"Reagan," Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2002, "proved deficits don't matter." Unless, that is, a Democrat is in the White House. After all, while Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, each Republican was rewarded with a second term in office. But as the Gallup polling data […]

In the aftermath of Friday's budget agreement, it's no longer a question of whether the U.S. is going to slash spending, but where, when and by how much. On the heels of the $38.5 billion in cuts to discretionary, non-defense spending Obama adviser David Plouffe deemed "draconian", President Obama this week will lay out his […]

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner insisted, "What we have to understand is cutting spending will in fact help create jobs in America." But across the pond in the UK, Boehner's conservative allies are learning a different lesson. While U.S. gross domestic product jumped by 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010, […]

In the run-up to Wednesday's vote by House Republicans to undo the Affordable Care Act, the McClatchy papers asked, "Will it last? Health care repeal debate takes on civil tone." The answer, of course, was no. The Republican Party that brought America bogus charges of "death panels," the "government-takeover of health care," and "job-killing" plans […]

Everything you need to know about the difference between the governing style of Republicans and Democrats is on display in the battles over the passage and expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Despite large Congressional majorities and broad public support for ending as promised the budget-busting Bush windfall for the wealthy, President Obama and squeamish […]

As Election Day approached, it was clear that Democrats were facing the perfect storm of a dismal economy, a media-driven backlash movement and President Obama's quixotic - and counterproductive - quest for bipartisanship. But even with the loss of independent voters, the Democrats mid-term beat down could have less severe had their base come to […]

This weekend, the New York Times and Washington Post offered almost identical assessments of the 2010 Congressional elections. While the Times announced "GOP poised to seize House, if not Senate," the Post predicted 'historic" losses with "more than 90 Democratic House seats are potentially in play." But lost in the conventional wisdom that Barack Obama […]

In his latest effort to rebrand both the Republican and Democratic parties, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has also rewritten history. Labeling his GOP "the party of paychecks" and Democrats "the party of food stamps" in advance of his upcoming campaign swing, Gingrich declared "we have historically since Ronald Reagan of 1980 been the party […]

Somewhere, Wall Street Journal columnist and What's the Matter with Kansas author Thomas Frank is shaking his head. In 2004, Frank detailed how the GOP successfully turned to divisive social issues and fear-mongering to persuade working class whites in his home state to consistently vote against their own economic self-interest. Now, a new AP-GfK poll […]

If Thursday was a test of political courage when it comes to the expiring Bush tax cuts, both parties failed miserably. Despite a raft of polls showing strong public opposition to the GOP's proposed $700 billion, 10-year tax cut windfall for the wealthy, squeamish Democrats in both the House and the Senate decided to push […]