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...

  • The Plot to Keep Health Care Prices from Consumers

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    Republicans championing the Ryan budget on the campaign trail will be touting market-based solutions for rising health care costs, including premium support for Medicare. But for markets to work,...

  • Obama Prepares for Financial Crisis Prosecutions

    By Aruna Viswanatha, Reuters

    n Obama administration task force established to investigate misconduct that fueled the financial crisis is turning to a little-used statute that may make such cases easier to bring, according to...

  • Obama Paid 20.5% Tax Rate in 2011

    By Andy Sullivan, Reuters

    President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle paid an effective federal tax rate of 20.5 percent on income of $789,674 in 2011, the White House said on Friday amid a debate over tax burdens that is...

  • Romney's Neocon Foreign Policy: Pure Politics?

    By Peter Apps, Reuters

    As he locks down the Republican nomination for U.S. president, Mitt Romney is framing what looks to be a decidedly hawkish foreign policy. But should the former Massachusetts governor defeat...

  • How Romney’s China Pledge Could Backfire

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    China’s slowing economy is weakening the case for candidate Mitt Romney’s pledge to declare China a currency violator, which would likely throw bilateral relations between the world’s two largest...