As I’ve been noting here, one key metric to determine whether the prolonged GOP nomination process is damaging Mitt Romney’s general election prospects is his standing among independents, many of whom remain sour on Obama’s economic performance. Today’s new Pew poll offers another installment. The topline is striking enough — it finds that Rick Santorum [...]
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Rick Santorum has taken the lead nationally in the Republican presidential race for the first time, a new poll showed. Less than a week after besting Romney in primary contests in three states, Rick Santorum has a 15-point lead on the former Massachusetts governor, according to a national poll released Saturday by Democratic firm Public [...]
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Mitt Romney hoped to reinvigorate his presidential prospects with a victory in Maine’s GOP caucuses Saturday while Ron Paul reached for his first triumph in what shaped up as a two-man race because neither Newt Gingrich nor Rick Santorum actively competed in the state. This contest received far less attention than others on the calendar [...]
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The presidential caucus system is under attack after embarrassing contests in Iowa and Nevada put on national display missing ballots, endless counting delays and lots of confusion. The result is Republican activists calling for big change to the antiquated system, particularly to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. “All the candidates are out there slogging around at [...]
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Saturday that Iran will soon unveil new nuclear achievements. Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke at Tehran’s famous Azadi (Freedom) square during a rally marking the 33rd anniversary of the country’s Islamic Revolution. “God willing, in the coming days, the world will see Iran showcasing some very big nuclear achievements,” he said. The [...]
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Drawing on his by now well-honed debate skills, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney on Friday deftly put down an aggressive attack by a few hostile members of a town hall audience, who challenged him repeatedly on issues ranging from his overseas investments to his support for hydrofracking. It was a rare bit of rhetorical chaos [...]
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Congressional Republicans aren’t impressed with President Obama’s new policy on contraception and religious institutions. Leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said they still plan to move a bill that would make further changes to the administration’s mandate. Obama said Friday that religious institutions like Catholic hospitals and universities will not have to include [...]
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About a week ago, I wrote a column making a case for Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee. My argument was aimed at fellow conservatives who just can’t get their minds — or at least their hearts — around a Romney candidacy. The details aren’t important right now (and they’re easy enough to find with [...]
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Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum created a stir at a high-profile conservative conference on Friday by aggressively charging that his GOP rivals aren’t conservative enough to excite voters – in the primary or general election. “We always talk about appealing to moderates,” Santorum said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). “Why would an undecided [...]
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At last year’s CPAC gathering, the mere sight of a Sarah Palin impersonator was enough to throw some attendees into a star-struck frenzy. Such was Palin’s clout among conservative activists in February 2011, just a few months after she played a critical role in the 2010 midterms and when she was stoking speculation about her [...]
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President Obama announced a plan today that attempts to accommodate certain religious employers opposed to a rule that would require them to provide access to birth control for women free of charge. Obama announced that the rule would be tweaked so that in cases where non-profit religious organizations have objections, insurance companies would be required [...]
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Right-wing author and commentator Ann Coulter was warmly received by a standing-room only audience in a ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday, garnering enthusiastic applause for her criticism of President Obama’s policy on mandating birth control coverage for employees at religiously-affiliated institutions. “This isn’t a Catholic issue, this is a freedom issue,” Coulter [...]
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While Republican presidential candidates were bruising each other on the campaign trail, rising GOP star Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida took aim at the current occupant of the White House to help kick off the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in the nation’s capital. “Obama might be a great father, but he is a terrible [...]
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The first new U.S. nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors in the southern state of Georgia. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to approve Southern Co.’s request to build two nuclear reactors at its Vogtle site. The vote clears the [...]
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Many Protestant and evangelical leaders are standing with the Roman Catholics bishops against the Obamacare mandate to compel religious hospitals, schools and charities to purchase insurance coverage for contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization. Although modern conservative Protestants have been accepting or ambivalent about birth control, they recognize a clear infringement on religious liberty. Mandatory coverage for [...]
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