Category: state politics

Daily Briefing: Pet Peeves

• $286b transportation bill, which funds a record 6,371 pet projects, marks a "significant shift from Bush's once-uncompromising stand on earmarks." [WP, NYT, USAT]
• NARAL's anti-Roberts advertisement sparks backlash; Annenberg study concludes "the ad is false" and "uses the classic tactic of guilt by association." [NYT]
• 9/11 Commission was notified of military intelligence about the hijackers; Weldon says the panel's "refusal to investigate. . . is evocative of the worst tendencies in the federal government that the commission worked to expose." [NYT]
• Roberts advised O'Connor to be evasive at her confirmation hearings, suggesting he will duck questions about his opinions on specific cases. [WP]
• Specter supports administration's position on Roberts' memos. [NYT, WSJ]
• Protesters set to join Sheehan; Rice, Rumself plan to visit ranch today. [USAT]

• Roberts was critical of "new right" movement in the 1980s. [WT]
• Still unclear: who sent Joe Wilson packing to Niger? [WP]
• States are standing up for their Air National Guard bases. [NYT]
• Pirro officially launches campaign in New York senate race: "I'm Republican red on fiscal policy with conservative beliefs on making tax cuts permanent, but I've got broad blue stripes on social issues that don't change based on the office I run for." [WP, NYT]
• Pirro must increase name recognition. [NYT]
• Republicans are more likely to go for professional degrees, argues White House deputy director of public liaison. [WP]
• Several Republican governors are attempting to loosen organized labor's grip on public employees. [WSJ]

READ MORE: Democrats , Republicans , White House , cindy sheehan , condoleezza rice , donald rumsfeld , hillary clinton , john g. roberts , joseph wilson , plame investigation , protests , red versus blue , roundups , senate , state politics , supreme court , valerie plame

Mitt All Thumbs With Plebe Transportation

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had a George-H.W.-at-the-market moment when he succumbed to a fit of populist exuberance and rode the Boston subway. When a reporter questioned him on the fare, he replied it was "a buck." Which is true for those of us who happen to live in 2003; the current fare is $1.25. Still, for our money, the most disturbing revelation in the piece was that Romney's predecessor Michael Dukakis is a regular T rider,at the reduced senior fare of 35 cents. When did he stop tooling around in that cute little tank of his?

Hey Governor, Welcome to the T [Boston.com]

READ MORE: mitt romney , press gaffes , state politics

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