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...

  • Primary Battles: Lugar and Walker on the Hot Seat

    By Eric Pianin

    Short of a last minute miracle, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., a leading Senate Republican on foreign policy and nuclear and chemical arms control, will go down to defeat at the hands of Richard...

  • Bill Bradley: Super PACs Are Killing Democracy

    By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

    Bill Bradley says that Super PACs should be “illegal” because “there’s no question” they’re threatening American democracy. In an interview with The Fiscal Times as his new book, We Can All Do Better...

  • Will the End of Austerity Break Up the Eurozone?

    By Patrick Smith

    With the elections in France and Greece Sunday, both supercharged by debt, deficits, and economic desperation, Europe is about to take a dramatic new direction. The eurozone is turning away from...

  • Economy Hits a Speed Bump and May Dive Further

    By STEVEN C. JOHNSON, Reuters

    Concern the U.S. economy was heading for another summer swoon was mounting even before Friday's disappointing jobs data. Economists are increasingly predicting 2012 will be another year when growth...

  • Obama Launches Campaign Rallies in Key States

    By Jeff Mason, Reuters

    With his wife at his side and Air Force One as a campaign plane, President Barack Obama is holding his first political rallies of the 2012 presidential race on Saturday, targeting two swing states...