Rummy wants to stay the full Bush term — he has much to do. Undeterred by the consequences of too few troops, too little armor in Iraq, he wants a leaner military. Facts don’t daunt a dedicated warrior, who hikes five miles a day around the Pentagon, thwarting reporters’ probing questions. Reduced enlistments make smaller [...]

A day after the Senate passed the Real ID act, hundreds of fake badges from 35 government agencies were confiscated. This is a major risk. The badges were so realistic even officials wouldn’t know they weren’t real. Citizens would be confused too. Before we create 50 Real IDs, we should consider: will they be easier [...]

Republicans usually do well with names, but they dropped the ball on CAFTA. The Central American Free Trade Agreement becomes less popular by the day. First, It sounds too much like NAFTA, the treaty that helped turn many Democrats against such deals – they finally realized free trade seems to help everyone but us. Ballooning [...]

American Conservative Union will pay tribute to Tom DeLay with a $250 a plate dinner May 12, at the Capital Hilton. Here is a suggested invocation: We gather to honor the Hammer and pray he stays out of the slammer.

The New York Times predicts the Senate showdown on judges starts soon. I hope they’re right, this is a fight I don’t think Republicans can win. If a few of them see the light, vote against the religious right, Frist becomes grist for the recycle mill. If they don’t, Democrats refuse consent, say: “withdraw that [...]

Since they didn’t have enough to do, (they’re fighting his programs left and right) Bush told governors to choose which national forests should be opened to roads, drilling, mining, logging, or other productivity. If they don’t decide in 18 months, Forest Service will. If they do, the feds can say “yes� or “no.� (Imagine Bush [...]

Representative Bill Thomas surprised House leaders by promising Christmas in June. His Ways and Means committee will write legislation to “save� Social Security sure to outflank the bill sought by the Senate Finance committee and the White House. Thomas, who never lost a floor vote, proposes a long list of sweeteners: help troubled industries with [...]

Tom DeLay’s carefully crafted corral collapsed. The House restored the decree removing any leader indicted for a crime, then repealed new rules permitting any probe to be blocked. Good friends added to the ethics committee recused themselves from investigating Tom. Finding himself in worse shape than last term, when he was censured three times, the [...]

We toppled a terrible tyranny, and produced pandemonium. We held an election. Impressive numbers voted for people who have failed to form a government. It is time for President Bush to abandon his aggressive attack on Social Security and devote sixty stops in sixty days to getting us out of Iraq.

Congress wants to turn driver’s licenses into national ID cards, and has a long list of requirements for the states. Social security numbers and addresses are easy to get, but how does anyone born here verify citizenship? Birth certificates are photo copies, obtained by mail, with no picture and a barely legible state seal. What [...]

Republicans rush to take over Public Broadcasting. The chairman hired a search firm to recruit a former official of the Republican Party to be the new President. Concerned that “Now with Bill Moyers� had too many liberal guests, he gave Paul Gigot a new show featuring the Wall Street Journal’s editorial staff – no liberals [...]

Words are important to Republicans, but not permanent. Estate tax became death tax. Private accounts turned into personal accounts practically in mid-speech. They called ending the filibuster on appointments their nuclear option, now they say constitutional option. (’cause some pronounce it nuculer?) Democrats usually refuse to adopt the new words, but they should agree to [...]

After 60 days of trying to convince us diverting taxes to private accounts would solve the Social Security crisis, Bush tackles high gasoline prices. He admits he can’t do anything about them right now, but insists Congress must pass his energy bill. It promotes nuclear power and liquefied natural gas. That won’t help the cost [...]