There are growing calls for an alternative to Mitt Romney as the Republican standard-bearer, with the names of Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again being seen as the most likely saviors. With concerns over Romney rising after a series of gaffes and polls showing him losing to Rick Santorum in [...]
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel donated another $1.7 million in January to the super PAC supporting Ron Paul’s presidential bid, according to documents released Monday. Theil, a billionaire who runs the hedge fund Clarium Capital, has donated a total of $2.6 million to the pro-Paul group Endorse Liberty since it was founded on Dec. 20. Continue [...]
SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney took a brief respite from regular campaign events to commemorate the 2002 Olympic games here, paying tribute to a part of his biography that is central to his presidential bid. “The games were a showcase for the great qualities of the human spirit: we saw in the athletes the [...]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – John Glenn joined the proud, surviving veterans of NASA’s Project Mercury on Saturday in celebrating the 50th anniversary of his historic orbital flight. The first American to orbit the Earth, later a U.S. senator from Ohio, thanked the approximately 125 retired Mercury workers, now in their 70s and 80s, who gathered [...]
AUSTIN, Texas – Henry McPherson Jr., who was an adviser to President Lyndon B. Johnson, has died. He was 82. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Texas said McPherson died Thursday. The library said McPherson had cancer. Continue Reading McPherson served as special assistant and special counsel to Johnson. He influenced the president on [...]
Democrats have an unexpected new foil in their effort to label the GOP as hostile to women: Rick Santorum. After hammering away for a year at the message that Republicans are indifferent to women’s health and economic well-being, President Barack Obama’s party has been handed a nearly perfect political punching bag in the former Pennsylvania [...]
Longtime political analyst Pat Buchanan is being dropped by MSNBC as a result of the controversy surrounding his book, “Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?” “After 10 years, we have decided to part ways with Pat Buchanan. We wish him well,” read a statement from the network, according to the AP. Continue [...]
Rick Santorum’s cool factor went from 0 to 60 this week after Dave Mustaine, the leader of the heavy metal band Megadeth, talked up the GOP hopeful in what to many sounded like an endorsement. Here’s POLITICO’s look at big name musicians who have recently shown some love for the Republican presidential candidates: Continue Reading [...]
LOS ANGELES – Courting donors in Democrat-rich California, President Barack Obama is raising millions of dollars for his re-election bid while warning supporters that a long campaign awaits. Obama was holding four fundraisers Thursday in the Los Angeles area and in San Francisco, reeling in campaign cash from reliable Democratic donors at a time when [...]
DETROIT – Rick Santorum is stepping into Mitt Romney’s old backyard to talk about the economy — a direct challenge to the Republican front-runner on the topic Romney considers his own. The former Pennsylvania senator is set Thursday to address the Detroit Economic Club, just 23 miles from where Romney went to high school. Now [...]
WASHINGTON – Republican Mitt Romney is faltering with white working-class voters crucial to his party’s drive to capture the White House, even as he tries to fend off a rising GOP challenger, Rick Santorum, who wields strong blue-collar appeal. The wealthy former Bain Capital chief has led his rivals by comfortable margins among white college [...]
WASHINGTON – Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday threw his support behind Mitt Romney’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination, calling the former Massachusetts governor “the man for the job.” “Given his accomplishments, background, character, experience, ideas and intellect, Mitt Romney has what it takes to build a foundation for America’s success in this global [...]
He’ll take out Santorum, even if it means having to roll over Gingrich again. RELATED: GOP Debate to Lead the Free World
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mitt Romney lashed out at what he called President Barack Obama’s weak policy on China, criticizing it on Thursday for going in “precisely the wrong direction” and calling meetings this week with China’s vice president “empty pomp and ceremony.” In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, the Republican presidential candidate chided [...]
WASHINGTON – Relieved congressional bargainers say they’ve reached agreement on compromise legislation extending payroll tax cuts and benefits for the long-term unemployed through 2012, edging a white-hot political battle a major step closer to finally being resolved. Rep. David Camp, R-Mich., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the two top negotiators, strode from a conference room [...]
NEWTON, Mass. – Joseph Kennedy III has launched his campaign for the Massachusetts congressional seat now held by retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank. Kennedy released a video announcement on his website Thursday before heading out on a campaign swing through the 4th Congressional District. Kennedy started by greeting commuters at the Newton Center MBTA Station [...]
WASHINGTON – Two Republican senators unveiled a Medicare rescue plan Thursday that features an accelerated transition to private health insurance for many seniors, a gradual increase in the eligibility age, and higher premiums for middle-class and upper-income retirees. Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard Burr of North Carolina say they’re not out to win [...]
TULARE, Calif. – Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign has a history of near-death experiences, and the former House speaker insists another resurrection is on its way. “I’m very happy to continue this campaign based on real solutions that … are going to attract a lot of Americans,” Gingrich said Monday while on a fundraising swing in [...]
WASHINGTON – A top adviser to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign says Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken “divisive positions” on key social issues. David Axelrod tells “CBS This Morning” he believes voters don’t yet know Santorum very well. And he declines to speculate on how tough a race the former Pennsylvania senator could [...]
SAN ANTONIO – The Texas primaries, which were once key to emerging from next month’s Super Tuesday elections with the momentum and backing to win the Republican presidential race, may be pushed into May — and perhaps out of relevance for the race — because of a dispute over the state’s proposed redistricting maps. Although [...]
If we could peer into Mitt Romney’s brain, what would we see? What is he thinking? And what would he be saying if he could be totally honest? That’s what ABC News Political Director Amy Walter and Yahoo News Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian chewed over Wednesday on Top Line. Amy says the first thing [...]
Rick Santorum, currently polling as the frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, is out with a new Michigan ad that pokes fun at Romney for spending millions on negative advertising. “Mitt Romney’s negative attack machine is back, on full throttle. This time, Romney’s firing his mud at Rick Santorum,” says the voice [...]
President Obama’s performance in head-to-head matchups with his Republican competitors, especially Mitt Romney, have dramatically improved in recent weeks. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for People the Press, Obama went from being tied with Romney in trial heats last fall to holding an eight-point lead in the fresh batch of data [...]
ANALYSIS | The notion that House Republicans would hand a powerful weapon to a Democratic Party president seems surprising. What may be more surprising is why Obama really isn’t too excited about getting it. The initial thinking is that House Republicans are giving this power to the White House, not Obama per se. That’s because [...]
WASHINGTON – Promoting farm subsidies was once a no-brainer for rural members of Congress seeking re-election. This year, it’s a bit trickier. As lawmakers wade cautiously into writing the next five-year farm bill, agribusiness and farmers’ lobbyists are preparing for the worst. With little appetite for spending on Capitol Hill, subsidy cuts in the billions [...]
WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders are gauging lawmakers’ reactions to a tentative deal extending a 2 percentage-point payroll tax cut and extra jobless benefits through 2012, a pact bargainers reached after House Republicans conceded that the tax cut would not have to be paid for with spending cuts. Both sides cautioned late Tuesday that the agreement [...]
TACOMA, Wash. – Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum clashed with Tacoma Occupy protesters Monday night during his first visit to a state he said would be a “momentum changer” heading into Super Tuesday. Minutes into Santorum’s speech, protesters began chanting and shouting. They rarely stopped over the next half-hour. “I think it’s really important to [...]
MESA, Ariz. – If Mitt Romney is rattled by polls showing presidential rival Rick Santorum nipping at his heels, he didn’t show it Monday at an outdoor rally with about 2,500 people. The former Massachusetts governor stuck to his usual campaign speech, saying his experience running businesses and the 2002 Winter Olympics makes him best [...]
WASHINGTON – Mitt Romney and his under-funded opponents are taking advantage of a weeklong lull in the Republican presidential nomination fight — no debate or primary is slated — to raise the money needed to carry out Super Tuesday strategies and compete in states beyond. Romney is the wealthiest candidate in the race with a [...]
SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif. – Republican Newt Gingrich on Monday dismissed calls to drop out of the presidential contest in order to set up a direct contest between rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The former House speaker insisted that his ideas and a new determination to stay positive would help him once again resuscitate [...]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum has surged into a virtual tie in opinion polls with Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, setting up a tough fight in the party’s primary in Michigan on Feb 28. Picking up support from voters aligned with the conservative Tea Party movement and white Christian evangelicals, Santorum rose [...]
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won’t be resolved until after the November election — if then. Obama’s proposed tax hikes put him at odds with the Republican presidential hopefuls. They have all called for tax packages that [...]
WASHINGTON – After years of procrastination, the White House and Congress have suddenly boosted a long-term plan to improve the nation’s roads, bridges and transit systems to the top of the political agenda. This week the House and Senate are set to take up vastly different bills providing a blueprint for shoring up the nation’s [...]
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama feels he has struck just the right budget balance between providing more short-term support for the economy while putting forth a long-term plan to get control of the government’s soaring budget deficits. Republicans vehemently disagree, attacking his 2013 budget as a replay of the failed economic policies they say have [...]
WASHINGTON – House lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to weigh a proposal by GOP leaders to extend the 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation’s $15 trillion-plus debt instead of scrounging around the budget for ways to pay for [...]
Many people inside the Washington Beltway will be pouring through President Barack Obama’s Fiscal 2013 budget proposal to find out what he proposes to cut, what initiatives he plans to invest in and what new policies he might propose. It seems likely that it will largely be a replay of his recommendations last fall to [...]
Many people inside the Washington Beltway will be pouring through President Barack Obama’s Fiscal 2013 budget proposal to find out what he proposes to cut, what initiatives he plans to invest in and what new policies he might propose. It seems likely that it will largely be a replay of his recommendations last fall to [...]
WASHINGTON – Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon [...]
WASHINGTON – Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon [...]
PORTLAND, Maine – A day after Mitt Romney regained some momentum in the Republican presidential contest, his rival Rick Santorum went on the attack, calling the front-runner “desperate” while promising to compete aggressively to win the state where Romney grew up. Santorum said Sunday he could do “exceptionally well” in Michigan, where Romney’s father served [...]
PORTLAND, Maine – A day after Mitt Romney regained some momentum in the Republican presidential contest, his rival Rick Santorum went on the attack, calling the front-runner “desperate” while promising to compete aggressively to win the state where Romney grew up. Santorum said Sunday he could do “exceptionally well” in Michigan, where Romney’s father served [...]
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney grabbed back some momentum after midweek losses in three states, scoring a narrow win in Maine’s caucuses on Saturday, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists. Results of Maine’s non-binding straw poll showed the former Massachusetts governor with 39 percent support, or 2,190 [...]
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney grabbed back some momentum after midweek losses in three states, scoring a narrow win in Maine’s caucuses on Saturday, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists. Results of Maine’s non-binding straw poll showed the former Massachusetts governor with 39 percent support, or 2,190 [...]
WASHINGTON – Movie super spies James Bond and Jason Bourne use them. So do real-life presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who says he pays his taxes, and untold numbers of Americans who don’t. Swiss banks and their secretive counterparts around the globe may sound like the exclusive province of the wealthy, the mysterious or the shady, [...]
WASHINGTON – Movie super spies James Bond and Jason Bourne use them. So do real-life presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who says he pays his taxes, and untold numbers of Americans who don’t. Swiss banks and their secretive counterparts around the globe may sound like the exclusive province of the wealthy, the mysterious or the shady, [...]
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a Rick Santorum problem that can’t be easily swept aside, even with wins in the sparsely attended Maine caucuses and a poll of conservative activists. The former Massachusetts governor arguably has fewer effective weapons against Santorum than he was able to pull out against [...]
PORTLAND, Maine (Reuters) – U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has a Rick Santorum problem that can’t be easily swept aside, even with wins in the sparsely attended Maine caucuses and a poll of conservative activists. The former Massachusetts governor arguably has fewer effective weapons against Santorum than he was able to pull out against [...]
WASHINGTON – The new budget that President Barack Obama is sending to Congress aims to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by restraining government spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. To help a weak economy, Obama’s proposal Monday requests increases in transportation, education and other areas. While administration officials on [...]
WASHINGTON – The new budget that President Barack Obama is sending to Congress aims to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by restraining government spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. To help a weak economy, Obama’s proposal Monday requests increases in transportation, education and other areas. While administration officials on [...]
LOS ANGELES – Documents detail the terms of a discounted mortgage loan received by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon from the now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp. under a VIP program, according to a published report. McKeon received a $315,000 mortgage refinance in 1998 as his family-owned business, Howard Phil’s Western Wear, was going through a Chapter 11 [...]