R
    Rachel Weiner

    Rachel Weiner

    Contributor

  • Gabrielle Giffords Town Hall: Gun Left Behind

    Town hall disruptions around the country have led to some outbreaks of violence. At an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) last week, the threat of violence led her aides to call the police after one attendee dropped a gun. "Yelling and screaming is counterproductive," she told the Sierra Vista Herald at a Congress on Your Corner event last week.

  • Hatch Faces Anger At Utah GOP Convention: Calls Bush Blame "B.S."

    Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, both R-Utah, got polite receptions Saturday at the state GOP convention, but both also recognized that some of the rank-and-file delegates weren't pleased with them. Hatch, at one point in his speech, appeared upset when some delegates applauded as a way of blaming national Republicans, himself included, for the deficit and other problems of the Bush years. "Don't you believe that B.S.," Hatch said loudly.

  • VA Congressman Uses Public Funds for Erotica

    In response to the story of Virgil Goode's office using taxpayer resources to promote the gay erotica film "Eden's Curve," residents of Virginia have a planned a protest to call on Goode to come clean. The film was produced by North Theater's art director, Jerry Meadors, and included a special thanks to Rep. Goode in the credits. Goode's ties to North Theater have been questioned in the past.

  • Chelsea Clinton Engaged To Marc Mezvinsky

    Chelsea Clinton is engaged to her longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, a spokesman for former President Clinton told ABC News. People magazine got a hold of the couple's email to friends and family sharing the news. Engagement rumors were swirling earlier this year; Hillary Clinton shot them down in July.

  • Harry Reid Poll: Nevadans See Senator As "Weak"

    EDITOR'S NOTE: The story below includes references to polling conducted by the firm Research 2000. The reliability and accuracy of Research 2000's polling has since been called into serious question by a report published in June 2010 by a group of statistical analysts. A majority of Nevadans want a public health care option and are worried about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's leadership on this and other issues, according to a new Research 2000 poll.

  • Poll: Voters Reject Health Care Mandate Without Public Option, Medicare Buy-In

    EDITOR'S NOTE: The story below includes references to polling conducted by the firm Research 2000. The reliability and accuracy of Research 2000's polling has since been called into serious question by a report published in June 2010 by a group of statistical analysts. A new poll suggests that voters are not pleased by the idea of health insurance mandates without a public option or a Medicare expansion.

  • Gavin Newsom Upset In First Post-Candidate Interview (VIDEO)

    Last Thursday, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sat down for his first interview since abruptly dropping out of the California gubernatorial race last month. CBS 5 political reporter Hank Plante asked Newsom about an unscheduled trip and a number of missed appearances.

  • GOP Purity Test Designed To 'Stick It' To Steele: Ally

    An ally of Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele says that a "purity test" suggested for the party platform is just a publicity stunt orchestrated by his political opponents. "You've got a few backbenchers who are unhappy," Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California, told CNN. The resolution being proposed would demand that candidates adhere to ten core principles or lose party backing. Both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush would have failed.

  • In The Bargain Bin: Major Retailers Reportedly Selling Palin Book Below Cost

    Sarah Palin's memoir Going Rogue: An American Life has garnered attention in part because of the number of copies sold before publication. But the book has been offered at below-cost prices from major online retailers, and Newsmax has used the book as a loss leader to promote its magazine, potentially inflating the book's sales.

  • Howard Dean 'Disappointed' White House Didn't Fight For Public Option (VIDEO)

    Former DNC Chair Howard Dean, who has been a sharp critic of the compromises made to the Senate health care bill, said on Sunday that he was "disappointed" by the lack of fight from the White House -- specifically, the administration's abandonment of a public option. "We -- we don't think that there has been much fight in the White House for that.

  • Sarah Palin Book Tour: Full Schedule

    Texas For Sarah Palin has put out a full book tour schedule for the former Alaska governor. Here's where you can see Palin read from "Going Rogue" and get an autograph -- so far: 11/18: Grand Rapids, MI - Barnes & Noble, Woodland Mall, 3670 28th St SE, Kentwood, 7 PM 11/19: Fort Wayne, IN - Meijer - 10301 Maysville Rd, Fort Wayne ( 11/19: Noblesville, IN - Borders Books and Music, 13145 Levinson Lane, 7 PM 11/20: Cincinnati, OH - Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2692 Madison Rd, Norwood, Noon 11/20: Columbus, OH 11/21: Washington, PA - Sam's Club, 80 Trinity Point Drive, South Strabane 11/21: Rochester, NY - Borders Books and Music, 1000 Hylan Drive, Henrietta, 7 PM 11/22: Roanoke, VA - Barnes & Nob...

  • Kim Jong-Il Double Fooled Bill Clinton, Japanese Analyst Says

    A number of analysts here are convinced that not all the photos being released of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, are really photos of Kim Jong-il. Instead, they say, a look-alike has been standing in for him on some of the 122 trips he's reportedly made this year to the countryside, factories, cultural events, military units, and all sorts of other venues. Some observers say the North Korean leader is too ill to make all these appearances.

  • Palin Blacks Out 'McCain For President' On Visor

    Sarah Palin is cutting her vacation in Hawaii short because of the scandal over a visor she wore with "McCain For President" blacked out. "In an attempt to 'go incognito,' I Sharpied the logo out on my sun visor so photographers would be less likely to recognize me and bother my kids or other vacationers. "Todd and I have since cut our vacation short because the incognito attempts didn't work and fellow vacationers were bothered for the two days we spent in the sun.

  • NYT: Reject The White House's Deal With Big Pharma

    The drug industry has been ramping up its prices in advance of any health care reforms that might clamp down on its profits. The industry's rapid price escalation over the past year threatens to make a mockery of its deal with the Senate Finance Committee and the Obama administration to contribute $80 billion over the next decade to help pay for covering tens of millions of uninsured Americans. The industry's contribution will consist of drug discounts to certain Medicare beneficiaries, larger rebates on drugs bought for Medicaid beneficiaries and new fees on the industry.

  • "Going Rogue": The 18 Biggest Falsehoods In Palin's Book

    Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" hits stores Tuesday. But can you believe what you read? Check out these statements, contradicted by the facts or by other people on John McCain's campaign, and see what you think.

  • Dede Scozzafava Dangerously Low On Cash

    Dede Scozzafava, the GOP nominee in a key upcoming House special election, is running dangerously low on campaign cash, according to several GOP sources familiar with her spending and fundraising. While Scozzafava's official fundraising numbers will not be known until Thursday, the third-quarter Federal Election Commission reporting deadline, the GOP sources acknowledged to POLITICO that she's unable to compete financially with her two opponents.

  • Dodd Chastises Senate's 'Newest Members' For Their Behavior

    Chris Dodd (D-Conn. on Wednesday ripped the Senate's "newest members" for the lack of comity in the upper chamber. In a floor speech Wednesday night, Dodd said there is "nothing wrong" with partisanship, but added he has "been deeply disturbed by some of the [healthcare] debate I have heard, usually from newer members, usually those who have been here one, two, three years, who do not have an appreciation of what this chamber means and how we work together."

  • Orly Taitz Slapped With $20,000 Sanction

    Taitz filed a lawsuit demanding that President Obama prove his citizenship before deploying an Army captain to Iraq and Afghanistan. Regrettably, the conduct of counsel Orly Taitz has crossed these lines, and Ms. Taitz must be sanctioned for her misconduct. After a full review of the sanctionable conduct, counsel's conduct leading up to that conduct, and counsel's response to the Court's show cause order, the Court finds that a monetary penalty of $20,000.00 shall be imposed upon counsel Orly Taitz as punishment for her misconduct, as a deterrent to prevent future misconduct, and to protect the integrity of the Court.

  • Kill The Bill? Some Progressives Say Nothing Is Better Than Senate Health Care Bill

    The Senate health care bill is so compromised, some progressives argue, that it would be better to try to kill it than fight for its passage. In light of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to give in to Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and agree to scrap a Medicare compromise, and with the public option already off the table, many ardent supporters of health care reform are giving up on the legislation. Former presidential candidate Howard Dean said in a radio interview Tuesday that he agreed.

  • Gaffney Tells Reagan "Your Father Would Be Ashamed Of You" (VIDEO)

    Right-wing neoconservative Frank Gaffney went on "Hardball" Thursday night to defend Dick Cheney but ended up just insulting his fellow guest. After a long exchange with Air America host Ron Reagan on the war in Afghanistan, Gaffney gave up on arguing and went for a personal attack. "Your father would be ashamed of you," he told Reagan, whose father was the late president.