Biden calls Romney ‘George Bush on steroids’
By Theodoric Meyer, The Seattle Times – SEATTLE — Vice President Joseph Biden criticized Mitt Romney and the Republican Party on Monday at a fundraiser for Sen. Maria Cantwell in Seattle, calling
Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Theodoric Meyer, The Seattle Times – SEATTLE — Vice President Joseph Biden criticized Mitt Romney and the Republican Party on Monday at a fundraiser for Sen. Maria Cantwell in Seattle, calling
By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times – SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — They never got close, and Mitt Romney may not have even seen them, but protesters — some from Occupy Wall Street —
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad today named Jason Carlstrom, of Spirit Lake, as chair of the Iowa Board of Parole, effective September 3. Carlstrom, 41, replaces Doris Kelley, who will resume
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times – CONCORD, N.H. — Was he or wasn’t he? Did he or didn’t he? Maybe, and no, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told reporters for the umpteenth
By Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The long-term political consequences of last week’s Supreme Court ruling on the health care law remains unclear. But early indications show that
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – President Obama played down a worse-than-expected June jobs report, calling it a “step in the right direction” at a campaign stop in Ohio. Iowa congressmen and
By Todd Spangler and Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter abruptly resigned his office Friday afternoon, ending a decade of service in Congress after what the
By David Lauter, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — What if instead of Mitt Romney versus Barack Obama, the presidential race were No Name Republican versus No Name Democrat? In his critique of
By Torey Van Oot, McClatchy Newspapers – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Republican hopeful Elizabeth Emken faces a steep climb in her bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in California, according to
By Matea Gold, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Forget any summer lull before the conventions. Voters in battleground states will be swamped with campaign television ads in coming weeks, as was evident
By Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The lackluster jobs report brought a swift and coordinated response from Capitol Hill, with Republicans blaming the poor showing on President Barack Obama’s policies,
By Christi Parsons, Tribune Washington Bureau – MAUMEE, Ohio — President Barack Obama cranked up his campaign a notch first thing on Thursday, boarding Air Force One with not one but two
By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Emphasizing his disagreement with the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Obama’s healthcare law, Mitt Romney criticized Chief Justice John G. Roberts
By Christi Parsons and Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times – MAUMEE, Ohio — A week after the Supreme Court upheld most of President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, the politics of
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – The 2012 Olympics are getting political – and we’re not talking about the judging. There will be no escaping the 2012 presidential race for viewers who
By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times – Mitt Romney is famously data-driven, a relentless distiller of facts and consumer of clear-eyed, unsentimental analyses. The approach built Romney a fortune in business
By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News – WASHINGTON — Starting in 2014, things could get worse for people on Medicaid: Not only might some states opt out of increasing the number of adults
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times – WOLFEBORO, N.H. — On a day that seemed limned from an earlier, simpler America, Mitt Romney marched in an Independence Day parade near his New Hampshire
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – CEDAR RAPIDS — Signaling the continuing — and, perhaps, growing — importance of Iowa to his re-election effort, President Barack Obama will make a second trip
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times – WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Contradicting one of his senior advisers, Mitt Romney said Wednesday that the individual mandate in President Barack Obama’s health care plan is a
By Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The Obama campaign’s Bain Capital offensive took a fresh turn Tuesday with a new television ad that directly pits Mitt Romney against President
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded two grants totaling $3,561,800 for transportation improvements and access to transportation employment in
By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Conservative attacks on Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. spread over the weekend in response to suspicions that he may have switched
By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times – Seeking to polish his foreign policy credentials and build support among Jewish and evangelical voters, Mitt Romney will travel to Israel this summer on a
By Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times – LAS VEGAS — He’s not a witch. Nor, Fred Davis wants the world to know, is he a racist. Humbled, humiliated, saddened and chagrined,
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad today named Duane Magee as the new Executive Director of the Board of Educational Examiners. Magee, who serves at the pleasure of the governor, will begin
by Paul West, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Increasingly, the 2012 presidential election appears to be dividing along a pair of fault lines. The first is demographic: old versus new America.
By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Fred Karger, the openly gay Republican who ran for president without ever expecting to win, ended his quixotic campaign Friday. “It’s been
By Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s health-care law emerged from its bruising two-year legal ordeal largely intact, with its primary goal of guaranteeing all Americans
By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Both political parties agree that the country’s 21.3 million registered Latino voters could make a crucial difference in this year’s presidential election.
By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. considers it an insult when he hears it said that he and the justices are playing
Des Moines — On June 26, the Branstad Administration announced that, effective July 1, 2012, the law requiring electrical inspections would be “indefinitely suspended” when it comes to farm buildings. Senate President
I have been working with Iowa legislators and three different Governors on health care reform for more years than I care to remember, and this is the most significant and happiest day
James Q. Lynch, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Sen. Chuck Grassley, who describes himself as an “equal opportunity investigator,” has taken offense at the suggestion he’s playing politics with an investigation
Rod Boshart, CR Gazette – DES MOINES – A former University of Iowa student from Johnston who is running for a seat in the Iowa House has been sued by a former
Doug Belden, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. – Minnesotans are not deciding this November whether same-sex couples can marry. They can’t, under state law, and the outcome of the vote will do
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad today named Steven K. Ferguson the new executive director of the Iowa Agricultural Development Authority. Ferguson begins his new position on Monday, July 9. Ferguson most
By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr., who was widely criticized in March by critics who said he flubbed the defense of President
By Christi Parsons and Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The day after the Supreme Court dealt him a major victory, President Barack Obama moved on to fighting other
By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — Congress, in a rare display of bipartisanship, on Friday sent to President Barack Obama a roughly $105 billion transportation bill that lawmakers from