Frank James

Voting Rights Groups Get High Court Win As Bigger Case Looms

Frank James — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:15:00 +0000

Advocates of tougher voter registration standards have racked up wins in recent years — voter ID laws have taken hold across the nation, for example.

But those who believe that government should make voting as easy as possible just gained a significant victory with the U.S.

Think Your Job's Hard? Try Being A Congressional Spy Watcher

Frank James — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:42:00 +0000

As the controversy over the National Security Agency's phone and Internet data gathering reminds us, one of Congress' most challenging assignments is oversight of the nation's intelligence community.

Keeping tabs on the part of the federal government that constantly invokes national security to justify its opaqueness has its obvious difficulties and frustrations.

Those frustrations came through in a conversation I had with Rep.

Massachusetts Senate Race May Be Feeling D.C. Scandal Fallout

Frank James — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:55:00 +0000

With two weeks until the Massachusetts special Senate election, the obvious question is: Can Republicans pull off another stunning upset like they did three years ago?

Back then, in the very blue Bay State, Republican Scott Brown won the seat left vacant by Ted Kennedy's death by riding a Tea Party and anti-Obamacare wave amplified by voter distress over a sour economy.

An improved economy has changed some of the dynamics since Brown's 2010 win.

Senate's New GOP Stars Show Party's Range On Immigration

Frank James — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:40:00 +0000

Forget, for a moment, about the bipartisan Gang of Eight, whose members crafted the original version of the immigration bill being taken up by the Senate this week.

There's another, very partisan gang to watch on the issue. Let's call them the Gang of Four, a high-profile group of relatively new Republican senators whose trajectories are set for the national stage.

Obama's Immigration Dilemma: Leading While Following

Frank James — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:25:00 +0000

If you want to observe one of Washington's most delicate balancing acts, look no further than President Obama's effort to assert leadership on immigration legislation without its coming to be identified as a new Obamalaw.

Because they're keenly aware of how nearly any legislative effort that becomes known as the president's baby almost immediately makes his political foes hellbent on stopping it and denying him a victory, Obama and other White House officials have been committed to letting Congress take the lead on major legislation like immigration reform.

His challenge is to show just en

Lawmakers Work To Gauge Public Mood On NSA And Leaker

Frank James — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:24:00 +0000

When it comes to secrets leaker Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency's phone records and Internet snooping, some in Congress face a dilemma.

Namely, how to read public opinion.

Speaking off the record, aides for Republican and Democratic House lawmakers told me they are getting constituent calls on both sides: from those urging that Snowden not be prosecuted and those insisting he should be.

An aide for one congressman told me her boss's staff was holding off on issuing a statement until it had the chance to further gauge the voters' mood.

Another aide told me that of all th

Partisan Feuds Roll On In IRS Investigation

Frank James — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:09:00 +0000

It looks like things may be getting even uglier than usual over in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The panel now headed by Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, has long been a place to watch partisan tempers fly.

But the assertion by the panel's top Democrat, Rep.

United States Of Outrage: NSA, IRS Overreach Sparks Bipartisan Ire

Frank James — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 20:04:00 +0000

Even in an era of stark political polarization, there are still some issues that can draw Americans together and scramble the normal ideological fault lines.

Recent revelations about the Internal Revenue Service and the National Security Agency are among them.

Unlike the debates over Obamacare or President Obama himself, which tend to be more litmus tests for party affiliation than anything else, the reactions to reports about overreach by the Internal Revenue Service and the National Security Agency have brought normally warring partisans together.

When you get Sens.

On National Security, Obama Follows Bush's Lead

Frank James — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:01:00 +0000

It's an overstatement to say that it's beginning to look like President George W.

Five Takeaways From Obama's Susan Rice appointment

Frank James — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:31:00 +0000

It wasn't exactly a surprise to hear that President Obama named U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as his next national security adviser.

Almost as soon as it became clear that her role in the administration's Benghazi talking-points snafu meant Senate Republicans would never let her be confirmed as secretary of state if Obama nominated her, the possibility of her taking over from Tom Donilon as Obama's top national security aide was frequently mentioned.

Still, speculation is one thing; an actual appointment, another.