RIP David Frye 1934-2011

David Frye was best known for his brilliant impersonation of Richard Nixon. Frye died this past week in Las Vegas.

He reached the height of his popularity doing exaggerated impressions of Nixon, with his shoulders hunched and face bowed down. He also devoted several albums to Nixon before Nixon resigned as president in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal.

Born David Shapiro in 1934 in Brooklyn, Frye also imitated such political and entertainment figures as Hubert Humphrey, George Wallace, William F. Buckley, Walter Cronkite, Kirk Douglas and Howard Cosell.

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Eric Cantor Discovers Time Travel

by Stuart Shapiro

I had my doubts about the new Republican majority but their recent discovery of time travel may get me on their side.  In an attempt to take credit for the 3.2% GDP growth in the 4th quarter, Majority Leader Cantor used the following rationale (h/t Steve Benen):

This morning, the GDP projection for the last quarter was released, showing a 3.2% growth for the fourth quarter and suggesting the economy will pick up speed this year. This uptick is no doubt due in part to the certainty that Washington has given the private sector through the …

New Egyptian Vice President Ran Secret US Torture Program In Egypt

By Yashwanth Manjunath

With his tyrannical administration in mid-collapse, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak radically reorganized his government today. The biggest change was the appointment of Omar Suleiman to the post of vice president. Egypt has not had a vice president since Mubarak himself occupied the post back in 1981. So who is Omar Suleiman?

Here are the five facts about Suleiman that Reuters bothered to report:

*He has been the director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Services (EGIS) since 1993, a role in which he has played a prominent public role in diplomacy, including in Egypt’s relations with …

When Did Conservatives Stop Caring About Spreading Democracy?

The premise of invading Iraq and doing away with Saddam Hussein was to spread democracy. We went into Afghanistan for the same reason. So, why doesn’t this apply to Egypt? This is not to say we should overthrow or a regime or firmly take sides against President Mubarak, who has been an ally, but it is to say we can’t look at it in black-and-white terms. We can’t ignore the aspirations of the protesters while being aware that the net result of their actions can severely affect the Mideast powder keg.  Thus, to dismiss the populist movement as former UN …

Egyptian Military Protecting Protesters From The Police

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed a vice president, in an unprecedented move, who was his spy chief, Omar Suleiman. The Daily News Egypt has footage of protesters being protected from the army. And the army is sheltering them from the police. (via The Christian Science Monitor)

In the 30 years since, Mubarak has never appointed a VP of his own, presumably because he didn’t want an obvious alternative to his own rule.

At any rate, the video below (about 50 seconds in tells the whole story) helps fuel a narrative of a military supporting the people, and unwilling to …

GOP: Between A Tea Party And A Hard Place

by Stuart Shapiro

Who could have seen this coming?  The last few days have witnessed the emergence of traditional Republican supporters speaking out against Tea Party initiatives.  As Alan noted yesterday, the VFW slammed Michele Bachmann for her proposal to cut veterans’ benefits.  This comes after the Chamber of Commerce held a joint news conference with the AFL-CIO supporting President Obama’s plan to increase investment in infrastructure.

Whether it is building roads, bridges, high-speed broadband, energy systems and schools, these projects not only create jobs and demand for businesses, they are an investment in building the modern infrastructure our country …

GOP Conference Chair Backs Mubarak

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, says the United States must stand with Egyptian President Mubarak and not falsely interpret the uprising as a populist call for democracy.

The Republican congressman from Michigan likened demonstrations in Egypt to “Iran’s 1979 radical revolution.” He cautions that those who “will be tempted to superficially interpret the Egyptian demonstrations as an uprising for populist democracy” should instead “recall how such similar initial views of the 1979 Iranian Revolution were belied by the mullahs’ radical jackbooted murderers.”

McCotter, the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, called for America to …

Michele Bachmann To Veterans: Drop Dead

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s plan to cut $4.5 billion from the Department of Veterans Affairs isn’t sitting too well with the VFW, which says it will “do everything in its power” to defeat it.

“No way, no how, will we let this proposal get any traction in Congress,” said Richard L. Eubank, the national commander of the 2.1 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries.

On her website, the three-term congresswoman lists more than $400 billion in suggestions to cut federal spending. The VA suggestion would cap increases to VA healthcare spending, and reduce disability compensation to …

President Obama’s Statement On Egypt

President Obama spoke with Egyptian President Mubarak by phone. Egypt is a key ally, and yet how do we ignore the valid grievances of Egyptians that have led to a populist uprising?

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U.S. Threatens To Cut Off Aid To Egypt

The United States says it will cut off the yearly $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt if security forces continue to use violence to crush dissenters. However, it’s not just the Egyptian government that gets American largess. We also fund groups we believe can move Egypt to a more democratic model.

The U.S. has been trying to jump-start a gradual democratic movement in Egypt for years, channeling tens of millions of dollars in State Department funds to nongovernmental organizations inside and outside Egypt. Few groups have emerged that appear to have the kind of structure that could benefit from or …

David Axelrod On Nightline: Obama Has “Directly Confronted” Mubarak On Human Rights

Appearing in Friday’s Nightline, White House adviser David Axeldrod addresses the relationship between President Obama and Egyptian President Mubarak (pictured) with Jake Tapper.

TAPPER: Hosni Mubarak is not a good guy and that government tortures, is repressive, doesn’t believe in the same freedoms we do and they’re also one of our closest allies in the Middle East.

AXELROD: Obviously these are the challenges of the presidency in a very difficult world. And, but the way he’s confronted it, is he went to Cairo and talked about the need, the universal human rights of people. He’s — on …