Steve Benen

We’re apparently not supposed to talk about this outside of “quiet rooms,” but more and more Americans are taking note of the tensions between the haves and the have nots. About two-thirds of the public now believes there are strong conflicts between the rich and poor in America, making class a likelier source of tension […]

We knew the short film from Newt Gingrich’s Super PAC, targeting Mitt Romney’s private-sector work, was on the way. We didn’t know just how devastating it would be. Probably the easiest-to-see version of “When Mitt Romney Came to Town” is online at the Winning Our Future website, but a couple of folks have posted the […]

Today’s edition of quick hits: * Iran: “A bomber on a motorcycle killed a scientist from Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site and his bodyguard-driver on Wednesday during the morning commute in Tehran, Iranian media reported, in an assassination that could further elevate international tensions over the Iranian nuclear program and stoke the country’s growing anti-Western […]

The New York Times had a terrific editorial today, taking a big-picture view of the race for the Republican presidential nomination and the “journey into the dingy, cramped quarters of the right wing’s economic policies.” The piece is well worth reading. The Republicans ritually denounced President Obama as hostile to capitalism, disdainful of individual enterprise […]

On NBC this morning, Matt Lauer asked Mitt Romney whether Americans with “questions about the distribution of wealth and power in this country” are necessarily motivated by, in the Republican’s word, “envy.” The host asked, “Is it about jealousy, or fairness?” Romney was unmoved. “You know, I think it’s about envy,” he said. “I think […]

Ben Smith makes the case today that Mitt Romney is a much stronger presidential candidate than many give him credit for. As Smith sees it, the former governor is “the perfect challenger,” and “it’s hard to imagine a stronger Republican candidate emerging this early in the cycle.” I didn’t find the piece especially persuasive — […]

As recently as five months ago, Mitt Romney boasted about having created “tens of thousands of jobs” at his vulture-capital fund. “When I was at Bain Capital, we invested in about 100 different companies. Not all of them worked…. But I’m very proud of the fact that I learned about how you can be successful […]

In 1995, a group of men burst into a New Orleans home in search of money and drugs. They ordered those inside to lie down and then opened fire, killing five innocent people. One man, Larry Boatner, survived the violence and identified Juan Smith as one of the assailants. Boatner’s testimony was the only evidence […]

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers: * Mitt Romney’s campaign raised an impressive $24 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, and enters 2012 with more than $19 million cash on hand. To date, the campaign has already […]

We’ve all heard politicians boast that American workers are the most productive workers in the world. It’s worth pausing to consider whether that’s true or not. Michael Mandel tackles the issue in a new piece for the print edition of the Washington Monthly, and this editors’ summary set the stage for an interesting piece: One […]