On Monday, the New York Times claimed that many of the Republican governors who swept to power on 2010 "are adopting decidedly more moderate tones as they begin their sophomore year in office." But that premature conclusion was belied by the AP, which on the same day reported that "many have trained their sights on […]

Behind almost all of the disturbing issues raised by Mitt Romney's jaw-dropping tax returns stands one largely unchallenged conservative article of faith. Much lower tax rates for capital gains than income earned through labor, conservatives claim, spur investment, catalyze economic growth and fuel job creation. But if that Republican theology isn't true, then the United […]

President Obama, Mitt Romney has declared repeatedly, "believes America should become a European-style welfare state." While Newt Gingrich warned of the Democrats' "secular-socialist machine," Rick Santorum insisted "President Obama is for income equality. That's socialism. It's worse yet, it's Marxism." And just this weekend, Tea Party darling Allen West thundered that President Obama, Harry Reid, […]

When it comes to paying his taxes, Mitt Romney may not have broken the rules; he just plays by a different set of them. His sub-15 percent effective tax rate revealed that Romney used his carried interest exemption, not-so-blind trusts, Cayman Islands investments and Swiss Bank accounts to his full advantage. But largely overlooked in […]

The least surprising element to Barack Obama's 2012 State of the Union address was the Republican talking point that the President's policies have "made our economy worse." Speaker John Boehner regurgitated that point five times during his pre-buttal on Fox News Sunday before concluding last night that Obama's "policies are making our economy worse." Days […]

On Monday, goaltender Tim Thomas of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins became just the latest high profile athlete to snub President Obama by refusing to attend a White House ceremony honoring his team. Nevertheless, Thomas' insult to the presidency is unique. After all, Thomas is the first to use the language of the Sovereign […]

"Where's the beef?" With that sound bite, Walter Mondale deflated the insurgent bid of the "candidate of new ideas" Gary Hart for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.* Twenty-eight years later, rising Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich may be about to have his own "where's the beef" moment. But the growing criticism from left and […]

Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina primary by playing the victim card. Now, Mitt Romney hopes to win the Republican nomination by doing the same thing. But while Gingrich's ploy of portraying himself as the latest conservative target of a liberal "elite" media assault is always a winner with the Republican faithful, Romney may not […]

Over the past few days, conservative forces have mobilized to protect Mitt Romney from incoming fire over his rapidly multiplying tax scandals. Former Bush press flack Ari Fleischer and the Wall Street Journal editorial page predictably - and comically - argued the rich already pay too much in taxes. On consecutive days, New York Times […]

As the outcry grows over Mitt Romney's shockingly low 15 percent tax rate, his bitter rival Newt Gingrich rushed to his defense. "My goal is not to raise Mitt Romney's taxes," Gingrich declared," It's to let everybody pay Mitt Romney's rate." Of course, as with his marriage vows, Newt isn't telling the truth. As it […]