Few phrases pepper the rhetoric of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney more frequently than variations of Justice Brandeis' famous quote that the states may "serve as a laboratory" for the rest of the nation. "Before imposing a one-size-fits-all federal program," Romney wrote in 2009, "Let the states serve as 'the laboratories of democracy.'" Two years […]

From the beginning, Mitt Romney's much-hyped overseas journey has devolved into one self-inflicted wound after another. But largely lost in the laughter is another episode which to Romney's right-wing allies is no laughing matter at all. On the eve of the trip, Romney quoted former Reagan chief-of-staff James Baker, who claimed that early on in […]

As Mitt Romney begins his excellent adventure in Israel, it's worth noting the many advantages he enjoys over his former Republican rivals when it comes to courting Jewish voters. For starters, Romney considers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "my friend," one with whom he shares "common experiences" and "can speak in shorthand." (Whether or not […]

At events across the country, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is trying to convince voters that small business owners in fact build the roads and bridges they use every day. Unfortunately, Romney's "We Did Build It" gatherings have hit some potholes, with many participants revealed to be the recipients of government contracts and subsidies and others […]

Before departing on his trip to tout America's Anglo-Saxon heritage in the UK, Poland and Israel, Mitt Romney used an address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to deliver a blistering attack on President Obama. Blistering and, of course, duplicitous. Romney accused President Obama of "massive defense cuts," ignoring that much of the "arbitrary, […]

When it comes to touting bogus presidential endorsements by foreign leaders, candidate George W. Bush is in a class by himself. But while Governor Bush was (easily) duped by a Canadian comedy show into proudly accepting the backing of mythical Prime Minister Jean Poutine, Mitt Romney's misrepresentation of his private conversation with actual Australian foreign […]

On Wednesday, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will kick-off a six day swing through the UK, Israel and Poland. Like any challenger, Romney wants to burnish his foreign policy credentials while pandering to key voting blocs back home. But for the former Massachusetts governor, those rewards come with larger than usual risks. After all, with […]

With the year-end expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the looming "sequestration" of $1.2 trillion they agreed to during their debt ceiling hostage-taking last summer, the message from Republican leaders is the same as it ever was. Taxes (especially for the rich) must not go up, defense spending must not go down, and the […]

During Mitt Romney's first run for the White House four years ago, his GOP rival Mike Huckabee warned that the former private equity CEO reminded voters of "the guy who laid them off." Now, with the growing imbroglio over his secret tax returns, labyrinthine overseas accounts and "I win even when they lose" Bain business […]

Even at a time of record income inequality, the lowest federal tax burden in 60 years and plummeting effective tax rates for the top one percent of earners, it is often difficult to put a face on the yawning chasm between the super-rich and everyone else. But now we have six. New data from the […]