Recent News

Much of Bernie Sanders’ career is centered around his disgust for money in politics. He hates the fact of it, hates its effects, and, naturally, he has deep disdain for the process of raising it. The bigger the number, the more contempt he has. “I don’t do these fundraisers for $100,000 apiece or $10,000,” the Vermont senator, a self-described independent socialist, spat in his heavy Brooklyn accent during a recent speech to the National Press Club. “I don’t know anybody who has that kind of money!” His average contribution, he humble-bragged, is $45.

Now he’s thinking about running for president, in what is shaping up to be the most expensive election in history, likely exceeding 2012’s total of $2.6 billion.

Cruz looking for likability

Sen. Ted Cruz is not just the first major candidate to announce a 2016 bid — he’s also the first to make serious moves in the likability primary.

The Texas Republican has been seeking to soften his sometimes rigid public persona throughout his rollout this week: talking about his family background during his campaign launch at Liberty University on Monday, being candidly photographed with his wife and daughters, and adding non-political TV shows to his post-announcement tour.

Jeb Bush’s tricky path to an economic plan

One of Jeb Bush’s biggest challenges in the 2016 campaign will be to come up with a fresh economic plan that doesn’t make him seem like a tool of deep-pocketed Wall Street donors or the second coming of Mitt Romney, whose big, expensive tax cut plan failed to catch fire and left him wide open to populist attacks.

Is Joe Biden ready for Joe?

Joe Biden isn’t not running for president.

That’s not a typo: Hillary Clinton is about to kick off her campaign, and the vice president has taken no steps to run, or to figure out a real plan for what happens if he doesn’t. But he’s not out of the race, either.

A paradigm shift is needed in today’s Democratic Party.

Rising stars in the Democratic Party like Tim Kaine, Jim Webb and especially Martin O’Malley and Elizabeth Warren are all formidable candidates, despite the fact that one liberal icon has amassed $328,755,858 and owns her own server. If Republicans can be proud of the fact that Ted Cruz would “most likely” be able to serve as president, Democrats should trumpet the plethora of talent within their ranks.

Will Iowans Give Rick Perry a Second Chance?

As the 2016 presidential race officially opens, a lot of attention is being paid to the new faces in the crowded Republican field of candidates. There’s the first official entrant Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the fresh-faced Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Senator Ron Paul. Another fresh face, Florida Senator Marco Rubio also looms as he too is expected to announce his candidacy soon.

Those four Republicans have all come on to the national scene since the 2010 elections. Three of them are in their forties, Paul is the oldest of the bunch at age 52, which means he’s just a pup as far as presidential politics goes. In a party that is desperately searching for an identity and a national leader, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that people seem most interested in these young and emerging Republicans.

However, there is another candidate that Iowans also seem to be interested in these days – former Texas Governor Rick Perry.

Like many New Jerseyans, Karen Parliament isn’t shy about offering her opinion — particularly when it comes to Gov. Chris Christie.

“I love him,” Parliament said Tuesday as she waited to see Christie speak in person for the third time in his five-year tenure. ”I just hope he starts to announce it. The early bird gets the worm here.”

That “it” would be Christie’s long-anticipated, yet still incipient 2016 presidential campaign.