Skip to main content

Posts

As tallying goes on, top Florida Democrat cheers Obama's win

The chairman of Florida's Democratic Party congratulated President Barack Obama on Thursday on winning the battleground state on Tuesday, while blasting the state's Republican governor for his handling of the election. _0"> "On behalf of Florida Democrats, I wish President Barack Obama congratulations on his re-election and on winning Florida's 29 electoral votes," said Rod Smith in a statement posted on the party's website. Vote counting in Florida continued on Thursday, with Obama holding a narrow 58,000 vote lead that Republican challenger Mitt Romney appeared unlikely to overturn. If Obama's victory is confirmed, the Florida result would give the president 332 electoral college votes and 206 for Romney. The Republican Party in Florida has yet to officially concede the race, though one party strategist was quoted by The Miami Herald accepting defeat. Said Smith: "It is appalling that two days after the election, Florida was not able

Election blurring of church, state separation draws complaints

Political watchdog and secularist groups are asking the U.S. government to investigate whether Catholic bishops and a Christian evangelical group headed by preacher Billy Graham should lose tax breaks for telling followers how to vote in this year's election. Under constitutional protections of free speech and separation of church and state, churches are free to speak on any issue. But they risk losing tax breaks worth $145 billion in the past decade if they violate Internal Revenue Service rules by promoting or opposing any particular candidate. Other non-profits also have special tax status. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a political watchdog group, in its complaint to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, cited reports of individual bishops "abusing their positions to advocate against the election of President Barack Obama." The group's executive director, Melanie Sloan, said some bishops went too far by saying a vote for Democrats would me

Bruised by Romney criticism, Bain Capital thanks investors

Bain Capital LLC, the private equity firm co-founded by defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney, thanked its investors on Thursday for their support and patience over the last year as it confronted "political hyperbole and distortion." Romney's bid for the White House led to a broad political attack on the private equity industry, which was accused of raiding companies and cutting jobs at a time of high unemployment and growing income inequality. "We are emerging from this unusual period in our firm's history as strong as ever, and with renewed conviction about how we add value to the marketplace and society as a whole," Bain's managing directors wrote in a letter to investors, which was first reported on by the Boston Globe and a copy of which was obtained by Reuters. Bain became the object of political and media scrutiny after Romney cited his tenure as head of the firm - between 1984 and 1999 - as evidence that he is a good economic manager t

Hit political blogger Nate Silver on future of predictive modeling

Nate Silver is an oxymoron come to life: the famous statistician. After successfully calling the Electoral College results in all 50 states ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Silver, the man behind the popular FiveThirtyEight blog, has quickly become a symbol of the new power of data in politics. Television pundits across the political spectrum praised his accuracy on the night of the election. His book, "The Signal and the Noise," about the science of prediction, shot up to number two on Amazon.com. Silver spoke with Reuters Thursday evening. Here is an edited and condensed version of the conversation. Q: Some of the more established polls this year had some of the worst results. Why do you think that was? A: I think pollsters have to get back to the basics here. Do you have a poll that is actually calling everyone? Some of the polls that didn't include cellphones had bad years and that's what you would expect. If you aren't taking a representative s

Obama, buoyed by election win, faces new battles

President Barack Obama had little time to savor victory on Wednesday after voters gave him a second term in the White House where he faces urgent economic challenges, a looming fiscal showdown and a still-divided Congress able to block his every move. Despite a decisive win over Republican Mitt Romney in Tuesday's election, Obama must negotiate with a Republican majority in the House of Representatives to try to overcome the partisan gridlock that gripped Washington for much of his first term. The Democratic president's most immediate concern is the "fiscal cliff" of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts that could crush the U.S. economic recovery if it kicks in at the start of next year. The prospect of Obama and Congress struggling to agree on the issue weighed heavily on global financial markets on Wednesday and helped send Wall Street stocks into a post-election swoon. Obama also faces challenges abroad including the West's nuclear standoff with Iran

Boehner: "Obamacare is law of the land"

Top Republican lawmaker John Boehner said on Thursday he would not make it his mission to repeal the Obama administration's healthcare reform law following the re-election of President Barack Obama. _0"> "The election changes that," Boehner, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer when asked if repealing the law was "still your mission." "It's pretty clear that the president was re-elected," Boehner added. "Obamacare is the law of the land." Under Boehner's leadership, the House tried repeatedly to repeal the healthcare law, the signature domestic measure of Obama's first term. While a few provisions were eliminated or changed, Senate Democrats blocked outright termination of the law. Boehner added that parts of the law were going to be difficult to implement and that everything had to be on the table as lawmakers try to create a path to a balanced budget. A spokesman for Boeh

Senate leader McConnell a big loser on Election Day

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell set two top goals for the 2012 election: a Republican takeover of the Senate and the defeat of President Barack Obama. He achieved neither. Starting in January, he will be up against a president he tried and failed to bring down, with a Senate minority weaker by two. "We all had a bad day," said Josh Holmes, chief of staff of McConnell's personal Senate office. While there is no sign of any immediate threat to his job as minority leader, McConnell is facing intensified criticism from the right, which has seen him for some time as too "establishment." McConnell blocked much of Obama's agenda the past two years, including his call to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans. But some conservatives complained that he was not sufficiently hardline. They were outraged, for example, when he compromised with Obama and agreed to increase the debt limit in 2011 and extend a payroll tax cut. McConnell is also looking