As Congress debates the size and scope of defense budgets in a looming age of austerity, one senator is seeking to resolve a much older question about the president's ability to exercise military power without the consent of the House and Senate.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine is planning to announce he will run in 2012 for the Virginia U.S. Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Jim Webb, who is retiring, two senior Democratic sources told CNN on Sunday.
Joe Lieberman, Jane Harman and Jim Webb have all recently announced they will be retiring from Congress. Add to this the news that funding for the Democratic Leadership Council has dried up and it will be closing its doors, and that the self-described moderate Blue Dog coalition of House Democrats has dwindled from 54 members last year to 25 this year and we can draw a lamentable conclusion: It's the end of the moderate Democratic party.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, announced Wednesday that he will not seek a second term in 2012 -- likely bolstering Republican chances of capturing the seat next year.
The powerful House Armed Services chairman warned Wednesday that he won't let a Defense Department cost-cutting initiative result in a budget cut for the nation's military.
Some U.S. senators expressed frustration Tuesday with what they called a lack of information from the Defense Department on plans to hold down military spending by closing the Joint Forces Command in Virginia and other steps.
The Senate Armed Services Committee grills Pentagon officials on recent cost-cutting initiatives.
The president nominates officers for important promotions all the time, but Wednesday, he nominated John D. Lavelle, a two-star major general, to be promoted all the way up to a four-star general. What makes this nomination different is that Lavelle died 31 years ago.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed U.S. concerns about Myanmar's reported military ties to North Korea and its potential impact on the region during a visit to Vietnam Thursday.
While the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has put accidental spills squarely in the national spotlight, one U.S. senator is warning of another possible threat: deliberate sabotage.
A key member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced Thursday that he has postponed an upcoming trip to Myanmar out of concern that Myanmar's government is working with North Korea on the development of a nuclear program.
A leading Democratic voice on military affairs has criticized members of his own party for the hurried way in which congressional Democrats and the White House are pushing through the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The government's plan to tax Wall Street's bonus bounty is shaping up to be nothing more than a pipe dream.
The Justice Department remained tightlipped Friday as criticism mounted over the decision to hold the the September 11 terrorist attack trial in a civilian court in lower Manhattan.
Look no further than the two warning flares shot up from Virginia and New Hampshire Tuesday evening to understand how concerned Democrats are about the political consequences of losing the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat to Republican Scott Brown.
Sen. Jim Webb will meet with Myanmar's prime minister Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, the Virginia Democrat's office announced.
U.S. announces a new policy on Myanmar, to couple existing sanctions with direct dialogue. CNN's Dan Rivers reports.
American freed
updated: Mon Aug 17 2009 09:22:00
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, speaks about his trip to Myanmar and the release of American prisoner John Yettaw.
There is a new push to free Myanmar's pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Sen. Jim Webb told CNN's "American Morning" Monday.
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb wins the release of an American sentenced to hard labor in Myanmar. CNN's Dan Rivers reports.
An American sentenced to seven years hard labor in Myanmar after he sneaked into the home of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived in Thailand on Sunday with the U.S. senator who secured his release.
Sen. Jim Webb will meet with leaders of Myanmar's military junta this week when he stops off in the reclusive country during a two-week, five-nation tour of Asia, his office announced Wednesday.
The recent debate over the nearly $900 billion economic stimulus plan and revelations of tax problems by three Obama administration appointees have voters angrily jamming phone lines on Capitol Hill to air their frustrations to their elected representatives.
President Obama says there is 'no silver bullet' to fixing the economy.
Citing the need to restore public trust in an inefficient and allegedly corrupt military procurement process, a new government commission Monday officially began hearings to account for billions of taxpayer dollars misspent in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republic Sen. John McCain as the presumptive nominees in this year's presidential election, the question remains as to who they'll choose as their running mates.
The surprising Virginia Senator is a potent example of the Democrats' new style and thinking
CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno says Sen. Barack Obama is a symbol of progress and change.
Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, kicked off his general election campaign Thursday with stops in Virginia, signaling that he thinks he can turn the once solidly red state into a Democratic pickup come November.
After emerging as victor in the long and bruising contest to seize the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential race, Barack Obama's next move is to choose a running mate.
Obama's VP listupdated: Wed Jun 04 2008 17:20:00
CNN's Jessica Yellin looks at the list of Sen. Barack Obama's potential running mates.
Sen. John McCain focuses on the GI Bill and Iraq on Memorial Day and explains how veterans deserve better care.
Sen. John McCain on Monday defended his opposition to a Democratic bill that would expand education benefits for veterans, saying it would hurt the military that he hopes to lead.
A special exhibit honoring a company of Ohio Marines who lost 23 members in Iraq is unveiled.
The war hero opposes a popular bill to boost veterans' benefits. And the Democrats will make sure voters know it
Cheated. Baited and switched. That's how veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan say they feel about military recruiters who sold them on how the GI Bill would benefit them.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports on what service members actually get from the GI bill and what Congress wants to change.
Two masked and machete-wielding men who barged into a club in Sydney, Australia, couldn't have picked a worse night for their robbery -- a monthly meeting of bikers.
Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.
War and suicidesupdated: Sun Feb 03 2008 08:34:00
New Army numbers indicate suicides by U.S. soldiers may have hit an all-time high last year. CNN's Jamie Mcintyre reports.
U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy took 29 seconds Monday to open and close the Senate, the latest move in a standoff with President Bush over recess appointments.
The U.S. Senate was called to order for 11 seconds on Wednesday as the last political scuffle of the year between the White House and the Democratic-led Congress played out.
The last political scuffle of the year between the White House and the Democratic-led Congress played out on the floor of the Senate Friday morning -- even though nearly all the senators had left the Capitol for the Christmas holiday earlier in the week.
It was one of the most talked about moments in last year's congressional campaign.
CNN's Abbi Tatton reports on the former Republican House Speaker's foray into the 3-D online world Second Life.
Recently, on George Allen's new Web site, GeorgeAllen.com, the former Republican senator from Virginia listed some words of wisdom from legendary college football coaches like Knut Rockne and Woody Hayes.
It may not grab the headlines like the race for the White House, but the battle for the Senate is heating up.
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Thursday with a new campaign Web site and a YouTube video.
It appears we could have another bitter Senate battle in Virginia next year.
Democrats' efforts to challenge President Bush's Iraq policies were dealt a demoralizing blow Wednesday in the Senate after they failed to scrape together enough support to guarantee troops more time at home.
Democratic Sen. Jim Webb has proposed legislation that would require troops to be kept home twice as long as they are deployed.
A measure that would have forced the Pentagon to give troops sent to Iraq stateside leave equal to their time in the battle zone was defeated Wednesday evening in the Senate after failing to draw enough Republican votes.
Senate Democratic leaders are revising proposals to end the Iraq war in hopes that a compromise with wavering Republicans can be found, Democratic leadership sources said Friday.
CNN's Jamie McIntyre examines President Bush's speech calling for some troops to leave Iraq and citing 'surge' success.
It was one of the most talked about moments in the 2006 campaign: "Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."
Senate '08 hopefuls take stage
The Senate's top Democrat challenged Republicans Monday to help push President Bush to change course in Iraq, hours after the president's spokesman denied a report about White House debate over a troop pullback.
Here are some facts from tonight's broadcast that you might find interesting.
Sen. Jim Webb called the arrest of a top aide on weapons charges "extremely unfortunate" Tuesday after the aide was stopped as he brought the senator's loaded pistol into a Senate office building.
Sen. Jim Webb, the newly arrived Democrat from Virginia, has quickly become one of President Bush's most outspoken critics on the Iraq war, blasting the administration for its handling of the conflict and charging that the new troop-level plan is ill-conceived.
If this was 2003, or even 2004 - before the Iraq war went south, before Hurricane Katrina swept ashore, before last November's devastating Republican losses - Bush's State of the Union ideas (which his aides are calling "bold" and "innovative") might have been embraced. Unlike his politically risky 2005 proposal to reform Social Security, the plans he unveiled last night to combat climate change and soaring health care costs neatly catch the current wave of public sentiment.
Democrats gave little support Wednesday to President Bush's State of the Union plea for congressional patience with his Iraq policy.
President Bush on Tuesday night asked Congress and the public to give his plan to help the Iraqi government end sectarian violence in Iraq "a chance to work."
Below is the text of the Democratic response to President Bush's speech, delivered by Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia:
Congressional Democrats challenged President Bush on Tuesday night to take "the right kind of action" on the Iraq war and the economy, and promised to back him if he does.
Faced with a widely unpopular war in Iraq and a Democratic Congress, President Bush in his State of the Union address urged lawmakers to work with him to "achieve big things for the American people."
The story here in this great city is that President George W. Bush, leader of the vanquished Republicans, is reaching out to the triumphant Democrats on Capitol Hill. He has had meetings with their leaders. He greeted even their newly elected representatives and senators -- one being Sen. Jim Webb, who blew him off. This kind of friendly politicking has the president's Republican base anxious. Its rank and file fears a sell-out on tax cuts and perhaps on some social policies.
Now facing Democratic control of both chambers of Congress during the last two years of his presidency, President Bush on Friday continued to move toward building a working relationship with Democratic congressional leaders.
Less than an hour after Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen conceded and the U.S. Senate was handed to the Democrats, Jim Webb addressed a cheering crowd.
President Bush and top Democrats promised to get along Thursday -- the same day that a GOP Virginia senator's concession speech gave the opposition party the final seat they needed for total congressional control.
CNNMoney: Bonds move higherupdated: Wed Nov 08 2006 09:18:00
Treasury prices rose Wednesday after an auction of $19 billion of three-year notes by the federal government as well as positive comments by a Federal Reserve official.
A Democratic takeover of the Senate is appearing more and more likely after an ongoing canvass of votes in the Senate race in Virginia produced no significant changes, sources told CNN late Wednesday.
A Democratic takeover of the Senate is appearing likely after an ongoing canvass of votes in Virginia produced no significant changes in the outcome of the hard-fought race led by Democratic challenger Jim Webb, sources told CNN Wednesday.
Democrats are projected to pick up four GOP-held seats but must win the two remaining undecided races to gain control of the Senate.
The FBI is taking a preliminary look at allegations that some voters in eight Virginia counties received deceptive phone calls before Election Day, law enforcement sources said.
Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives for the first time since the 1994 Republican revolution, while control of the Senate hangs in the balance, CNN projects.
Lynne Cheney is deflecting talk of the sexual content in her novel "Sisters," a 25-year-old book that resurfaced in a campaign Friday and is stirring up controversy.
The bitter Senate campaign in Virginia turned uglier Friday when the Republican incumbent pulled up sexual passages from novels written by his Democratic opponent, who called the move baseless character assassination.
It appears that another of the Clintons' 1990s goals has come a cropper, to wit, ending the "Politics of Personal Destruction." It is election time in the Great Republic, and that means that for a few months candidates for high office might be beset by charges that have never heretofore been an issue. If they do not respond to those charges with great adroitness, even deviousness, they might be defeated and perhaps spend the rest of their lives under a moral cloud.
Sen. George Allen denies a remark he made to describe an opponent's campaign worker was racially charged, saying in a statement that the media misunderstood his comments.
When is a Senate race more than just a Senate race? When Democrats think they can score a trifecta by beating a Republican incumbent in the South, hobbling him as a possible presidential candidate and boosting the fortunes of one of their White House wannabes. That's the weighty challenge for novice politician Jim Webb, a decorated Vietnam vet and a senior Pentagon official under Ronald Reagan who is challenging Republican Senator George Allen in Virginia.
In his landmark book on the infantryman, "Mud Soldiers," George Wilson quoted Col. Steve Siegfried, a combat veteran, on why the United States must reinstate the military draft in wartime: "Armies don't fight wars. Countries fight wars. I hope to hell we learned that in Vietnam. ... A country fights a war. If it doesn't, then we shouldn't send an army."
The post-Irangate departures of high-level officials such as Deputy Treasury Secretary Richard Darman and Navy Secretary John Lehman raise fears of a President bereft of his best and brightest. Not...
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