June 19, 2007 – Capitol Hill Blue

War-weary troops face tour extensions

June 19, 2007

As the Iraq civil war escalates into bloody chaos and President George W. Bush shows no sign of backing down from his failed troop surge, the Army will need to extend combat tours for battle-weary troops.

Reports out of Iraq say troop morale nosedives and news that many may not come home when scheduled is expected to further demoralize on-the-ground soldiers who know all too well the war is lost.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Green admitted to Congress Tuesday that the Pentagon is considering extending the combat tours of soldiers currently in Iraq and may also have to send Reserve and National Guard units back for third and fourth deployments.

Rudy’s South Carolina chairman indicted

June 19, 2007

Republican Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s South Carolina state chairman stepped down Tuesday after a federal grand jury indicted him on cocaine charges.

Thomas Ravenel, South Carolina State Treasurer, is a former real estate developer and a rising star in southern politics.

The indictment came as a second blow to Giuliani’s troubled campaign for President this week, hard on the heels of revelations that the former New York mayor who became a symbol of the city’s struggles in the 9/11 terrorist had quit the Iraq Study Group panel to hit the lecture circuit and earn millions.

Bush’s budget director quits

June 19, 2007

Another senior official in George W. Bush’s troubled White House is jumping ship. Budget director Rob Portman turned in his resignation Tuesday.

Bush immediately tapped former Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle to replace Portman but the former chairman of the House Budget Committee may get a cool reception from Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Nussle ran for Iowa governor in 2006 but lost and has been working as an advisor to Rudy Giuliani’s Presidential campaign.

Bloomberg quits Repubican Party

June 19, 2007

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now a politician looking for a party.

He may also be looking at a run for the President as an independent in 2008.

Bloomberg quit the Republican Party Tuesday, saying “the politics of partisanship…have paralyzed decision-making.”

The break is not a surprise. Bloomberg is a frequent critic of President George W. Bush’s policies. He also was a lifelong Democrat before switching to the GOP in 2001 for his first run for Mayor.

White House illegally destroyed emails

June 19, 2007

The Bush Administration knowingly and openly violated the law by deleting email records for 51 White officials who had email accounts with the Republican National Committee.

A report issued Monday by the House Oversight Committee says the White House eliminated the email records to thwart a Congressional investigation into overt political activity by the White House.

The House investigation also found the White House lied about the number of staff members with the illegal RNC email accounts and deliberately concealed details on usage of the accounts.

Veto? We don’t need no stinkin’ veto

June 19, 2007

When the Republicans were in charge of Congress, President Bush was the most spendthrift chief executive since LBJ and the Great Society. But now that Democrats are in charge the president has decided it’s time to hold the line on spending.

He has promised to veto any spending bill that exceeds the amounts he asked for in the budget he submitted in February.

So far he’s off to an uneven start.

An overwhelming lack of common sense

June 19, 2007

A young man of 17 engages in a consensual Clintonesque sexual activity at a party with a 15-year-old girl and is put away for 10 years and must register as a pervert.

A Washington, D.C., administrative judge sues a cleaning establishment for $54 million for a missing pair of pants and actually gets his case heard.

A prosecutor and judge team up to throw the book at a former vice presidential aide in a blatant political show of force over something that occurs almost daily in this city.

A grim outlook for Iraq

June 19, 2007

In remarkably blunt terms, a little-known but highly influential adviser to the top U.S. commander in Iraq is predicting that July and August could be among the deadliest months ever for American forces and Iraqi civilians.

That’s the assessment of David Kilcullen, an Australian army veteran who is considered one of the world’s top authorities on counterinsurgencies. Kilcullen is a personal adviser to Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and allied troops in Iraq.

Bush skirts law with ‘signing statements’

June 19, 2007

President George W. Bush breaks the law by failing to follow provisions of legislation passed by Congress and illegally modifies those bills through the use of “signing statements” that add his own interpretations or limitations.

That’s the conclusion of an investigation by the General Accounting Office, an independent investigatory arm of Congress.

Administration critics say the report is another indication of how the Bush Administration ignores the law of the land.

Obama admits a ‘dumb mistake’

June 19, 2007

In a rare moment of political candor, Democratic Presidential contender Barack Obama Monday admitted his campaign screwed up big time by sending out a memo criticizing opponent Hillary Clinton’s financial ties to India.

“It was a dumb mistake on our campaign’s part and I made it clear to my staff in no uncertain terms that it was a mistake,” Obama told the Associated Press in a brief interview in which he referred to the memo as “unnecessarily caustic.”