Turnout  —  You have to hand it to Wisconsin's electorate: they are passionate about their politics.  When we first polled the Dairy State's voters about Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plummeting approval ratings, many right-leaning types let the blogosphere know how We Ask America's minions …

Rachel Maddow fails the Carney test  —  Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow attributed statements to Mitt Romney that he did not make.  —  In a segment pegged, ironically, to White House criticism of the Washington press corps, Maddow attempted to rise to the White House's challenge by calling …

The stunning chart that shows the Obama spending binge really happened  —  In a column on Tuesday, Rex Nutting of MarketWatch ran some budget numbers and concluded the following: … And here is Nutting's graph:  —  The shocking, contrarian piece was widely circulated in liberal circles …

My break with the extreme right  —  I worked for Reagan and wrote for National Review.  But the new hysterical right cares nothing for truth or dignity  —  Gosh!  When did I end up in bed with Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber?  Could it be because I did specialize in blowing things …

Romney Campaign Offers Chance To Dine With Donald Trump  —  The Donald wants you!  The latest Romney fundraising contest.  Democrats attack “birther” association.  —  Source: secure.mittromney.com  —  Source: secure.mittromney.com  —  UPDATE: Melanie Roussell, DNC Press Secretary released this statement:

Bill Clinton — SURROUNDED By Porn Stars in Monaco  —  SURROUNDED  —  By Porn Stars  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Bill Clinton just out-Clinton'd himself — posing with two famous porn stars in Monaco moments ago ... and one of them's a real up-and-comer.  —  Clinton's in a Monte Carlo casino right …

First Thoughts: Mr. 48%  —  Mr. 48%: Obama at or near 48% in all our recent polling... Is that a good thing or bad thing?... The importance of FL, OH, and VA... The importance of cell phones, too... Given the JP Morgan and Facebook news, does any political candidate want to be tied to Wall Street right now? …

What Does President Obama's May Approval Rating Tell Us About His Reelection Chances?  —  According to a Gallup Poll analysis of recent polling data on the mood of the American public, President Obama appears to face a difficult road to winning a second term in November.

Obama Appeared At 1996 Event Hosted By Socialist Group  —  It's a reminder that the President presented himself as much more progressive during his time in Chicago.  In this little-seen advertisement that ran in the Hyde Park Herald in 1996, Obama was listed on a panel sponsored …

Elizabeth Warren says she knows she is part Native American ‘because my mother told me so’  —  Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that she knows she has Native American ancestry because her mother told her so.  —  Warren's comments came after nearly four minutes …

CNN's Brooke Baldwin Takes Tony Perkins To The Woodshed: ‘Why Do Homosexuals Bother You So Much?’  —  Tony Perkins has been particularly loud in recent days as a voice against equal rights of marriage for same-sex couples, arguing that one minority in the society cannot define religious sacraments that …

Half Of Detroit'S Streetlights May Go Out As City Shrinks  —  Detroit Residents Stay In at Night as Lights Go Out  —  Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space by eliminating almost half its streetlights.

Hecklers mar Romney's visit to inner-city charter school in Philadelphia  —  PHILADELPHIA - When Mitt Romney came to an inner-city charter school here Thursday to promote his new education agenda, he received something of a history lecture about the persecution of blacks in America and the struggles …

FBI: Mayor hacked critical website  —  A New Jersey mayor and his son were arrested Thursday by the FBI for allegedly hacking into an email account and website tied to a recall effort — and then intimidating those associated with the site.  —  Felix Roque, 55, the Democratic mayor of West New York …

Alabama Media Group, a new digitally focused company, will launch this fall with expanded online coverage and enhanced three-day-a-week newspapers  —  A new digitally focused media company — the Alabama Media Group, which will include The Birmingham News, the Press-Register of Mobile …

Senate Dems Betray Lilly  —  A group of Democratic female senators on Wednesday declared war on the so-called “gender pay gap,” urging their colleagues to pass the aptly named Paycheck Fairness Act when Congress returns from recess next month.  However, a substantial gender pay gap exists …

S.E. Cupp Discusses Her Photoshopped Hustler Picture On The “View” … Sign-Up to receive Updates from TH  —  Breaking on TOWNHALL  —  Cupp in Hustler?  Bleh.  They had to have been desperate....or maybe Hengler wasn't available to fill the rethuglican witch role.

Propaganda firm owner admits attacks on journalists  —  WASHINGTON - The co-owner of a major Pentagon propaganda contractor publicly admitted Thursday that he was behind a series of websites used to discredit two USA TODAY journalists who had reported on the contractor.

Columbia cops arrest state representative for DUI, weapons possession  —  Columbia police officers have arrested a state representative for driving under the influence of alcohol and the unlawful carrying of a pistol.  —  S.C. Rep. Ted Vick, D-Chesterfield, is at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center awaiting …

SEC Staff Ends Probe Of Lehman Without Finding Fraud  —  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators have concluded their probe of possible financial fraud at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. without recommending enforcement action against the firm or its former executives, according to an excerpt of an internal agency memo.

Marion Barry commits new gaffe while apologizing to Asians  —  D.C. Council member Marion Barry yesterday stepped up his campaign to mend relations with Asians, apologizing again for disparaging remarks he made about Koreans and Filipinos, and pledging to work to improve ties between them and African Americans.

Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally  —  The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Forget Bain — Obama's public-equity record is the real scandal  —  Despite a growing backlash from his fellow Democrats, President Obama has doubled down on his attacks on Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital.  But the strategy could backfire in ways Obama did not anticipate.

Maryland Polling Memo  —  A new Public Policy Polling survey in Maryland finds a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage among African American voters following President Obama's historic announcement two weeks ago.  The referendum to keep the state's new law legalizing same-sex marriage …