Election 2012

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Ramaswamy's Big Ad Buy: 'This Is Just the Beginning'

Despite flagging in polls, billionaire to pay $12M for ads in early voting states of New Hampshire, Iowa

(Newser) - Vivek Ramaswamy is in fourth place in the national polls as of Friday among presidential candidates vying for the GOP nomination, and it's a distant fourth, with an average of 5.2%—he trails former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (7.8%), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (12.6%), and...

Adelson Looks to Declare War on Online Gambling

Big GOP donor says it's bad for business, country

(Newser) - Casino boss Sheldon Adelson was in the spotlight last November for his enormous donations to GOP campaigns. This year, he's using his billions to fight another battle—against online gambling. Though Caesars, MGM Resorts, and other competitors say the practice could actually benefit casinos, Adelson disagrees; he says it...

Book: Obama Claimed to Be 'Really Good at Killing People'

And he's right: Michael Kelley

(Newser) - A new book on the 2012 election has President Obama making a rather brutal claim, particularly, as Michael Kelley notes at Business Insider , for a Nobel Peace laureate: The president said to aides that he's "really good at killing people." The quote comes from Double Down, by...

You've Never Heard of GOP's Biggest Money Machine

Freedom Partners spent $250M, and there are Kochs involved

(Newser) - The biggest single donor to conservative groups in the last election cycle was a group that, until today, was all but unknown. Freedom Partners spent $250 million in the 2012 race, according to a soon-to-be-filed tax document the group provided to Politico , more than any one group. All of that...

Romneys Voted Against Mitt Running, 10-2

Even the would-be candidate voted no: Dan Balz book

(Newser) - Mitt Romney's entrance into the 2012 race was apparently no easy decision. Around Christmas of 2010, he and his family voted on whether he should run. Of 12 votes, 10 were nays—including Romney's own, the Huffington Post reports, per Washington Post reporter Dan Balz's upcoming book,...

Gingrich-Santorum Ticket? It Almost Happened

But they couldn't settle on who'd be No. 1, reports Josh Green

(Newser) - Another coda to the 2012 presidential race, and it's a doozy: Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum came this close to mounting a Romney mutiny in the form of a Gingrich-Santorum ticket, reports Josh Green at Bloomberg Businessweek . Or maybe Santorum-Gingrich: The secret talks broke down because the two couldn'...

Romney's '47%' Filmer: You Can Thank Bill Clinton

Former prez inspired barman to bring camera to Mitt event

(Newser) - President Obama has Bill Clinton to thank—indirectly—for the 47% tape that helped doom Mitt Romney's campaign, the Huffington Post finds. The bartender who filmed Romney's now-infamous remarks at a private fundraiser had worked at an event where Clinton shook hands with all the staff and posed...

Mitt Romney: 'It Kills Me' Not to Be Prez

In first interview he blasts Obama for playing politics, not leading

(Newser) - Mitt Romney's first post-election interview has aired, and it's a doozy. The former candidate and wife Ann sat down with Fox News' Chris Wallace and tackled a wide range of issues, from his unexpected loss to his grading of the man who beat him. A rundown of the...

Romney Breaks Silence on 'Roller Coaster' Election
 Romney Finally Breaks Silence 

Romney Finally Breaks Silence

Church experiences prepared them for election's end: Ann

(Newser) - Mitt Romney is finally speaking publicly about last year's election, and he likens it to a roller coaster. "Exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends," he told Chris Wallace in a Fox News interview to air Sunday. "And then you get off. And...

Obama Offered Big Thanks for 47% Tape: Carter

Video 'a major factor' in Obama victory, says ex-president

(Newser) - When President Obama met Jimmy Carter's grandson last week—the guy reportedly behind the infamous Mitt Romney "47%" tape —the president "ran across the room, embraced him and thanked him profusely for his time," the elder Carter told CNN's Piers Morgan, per Politico . "...

Did Lena Dunham Skip Out on Voting in 2012?

One blog claims she did

(Newser) - Potential celebrity scandal alert: Room Eight , a New York politics blog, says Lena Dunham did not vote in 2012. The Girls creator, of course, made a controversial ad last year urging people to vote for Obama. But, while a Lena Dunham is registered to vote in Brooklyn, she didn't...

Reporter: Blame Benghazi for Obama's Debate Fail

Prez was preoccupied, says Michael Hastings

(Newser) - Michael Hastings, the Rolling Stone reporter best known for his article that led to Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation, says he knows why President Obama performed so poorly in his first debate against Mitt Romney: Benghazi. Hastings, who has been researching for a book on the 2012 election, tells the...

Bachmann Won't Pay Her Campaign Workers: Ex-Aide

Peter Waldron accuses her of stiffing 5 Iowa staffers

(Newser) - A former official in Michele Bachmann's campaign is accusing her of withholding thousands of dollars in pay to Iowa staffers who refuse to sign a non-disclosure agreement, Salon reports. Peter Waldron posted his allegations yesterday on Christian Newswire , saying Bachmann has more than $2 million left over from the...

NYC Voted Bluer Than Blue for Obama
NYC Voted
Bluer Than Blue
for Obama

NYC Voted Bluer Than Blue for Obama

President scored 81% of city's vote, best in a century

(Newser) - Not since the five boroughs joined together in 1898 has New York City seen such overwhelming support for a presidential candidate: President Obama won 81% of the city's vote, to Mitt Romney's 18%, underlining New York's deep blue politics, Bloomberg notes. Republicans haven't managed a quarter...

Weakened Tea Party Switches Gears

Movement in decline after Obama victory

(Newser) - The Tea Party movement that looked set to transform American politics a couple of years ago was hit hard by President Obama's victory last month, the New York Times finds. Congressional Republicans are bucking Tea Party demands in fiscal cliff talks and the movement's activists are now focusing...

AP's Top 10 Stories of 2012
 AP's Top 10 Stories of 2012 

AP's Top 10 Stories of 2012

Mass shootings finish ahead of election

(Newser) - The AP ended its voting for the top stories of 2012 on Dec. 13, but the following day's rampage in Newtown prompted a rare re-vote among the nation's editors. As a result, "mass shootings" moved from No. 6 to No. 1 to edge out the election. The...

Media: Romney Charged Us $1K a Day for Travel

News outlets fight 'exorbitant' trail bills

(Newser) - Major news organizations are fighting what they say are exorbitant prices charged by Mitt Romney's campaign for reporters' travel expenses including food and transportation. Outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today have told the campaign they will be contesting charges that topped $1,000...

Here's Obama Accepting Romney's Concession

White House releases official photo

(Newser) - The White House's Flickr feed posted a notable image today: It shows President Obama accepting Mitt Romney's concession phone call on election night, reports CNN . Obama took the call in his room at the Fairmont Millennium Park hotel in Chicago, and it looks like the room might have...

It Was Indeed a $2B Election
 It Was Indeed a $2B Election 
final numbers

It Was Indeed a $2B Election

Obama outspent Romney in final days

(Newser) - The country's first $2 billion election is in the books. The fundraising reports have been filed with the Federal Election Commission, and here's the tally: Obama with $1.123 billion, to Romney's $1.019 billion. Politico and the AP break down the numbers:
  • There was a rash
...

Obama Won the 'Makers,' Romney the 'Takers'
Obama Won the 'Makers,' Romney the 'Takers'
OPINION

Obama Won the 'Makers,' Romney the 'Takers'

Harold Meyerson: Techies went for president, bankers for Romney

(Newser) - A look at this year's political contributions makes a few generalizations safe: If an employee of Google or Microsoft donated to a candidate, it was probably Barack Obama. If an employee at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley did, it was probably Mitt Romney. In short, Silicon Valley loves Obama...

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