Recent News

In the race for the GOP nomination, nothing is settled

The nation’s conservative newsreaders and poll-watchers are in for a long and bumpy road to the nomination in 2016. Today’s sure thing is tomorrow’s flop.

It wasn’t all that long ago that conservatives were literally begging New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to run for the White House in 2012 as the only Republican candidate they thought had a prayer of appealing to a national electorate. Today, his sky-high disapproval ratings among conservatives has left many wondering whether the Garden State governor will even run for the White House at all.

Most modern democracies embrace some form of socialism. Not so in the USA, where capitalism has become tantamount to religion and the capitalists have a stranglehold on the political process. Ironically, the U.S. Congress’ single democratic socialist and foremost champion of progressive causes may wind up being silenced and marginalized by the same forces he has stood against for four decades.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich to test 2016 waters on trip to New Hampshire

Ohio Gov. John Kasich will make a foray to New Hampshire this week, testing whether another GOP governor with a reputation for compassionate conservatism and the potential for broad appeal can find a place amid the crowded 2016 presidential field.

It’s Mr. Kasich’s second look at running, following a short-lived flirtation in 1999, when he was an up-and-coming member of Congress and was chased from the field by the GOP’s original compassionate conservative governor, George W. Bush.

Democrats would be making a big mistake if they let Hillary Clinton coast to the presidential nomination without real opposition, and, as a national leader, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren can make sure that doesn’t happen. While Warren has repeatedly vowed that she won’t run for president herself, she ought to reconsider. And if Warren sticks to her refusal, she should make it her responsibility to help recruit candidates to provide voters with a vigorous debate on her signature cause, reducing income inequality, over the next year.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned the Republican Party’s top donors Saturday against backing a candidate who flip-flops on important issues.

Addressing a harbor-side reception Saturday at an exclusive retreat for donors to the Republican National Committee, the Garden State governor appeared to criticize Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, without mentioning him by name, for adjusting his positions to curry favor with early state voters.

“We need to make sure that we make our party bigger and broader than it’s been before,” Christie told a sunset gathering of about 250 donors who have given more than $15,000—and as much as $330,000—to the GOP. “And that’s not about pandering, it’s not about flip-flopping on issues.” Walker stood a few dozen feet away mingling with the well-heeled crowd. “People want folks who they believe believe in what they say and don’t change depending on what state they’re in,” Christie continued.

Democracy Alliance’s goal: Push Hillary Clinton to the left

An influential coalition of the biggest liberal donors is quietly distancing itself from the national Democratic Party and planning to push its leaders — including Hillary Clinton — to the left.

The Democracy Alliance funders club at a private April gathering in San Francisco is set to unveil a five-year plan to boost causes on which some of its members contend leading Democrats like Clinton have been insufficiently aggressive.

Some within the club’s ranks had felt that it aligned too closely to the Democratic Party during President Barack Obama’s campaigns and administration. And the plan, called 2020 Vision, represents a more assertively liberal direction for Democracy Alliance — one that could pose problems for Clinton in her expected presidential campaign and beyond, if she wins the White House.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz will be the first candidate to formally declare his candidacy for president in 2016, with an announcement scheduled for today, March 23. The Houston Chronicle reports:

Ted Cruz to announce presidential bid Monday

Sen. Ted Cruz plans to announce Monday that he will run for president of the United States, accelerating his already rapid three-year rise from a tea party insurgent in Texas into a divisive political force in Washington.

Cruz will launch a presidential bid outright rather than ... Read More >>