folks all across Idaho are howling over a snafu that put presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on a political button with Larry Craig, who isn't even running for reelection in Idaho on account of his arrest in an airport men's room...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 28, 2008; 5:35 PM ET | Comments (22)
Cantor for Veep Movement Gaining Steam
Conservatives wary of John McCain and worried about who he'll choose for a running mate are offering up ideas left and -- more to the point -- right. One of the ideas gaining momentum in conservative circles is Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.). McCain-Cantor Campaign Button Cantor, the 45-year-old Republican chief deputy whip of the House, has three great attributes: youth, conservative bona fides and geographic...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 25, 2008; 2:00 PM ET | Comments (0)
A Media Ambush in Rep. Wexler vs. Bill O'Reilly
Is this the season for media ambushing of unsuspecting politicians, or what? The latest victim is Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), who was caught off guard by Fox News cameras in the driveway of his suburban Maryland home. Fox News, fueled by talk show host Bill O'Reilly, who admitted he had a vendetta against the congressman, was out to prove that Wexler resides in Rockville, Md.,...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 25, 2008; 6:00 AM ET | Comments (104)
Fannie and Freddie Drop Convention Party Sponsorship (Sort Of)
Under intense scrutiny, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have decided to remove their companies' respective names from the invitations to posh industry receptions at the Democratic and Republican national conventions. As the Sleuth reported on July 18, Fannie and Freddie were among the sponsors of parties in Denver, where the Democrats will be gathering, and in Minneapolis, where the Republicans will be holding...
By Sarah Lovenheim | July 24, 2008; 5:50 PM ET | Comments (0)
Rudy Giuliani's Son Files Suit Against Duke
Andrew Giuliani, the only son of the former New York City mayor, is teeing off with his best swing against Duke University, where he's a rising senior and aspiring pro golfer. The younger Giuliani has filed a federal lawsuit in North Carolina alleging he was kicked off the Duke golf team over "unfounded accusations" and the new coach's "bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme." Newsday...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 24, 2008; 1:45 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fannie and Freddie, Saved But Still Loathed (By Some)
Fannie and Freddie are becoming the most unpopular couple on the Washington party circuit, at least in certain circles. Conservatives on Capitol Hill are exceedingly irate that, in the face of a massive congressional rescue of the twin mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to host posh receptions at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions this summer. (Click here to read our...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 23, 2008; 6:17 PM ET | Comments (5)
Richard Simmons Gets Congress Sweatin' to the Oldies
This could be the most high-energy week Congress has seen in a very, very long time. The man who is arguably America's most famous fitness icon of all time is coming to Capitol Hill to shake things up -- literally. Fitness guru Richard Simmons exercises during a 2000 publicity event. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg, file) That's right, Richard Simmons, who turned 60 this month and whose...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 23, 2008; 8:00 AM ET | Comments (9)
House Candidates Go For The Bling
It's amazing to see how some congressional candidates are spending their campaigns' money -- on hotels, limousines, wedding gifts for constituents, golf bags and spa items from Saks Fifth Avenue, crystal bowls from an upscale jewelry store. As Fred Astaire and Lil' Wayne might say, sky's the limit. Among the more interesting and offbeat expenditures listed in the latest campaign financial disclosure reports, the reelection...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 22, 2008; 12:03 PM ET | Comments (0)
Is Sen. Thune Trying Out for Veep Nominee?
After making his third appearance on behalf of John McCain's presidential campaign in about as many weeks, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has begun to look like he's at Major League tryout camp. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) (Alex Wong--Reuters) On Thursday, Thune participated in a news conference in Washington to unveil a McCain campaign video slamming presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's "political posturing" on the...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 18, 2008; 5:55 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fannie and Freddie Ready To Drown Their Sorrows
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to let loose and forget about their troubles at this summer's Democratic and Republican national conventions, while plying their congressional critics with champagne and hors d'oeuvres. While congress considers a taxpayer-funded rescue plan, the twin mortgage giants are planning to host receptions in Denver, where Democrats will hold their convention beginning Aug. 28, and in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where Republicans...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 18, 2008; 10:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
GOP Sen. Hatch's Ballad to Liberal Buddy Ted Kennedy
Hard to imagine, but conservative Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) stands to play a vital role at the Democratic convention in Denver next month. And it could be a real tearjerker. Hatch, a songwriter, has written a ballad for the Senate's ultimate liberal lion, his dear old friend and longtime legislative ally, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), which Democrats are considering having performed in the Mile High...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 16, 2008; 6:55 PM ET | Comments (33)
Glass Ceiling Busters Storm House and Senate
The Senate quietly shattered a glass ceiling this week. The Rev. Dr. Patricia Bryant Harris, a Methodist pastor in Wilmington, Del., became the first black woman to serve as a guest chaplain in the Senate. She opened the historic session of the chamber praying that the "result of all the works within this place free people, free nations from grief, hunger and pain." Asked how...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 16, 2008; 3:43 PM ET | Comments (9)
Rep. Giffords's Spacey Party
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is a little less spaced out now that her husband is back on planet Earth. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband Cmdr. Mark Kelly. (Courtesy Gabrielle Giffords) The newlywed congresswoman is so proud of her husband, Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly, who commanded last month's space shuttle mission to the International Space Station, she's throwing a party for him tonight on Capitol Hill....
By Mary Ann Akers | July 16, 2008; 10:06 AM ET | Comments (6)
Kucinich's Impeachment Res on House Floor Today
OK, impeachment watchers, tune in to C-SPAN's House channel at 5 p.m. ET today to watch Rep. Dennis Kucinich's (D-Ohio) next step in his crusade to impeach President Bush. As Kucinich announced in an e-mail to supporters today, "This afternoon, at approximately 5 p.m. (EDT), the Clerk of the House of Representatives will give the first reading of the Article of Impeachment of President George...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 15, 2008; 1:55 PM ET | Comments (31)
Party Time '08 -- A Star-Studded Democratic Convention
Besides obsessing over the lineup of prime time speakers, national convention planners in both parties are frenetically orchestrating the behind-the-scenes fun -- the real reason why people go to these events: to party. More than just coronating their respective presidential nominees, the Republican and Democratic national conventions have long been bastions of booze-and-schmooze infused celebrations, where influence peddlers wine and dine the masses and rub...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 14, 2008; 12:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Fed Chief Bernanke Has How Many Friends On Facebook?
When your job is running the entire economy, navigating the stormy ups and downs of the stock market, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, etc., you need a lot of friends. Which would explain why Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might have a Facebook page, where he can make all the friends he needs. A Facebook page bearing the name of Benjamin Bernanke sure looked real enough....
By Mary Ann Akers | July 10, 2008; 10:00 PM ET | Comments (3)
Rev. Jackson's Loose Lips, From 'Hymietown' to Obama's Anatomy
Play Video VIDEO | Jackson Apologizes for Comments About Obama Is this nuts, or what? Rev. Jesse Jackson's vulgar comment revealed Wednesday -- that he wanted to castrate presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama -- wasn't his first presumed off-record gaffe. Remember "Hymietown"? And while the two different slurs uttered 24 years apart were uniquely offensive, they were similar in that Jackson assumed in...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 9, 2008; 11:30 PM ET | Comments (41)
Freshman GOP Rep. Heller's Anti-GOP Rhetoric Stirs Reaction
Freshman Rep. Dean Heller's (R-Nev.) unusually frank comments about his own party needing to "clean house" -- starting with members of the historic class of 1994 -- are rubbing his GOP colleagues the wrong way. And predictably, members of the famous revolution class that ended a 40-year Democratic reign in the House are especially peeved. Heller's offense was telling the Las Vegas Review Journal, "I'm...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 9, 2008; 4:10 PM ET | Comments (16)
Vitter Seeks Help Paying for 'Very Serious Sin'
Off the hook but cash strapped, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is appealing to the Federal Election Commission to allow him to use campaign donations to defray legal costs associated with his involvement in the famed D.C. Madam case. Sen. David Vitter accompanied by his wife Wendy Vitter at a news conference in Metairie, La. on July 16, 2007. (AP File Photo/Alex Brandon) According to this...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 8, 2008; 5:35 PM ET | Comments (9)
Rep. Pickering Rethinks Spending More Time With Family
When up-and-comer Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) made the shocking announcement last summer that he was retiring, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family. It was just as shocking yesterday when the congressman disclosed he has filed for divorce. "My decision to initiate a divorce proceeding has been difficult, and not one that I have entered into lightly," the 44-year-old Pickering said...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 2, 2008; 5:53 PM ET | Comments (22)
Gonzo's Unsolicited Advice to McCain and Obama
Alberto Gonzales probably wouldn't be the first person Barack Obama or John McCain would turn to for guidance. Just look how the former Bush attorney general's legal advice on torture, wiretapping and secret overseas prisons turned out -- not to mention his decision to fire nine U.S. attorneys (which he doesn't remember). Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (Getty Images) But Gonzales is giving the two...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 2, 2008; 1:58 PM ET | Comments (19)
Christian Site's Ban on 'G' Word Sends Homosexual to Olympics
The American Family Association obviously didn't foresee the problems that might arise with its strict policy to always replace the word "gay" with "homosexual" on the Web site of its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow. The group's automated system for changing the forbidden word wound up publishing a story about a world-class sprinter named "Tyson Homosexual" who qualified this week for the Beijing Olympics. Tyson Gay...
By Mary Ann Akers | July 1, 2008; 12:18 PM ET | Comments (167)
