Think Progress

Fox News displays old campaign footage to claim Palin is getting ‘huge crowds’ at her book signings. (Updated) - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

This afternoon, Fox News host Gregg Jarrett proudly announced that Sarah Palin is “continuing to draw huge crowds while she’s promoting her brand new book. Take a look at — these are some of the pictures just coming into us.” But the pictures that the network chose to display on-air appeared to be old file [...]

Sarah Palin Lies To Oprah - Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

On the afternoon of Oct. 2, 2008 — the day of the vice presidential debate last year — Politico’s Jonathan Martin broke the news that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign was “pulling out of Michigan.” The next day, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told Fox News’ Carl Cameron that she disagreed with the decision. [...]

Sarah Palin Rejects GOP Senate Candidate Mark Kirk’s Plea For An Endorsement - Monday, November 16th, 2009

Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), a candidate for Senate in 2010, wrote a memo to Sarah Palin requesting that she endorse him during her visit to Chicago for the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Post noted that “Palin’s endorsement [of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman] helped force state Assemblywoman [...]

UPDATED Shields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’ - Monday, November 16th, 2009

UPDATE: Shields contacted ThinkProgress and kindly informed us that his comments below were intended to be sarcastic. We regret our error in misinterpreting his comments and for questioning his motives. Shields told us that his comments were meant to disparage those who consistently argue that more war will solve America’s problems and that his statement [...]

Report: In her memoir, Palin says she doesn’t believe in evolution. - Sunday, November 15th, 2009

In the past, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been cagey about her views on creationism and evolution, saying that she believes “we have a creator” but she didn’t want “to pretend I know how all this came to be.” But in her new memoir, Going Rogue, Palin apparently writes that she doesn’t believe in [...]

McCain urges town hall attendees to cut up their AARP membership cards. - Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Last week, the AARP, a nonpartisan organization that advocates on behalf of those aged 50 and over, endorsed the House health care bill. “We can say with confidence that it meets our priorities for protecting Medicare, providing more affordable health insurance for 50- to 64-year-olds and reforming our health care system,” AARP vice president [...]

The Board Of The ‘Voice Of Business’ Is A Republican Money Machine - Saturday, November 14th, 2009

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which purports to be “the voice of business,” is run by a Republican money machine. As the nation’s largest lobbying shop, the Chamber is spending millions of dollars from its corporate members against President Obama’s progressive agenda of health care, energy, and financial reform. The Chamber claims that the “board’s [...]

Why Are Hawkish Lawmakers Willing To Pay For An Escalation Of The War But Not For Health Care? - Thursday, November 12th, 2009

In recent days, heated policy discussions in Washington have largely focused on two topics: a possible escalation of the war in Afghanistan and health care legislation. Both a troop escalation and health care legislation carry significant price tags: roughly $100 billion and $80-$100 billion a year respectively. (It should be noted that health care [...]

Palin to promote her book with multiple Fox News interviews: ‘Variety is the spice of life.’ - Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

On her Facebook page yesterday, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced that she was “very excited about the upcoming road trip” to promote her book, which will be released later this month. As CNN’s Alexander Mooney notes, Palin “hinted she’d likely sit down with a string of friendly faces during the tour that begins in [...]

Former McCain adviser nervous about moving into the individual health insurance market he once touted. - Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior policy adviser to Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign, “remains unemployed — and his COBRA health coverage is running out,” the Washington Post reports. “Irony of ironies, it gets worse. Holtz-Eakin, who is about to start shopping for insurance on the individual market, is 51. And he has one of those [...]

Fox’s Chris Wallace Conducts Sycophantic, Softball Interview With Rush Limbaugh - Sunday, November 1st, 2009

When the White House snubbed Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace of an interview with President Obama in September, Wallace defended his program by claiming it is a “truly fair and balanced show.” This morning, he had an opportunity to demonstrate his fairness, but failed miserably.
During his 30-minute on-air interview with Rush Limbaugh, Wallace [...]

Rep. Markey Warns About Right-Wing Misinformation: Net Neutrality May Be The Next ‘Death Panels’ - Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission voted to move forward with regulations to preserve the open architecture of the Internet. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is trying to make our current system’s “net neutrality” official by ensuring that broadband providers “cannot discriminate against particular Internet content or applications” and are “transparent about their network management [...]

Lieberman plans to campaign for Republicans in 2010. - Friday, October 30th, 2009

After joining with Republicans this week in a promise to filibuster health reform if a public option is included, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) tells ABC News that he plans on campaigning for some GOP candidates in the 2010 elections:
I probably will support some Republican candidates for Congress or Senate in the elections in [...]

Santorum On Resourcing Afghanistan War: ‘That Was Not Done By The Prior Administration’ - Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney attacked President Obama, saying he is “afraid to make a decision” on the war in Afghanistan and that he’s “dithering.” A number of conservatives, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and columnist George Will, disagreed with Cheney’s language. “I would never want to call my president [...]

Gingrich Strikes Back At Beck: His Agenda Is A ‘Very Destructive Model For The Republican Party’ - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been taking fire from conservative activists and far-right Republican leaders for endorsing Dede Scozzafava, the moderate GOP candidate running in the special election in New York’s 23rd district. These “purists” — including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Dick Armey, and Bill Kristol — are backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, [...]

ThinkFast: October 27, 2009 - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Hundreds of protesters from the Service Employees International Union and National People’s Action picketed the offices of Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo yesterday, calling for strong regulatory reform and the breaking up of big banks. The protests coincided with the annual meeting of the American Bankers Association, the trade group of the banking industry.
After “nine [...]

McCain dodges when asked if Cheney is ‘helping or hurting’ the GOP. - Monday, October 26th, 2009

Yesterday on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — a frequent face on the Sunday show circuit — joined conservatives George Will and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in denouncing former Vice President Cheney’s recent statement that President Obama is “dithering” on Afghanistan. “I wouldn’t use that language,” McCain said. But later in the [...]

John McCain — ‘Tech Troglodyte’ And Top Recipient Of Telecom Cash — Unveils Bill To Block Net Neutrality - Saturday, October 24th, 2009

On Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) became the Republican Party’s lead man on technology issues (and probably made Glenn Beck a happy man) by introducing the “Internet Freedom Act.” The legislation would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from making sure that Internet service providers don’t create a pay-for-play system where they could selectively [...]

McCain To Make His 15th Appearance On A Sunday Show This Year - Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been booked for yet another Sunday talk show appearance this weekend — this time on CBS’ Face The Nation. Despite a “wildly unsuccessful presidential campaign” last year and his comparative irrelevancy in the U.S. Senate, this will mark the 15th time McCain has appeared on a Sunday talk show since [...]

Rep. Weiner Identifies 55 Republicans On Medicare Who ‘Steadfastly Oppose’ The Public Option - Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-NY) office today released an internal study showing that 151 members of Congress “currently receive government-funded; government-administered single-payer health care — Medicare.” Of those 151 members, 55 are Republicans who also happen to be “steadfastly opposed [to] other Americans getting the public option, like the one they have chosen.” Included on Weiner’s [...]