The biggest political story of the month so far is clearly the populist rage on display at town halls across the country. Democrats say this rage is manufactured; Republicans say it is real.
President Obama complained Tuesday about opposition scare tactics against a proposed health care overhaul, but said failing to fix problems in the current system would be the scariest outcome of all.
The government is delaying legal action against Pennsylvania landowners who haven't yet agreed to sell their land for a memorial to victims of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, federal officials said Friday.
When greeting Judge Sonia Sotomayor this week, Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama made sure to tell her something loud enough for the assembled reporters to hear.
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter received welcome news Thursday evening when the Pennsylvanian's only current primary challenger abandoned a run for the Democratic Senate nomination, two Democratic sources told CNN.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, is giving up his chairmanship of the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee and giving it to Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania, Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said Thursday.
The Democratic leader in the Senate promised Sen. Arlen Specter he would retain his seniority when he jumped from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Specter said on Wednesday, but faced "pushback" from other Democratic senators.
Question: How many years since the Civil War have both U.S. senators from Pennsylvania been Democrats?
He has represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for nearly three decades, but Arlen Specter now has to reintroduce himself back home.
A poll of Pennsylvania voters suggests that the newest Democrat in Congress, Sen. Arlen Specter, would easily beat his old rival, Republican Pat Toomey, in a Senate race next year.
The biggest political story of the month so far is clearly the populist rage on display at town halls across the country. Democrats say this rage is manufactured; Republicans say it is real.
President Obama complained Tuesday about opposition scare tactics against a proposed health care overhaul, but said failing to fix problems in the current system would be the scariest outcome of all.
The government is delaying legal action against Pennsylvania landowners who haven't yet agreed to sell their land for a memorial to victims of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, federal officials said Friday.
When greeting Judge Sonia Sotomayor this week, Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama made sure to tell her something loud enough for the assembled reporters to hear.
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter received welcome news Thursday evening when the Pennsylvanian's only current primary challenger abandoned a run for the Democratic Senate nomination, two Democratic sources told CNN.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, is giving up his chairmanship of the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee and giving it to Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania, Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said Thursday.
The Democratic leader in the Senate promised Sen. Arlen Specter he would retain his seniority when he jumped from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Specter said on Wednesday, but faced "pushback" from other Democratic senators.
Question: How many years since the Civil War have both U.S. senators from Pennsylvania been Democrats?
He has represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for nearly three decades, but Arlen Specter now has to reintroduce himself back home.
A poll of Pennsylvania voters suggests that the newest Democrat in Congress, Sen. Arlen Specter, would easily beat his old rival, Republican Pat Toomey, in a Senate race next year.
Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday that he hopes his recent switch to the Democratic Party will serve as a "wake-up call" to an increasingly conservative GOP.
President Obama said Wednesday that he's under no illusions that he'll have a "rubber-stamp Senate" now that Sen. Arlen Specter has switched parties to join the Democrats.
Behind closed doors in recent days, senior White House aides have been saying that measuring President Obama's first 100 days is the journalistic equivalent of a Hallmark holiday.
Arlen Specter, the longtime Republican senator who switched parties Tuesday, admitted Wednesday the move was driven partly by a desire to keep his seat.
The departure of Arlen Specter from the Republican Party puts an exclamation point on a rough first hundred days for the national GOP in the Obama era.
Just when it seemed as if the Republican Party's political standing couldn't get any worse, Sen. Arlen Specter decides to ditch the GOP and join the Democratic Party.
Reaction on Tuesday to Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's switch from the Republican to the Democratic Party ranged from barely concealed glee to dismay among Senate colleagues and elites from both parties.
Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party on Tuesday, saying he has found himself increasingly "at odds with the Republican philosophy."
An influential conservative political action committee is pledging to support primary challenges to any Republican senator who backs the economic stimulus package -- the latest public show of dissatisfaction from the right over the massive measure before Congress.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-2 on Wednesday to send the nomination of Attorney General-designate Eric Holder to the full Senate.
During his confirmation hearing Thursday, Attorney General-designate Eric Holder conceded that he "made mistakes" during the Marc Rich pardon incident that were "not typical" of his conduct over the bulk of his career.
PHILADELPHIA -- It was a beautiful day to play two, here on Sunday, and somewhere around 4:30 on a sun-drenched afternoon a scads of people sauntered across acres of parking lots, leaving the Linc and the Eagles football game and heading north on foot, to the Bank and the Phillies game. Thousands of people had snagged tickets for both, and any fan crossing the lots in mid-afternoon might have found a football suddenly placed squarely in the stomach by a tailgater pretending to be Donovan McNabb or touched on the shin by a homeless man sprawled on the sidewalk or high-fived by cross-dressing strangers, wearing green for the Eagles and red for the Phillies.
Responding to intense criticism from corporations, legal groups, and key members of Congress, the Justice Department announced Thursday that federal prosecutors will no longer be able to strong-arm corporate targets to reveal protected conversations with their attorneys.
New rules on FBI investigations of national security cases should be delayed, top Senate Judiciary Committee members said Monday
Sen. Arlen Specter woke at 4 a.m. one day last week with an excruciating headache, a side effect of chemotherapy. Ninety minutes later, he was on the squash court, playing a partner less than half his age. That's the way Specter faces cancer and chemo. Borrowing a phrase from Winston Churchill, he calls it the "never-give-in" approach.
Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday called for an independent investigation of the New England Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals
While I sat listening to Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday outline why he believes an independent investigation of Spygate is now necessary, I was trying to discern just where such an inquiry would fit in the grand scheme of things when it comes to unresolved matters of national import.
Sen. Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease, which he battled in 2005, has recurred, but doctors said that its return was detected early and that Specter has an "excellent chance" of once again achieving remission, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the senator's office.
Two senators Sunday called for the Justice Department and Congress to investigate how the security of three presidential candidates' passport files was compromised.
Something stinks in the world of Spygate. Call it a spectre over Specter. Call it a distasteful conflict of interest. Call it an unfair accusation against a Senator with motives more pure than a Troy Aikman spiral. Call it manna from heaven for Bill Belichick and his morally impaired Patriots staff. But whatever you call it, don't say that it doesn't have tongues wagging in NFL suites and behind the closed doors of Congress.
A Senate subcommittee probing this summer's deadly Utah mine disaster has subpoenaed the mine's co-owner, ranking member Sen. Arlen Specter said Friday.
The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has become a thorn in the Administration's side over Attorney General Gonzales. But is he more bark than bite?
The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he's not satisfied with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' attempt to clarify his testimony about no-warrant surveillance.
The Attorney General introduces new questions, and shows shrinking powers of recall, in discussing his visit to Ashcroft
President Bush on Thursday refused to comply with subpoenas sent by House and Senate committees requesting documents about the firing of several U.S. attorneys last year.
After almost a week of contentious debate over a broad immigration bill, senators said Thursday they expect the bill to pass.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican warned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to avoid generalizations and "deal with the facts," two days before Gonzales is expected to answer questions about the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that he had struck a deal with the White House to resolve a dispute over the constitutionality of conducting electronic surveillance with court approval.
A Senate committee chairman warned of a "constitutional confrontation" with the Bush administration Wednesday over its domestic surveillance program, threatening to subpoena administration officials or phone company executives in a congressional review.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter reversed course Tuesday, announcing he will not call on phone company executives to testify on their cooperation with the government in a secret eavesdropping program run by the National Security Agency.
Spring is not even a month old but it's already promising to be a long hot summer for American drivers. Gasoline prices are surging toward highs not seen since the wake of Hurricane Katrina last fall - the national average now stands at $2.68 a gallon - and some experts are predicting $3.00 a gallon before long.
As Senate Democrats moved Tuesday to force a procedural vote on a controversial immigration bill, the White House left the door open for support of a proposal that provides a legalization process for illegal immigrants.
Protests against a proposed crackdown on illegal immigrants brought demonstrators to the streets of Los Angeles again Sunday, but in much smaller numbers than Saturday's massive rally.
Congressional leaders reached a deal Thursday to extend key provisions of the Patriot Act, the government's premier anti-terrorism law. However, prominent Democratic senators said they opposed the compromise, and one threatened a filibuster.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito had a private meeting with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday as he sought to reassure lawmakers that he would respect legal precedent on abortion rights and put his personal views aside.
Harriet Miers can ill afford to lose any more support.
As the White House renewed its attempts to rally backing for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, her views -- or non-views -- on a key privacy case appeared to ignite more controversy.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Monday that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers told him in a private meeting that she believed the 1965 case of Griswold vs. Connecticut -- a landmark ruling establishing the right to privacy -- was "rightly decided."
The White House began a renewed attempt Monday to rally backing for Harriet Miers, whose nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to attract widespread support from any part of the political spectrum.
The Department of Defense "ordered five key witnesses not to testify" about a secret Pentagon unit that some claim identified several of the 9/11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks, Sentate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Wednesday.
NARAL Pro-Choice America said late Thursday it was pulling a controversial advertisement in which the abortion rights group accused Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of "supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted bomber."
Sen. Arlen Specter, a busy man with multiple duties, was understandably unprepared July 11 as he chaired a rare Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing about public television.
If we've learned anything from the massive consumer data breaches that have been reported this year, it's this: There isn't much protecting us from having our personal information exposed, traded or stolen.
Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday he believes the Senate has enough votes to override a threatened presidential veto of legislation easing restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
ChoicePoint President Douglas Curling and LexisNexis CEO Kurt Sanford admitted that they did not immediately report security breaches to victims while they were being grilled during Senate hearings over personal identity theft.
He had to beat back a challenge from conservatives who were wary of his pro-choice views, but now Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is leading the Senate's scrutiny of President Bush's court nominees.
Both political parties are to blame for the impasse on confirming President Bush's judicial nominees, says Arlen Specter, Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, began chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease Friday morning in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while dozens of conservative activists delivered get-well cards to his Washington office.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease but intends to continue working during treatment, his office announced Wednesday.
This White House doesn't fool around. Now the strengthened Republican majority in Congress is saying, "Neither do we."
Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, an abortion-rights supporter in line to head the Senate Judiciary Committee, reiterated Monday that he would not hold up President Bush's judicial nominees, even if they oppose abortion rights.
The head of a leading conservative group said Sunday that Sen. Arlen Specter "is a big-time problem" and that his quest to serve as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee "must be derailed."
You know life has returned to, uh, normal when one of the day's top news stories is Scott Peterson.
In his first news conference since his re-election, President Bush dismissed speculation Thursday that he could have a chance to fill a number of Supreme Court openings in his second term.
There's not a lot happening on the other side of Tuesday. Thank God for the new CNN/USA Today/Gallup post-election poll!
To his mostly conservative admirers, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, is admired for being candid in speech and rock solid on social issues. To his critics, mostly non-conservatives, Santorum is judged abrasive and too quick to demonize political adversaries.
This week in "The Inside Edge," how the Google IPO may be just the economic break Bush has been searching for; how Dick Cheney is helping Ralph Nader and why Sen. Arlen Specter's close call this week should scare moderate Republicans.
Democrats today will spin Sen. Arlen Specter's slim win as a sure sign he'll fall this fall. But Specter's eked-out victory is still great news for Republicans. Sources say President Bush, who stumped for Specter just last week, was planning to devote far less time and energy to Pennsylvania if Pat Toomey had won last night.
Veteran GOP Sen. Arlen Specter narrowly won a shot at a fifth term, after a close primary battle with Rep. Pat Toomey, who argued to Pennsylvanians that Specter simply wasn't conservative enough.
We'll hear oral arguments in a major Supreme Court case today and read pages from a new biography on John Kerry from the "Reporters Who Know Him Best."
I'm going to keep the Grind relatively short, recognizing that you all have loads of other reading to do. Admittedly, I didn't spend 3 1/2 hours interviewing President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Check out the links below to hot political stories around the country this morning.
Does this make sense? Illinois is holding presidential primaries Tuesday -- even though the nominations of both parties have already been locked up.
Women -- long crowding the pipeline of the political system -- are bursting onto the national scene. Record numbers of them have decided it is time to head for Capitol Hill or take a shot at a gove...
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |

