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It’s a done deal. A special committee in Florida has decided that the state’s presidential primary will be held on Jan. 31, 2012 — a violation of the national nomination calendar and a sure bet that Iowans will caucus earlier than Feb.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn said Wednesday Iowa’s famed caucuses aren’t tilting toward the conservative right, in spite of suggestions that the first-in-the-nation event could fall by the wayside if Republican candidates feel as though they must cater to extreme ideology agendas.

In the final stretch of the Massachusetts special election for Senate, Republican candidate Scott Brown has focused on restoring balance to Washington. He’ll

Gov. Rick Perry is the featured guest for the grand opening of King Street Patriots’ new headquarters in northwest Houston, according to the tea party group’s

The presidential campaign of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is taking heat for its cozy relationship with a nonprofit group run by oil industry trade groups. It was revealed by the Des Moines Register last week that Pawlenty advisers Karen Slifka and Chuck Larson are also working for the Iowa Energy Forum, a nonprofit consortium of oil industry lobbying groups that’s shooting to influence the outcome of the primary in early states, leading to accusations of conflict of interest from other campaigns.

Eric Kleefeld has the numbers, donations from GOP leadership PACs to the Florida Republican and infamous sponsor of the Birther Bill that is quietly gaining

The Minnesota Independent’s Paul Demko reports: Tim Pawlenty will announce whether he plans to seek a third term as governor this afternoon. The early word:

Anthony Cordesman, a highly respected defense analyst and adviser to Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s review of Afghanistan strategy, writes an op-ed that has an

Now that the government has nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it should step in and modify the mortgage loans of troubled borrowers on a massive scale,

Pending legislation in several states — including Florida — that would criminalize the act of filming agricultural operations without the consent of the farm owner came up last week on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 , with one analyst making the claim that conditions animals are subjected to by American industrial agriculture operations amount to “institutionalized torture.” # Legal analyst Sunny Hostin noted that bills such as S.B. 1246 , introduced by Sen

Long term aside, passing health reform would bring short-term political benefits to Democrats. Don’t count Tom Perriello out yet. Gail Collins takes a

Under pressure from global warming skeptics after some of his hacked and leaked emails revealed potentially compromising exchanges with other scientists, the

The federal government changed a federal regulation (PDF) originally implemented in December 2008 to allow health workers to refuse to provide care in cases

Conservative activists and Republican politicians have, thus far in the Obama presidency, largely escaped the negative attention generated by the movement’s fringes.

I’ve written in the past about the evolution of the anti-jihadist blogosphere and intelligentsia. A few years ago, arguments arose between activists and

DES MOINES — A moderate Republican candidate may end up winning the Iowa Caucuses, a long-time political observer says, despite the state’s strong social conservative base of voters. David Yepsen , a former political reporter who spent 34 years at The Des Moines Register, said there’s a very possible scenario in which Mitt Romney wins the caucuses, the New Hampshire primary and the Republican nomination

Doug Hoffman, he failed Conservative Party candidate in the NY-23 special election is clearly relishing the surprise twist in his election -- errors in the

This morning, a little, wonky blog post is creating a lot of controversy. Economics of Contempt writes: Here’s a scary thought: Let’s say the European

For all the criticisms Republicans are lobbing at the House Democrats’ plan to pass the Senate health care reform bill without actually passing the Senate

This afternoon, President Obama signed the $26.1 billion state aid bill into law -- meaning local governments will get some immediate fiscal relief. The bill is

In an ongoing project to shine more light on pregnancy centers that counsel women out of having abortions -– commonly known as “crisis pregnancy centers,”

While yesterday marked the end of the Rick O’Donnell era at the University of Texas System, the imbroglio involving controversial proposals for the state’s

In a position paper released Monday morning, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed its HIV testing recommendations for teens. Previously, the Academy recommended testing only for those youth who admitted to sexual activity, but now the group recommends all teenagers ages 16-18 in areas of the country with prevalence rates of .1 percent or higher be tested regularly, reports CNN.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is expected to combat what he regards is an example of government overreach by flooding the mark up session of the country’s main