Nothing about the federal tax system is especially pleasant: it requires a lot of forms, expends precious mental energy, and of course involves parting ways with your money. But according to a new poll commissioned by The Washington Post, 53 percent of Democrats gave a favorable opinion of the federal tax system; 66 percent of Republicans didn't.
The president's problem is simple: on November 6, he had a massive, nationwide campaign infrastructure which advocated for his policy priorities and values, and on November 7, that carefully crafted machine all but evaporated.
Even though Republicans have made a big stink about liberals coming for their fatty food and soda, well, Republicans like their soda calorie-free, according to a new poll.
"Nobody has bought me, No. 1. Nobody. Never," New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez told Univision last week. But if you survey the kind of things Menedez has done for opthamologist Salomon E. Melgen in the last 20 years, Menedez sure is a great friend.
President Obama previewed the disappointment that members of his party are almost destined to eventually feel in a speech at the House Democratic Issues Conference on Thursday in Leesburg, Virginia.
There's no publicity in the follow-up. Conservative activist James O'Keefe earned praise for secretly taping Virginia Rep. Jim Moran's son Patrick seemingly giving advice on how to commit voter fraud in October, but three months later law enforcement has closed their investigation because, they say, O'Keefe wouldn't cooperate.
Hillary Clinton received a ringing endorsement from President Obama out of their joint interview on 60 Minutes Sunday night, but what did Obama get out of it? He got the chance to tell any other Democrats planning a 2016 run to back off.
In a move that may offer Republicans an opportunity to pick up a Senate seat in the next midterm elections., Sen. Jay Rockefeller has decided not to run for reelection in West Virginia in 2014.
As the fiscal cliff negotiations reach their final hour, a strange new trend has emerged: people are going on TV and saying, with a straight face, that making $250,000 a year doesn't make you rich.
Ten days after the death of Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, the governor of Hawaii named Schatz as Inouye's replacement Wednesday night. By Thursday just after lunchtime, Joe Biden was swearing him into the famous book of Senators.
The senior ranking member of the Senate passed away at the age of 88.
The so-called Top Conservaties on Twitter, led by their #tcot hashtag, dominated the trends on Twitter this election year, but official new data from Twitter suggests that they may not have controlled the conversations they started.
The unusual chain of events — and a series of press releases — are a little hard to follow, so here's a timeline that seems straight out of Homeland.
An unpaid intern for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was arrested for being an illegal immigrant on December 6, because Homeland Security asked federal agents to delay the arrest until after the election, the Associated Press reports.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is flirting with filibuster reform again, floating the idea of making senators suffer for their filibuster by forcing them to actually stand up and talk nonstop for hours, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-style
Let's face it: The 2012 election is so passé. Voting may be less than 24 hours away but the media has moved on to bigger and better things: Like what's going to happen after the presidential election?
Can you, if you are a Democrat, even, perhaps, not an actively campaigning one, but one who would certainly never deign to vote for Mitt Romney, consider in good faith a Republican as a possible suitor? Can you, if you are a Republican, ever love someone who believes in the presidency of Barack Obama?
If it wasn't already obvious that things are heating up in Ohio, well, this will certainly convince you. Buzzfeed's Zeke Miller had the brilliant idea of asking each campaign to annotate their opponents voting memo distributed in the Buckeye state.
What does it take to take down the 72-year-old Senate majority leader Harry Reid?
Call it the partial fix to the partial fix to the partial fix. National Journal's Dan Friedman and Billy House report that leading lawmakers are discussing a plan to make a "down payment" of cuts that would amount to half of the $110 billion in sequestration, which is set to go into effect in January.
In what's shaping out to be a pretty dreadful year for Jesse Jackson's Jr., the Chicago congressman who has been on medical leave for bipolar disorder is now the subject of a criminal investigation for misusing campaign money to spruce up his house.
It's the most anticipated House hearing in weeks and will likely provide the Romney campaign with talking points for the rest of the presidential race.
John Kerry's dream of becoming America's next top diplomat (i.e. Secretary of State) has become something of a reality show saga in recent weeks as a rotating cast of characters challenge his rise to the top.
Fried steak in hand, Maryland governor Martin O'Malley turned some heads in Iowa on Sunday in what many are calling the first stop on his 2016 presidential campaign.
After months of foot-dragging, the White House finally announced how it would implement the mandatory spending cuts to defense and domestic spending Republicans and Democrats agreed to last year, but that no one — not Congressional Democrats, Republicans, or the White House — wants to see go in effect.
Two national polls show conflicting results among likely voters, while Bible Belt whites have some lingering issues with Romney and Democrats mostly think they are hearing good news about the economy. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
When Bill Clinton gave his speech at the DNC Wednesday night he ran long, ad-libbed, and totally ruined that Cowboys-Giants game. He also, as Jon Stewart points out, used an amazing thing missing from the entire Republican National Convention: Math.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
For the last several months, Republicans and Democrats have been posturing their way towards the the edge of the so-called "fiscal cliff," a mix of nearly $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into effect in January.
You are what you eat, in more ways than one. Some of our consumer choices reflect a deeper connection to the brands we know and love, one that goes beyond mere habit and becomes a part of our self-image. There's a strong correlation between our spending, eating, and drinking habits and our political actions.
Politically speaking, Navy SEALs aren't the safest targets to rail against in a presidential race, but the Obama campaign isn't hesitating to take down a group of former SEALs who've criticized the president's national security decisions.
The anti-Obama campaign slogan "you didn't build that" has reached its inevitable extension into the foreign policy arena. But this may be its worst application yet.
Joe Biden's middle class patois was in rare form today as he puffed up his NASCAR bonafides on the campaign trail.
Jesse Jackson, Jr. is letting his doctors do the talking and on Monday they gave their diagnosis: The Illinois congressman, who's been on a medical leave of absence since June 10, is undergoing treatment for bipolar II depression.
In a rumor receiving a lot of push back, Breitbart.com's Mike Flynn claims that former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has accepted a speaking slot at next month's Democratic convention, citing an anonymous "high-ranking Republican official."
Democrats are planning on enlisting "several" wayward Republicans to help turn out the vote for President Obama at next month's Democratic National Convention, but who will it be?
Today The New York Times introduces us to the Stampes, an average American couple that bucks the idea that Mitt Romney is out to get every single middle-class American ... sort of.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
The sacred bond of friendship is no match for a congressional primary, it seems. This week, while the country mourns the breakup of Kristen and Robert, Washington has its mind on a different estranged couple: Marcy and Dennis.
It's been a tough week of typographical errors for House Republicans. Yesterday, the House nearly approved a bill that would've put a freeze on major federal regulations forever because of a typo. Today, in trying to fix the error, made another clerical snafu.
The Hill newspaper has released it's annual want-but-can't-look-away of a listicle: The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People, which rounds up the most attractive politicos the swampland has to offer. The big news this year: Democrats have are now just as attractive as Republicans.
By now, you can set your watch to a phenomenon that follows nearly every mass shooting in America: A sharp uptick in gun sales.
This week is Washington's "make-or-break" moment to pass a new cybersecurity bill ahead of the August recess. As a result, there's never been a better time to stoke fears of a crippling cyber attacks regardless of their actual likelihood.
Hours after the tragic shooting deaths in Aurora, Colorado advocates on both sides of the gun control debate began reciting the same talking points they've reiterated for years.
Did you know the Pentagon spends $80 million a year on NASCAR sponsorships, ultimate cage fighting, bass fishing tournaments and other sports?
Sen. John McCain stroked the fantasies of campaign finance reformers with the impression that he would cross the aisle and vote with Democrats to help pass the DISCLOSE Act legislation, but yesterday the bill failed after a 51-44 party-line vote in favor. Behold the star-crossed romance...
It was the Democratic talking point throughout last year's debt ceiling debate, "The Tea Party is taking the economy hostage," but now in a role reversal from last year, Democrats are the ones threatening economic ruin in an effort to wring concessions from Republicans.
It's the hottest trend sweeping the nation: Refusing free money from the federal government to insure millions of poor people by expanding Medicaid.
Much remains unknown about the mystery illness forcing Jesse Jackson Jr. into hiding, but last night's disclosure that the congressman is being treated for "mood disorder" at an inpatient care center gives mental health experts a better sense of what he's dealing with.
After 32 votes to repeal President Obama's health care reform bill, Democrats and Republicans are out of fresh talking points on the law. But worry not: you can never run out of strained pop culture references.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill won't go to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September, joining several other red state Democrats, Talking Points Memo's Pema Levy reports Tuesday.
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