Last night wasn't what you would call a stellar evening for the D.C. Republican Party. Beyond not winning any of the races they claimed to be competitive in, the local branch of the GOP had one of its best showings with a candidate it didn't even support. more ›

Michael Steele, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and current chairman of the Republican National Committee, today chided President Barack Obama for not putting "Taxation Without Representation" license plates on the presidential limousine. Steele made his remarks during WTOP's "Politics Program With Mark Plotkin." more ›

After losing its two seats in the U.S. Senate, the governor's office and even a House seat in a conservative-leaning district, you'd think the Virginia GOP would want to watch its words, re-think its electoral strategy and consider new leadership. Apparently, it's not doing any of the above. more ›

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting... more ›

One of these guys might be the next president, so it's good to try and parse where they stand on District voting rights. At least that was the thinking over at D.C. Vote, who recently recorded and sent in a number of videos of District residents asking the presidential candidates from the Republican Party where they stood on D.C. voting rights. The videos, eleven in all, were submitted to CNN for the upcoming CNN/YouTube... more ›

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has decided not to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) next year. The Post is reporting that Davis will announce formally on Thursday what his plans are, but sources have indicated that he won't look to take on a number of potential Republican contenders or former Governor Mark Warner for the seat. Davis reportedly doesn't want his run to overshadow a tough re-election contest faced by... more ›

When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious -- Mike Huckabee. Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn't have much of a chance of winning, but he's been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District's 600,000 residents. In response to... more ›

FRIDAY: >> The city's free concert series follows MC Hammer with a rare appearance by salsa legend Willie Colon, 7-9 p.m. at Woodrow Wilson Center. >> President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his book, Broken Government, which examines "the institutional damage he believes the Republican Party has inflicted on the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government during the Bush administration." 7 p.m. He'll also be... more ›

After letting us all enjoy a good summer break, next week the U.S. Senate will start debating legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives. And in preparing for what is sure to be a spirited battle, big-name voting rights activists have recently stepped up the pressure with two back-to-back op-eds in Washington papers. Yesterday Maryland's former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and former Oklahoma Republican Rep. J.C. Watts penned... more ›

In a story perfectly designed to be a confluence of topics of interest perhaps only to the DCist staff, WTOP reported yesterday evening that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who we told you on Friday has been selected to be the commencement speaker at the University of the District of Columbia this weekend, has reportedly come out against the D.C. Voting Rights Act. Jackson is well known for speaking out about his Republican Party's failure to... more ›

When legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives came before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, all but two Republicans voted against it. One, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Ut.), would see his state gain an additional seat, so his support was a given. The second, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), was the surprise. Pence has always been a conservative's conservative, a former leader of the Republican Study Committee (a conservative caucus within... more ›

Being a political town, perhaps you've found your friend pool shrink drastically over the past few weeks, as politicos head to places near and far to spread the the joy of democracy to the people. You've noticed that Hill bars have felt rather empty during recent Thursday nights. Maybe you've found yourself lamenting over the fact that you're not feeling the rush of a campaign, and you're looking for local ways to get involved on the national level, even at this late date. DCist called up the Republican and Democratic committees for Maryland, Virginia and the District and tried to gather up ways to get involved. What we've pooled together are some volunteer resources, as well as a few specific events and contacts to help you hit the ground running during the last two weeks out of Election '06. Sure, it won't make up for your sudden dearth of friends, but you can make some new friends while phone banking for your candidate of choice. more ›

Maryland Lt. Governor and candidate for the U.S. Senate Michael Steele must be red in the face these days -- after calling an association with the Republican Party and President George W. Bush "a scarlet letter" in an anonymous interview with the Post's Dana Milbank, Steele is now trying to limit the damage of his surprisingly honest comments. "I'm not trying to dis the president," he was quoted as saying by the Washington Times.... more ›

Hill rats, keep your eyes open: NBC 4 is reporting that Jessica Simpson, post-Nick Lachey, is over on the Hill today. The NBC story even has a supplemental "Jessica though the years" photo slideshow album. Simpson is in town representing Operation Smile, for which she serves as its International Youth Ambassador. The organization does good deeds in third-world countries by treating children and young adults with facial deformities like cleft lips and cleft palates. Three cheers to Simpson flexing some altruistic muscle. We'd like to get our hands on some of the talking points she'll use when speaking to the representatives: any thoughts on what those would be like? more ›

For the first time since 1999, the suddenly hot Washington Redskins are going to the playoffs after a sweet but hard fought new year victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. Eat it, Phillyist! Murders in Washington Area Increase: While the District's murder tally for 2005 dropped for the second year running, homicides in the area rose as Prince George's County and Fairfax County increased their share, writes the Post. The region recorded 466 killings in 2005,... more ›

There's word that a new pub is coming to Downtown, near Brasserie Les Halles on Pennsylvania Avenue near 12th Street NW. The pub, part of the Elephant & Castle chain, still doesn't appear on the franchise website, so no specific opening date is known. But if the description on the company website holds true, Elephant & Castle will feature "[h]eart-warming comfort foods from Britain" in "a blending of design elements reminiscent of Jolly Old England." Though we haven't been over the pond in some time, this claim seems a little off the mark. The menu features nachos, wings, and low-carb options. The last time we were over the pond, we had trouble finding any evidence of Mexican food, and we don't think any English pub-goer would concern themselves with lowering their carb intake. The claim of genuine-ness seems a bit off the mark. But it has been a while, so we might be wrong. more ›

Before the rise of the Bush family, the Tafts of Ohio were the most successful political dynasty in the Republican Party. Along with the Democratic Kennedys and flexible Rockefellers, Roosevelts and Adamses, they remain one of the top political families in U.S. history. They are also the oldest still-active family, and longest-running direct descendancy, stretching from Secretary of War Alphonso Taft (1876) to current Ohio Gov. Bob Taft II. The middlemost member of this line,... more ›

Wow, we thought Inauguration-related protests had run their course, but we learn from the Post that anarchists went wild in Adams Morgan late Thursday night. This DCist was eating at the Amsterdam Falafelshop on 18th Street and we didn't sense that much was going on. But we guess we were distracted by our fries and falafel to notice that post-Counter Inaugural activities were getting out of hand on the streets. more ›

The organization RightMarch.com is organizing "Carols at the ACLU" in order to defend the Boy Scouts. The protest, organized by conservative activist Eugene Delgaudio, has been circulated to area members of several conservative organizations. The protest/caroling is scheduled for Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the organization's 15th Street D.C. office. "I hope you can help me," writes Delgaudio, "I have ten volunteers but would like to get more since some of us don't sing so... more ›

The self-described Million Worker March was today at the Lincoln Memorial. The group's demands included a broad array of progressive issues, focusing in particular on ending the Iraq war, and demanding health care and housing for all. more ›

Carol Schwartz is all alone. She's the last Republican on the council. David Catania, like Schwartz an at-large member, has defected from the Republican Party, and, like Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont in 2001, has become an independent, the Post reports. Catania, who is openly gay, has been in disagreement with the Republican establishment over President Bush's support for a constitutional provision that would outlaw same-sex marriage. This summer, the D.C. Republican Party denied him... more ›

The D.C. Republican Party has never been particularly strong. The city's demographic reality tends to work against the GOP. (The Post says that President Bush and Vice President Cheney only got 18,073 votes of 205,748 votes cast in the District in 2000.) Carol Schwartz and David Catania are D.C.'s only GOP city councilmembers. And they aren't going to New York for the Republican National Convention. First off, David Catania, who has said he will vote... more ›