S.A. Miller

GOP fuels gas-price anger in N.Y. race

New York Republicans are fanning voter anger over rising gas prices and high taxes in an effort to oust Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, a freshman Democrat whose upstate district is considered one of the few places where embattled House Republicans could pick up a seat this year. Published July 15, 2008

Gunfight at the ACLU corral

Gun rights are so popular in Nevada that they are backed by even the state chapter of a liberal group that conservatives usually love to hate. And Republicans are in clover. Published July 14, 2008

Democrats bash war, but promote Iraq generals

Senate Democrats, who cooled their anti-war rhetoric as the Iraq body count plummeted and America's economic woes stole the headlines, insist the overwhelming vote Thursday to promote the top two U.S. generals in Iraq was not a vindication of President Bush's war policy. Published July 11, 2008

Congress backs FISA, hands victory to Bush

Congress granted final passage Wednesday to new laws for spy-agency eavesdropping on terror suspects abroad; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy returned to the Senate for a decisive Medicare vote. Published July 10, 2008

Baker, Christopher aim to boost war powers

A plan by former Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher that would enhance Congress' war powers received a warm bipartisan welcome Tuesday from Capitol Hill lawmakers, who applauded the idea of playing a larger role in deciding when to go to war. Published July 9, 2008

GOP intensifies call for offshore drilling

Senate Republicans pressed the chamber's Democratic majority Monday to drop its opposition to more offshore oil drilling as the average price of gasoline hit a new high of nearly $4.11 per gallon. Published July 8, 2008

Obama vows to establish own faith office

Sen. Barack Obama promised Tuesday to embrace, but revamp, President Bush's faith-based initiative, in a move to the center as he courts religious voters but one that risks offending liberal voters who opposed the creation as a First Amendment encroachment. Published July 2, 2008

Rising expenses drain family savings

A majority of Americans say they have had to raid their life savings to meet the rising costs of food and gasoline — a trend that continued Monday with crude oil prices hitting another record high. Published July 1, 2008

Search for digital contraband hit

Terrorist suspects and child pornographers have been caught upon entering the U.S. when their laptops were searched by authorities, but some Senate Democrats want to restrict routine "suspicionless" digital intrusions. Published June 30, 2008

Clinton returns to Capitol Hill

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, despite the heartbreaking loss of the presidential nomination that once seemed inevitably hers, put on a brave smile Tuesday as she returned to the Capitol for the first time since conceding defeat to Sen. Barack Obama. Published June 25, 2008

Clinton returns to Senate, eases back to work

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton - three weeks after the loss of the Democratic presidential nomination that once seemed hers for the taking - eased slowly back into the workaday world of the U.S. Senate Tuesday, much like most Americans do after a long absence from the job. Published June 25, 2008

Obama’s liberalism seen rousing Republican base

Republican leaders eagerly sharpened their knives in anticipation of longtime nemesis Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton topping the Democratic ticket, but Sen. Barack Obama's nomination offers the same brand of liberal red meat to energize conservative voters, they say. Published June 24, 2008

GOP courting blue-collar vote

The Republican Party is going after blue-collar voters and other key blocs that traditionally support Democrats but did not back Sen. Barack Obama in primary contests, a top party official said. Published June 23, 2008

Bipartisan deal moves war funds, FISA

House Democratic and Republican leaders made election-year concessions on two long-standing national security disputes Thursday, passing a stalled war funding bill and settling a lingering fight on updating the nation's spy laws. Published June 20, 2008

Spying law stalemate ends

House leaders struck a bipartisan agreement Thursday to update laws for government spying on e-mail and phone calls of foreign terror suspects, ending a four-month stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, which critics say left the country vulnerable to attack. Published June 19, 2008

Obama picks Clinton ex-officials as advisers

Sen. Barack Obama, under relentless Republican attack over inexperience on defense issues and reluctance to visit Iraq, moved to polish his national security credentials Wednesday by convening an advisory panel filled with former Clinton administration officials and Iraq war critics. Published June 19, 2008

PAC aims aid at ‘true conservative’ candidates

A top Republican fundraiser in the U.S. Senate has started a political action committee to help finance "true conservative" candidates, saying he wants to reshape the party and win back support from disgruntled conservative voters. Published June 18, 2008

Congress demands VA investigation

Congressional leaders have called for investigations into the Department of Veterans Affairs' failure to quickly inform war veterans testing the anti-smoking drug Chantix about its dangerous side effects. Published June 18, 2008

McCain seeks to void ban on offshore drilling

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain proposed lifting the federal ban on more offshore oil drilling Monday, but a new poll shows most voters want the government to go further by sinking oil wells in nationally protected wildlife areas. Published June 17, 2008

November sit-out threats worry GOP

Republican voters increasingly say they have lost faith in the party and might not vote this year, compounding headaches for party leaders struggling to avert a November massacre at the polls. Published June 3, 2008