Topic: U.S. Democratic Party

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Why US Senate race in Massachusetts is Ed Markey's to lose

Ed Markey is a Democrat with high name recognition running in a blue state, and polls show him leading the GOP's Gabriel Gomez. But another US Senate race, in 2010, showed that Massachusetts voters can mete out some surprises.
Opinion After IRS scandal: Right-wing fear of government isn't paranoid

Whatever the motivations for the IRS targeting conservative groups, it has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum. Liberals also worry the scandal will feed right-wing paranoia of government. But for conservatives, fear of federal agencies is rooted in history, not hysteria.
Decoder Wire President Obama wants to 'go Bulworth'? What's that? (+video)

Hint: It's a reference to the 1998 political movie 'Bulworth,' from Warren Beatty. Here's why Obama would be well-advised to resist the urge to model his behavior after the title character.
White House reaction to IRS scandal: Too little, too late?

President Barack Obama forced out the acting IRS commissioner on Wednesday in response to allegations the agency had inappropriately targeted conservative groups. Critics have said the IRS scandal is just one of a series of incidents where the Obama administration has avoided taking responsibility.
Decoder Wire Five ways the IRS scandal will change Washington (+video)

Whatever comes of the investigations into the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, the scandal promises to have broad repercussions in Washington, potentially through the 2014 midterms.
Why Obama agenda group faces pushback from some Democrats

Organizing for Action, an issue-advocacy group that spun off from President Obama's reelection campaign, is going after some Democrats and competing for fundraising dollars.
Obama's 'juice' squeezed by scandals?

The burst of controversy out of the IRS and Justice Department, in addition to lingering GOP pressure over Benghazi, has sidelined attention to President Obama's agenda.
Decoder Wire Are IRS, Benghazi flaps affecting Obama's standing with US public? (+video)

Republicans might have good reason to believe that President Obama will be affected more by the IRS scandal than by new revelations about the terror attack in Benghazi, Libya.
Obama bemoans partisanship at Democratic fundraiser

While raising money to pay off the DNC's debts from his 2012 campaign, President Obama said he had hoped his election (or re-election!) would end partisan stalemates.
Tax VOX IRS was wrong to target Tea Party. What about other political groups?

The IRS shouldn't have targeted the Tea Party, Gleckman writes. But the unsavory IRS actions should also shine a light on the law that gives tax-exempt status to political groups of all ideological stripes – not just the Tea Party.
Decoder Wire IRS tea party scandal: How bad for Obama? (+video)

President Obama himself has slammed the reported IRS actions regarding tea party and other conservative groups. But inevitably, Republicans will attempt to link the White House to this activity.
IRS tea party scandal unlikely to fade as Congress plans investigations

The IRS has apologized for targeting tea party groups. But that hasn’t satisfied critics pushing for congressional investigations, and they're still waiting for President Obama to speak out.
Has Benghazi become the Obama administration’s Watergate? (+video)

New reports show that the State Department 'extensively edited' talking points about the terrorist attack on the US diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya. Most Americans disapprove of the way President Obama has handled it, presenting the administration with a major political problem.
Rand Paul for president? Why else is he in Iowa? (+video)

US Sen. Rand Paul is making a splash in Iowa this weekend, and he'll soon visit New Hampshire and South Carolina. Can the libertarian-tinged maverick Republican successfully run for president?
Team Obama edits to Benghazi talking points: the smoking gun?

The White House refused to concede on Friday that the administration's edits to a set of 'talking points' about deadly attacks on a US compound in Benghazi, Libya, were more than cosmetic. That is debatable.
Student loans: Could GOP, White House strike a compromise on interest rates?

The interest rates set for student loans expire July 1 – one year after Congress took action. Now, there’s a growing desire to come up with a longer-term plan.
Gay marriage clears Minnesota House, heads to Senate

If the Minnesota Senate votes to legalize gay marriage next Monday, as expected, it will be the 12th state in the US to offer full marriage equality, following on the heels of Rhode Island and Delaware.
House prioritizes bills to pay if US hits debt ceiling. Is default averted?

The bill would allow the federal government to pay interest on the nation’s debts, even if the US does not raise the debt ceiling. But some say the effect would be different from what is envisioned.
GOP senators boycott vote on McCarthy for EPA

Frustrated by what they call a lack of transparency from the EPA, all eight Republican senators on the Environment and Public Works committee boycotted a scheduled vote on Obama nominee Gina McCarthy to head the EPA.
Emotional Benghazi testimony revives disputes

On Wednesday, a House panel heard from Gregory Hicks who was stationed in Tripoli at the time of the 2012 Benghazi attack which left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others dead. The hearing demonstrated a partisan divide between the two parties over how to interpret the attack and the U.S. government's response.
With gun violence down, is America arming against an imagined threat? (+video)

A Pew study released Tuesday finds that Americans think gun violence has escalated when in reality it's way down from two decades ago. The violence has dropped, meanwhile, even as gun ownership has increased.
Decoder Wire Mark Sanford comeback: four reasons for his improbable win (+video)

Mark Sanford credits his unlikely victory to being 'an imperfect man saved by God's grace,' but he was also a skilled campaigner, in a deep red district, who made the race about Nancy Pelosi.
House race: Mark Sanford win crushes Democrats' hope of red-state toehold

Democrats spent $1 million to elect Elizabeth Colbert Busch in true-red South Carolina. But Republican Mark Sanford won handily with a message of fiscal restraint, despite ethical and moral lapses while governor.
Gay marriage hat trick: Will Minnesota make three?

As the US awaits the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage laws for same-sex couples, the states are approaching a gay marriage hat trick: Rhode Island last week, Delaware today, and possibly Minnesota by Saturday.
In Mark Sanford race, a test of how much infidelity matters in South

Voting is under way Tuesday in Charleston, S.C., where Mark Sanford (R) hopes to prevail over Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) for a US House seat. The Republican is usually a shoo-in, but the former governor's 'Appalachian Trail' tale of infidelity raised doubts.