2012 Elections

Budget Battles

  • The Great Debate

    Five Debate Moments that Changed Elections

    By Robert Speel, The Conversation

    Every presidential election year in my American Political Campaigns and Elections course, I get an opportunity to spend a full lecture discussing with students some of the famous moments from...

  • House panel says IRS official waived rights, contempt possible

    Lois Lerner Is Cleared, Sparking Conservative Fury

    By Rob Garver

    Concluding that “poor management is not a crime,” the Justice Department on Friday informed members of Congress that it would not be filing criminal charges against anyone in what has become known as...

  • GOP Leaders Take on Far Right Pressure Groups

    By Eric Pianin

    There have been plenty of theories about why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) strode onstage at a conservative gathering late last week carrying a rifle. Ostensibly, McConnell, the 72-...

  • Romney: If Hillary Runs, She Won’t Need Bill

    By Thomas Ferraro, Reuters

    Failed 2012 U.S. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said on Sunday he expects Hillary Clinton to win or lose the White House on her record, not that of her husband, former Democratic...

  • Joint Session of Congress

    Voters Give a Thumbs-Down to Their Own Lawmakers

    By Eric Pianin

    In another sign of public outrage over a dysfunctional and politically divided Congress, a record low percentage of registered voters now say their own House member deserves another chance while even...

  • Paul Ryan's Chilly Reception from Retiree Group

    By Andy Sullivan, Reuters

    Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan received a chilly reception from a seniors' group on Friday as he argued that popular health and pension programs for U.S. retirees need to be...

  • Romney paid $1.9 million in taxes in 2011

    By Reuters

    Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney paid $1.9 million in taxes on more than $13 million in income in 2011 for an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent, his campaign said on Friday ahead of the...

  • Think Negative Campaign Ads Work? Think Again

    By CLAUDIA ADRIEN-FLORIDA

    Negative political ads may pack a punch, but only with voters who trust the politicians delivering them, a new study suggests. But contrary to conventional wisdom, those ads don’t always work as well...

  • Romney’s Coattails Drag Down GOP Senate Candidates

    By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

    Last week I confidently predicted that Mitt Romney would lose the election. Since then, things have only become worse for him, as a video of a fundraiser he spoke at earlier this year surfaced. In...

  • Do-Nothing Congress Packs Up and Rushes for the Door

    By Eric Pianin

    Congress is rushing to finish work on stop-gap spending legislation to keep the government afloat for the next six months before returning home to campaign before the Nov. 6 election. But despite the...