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...

  • Do Nothing Congress Did Something: Named Buildings

    By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

    Here’s what Obama and Congress have primarily accomplished together in recent months: naming federal buildings. Of the 65 bills that cleared both chambers this year, 19 — about 30 percent — involve...

  • Romney’s Gamble on Ryan Has Already Paid Off

    By Edward Morrissey

    When Mitt Romney announced that Rep. Paul Ryan, the sometimes-controversial chair of the House Budget Committee would be his running mate, the media reaction was one of surprise. Most gave Romney...

  • Two Tax Breaks Romney Should Put on the Chop Block

    By NICOLE GELINAS, City Journal

    Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wants to lower tax rates. Newly minted Republican vice-presidential hopeful Paul Ryan wants to cut spending by taking on America’s entitlement culture. The...

  • No Matter Who Wins, Health Care Rationing Is Coming

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    Medicare has moved to the center of this year’s presidential campaign for a single overriding reason: shrinking the nation’s long-term government deficit demands dealing with health care costs.

  • Why Ryan Wants to Dump Fannie and Freddie

    By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

    Medicare isn’t the only major federal program targeted for a dramatic revamp by GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan—who also wants to severe the government’s relationship with the troubled...