Steve Benen

Think about where Mitt Romney stood a week ago. He’d won the nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire; his national lead was large and getting larger; and he enjoyed double-digit leads over his squabbling competitors in the South Carolina primary. And then think about where Romney stands this morning. It turns out he lost […]

Following up on an item from a few weeks ago, Emily Heil reported yesterday on the most “taboo topic” at the Republican presidential candidate debates. Viewers of the approximately 3 million Republican presidential debates so far have come to expect certain things. There’s the regular cast of characters, a moderator struggling to knock the candidates […]

At times, as far-right personalities go, Mike Huckabee doesn’t necessarily come across like a bad guy. He tells charming stories; he frequently jokes around with Jon Stewart; and he even plays bass. As right-wing preachers-turned-politicians go, Huckabee seems non-threatening, and to some, even likable. It’s worth pausing from time to time to remember the ugly […]

First up from the God Machine this week is a look at the recent track of the religious right movement and its spectacularly unsuccessful attempts to dictate the Republican presidential nominating contest. Dana Milbank takes stock today and ponders, “God knows what has become of the religious right.” The movement of Jerry Falwell and Pat […]

The South Carolina Republican presidential primary is obviously today, and will be followed by the Florida primary a week from Tuesday. In anticipation of the fourth nominating contest, there are two debates scheduled for the upcoming week: an NBC debate in Tampa on Monday, and a CNN debate in Jacksonville on Thursday. There is, however, […]

The South Carolina Republican presidential primary has developed an unfortunate reputation for dirty tricks and ugly smear campaigns. The legend, alas, continues. Twelve years ago, John McCain, fresh off a big win in New Hampshire, ran into some scurrilous attacks in the Palmetto State, where George W. Bush supporters accused McCain of having gone crazy […]

I had a chance to talk about the race for the Republican presidential nomination with Ed Schultz last night on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show.” As an added treat, instead of the fake-book backdrop, I appeared from my own living room. Here’s the first of the two segments: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and […]

Today’s edition of quick hits: * Scariest thing I’ve seen in a long while: “2011 was the ninth-warmest year on Earth since 1880, according to NASA scientists, and this dramatic warming is captured in this visualization.” * Syria: “The Obama administration is preparing to close the U.S. embassy in Damascus and evacuate all American personnel […]

Brian McGrory reports this week on Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) new attack on Elizabeth Warren: she’s apparently an “elitist hypocrite.” [Brown] seems to be fuming that his main Democratic rival, Elizabeth Warren, has done pretty well for herself financially. A filing publicized last week had her making $700,000 in income over a recent two-year period, […]

Two weeks ago, I launched a new Friday afternoon feature, highlighting the most offensive Mitt Romney falsehoods of the week. Last Friday’s installment was well received, so let’s keep this going with a third. 1. “The president is planning on cutting $1 trillion out of military spending.” That’s a Romney favorite, but it’s not at […]