All eyes are on the Republican National Convention and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
The day after vice presidential contender Paul Ryan delivered his speech, Romney himself now commands the spotlight with his Thursday night address.
Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold at the convention.
Blame it on the "idea cloud"--that cumulus cartoon bubble that dumps the same idea on diverse populations at once. Alternatively, blame Todd Akin, the Missouri congressman and Senate candidate who infamously asserted that "legitimate rape" victims don't often get pregnant because the female reproductive system has a way of shutting itself down under such circumstances.
I just got my first letter from Mitt Romney.
"Dear Norman," it says, "I am running for President of the United States and because you are one of America's most notable Republicans, I want to personally let you know why. It's simple, really ... I believe in America."
I can't tell you what that means to me. For so long I have wanted a president who believes in America. He calls me "one of America's most notable Republicans" when I haven't given 10 cents to him or the party. But think of it: To Mitt Romney I am notable just like those big guys who give him millions, like that guy from Las Vegas and those brothers. You have to really believe in America to feel like that. And golly, on top of that, I'm not even a Republican. You gotta love a man who, with everything he has on his mind, like whether he pays taxes, would take the time to tell me something about himself personally. And that he believes in America.
Imagine, a man running for president believes in America! Are we lucky or what?
In the 2010 mid-term elections, Republicans won a lot of seats by running against government spending and especially the stimulus. The Romney campaign revived that theme in an ad that asks ‘Where did all the money go?’ The answer in the ad is not subtle. Image after image of dollar bills go up in flames. "So where did the Obama stimulus money go? Windmills from China," the ad says. It also mentions cars from Finland, which we dealt with in a separate fact-check. For this one, we’ll focus on whether ...
>> MoreSenate Democrats will push a one-year tax cut proposal for individual Americans earning $200,000 or less annually, setting the stage for a showdown in coming weeks with Republicans over extending the Bush tax cuts, according to a new plan circulating on Capitol Hill.
Despite hints from Ann Romney, wife of likely Republican nominee Mitt Romney, that her husband is considering at least one woman in his vice presidential search, it's unlikely he'll actually a tap a female for the post.
In the days following the Supreme Court’s decision on President Barack Obama’s health care law, supporters and critics of the law sparred over the question of whether or not the individual mandate was a tax. In its 5-4 ruling upholding the mandate -- as well as most of the rest of the law itself -- the court concluded that the mandate to buy insurance was constitutional because of Congress’ taxing power. Republicans who were dejected by the law being found constitutional found a silver lining in that determination, as they proceeded to attack ...
>> MoreAttorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sharply criticized lawmakers Monday for voting to hold him in contempt of Congress last week, saying Republicans have made him a "proxy" to attack President Obama in an election year.
Moments after the Supreme Court ruled that it was largely upholding President Barack Obama’s health care law, Republicans zeroed in on the court's decision to allow the individual mandate because it is enforced through a tax. One of the Republicans to speak out was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee. After the court's decision was announced on June 28, 2012, Palin tweeted, "Obama lied to the American people. Again. He said it wasn't a tax. Obama lies; freedom dies." We aren’t able to fact-check whether "freedom" ...
>> MoreThe debate over immigration was revived by President Barack Obama’s announcement of a reprieve for the children of illegal immigrants. So, too, was talk of the DREAM Act. In a speech to Hispanic elected officials in Orlando on June 22, 2012, Obama criticized Congress’ inaction on the bill. "We should have passed the DREAM Act a long time ago," he said. "It was written by members of both parties. When it came up for a vote a year and a half ago, Republicans in Congress blocked it. The bill hadn’t changed. The need ...
>> MoreAfter President Barack Obama unveiled a new immigration plan for young people who came to the U.S. illegally, it didn't take long for opponents to criticize the plan with a familiar word: amnesty. Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, responded with a press release that said Obama's action on undocumented youth "is amnesty." That was echoed by other Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, who said "President Obama's decision to grant amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants is a breach of faith with the American people." ...
>> MoreThere’s no question that America’s recovery from the financial crisis has been disappointing. In fact, I’ve been arguing that the era since 2007 is best viewed as a “depression,” an extended period of economic weakness and high unemployment that, like the Great Depression of the 1930s, persists despite episodes during which the economy grows. And Republicans are, of course, trying — with considerable success — to turn this dismal state of affairs to their political advantage.
Visit our forum and join the discussions about politics.
