Issue 446, March 3, 2006

Sen. Clinton says Rove ‘obsesses’ over her

Political speculation in Washington is a non-stop pastime.  So few eyebrows were raised this week when the latest White House “insider” book came out, claiming that White House strategist Karl Rove has predicted that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will be the Democrats’ 2008 presidential candidate.  Senator Clinton attempted to brush off the speculation in a radio interview Monday, saying “[Rove] spends a lot of time obsessing about me.”  However, few were buying it when she added, “He spends more time thinking about my political future than I do.”

Deficit reduction plan: collect unpaid taxes

Tight fiscal times like these have many in Washington looking for every possible source of revenue to fund Uncle Sam’s many undertakings.  A recent report from the IRS indicates one option for boosting revenue would be to collect all of the taxes that are supposed to be paid.  The report shows that roughly $290 billion in taxes owed went unpaid in 2001.  Though some of the gap is accounted for by fraud and evasion, a significant portion is the result of legitimate confusion among millions of Americans over the complexity of the tax code.  President Bush’s budget seeks to increase the IRS’s enforcement budget next year.  The federal tax collecting agency claims that every dollar spent tracking down delinquent results in roughly four dollars of revenue.

Patriot Act and Port Security

The Senate’s passage of a long-term extension of the USA Patriot Act made big news this week.  What was less noticed, however, was the landmark anti-terrorism bill’s link to another top issue of the day: port security.  The millions of Americans voicing concern over a potential deal to give operational control of six U.S. ports over to a United Arab Emirates-owned company will be glad to know that the Patriot Act is strong on port security.  Title III of the Act strengthens our handling of a number of port security issues including transportation of terrorists, obstruction of port inspections, transportation of dangerous materials, and port security bribery.

Alito to Dobson: ‘Thank you’

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee tried a number of tactics to call Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s character into question during his confirmation hearings earlier this year.  Strategies included charges of racism and sexism over Alito’s purported involvement with a Princeton alumni group and conflict-of-interest charges over a case he’d presided over during his career on the appellate bench.  The accusations were enough, at one point, to cause his wife to leave the room in tears.  One learns to truly value his supporters when he’s under withering attack, and few were more supportive of Alito during his confirmation process than Focus on the Family and its founder, Dr. James Dobson.  This week, Dobson told listeners during his radio show that Judge Alito had sent him a note, thanking him and his listeners for their support.  Alito wrote, “The prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and powerful force.  As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me.”

Quote of the Week

“Well, life has changed a lot.  There are still only seven days in a week and still only 24 hours in a day.  But the days and weeks are filled up a little different than what they were.”

- New House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), telling Capitol Hill reporters about the adjustments involved in becoming Majority Leader overnight.
 

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