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...

  • Is Ron Paul the ‘King Maker’ in 2012 Election?

    By Eric Pianin

    For much of the year, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was all but ignored in the GOP presidential sweepstakes. But in the wake of his solid polling in Iowa, some are wondering if the grizzled libertarian...

  • Newt Gingrich: 15 Things You Don’t Know About Him

    By Maureen Mackey and Michelle Hirsch, The Fiscal Times

    Newt Gingrich’s policy statements, campaign speeches, press appearances, course teachings, op-eds, and published books are a matter of public record – so there’s no mystery about where Gingrich...

  • Democrats Encouraged About Obama in 2012

    By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

    After a dreary summer marred by the fight over government borrowing, rank-and-file Democrats say they are growing more optimistic about President Barack Obama's political prospects in 2012. They cite...

  • For Gingrich, No Bombast or Apologies

    By CHARLES BABINGTON

    Newt Gingrich is trying to preserve his rapid rise in the GOP presidential race by defending his most controversial stands without appearing to be the thin-skinned hothead his critics often describe...

  • Gingrich on Book Tour or Campaign Trail?

    By PHILIP ELLIOTT

    Newt Gingrich loves selling himself — both as a presidential hopeful and as a for-profit author. As he seeks the GOP nomination, the former House speaker has combined the traditional political...