2012 Republican Race: The Field May Not Be Closed  —  Conventional wisdom is that the Republican presidential field is set, and that it is much too late for a new candidate to enter the race.  —  In years past, that would be absolutely correct.  Over the last few decades …

Tweets from Congressional Staffers Describe On-Job Drinking in Office of Congressman Larsen  —  For young men and women with ambitions toward a career in politics, working in a Congressional office can be a heady, almost dreamlike experience.  Left unsupervised, the combination of youth indiscretion …

Dems' payroll tax cut extension goes down again in Senate  —  Senate Republicans blocked the latest installment of President Obama's jobs plan — a bill to extend the payroll tax cut — for the second week in a row on Thursday.  —  The bill, titled the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, was shot down 50-48.

Rick Perry's Anti-Gay Iowa Ad Divides His Top Staff … 2012 Election , Log Cabin Republicans , Elections 2012 , Rick Perry , Video , Iowa Caucuses , Fabrizio Perry , Iowa Caucus 2012 , Perry Ad , Perry Dadt , Rick Perry 2012 , Rick Perry Ad Campaign , Rick Perry Don't Ask Don't Tell …

Winning the argument  —  Just one more quick point about that new poll casting doubt on whether efforts to tar Elizabeth Warren with Occupy Wall Street are working.  —  A few weeks ago, the Rove-founded Crossroads GPS spent six figures on an ad that was all about Occupy Wall Street …

Corzine: ‘I Simply Do Not Know Where The Money Is’  —  A contrite Jon S. Corzine will express both sorrow and a firm defense of his actions Thursday in his first public appearance since the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd. in late October.  —  “Recognizing the enormous impact …

Ann Coulter Newt Presents a Fresh New Virtual Face  —  Before you newly active Republicans commit to Newt Gingrich as your presidential nominee on the basis of the recent debates, here's a bit of Newt history you ought to know.  I promise you, it's going to come up if he's the candidate.

Sensenbrenner floats impeachment of Obama admin. officials as ‘Fast and Furious’ response  —  Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee where Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Thursday, suggested that impeachment …

VIDEO: Bill O'Reilly Hits Community Organizer with Umbrella, Tries to Get Him Arrested  —  Anyone who has watched the footage of Bill O'Reilly's infamous meltdown on the set of Inside Edition knows that the Fox News personality has a hot temper.  But you would expect the Fox News personality …

Republicans Less Enthusiastic About Voting in 2012  —  Republicans' enthusiasm gap over Democrats narrows  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans' enthusiasm about voting in the election for president next year has decreased, with 49% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican now saying …

TWITTER AND THE CAMPAIGN  —  HOW THE DISCUSSION ON TWITTER VARIES FROM BLOGS AND NEWS COVERAGE AND RON PAUL'S TWITTER TRIUMPH  —  A detailed examination of more than 20 million Tweets about the race for president finds that the political discussion on Twitter is measurably different …

The Coming GOP Gingrich Freakout  —  Today's question is: will the Gingrich balloon deflate like all the previous Not Mitt balloons?  —  The answer is: yes of course-but given that these balloons take typically 6-8 weeks to shrivel, the impending Gingrich bust may not arrive soon enough to save Romney.

Iran shows film of captured US drone  —  The BBC's James Reynolds says the video appears to support Iran's claims  —  Iranian TV has shown the first video footage of an advanced US drone aircraft that Tehran says it downed near the Afghan border.  —  Images show Iranian military officials inspecting …

Christie heckles ‘Occupy’ protesters in Iowa  —  Follow on Twitter:Follow @hcpeterson  —  WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie heckled a group of protesters at a rally for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Iowa on Wednesday, calling them immature and dissilusioned for supporting President Obama.

Eric Cantor smacks down ‘insider’ Spencer Bachus  —  A day after Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus said he would move forward on an insider-trading bill, Majority Leader Eric Cantor stopped him dead in his tracks.  —  In a Wednesday meeting described by one source as …

Virginia Tech Police officer, one other, killed on campus  —  A Virginia Tech police officer was fatally shot Thursday during a routine traffic stop on the Blacksburg campus and a second person was found slain in a nearby parking lot after the gunman fled, the university reports.

Live Coverage: Prop 8 Hearing on Trial Video, Judge Vaughn Walker's Same-Sex Relationship  —  Today a 9th Circuit Court panel hears oral arguments on two ancillary issues in the long-lasting legal battle to decide the fate of Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage …