DC Download

Al Franken: Another Senate seating ruckus?

Bill Lambrecht — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:51:28 +0000

Note: DC Download has now fully merged with Political Fix, so please consult Fix in the months ahead for posts on the goings-on in Washington and Congress.)

WASHINGTON — Roland Burris isn’t the only would-be U.S. senator whose arrival in D.C. will be…

Obama’s olive branch to the Christian right

Bob Albrecht — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:23:27 +0000

WASHINGTON - The man who called gay marriage “morally equivalent to allowing brothers and sisters to marry,” is going to deliver a religious invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in. He described abortion as a “holocaust.”

He’s Rick Warren, the pastor at 20,000-member…

Bill Clinton releases names of big bucks buddies

Bob Albrecht — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:48:53 +0000

WASHINGTON - Some of the most generous contributors to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation are world leaders that his wife, Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton, will engage as the nation’s top diplomat.

According to a list of donors released on Clinton’s Web…

With Vilsack, more big subsidies or ‘Nixon to China’?

Bill Lambrecht — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:21:21 +0000

Will Tom Vilsack represent more than Iowa in Washington?

WASHINGTON — At first blush, Barack Obama’s selection today of Tom Vilsack as Agriculture Secretary seems no great gift to reformers.

After all, Vilsack was governor of Iowa, where farmers received $3.76 billion (with a “b”) in federal…

African-Americans, young voters key to Obama’s win

Bob Albrecht — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:36:24 +0000

WASHINGTON - A turnout rise among African Americans and college-educated youth propelled Barack Obama to a presidential victory and the country to its highest voter turnout since 1960, according to a report released today by voter guru Curt Gans, the head of the…

‘Sundance Kid’ says don’t sell off wild lands

Bob Albrecht — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:17:16 +0000

WASHINGTON - Actor Robert Redford lent his celebrity to a coalition of environmental groups Wednesday that announced a lawsuit against the Interior Department to prevent the Bush Administration from auctioning off 110,000 acres of Utah wilderness.

“What you keep getting shocked about is how…

GOP keeps heat on Obama

Bill Lambrecht — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:17:56 +0000

Ex-Speaker and GOP tactician Newt Gingrich says his party should lighten up on Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON — Should national Republicans be fixated on the relationship, if any, between Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich?

By some accounts, it’s about the best holiday gift that the GOP…

Sorry Barack, no room in this inn

Bill Lambrecht — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:17:13 +0000

WASHINGTON — That’s what Barack Obama was told when he asked the White House to let his family move early into Blair House so his daughters could start school on Jan. 5.

So reports the New York Times this afternoon, adding the White…

Will the Minnesota Senate race ever end?

Bob Albrecht — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:11:07 +0000

WASHINGTON - The contest is in overtime and challenger Al Franken appears to be on the offensive in his race against Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican, following a pair of rulings by the Minnesota Canvassing Board.

The board recommended the inclusion…

McCain: A Bush spokesman?

Bob Albrecht — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:47:33 +0000

WASHINGTON - What did we learn about presidential politics at the conclusion of a nearly two-year race that culminated in the election of Barack Obama? Don’t irritate David Letterman, at least that was the lesson learned by Rick Davis, who…