NJ Topics Abortion And Contraception

Tom Corbett

Next Stop In Abortion Debate: Pennsylvania

After the social wars of the 1990s and the "war on women" last year, you might be forgiven for thinking the abortion debate was moving out of electoral politics. But that's not the case; expect a big debate over abortion rights in Pennsylvania next year. That's because Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday si...
John Boehner

House Faces Off on Farm Bill, Late-Term Abortions

The Senate continues its floor focus on amendments to its immigration-reform bill.
PELOSI

Pelosi Lashes Out at Reporter's Question on Morality of Late-Term Abortions

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi flashed unusual public anger and caused some confusion Thursday during a news conference when asked about the "moral difference" between late-term elective abortions and the infant deaths that led to murder convictions for Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.
franks

No One Knew Who Trent Franks Was Until He Mentioned Rape and Abortion

There's one surefire way to get your name out there—be a Republican and say few pregnancies result from rape.
Nick Rahall

Republicans Lose Top Recruit for Rahall's Seat

West Virginia state Sen. Bill Cole has decided not to challenge Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., next year, robbing national Republicans of one of their early recruits for a seat that tops their list this cycle. Though only a freshman legislator, Cole is a rising name in the state party and a strong fundr...
Plan B

Obama's Morning-After Pill Decision Affects a Growing Share of Women

Eleven percent—roughly one in nine—women reported ever having used an emergency contraceptive between 2006 and 2010.
Trent Franks

House Judiciary Committee Considers Bill Banning Late-Term Abortions

Murder convictions last month of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell are serving as a "teachable moment" on the issue.
Chris Christie

Why Republicans Can't Catch a Break

Presented with numerous opportunities, Senate Republicans haven't caught any breaks.
Rick Scott and Charlie Crist

Republicans Scramble to Save Governor in Florida Battleground

Gov. Rick Scott is preparing for a highly contentious race against former Gov. Charlie Crist.
 E.W. Jackson

Virginia Republicans Panicking Over Their Choice for Lieutenant Governor

Archconservative pastor E.W. Jackson isn't the running mate Ken Cuccinelli had in mind.
Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli

Poll: McAuliffe Holds Slight Lead in Va. Gov. Race

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe has taken a slight lead over Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia's gubernatorial race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday morning. McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli, 43 percent to 38 percent, with 17 perce...
Terry McAuliffe

Terry McAuliffe's Woman Problem

If McAuliffe can't change his image as a Mad Men-era spouse, he will have to hope people go for policy over personality. Just like they did in South Carolina.
Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford's Sex Scandal Survival Guide

The former governor violated all the rules of political comebacks, but he won a solidly-Republican seat anyway.
Hillary Clinton

Abortion Rights Activists Looking to Hillary Clinton As 2016 Champion

Abortion rights activists fuming over President Obama’s opposition to making emergency contraception accessible to women of all ages could have an ally campaigning for the Oval Office in 2016: Hillary Clinton.
Unemployment

Why No One’s Winning in Washington

Republicans needed to move to the center. The Democrats needed to fix the economy. Oh well.
Kathleen Sebelius

After the Obama Administration's Morning-After Pill Decision

President Obama has made a series of speeches in recent weeks, delighting scientists who work on controversial areas of research and advocates for reproductive and abortion rights.
Heidi Heitkamp

Why Would Anyone Want to Run for Congress?

How both political parties seduce (and sometimes browbeat) ordinary citizens into seeking a position in the nation’s most despised club. 
NRA Protest

Why the Senate Vote May Signal 2016 Problems for the Gun Lobby

The outcome of Wednesday’s dramatic Senate vote on expanding background checks simultaneously demonstrated the difficult geography confronting gun-control advocates in the Senate and the potentially daunting math facing gun-rights proponents in the Electoral College.
Boston aftermath

Experts Skeptical Homegrown Terrorists Were Behind Boston Bombings

While officials are still investigating who was behind the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon, President Obama made it clear on Tuesday that authorities are still unclear whether domestic or foreign actors are responsible for the attack.
Boston marathon explosion

In Boston, a Rare Tragedy

Because of the FBI's police work, attacks like Monday's Boston Marathon bombing have been uncommon since 9/11.
Women's Medical Society

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Major News Story

The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It just is insanely newsworthy.
Pat Toomey

How Pat Toomey Became the Face of the Blue State GOP

The senator from Pennsylvania could have followed Rick Santorum. Instead, he's moving to the center on guns and gay rights. 

Poll: Which Senate Seats Are Likeliest to Flip?

Insiders say those of Democrats Tim Johnson and Jay Rockefeller are the most vulnerable.
Contraceptives, Birth Control, Contraception

With Morning-After Pill Ruling, the FDA Gets What It Wanted All Along

A federal judge ruled this morning that emergency contraception should be available without prescription to women of all ages, calling years of delays in making it so "intolerable."
Gay Marriage

Why the Culture Wars Now Favor Democrats

Gay marriage, gun control, immigration—the wedge issues now divide Republicans.
North Dakota

5 Controversial Measures From GOP Legislatures and Why They Matter

Democrats plan to take advantage of controversial laws in the states to attack Republicans.
Chris Christie

Chris Christie's Popularity With Women Voters Thwarts Female Opponent

To have a chance at defeating the popular governor, Democrats need to create a gender gap--fast.
Supreme Court DOMA

Why Waiting on the States Could Create a Messy Future for Same-Sex Marriage

In two big cases this week, the justices were hesitant to impose a national standard on gay marriage. But history shows that leaving the issue to the states could leave a long-lasting patchwork.
Ken Cuccinelli

Poll Shows Cuccinelli, McAuliffe Still Tied After Bolling's Exit

In the first public poll released since Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced he wouldn't mount an independent bid to be Virginia's next governor, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe remain locked in a tight, head-to-head race. Nearly all publi...
Same-sex Marriage

Could Overturning Gay-Marriage Bans Help the GOP?

Taking the politically tough issue off the table would benefit the Republican Party.
Mike Honda

Mike Honda's Full-Bore Campaign Rolls On

Rep. Mike Honda is not messing around. The California Democrat's campaign released an internal poll Thursday showing him with 57 percent support in a hypothetical open primary matchup against Republican Evelyn Li, his 2012 opponent, and potential Democratic challenger Ro Khanna.
Mark Pryor

GOP Poll Shows Pryor's Favorability Plummeting

Club for Growth Action and the Senate Conservatives Fund released results of a new poll Tuesday that shows a significant drop over the past two months in how Arkansas voters view Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, a top Republican target in 2014. Pryor's favorability in the state has plummeted 28 points i...
Hispanic voters

GOP Can't Win Latinos Over Immigration

Earlier this winter, Ann Coulter brought her usual light touch to the question of the Hispanic vote. The author of Godless: The Church of Liberalism argued in a column that Republicans who support immigration reform in an effort to court Latinos are wasting their time. “It’s not clear that amnesty wins any Hispanics,” Coulter wrote, “apart from the ones who can’t vote (because they’re illegal) and their ethnic ‘spokesmen,’ whose power increases as the Hispanic population grows.” Hispanics gravitate toward Democrats, she insisted, because they believe in more government, and no immigration courtship will seduce them.
Santorum CPAC

At CPAC, Conservatives Downplaying the Culture Wars

Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels controversially called for a social truce at CPAC in 2011. Now other conservatives are taking his advice.
Hispanic voters

Republicans Can't Win Latinos With Immigration Reform

From big government to gay rights, America's fastest-growing demographic bloc aligns with Democrats. 
Ken Cuccinelli

At CPAC, Ken Cuccinelli Moves to the Center

Virginia's Republican candidate for governor tacks to the middle in speech to conservative activists.
pope-ambassador

Obama's Pope Francis Challenge: Appoint a New Ambassador to the Vatican

How that appointment might come to define the U.S.-papal relationship.
Judd Franken

What Ashley Judd Could Learn From Al Franken

The actress is taking lessons from the Minnesotan's celebrity-campaign playbook. 
Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush's Real Immigration Problem

Quite the awkward re-launch for a man considered a serious student of policy and a top GOP hope for 2016. 
Marco Rubio

Republicans Need to Think for Themselves, Even in Election Years

Fixing the GOP would be a lot easier if its officeholders would stop trying to spot potential purer-than-thou primary opponents over their right shoulders.
Sandy Potomac river flooding

Can Climate-Change Denier Ken Cuccinelli Win a Swing State?

In storm-battered Virginia, the Republican candidate for governor still doubts the science.
Ashley Judd

6 Signs Ashley Judd Will Run Against Mitch McConnell

The actress is sounding more and more like a Senate candidate.

Judd Ducks Senate Talk, Emphasizes Ky. Roots at D.C. Event

Actress Ashley Judd returned to the District on Friday for the second time in as many weeks, highlighting her Eastern Kentucky roots as speculation mounts about a potential Senate campaign against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Judd spoke at a forum on women's reproductive rights, a pet issue of...
Lois Frankel

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Kicks Off ‘Women Lead’

Reps. Chellie Pingree and Lois Frankel will lead a group to recruit and support female candidates for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in an effort to bolster the party’s already-prodigious edge among women, the political committee will announce Wednesday.
Ken Cuccinelli

Poll: McAuliffe, Cuccinelli Tied in Va. Governor's Race

The race to become Virginia's next governor remains tied, even if Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling leaves the Republican Party and runs as an independent, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and Republican Attorney...
John Boehner

How the Vote Ratings Are Calculated

National Journal examined all of the roll-call votes in the second session of the 112th Congress and identified the ones that show ideological distinctions between members.
Undocumented

Why GOP Sees a Conspiracy As Environmental Groups Join Fight Against Immigration

Groups opposing proposals to legalize undocumented immigrants receive grant money from environmentalist population-control groups. It’s not a secret. You can find the evidence right there on the foundation websites. The immigration groups don’t deny it either.
Pope Benedict, Nationals Stadium

Pope Benedict and the Decline of American Catholicism

Catholic churches in the U.S. have lost 5 percent of their membership during the last decade, and Americans never embraced Benedict as they did John Paul II.
Pope

American Catholics Overwhelmingly Approve of Pope Benedict–And Other Handy Statistics

There are 77.7 million Catholics in the U.S. What do we know about them?

Greer's Guilty Plea Spares Crist Some Embarrassment

Former Florida Republican chairman Jim Greer's decision to plead guilty to four counts of theft and one count of money laundering on Monday ends what was expected to be a rehashing of old party grievances and activities that could have potentially impacted former Gov. Charlie Crist, who was expected...

McAuliffe's Tendency To Exaggerate Could Come Back To Haunt Him

If former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe is going to have a self-inflicted wound during his run for Virginia governor, it could come as a result of his tendency to exaggerate. This week, "Politifact Virginia" published an in-depth report about whether McAuliffe and his busin...
Bobby Jindal

One Tough-Talking Nerd: Bobby Jindal Brands Himself as Republican Reformer

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is hoping that a fast-talking, brainy policy wonk can be elected president.
Man sitting at a bar drinking

A 12-Step Program for the Republican Party

The GOP has finally admitted it has a problem winning over voters. Here’s a 12-step program to get the party back on track.
Gov. John Hickenlooper

Hickenlooper Winning Bipartisan Praise

Actual bipartisanship? One of Colorado's leading Republicans won't criticize Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Abortion Protest at Supreme Court

As Roe v. Wade Turns 40, Foes Focus on State Capitols

President Obama’s reelection bid emphasized abortion rights more than any other presidential campaign in history, but the battle will be most heated in the states.
Charlie Crist

Democrats Looking Past Charlie Crist for 2014

Some in party are seeking to draft Manny Diaz as alternative for gubernatorial bid.
House Republicans Urge Democrats To Return To Vote On Energy Act

Behind the Republican Missteps on Abortion

Taking a page from the GOP playbook, Democrats learned to swap “partial birth” for “legitimate rape.”

McAuliffe, Cuccinelli Tied in Va. Governor Poll

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli are in a dead heat in this November's Virginia gubernatorial race, with an independent bid from Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling drawing equally from both major-party candidates, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows. In a head-to-head matchup, McAuliffe...

McDaniel Asks for 'Second Chance' in Ark. Governor's Race

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel spoke to the media for the first time Tuesday about a past "inappropriate," extramarital relationship, but McDaniel reiterated that he remains a candidate for the Democratic nomination in next year's governor's race. "There is no other shoe to drop," said M...
District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray

The Year in Scandals

Correction: A previous version of this post misidentifed the Menedez staff member who was arrested for stealing an opposing candidate’s signs while on loan to a local campaign. It was the assistant to his chief of staff. 2012 was not short on political scandals. Here's our rundown, from Desjarlai...
Ann Wagner

Rising Freshman: Ann Wagner Goes to Head of the Class

Before Ann Wagner even won her seat in the House, the Missouri Republican already had reached out to introduce herself to the other 34 members of the incoming GOP class. She had contributed money to some, campaigned for others, and chatted amiably with still more.
Daniel Day Lewis

Spielberg’s Lincoln: A Lesson in Realpolitik for a Squeamish Age

The gulf between Lincoln’s means and his ends, as portrayed by Steven Spielberg, is staggering. If Lincoln were operating now, though, Americans would be following all the wheeling, dealing and good-government lamentations in real time on Twitter and cable TV.
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