Jamelle Bouie

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a noted opponent of federal spending, has come out against deficit-funded federal aid for his district in Virginia, despite Republican Governor Bob McDonald’s request for said aid. “All of us know that the federal government is busy spending money it doesn’t have,” remarked Cantor while surveying damage in Culpepper, Virginia. […]

Yesterday, both Gallup and Public Policy Polling released new national polls of Republican primary voters. In a sharp change from several months ago, both found Texas Governor Rick Perry with a large lead over his competitors, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. In the Gallup poll, which includes each of the presidential candidates, Perry leads […]

At a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor this morning, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, one of the most powerful union officials in the country, talked with reporters on the state of the labor movement, the recent elections in Wisconsin, President Barack Obama’s rhetoric on jobs and the economy, and the labor movement’s plan for […]

As recently as last month, President Obama stood strong in polls against his potential Republican challengers: With the exception of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney – who lagged by several points – Obama was far ahead of each of his competitors. Now, according to the latest Gallup survey, 48 percent of registered voters say they […]

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn went on something of a speaking tour yesterday, warning of impending economic disaster and predicting the demise of Medicare. It has been an exercise in sensationalism – at one point, while voicing his frustrations with the Senate, Coburn said that “It’s just a good thing I can’t pack a gun on […]

For the last several months, President Obama has used his considerable rhetoric talents to turn the public’s attention to deficits, arguing that the government needs to tighten its belt in response to mounting debt. This has driven liberals insane, especially since the president has yet to present any major ideas for job creation, despite 9.1 […]

Last week, Wisconsin Democrats were on offense, winning two races against Republican state senators in a historic slate of recall elections. Yesterday, however, the situation was reversed, with Democrats defending two of their lawmakers from GOP attempts at recall. The state senators in question – Robert Wirch and Jim Holperin – were among the 14 […]

To Politico’s Roger Simon, Rep. Ron Paul was “shafted” by the national press, despite his strong second place finish in the Ames Straw Poll. “Any fair assessment of Ames . . . would have said the winds of the Republican Party are blowing toward both Bachmann and Paul,” writes Simon. Ron Paul’s Iowa campaign was […]

Three days out of the gate, and Texas Governor Rick Perry has already had his first gaffe in the Republican presidential primary. Speaking before a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Monday, Perry called loose monetary policy and act of treason, and made not-so-subtle threats about the physical safety of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, […]

In their despair over the debt-ceiling deal, liberals have admonished President Obama for his failure to use the “bully pulpit” and take his case to the public. Political psychologist Drew Westen offered a lengthy version of this argument in last week’s New York Times, lamenting Obama’s failure to capture the public’s imagination and act as […]