Frank James

Both Sides In Sanford, Colbert Busch Race Hopeful In Last Hours

Frank James — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:30:00 +0000

Updated at 9:29 pm ET --- Former South Carolina Republican governor Mark Sanford easily beat Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch to regain the House seat he once held.

For Sanford, the victory in the strongly Republican 1st Congressional District was sure to be widely viewed as a personal redemption.

DeMint's Departure: One-Time Ally Spurns Rubio

Frank James — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:51:00 +0000

There was a time when Jim DeMint was committed to helping Sen. Marco Rubio achieve his goals.

Not anymore.

At least not when it comes to remaking the nation's immigration laws.

DeMint is president of the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation, which on Monday released a report contending that an immigration overhaul would cost U.S.

Ayotte Becoming Gun Control Lightning Rod

Frank James — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000

Of the senators who have become lightning rods for voting against expanded criminal background checks for gun buyers, New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte is drawing the most bolts.

Video of Ayotte being questioned by the daughter of the principal killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., has gone viral.

And Ayotte has become an early target of an election-season-style media campaign by a gun control superPAC created by former Arizona Rep.

Giffords Group's Radio Ads Hit McConnell, Ayotte On Gun Vote

Frank James — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:33:00 +0000

After the Senate failed to pass bipartisan legislation to expand background checks for gun purchases, the superPAC created by shooting victim and former Rep.

Plenty Of Finger-Pointing As Budget Cuts Delay First Flights

Frank James — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:45:00 +0000

Blame shifting was in high gear Tuesday on Capitol Hill and at the White House as the first air traffic delays tied to the furloughs of Federal Aviation Administration controllers began to get attention.

The Republicans' message: Delays at some airports this week — a result of automatic spending cuts known as the sequester that took effect in March, but whose resulting furloughs are just kicking in — was a "manufactured crisis," and that the administration wants voters angry enough to force Congress to give President Obama the higher taxes he seeks.

Senate Republicans pointed to congressio

Immigration Overhaul Seems On Track Despite Boston Tragedy

Frank James — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:38:00 +0000

No sooner did the first reports emerge that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were Chechen immigrants than did that fact intrude into Washington's debate on immigration.

Opponents of immigration reform seized on the fact to raise doubts about efforts to change immigration laws to, in part, bring the estimated 12 million people now in the U.S.

Stubbornly, Manchin Maintains Optimism On Background Checks

Frank James — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:49:00 +0000

Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who lent his name to bipartisan legislation that would have extended background checks for gun purchasers to gun shows and online sales, isn't letting go.

At least not yet.

To Manchin, the bipartisan compromise he co-sponsored with Sen.

Obama Uses And Loses Political Capital On Gun Control

Frank James — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:31:00 +0000

The Senate's rejection of more robust gun purchase background checks was a stinging blow to President Obama that raised questions about his second-term agenda.

Expanding background checks had become a key part of Obama's post-Newtown push for tougher federal gun control laws.

Obama 'Terrorism' Description Follows Cautious First Words

Frank James — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:43:00 +0000

On Monday, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and some others made a point of highlighting President Obama's failure to use the words "terror" or "terrorism" in his first remarks following the Boston Marathon bombings.

On Tuesday, the president changed the dynamics somewhat: "This was a heinous and cowardly act," Obama said in a brief statement he delivered in the White House press briefing room.

Background Checks Bill Gains Backers On And Off Capitol Hill

Frank James — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:44:00 +0000

The Senate was due on Tuesday to take up legislation embodying the bipartisan compromise reached by two senators, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey.

The effort to extend background checks to weapons purchases at gun shows and online received a boost over the weekend when an important gun rights group, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, announced its support for the measure.

Robert Spitzer, one of the nation's top experts on the politics of gun control and a political scienc