Steve Benen

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: * Newt Gingrich endorsed the so-called marriage pledge yesterday, put together by a prominent, right-wing Iowa group, the FAMiLY Leader. Among other things, the pledge demands “personal fidelity to my spouse,” which […]

This would be a fairly interesting development, especially in an election year. The Treasury Department forecast Monday that the budget deficit for fiscal 2012 will come in at $996 billion, the first time President Obama has presided over an annual deficit of less than $1 trillion. The budget deficit in fiscal 2011 and 2010 was […]

It appears lawmakers are becoming increasingly proficient in addressing policy challenges that don’t exist. It’s an image many Americans would find rather upsetting: a recently laid-off millionaire, luxuriating next to the pool eating grapes bought with food stamps while waiting for an unemployment check to roll in. Under the Republican bill to extend a payroll […]

One of the lead stories of Fox News’ “Fox Nation” website this morning is a “Romney Flashback.” It highlights this video from Mitt Romney’s successful gubernatorial campaign in 2002. For those who can’t watch videos online, the key quote from Romney comes towards the end: “I think the old, standby definitions of who votes for […]

The right invests quite a bit of time in going after President Obama on religious grounds — Rick Perry recently promised he’ll “end Obama’s war on religion” — especially as it relates to holidays. Last month, when the president mentioned God in this Thanksgiving proclamation, but not his online Thanksgiving address, conservatives threw a fit […]

The outcome was expected, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was maddening. Senate Republicans on Monday blocked President Obama’s choice to be ambassador to El Salvador after raising questions about whether her former boyfriend was a spy for Cuba. Republicans also were concerned that Mari Carmen Aponte wrote a commentary about gay pride […]

Just about all of the major Republican presidential candidates have unveiled tax plans they’d pursue if elected, and the result has become a competition with a competition — GOP contenders aren’t just fighting for votes, they’re fighting to see who’s willing to give the biggest tax breaks to those who are already very, very wealthy. […]

Today’s edition of quick hits: * Big case: “The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Arizona may impose tough anti-immigration measures. Among them, in a law enacted last year, is a requirement that the police there question people they stop about their immigration status.” * Europe: “A European summit deal to strengthen budget […]

Maybe it’s just me, but I find phrases like “keep America American” kind of creepy. Take Mitt Romney’s stump-speech rhetoric, for example. “There are people in this room who are informed and who care about this election, who recognize that this is a defining time for America,” he said. “We have on one side a […]

What’s worse than Fox News’ attempts at reporting? Fox News’ attempts to convey information through images. Media Matters’ Zachary Pleat highlights this doozy from the Republican news network today, which intends to show the fluctuations in the unemployment rate over 2011 to date. It might be a little tough to see (click on it for […]