http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/ en Copyright 2008 Mon, 30 Jan 2006 12:16:00 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/ri_senate_chafee_rolls_dice_wi.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/ri_senate_chafee_rolls_dice_wi.html Politics and the Court Mon, 30 Jan 2006 12:16:00 -0400 With the confirmation vote on Samuel A. Alito Jr. nearing, Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) faces a Hobson's choice that could dramatically affect his reelection campaign this November. GOP Sen. Chafee is being challenged on the left and the right. (AP Photo) Chafee remains the most high-profile undecided senator on Alito, and regardless of which side he eventually chooses, he can expect to be bashed for it. Chafee faces a primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey (R). Should he get through that race, he will face off against either former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) or Secretary of State Matt Brown (D) in a state that went for the Democratic presidential candidate by 20 points in 2004. A Chafee vote for Alito will make for considerable fodder for either Brown or Whitehouse. But a vote against Alito could give Laffey the GOP nomination. Asked about the seeming http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/ri_senate_does_chafees_future.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/ri_senate_does_chafees_future.html Politics and the Court Thu, 26 Jan 2006 08:30:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/proalito_ads_target_two_senate.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/proalito_ads_target_two_senate.html Politics and the Court Thu, 19 Jan 2006 18:23:00 -0400 All eyes in the nation's capital are on Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, as it it widely believed Alito would swing the balance on the high court in a decidedly conservative direction. But Alito is not the only one with something to prove in these hearings. Fully one-third of the senators who sit on the Judiciary Committee either face difficult reelection challenges in 2006 or have their eye on the White House in 2008. Each of these senators sees a unique role for himself in the proceedings; for some (like Ohio Republican Sen. Mike DeWine) it is to assure Republicans that he is a strong defender of Bush's nominee, while for others (like Delaware Democratic Sen. Joe Biden) it it serve as a lead interrogator in order to bolster their liberal credentials. Here's a primer on the larger political context of the Alito hearings: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/watching_the_alito_hearings_a.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/01/watching_the_alito_hearings_a.html Politics and the Court Tue, 10 Jan 2006 12:15:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/alito_nomination_gang_of_14_to.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/alito_nomination_gang_of_14_to.html Politics and the Court Mon, 31 Oct 2005 16:50:02 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_rallies_the_base_for_alito.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_rallies_the_base_for_alito.html Politics and the Court Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:35:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/republicans_ready_for_a_fight.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/republicans_ready_for_a_fight.html Politics and the Court Mon, 31 Oct 2005 10:41:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/alert_supreme_court_justices_o.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/alert_supreme_court_justices_o.html Politics and the Court Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:28:00 -0400 The week went from bad to worse for the Bush White House this morning when Harriet Miers asked the president to withdraw her Supreme Court nomination. President Bush is in Florida today, but House and Senate Republican leaders met with him yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and House Majority leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) attended that meeting. No mention was made of withdrawing the Miers nomination, according to informed sources, although planning for her potential confirmation fight was a topic of discussion. Several high-level Republican sources said today that the Bush White House was not caught by surprise by her decision. Miers's departure comes 24 hours before special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is expected to announce the results of his investigation into the 2003 leak of a CIA operative's name to the news media -- with the potential that http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_the_political_fallout.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_the_political_fallout.html Politics and the Court Thu, 27 Oct 2005 12:15:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/white_house_pressures_08_hopef.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/white_house_pressures_08_hopef.html Politics and the Court Thu, 13 Oct 2005 11:32:02 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_tries_to_rally_bloggers_be.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_tries_to_rally_bloggers_be.html Politics and the Court Wed, 12 Oct 2005 15:57:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_through_the_2008_lens.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_through_the_2008_lens.html Politics and the Court Wed, 12 Oct 2005 10:21:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_reassures_the_roots.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/rnc_reassures_the_roots.html Politics and the Court Thu, 06 Oct 2005 17:18:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/audio_cillizza_on_miers_nomina.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/audio_cillizza_on_miers_nomina.html Politics and the Court Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:30:00 -0400 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_nomination_the_gang_meet.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/10/miers_nomination_the_gang_meet.html Politics and the Court Wed, 05 Oct 2005 12:29:00 -0400