Dean: Keeping Lieberman As Chairman Is Shrewd Move

DNC Chair Howard Dean welcomed the decision to keep Senator Joseph Lieberman as head of the Homeland Security Committee and, consequently, in the Democratic Caucus, saying the move was pragmatic, magnanimous and politically shrewd.
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How Jack ‘The Big Fish’ Murtha Got Away

Luckily for Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), his constituents weren’t too offended. The folks he labeled “redneck” and “racist” wound up reelecting him by an overwhelming margin – 58 percent to 42 percent – despite polls showing he was toast.
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GOP pushing Pelosi as boogeywoman not working

For more than two years, Nancy Pelosi has played a starring role in Republican attacks on Democratic congressional candidates. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) warned of the liberal horrors of a Pelosi regime in the runup to the 2006 elections, and so far this year Republicans have tried to use the current House speaker [...]

GOP open seats boost Democrats House chances

A rush of Republican retirements has positioned Democrats to pick up 20 or more seats in the House and transform what might otherwise be a march to modest gains on Election Day into a wave to a lopsided majority.  Across the country, GOP departures — many in districts the party has controlled for decades — [...]

GOP “Death List” Predicts Democratic Blowout in the House

Voter displeasure with the war and economy, coupled with Sen. Barack Obama’s popularity, has the House GOP running for cover. Even though polls have shown that Americans don’t like congressional Democrats any more, a new internal GOP tally of House races suggests a Democratic route that could keep the Republicans in the minority for decades. [...]

Republicans fighting for their political careers

Top campaign officials for both parties, pollsters and independent experts say the intense focus on the economic turmoil and last week’s bailout vote have combined to rapidly expand a Democratic advantage in Congressional contests. Analysts now predict a Democratic surge on a scale that seemed unlikely just weeks ago, with even some Republicans in traditional [...]

Obama Picks Joe Biden For VP

It was learned late Friday that Barack Obama selected Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware late Friday night to be his vice presidential running mate, CBS News director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris confirms, balancing his ticket with an older congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, [...]

Senate votes show GOP power vacuum

“The Senate has already basically decided to disregard Bush,” said one GOP Senate aide.
GOP senators have disregarded the views of both McCain and Bush recently.  Two lopsided votes in the U.S. Senate last week reveal a power vacuum in the Republican Party. President Bush’s influence is diminishing quickly, Sen. John McCain has not yet established himself [...]

House passes energy bill but Bush set to veto

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed an energy bill that would boost vehicle fuel economy requirements by 40 percent by 2020, raise ethanol use by five-fold by 2022 and impose $13 billion in new taxes on big energy companies.
The centerpiece of the 1,055-page Energy Independence and Security Act is an increase in the [...]

Senate Backs Freeze on Tax Without Cost Offsets

Trying to find a way out of a sticky tax problem, the Senate on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to prevent the alternative minimum tax from hitting millions of middle-class Americans without replacing the $50 billion that would be lost.
The move represented a bitter retreat for Senate Democrats who, in taking over Congress this year, pledged to [...]