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...

  • Romney and Ryanomics: Bad Deal for Working Class

    By Mark Thoma

    Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate makes abundantly clear that the upcoming presidential election presents a choice between two very different views on the role of government in...

  • Hedge Fund Managers Bet on Ryan

    By Merrill Goozner, The Fiscal Times

    Some of the nation’s top hedge fund billionaires, including many of the same financiers who are playing a major behind-the-scenes role bankrolling Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney,...

  • Romney Campaign Hopes New Bounce Equals New Lead

    By Steve Holland and Sam Youngman, Reuters

    Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan home to a tearful welcome in Wisconsin on Sunday in a celebratory event that produced a flash of anger from...

  • Paul Ryan’s Turbo Charged Climb Up the GOP Ladder

    By Elaine S. Povich, The Fiscal Times

    Rep. Paul Ryan, the youthful GOP vice presidential candidate whose deficit-cutting ideas are likely to reshape the presidential debates, learned politics and policy under the sway of a long string of...

  • Obama Accuses Ryan of Blocking Farm Drought Aid

    By Jeff Mason, Reuters

    President Barack Obama announced an emergency purchase of up to $170 million of meat and fish on Monday on a campaign trip to drought-hit Iowa, and accused Republican vice presidential candidate Paul...