political campaign news stories on Newser

Occupy's New Target: Iowa Campaign Offices

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:19:54 CDT

Occupy Des Moines activists are planning to camp out at and "shut down" campaign offices in the week leading up to the Iowa caucuses, and they have invited protesters from around the country to join them. One organizer described the plan, dubbed the "First in the Nation Caucus Occupation," to...

Shadow Campaigns Taking Over GOP

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:20:05 CDT

Conservative groups operating outside the public eye are carrying much of the water for Republican campaigns, the New York Times reports. Thanks to a Supreme Court decision that uncaps contribution limits, right-wing organizations like Americans for Prosperity and Karl Rove's American Crossroads are spending hundreds of millions of dollars—on...

Haley Barbour Takes Heat for Posh Jet Trips

Matt Cantor — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 07:56:52 CST

Haley Barbour jets around on a classy Mississippi state jet—but not all the governor’s trips look like state business, Politico finds. He also uses the 12-seater Cessna, funded largely by tax dollars, to attend fundraisers for other Republicans, to appear on Meet the Press and Face the Nation (other...

To Save Dems, Obama Needs More Coherent Message

Matt Cantor — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:36:29 CDT

The Republicans are coasting through this election season on a platform of just a few words: “Spending, taxes, jobs, economy, deficit, debt,” as one party leader has it. As we near Nov. 2, the Democrats still don’t have anything like that coherent message, writes EJ Dionne in the Washington Post...

You'd Have to Be Crazy to Want to Run for Office

Kevin Spak — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:00:00 CDT

Here’s the state of politics today: In Connecticut, we have a guy who lied about serving in Vietnam running against a woman who used to run the WWE. America has, in short, a total dearth of “convincing or even plausible candidates,” and it’s easy to figure out why, writes Christopher...

10 Failed Celeb Political Bids

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:47:00 CDT

Wyclef Jean is running for president of Haiti , but already things aren’t going well for the controversy-plagued singer. If he loses, he won’t be the first celebrity to suffer a failed political campaign: Time lists 10 others: Norman Mailer : Despite being a literary giant, the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book...

Pols Use Dubious TV Gigs to Prep for Elections

Harry Kimball — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:40:27 CST

In a trend that crosses party and network lines while raising a bevy of ethical questions, potential candidates for elected office are finding easy employment as cable news analysts. Fox News leads the pack, with three former office holders widely seen as possible future candidates: Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and...

Schumer: Campaign Ruling 'Undermines Democracy'

Harry Kimball — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:28:58 CST

Democrats and campaign reformers alike are railing against today’s Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to use their money how they please in the political arena. “This decision allows Wall Street to tap its vast corporate profits to drown out the voice of the public in our democracy,” Common Cause President...

Bill Had Long-Term Affair During Hillary's Campaign

John Johnson — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:12:10 CST

Harry Reid's comment about candidate Obama not having a "Negro dialect" is grabbing the headlines today, but an upcoming book on the 2008 election has other salacious tidbits. Marc Ambinder got an advance copy of Game Change and has highlights at the Atlantic : Bill Clinton was involved in a long-term...