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    Bugsy Obama

    Romney's new attack on Obama carries shades of Jimmy Cagney and Kelsey Grammer in Boss.

    Thomas Lane

    It's Tax Season

    Don't look now, but tax season will soon be upon us.

    The more committed are already diligently preparing to file their returns, while the rest of us will be procrastinating until spring.

    Knowing his meticulous nature, we're guessing Mitt Romney gets his returns in early, but he won't be showing them to you. Here's a good idea as to why.

    Paul Werdel

    Hot Water

    Army reservist who spoke at Ron Paul rally in Iowa Tuesday while in uniform should have known better, an expert on military law tells TPM.

    David Kurtz

    Must See

    Gotta see this Michele Bachmann tribute reel. Must See. Watch.

    Relive the god-awful memories.

    Josh Marshall

    That's The Newt I Know

    Newt: "We're going to be defining Romney out of the mainstream of the Republican party."

    Josh Marshall

    Bachmann Bowing Out?

    NBC News reports that Michele Bachmann will cancel her planned trip to South Carolina, and hold a press conference at 11AM eastern.

    Paul Werdel

    On To New Hampshire

    They say that more than picking the eventual winner, the Iowa caucuses help to winnow the field. Last night Iowa may have done both.

    But in a matter of days we may be looking at a very different race for the GOP nomination - that's what happens after votes are actually cast.

    Last night Rick Perry made every indication that he knew his time was up, and if Michele Bachmann has anyone serious left in her circle it's tough to imagine them advising she continue.

    If they drop out, will all their support move to Rick Santorum? No, but a lot of it would - maybe enough to make life difficult for Mitt Romney, who while technically winning Iowa last night, showed in his 25% of the total that a lot of GOP voters will just never be swayed to his side.

    And then there's Newt Gingrich - who couldn't get out of Iowa fast enough, but who might stay in the race as much for the fight as out of spite for Romney.

    We'll be sorting through it all for you as it happens today.

    Paul Werdel
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    Most Recent Latest news stories from TPM reporters

    TPM2012 Benjy Sarlin

    Newt Goes NIMBY In New Hampshire

    As the saying goes, "not in my backyard." In New Hampshire on Thursday, Newt Gingrich made an awkward pivot. One moment he was accusing President Obama of selling out America to the Chinese by not immediately approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The next moment, Newt himself was promising to block another Canadian/American energy project based on environmental concerns. But guess which state that project happens to be in?
    TPM2012 Evan McMorris-Santoro

    Romney's New Attack: Obama's A Chicago-Style Crook!

    The precise location of President Obama's birth is a dwindling obsession among the GOP. But the land where Obama's political career started remains an inevitable part of any serious campaign mounted against him. That's right: we've entered the "he's a Chicago politician" phase of the race to the White House. It's not like Obama isn't wide open to this kind of assault -- he lived and worked for many years in Chicago, where many a dead man has cast a ballot and many a palm has been greased. The Windy...
    Muckraker Eric Kleefeld

    Former Walker Aide Arrested In 'John Doe' Investigation

    Updated January 5, 12:33 p.m. ET A new round of arrests has been made in the investigation of former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), from his time as Milwaukee County Executive. This time, it is three different men, in a matter that reportedly involves serious alleged misconduct for a military charity. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: Tim Russell, a longtime Walker campaign and county staffer, was charged with two felony and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement. One source said the...
    IdeaLab Carl Franzen

    Is Reddit A Community Or A Platform?

    The machinations of Reddit in the 2012 election cycle have just begun in earnest, with a subgroup of Reddit users (Redditors) raising $15,000 in funding in 48 hours for Rob Zerban, the Democratic challenger running to unseat Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Gawker's Adrian Chen wasn't amused by the news. On Tuesday, he published a piece titled "Reddit Has Gone Mad With Power," explaining why he thought that the ascent of Reddit as a potential political force was for the worse -- namely that Reddit's "digital...
    TPMDC David Taintor

    Defense Secretary Panetta: Defense Cuts Come With 'Additional But Acceptable Risk'

    President Barack Obama at the Pentagon on Thursday said that even though the Defense Department's budget will shrink, the U.S. military will remain a strong force. The first U.S. president to deliver a briefing at the Pentagon, Obama said, "Yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know, the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with Armed Forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats."
    Muckraker Jillian Rayfield

    Ted Haggard Swaps Wives With Gary Busey On Celebrity Wife Swap

    Former New Life Church pastor and self-described "bisexual" Ted Haggard swapped wives with actor and self-described "church" Gary Busey for the ABC reality show Celebrity Wife Swap. On Tuesday, Haggard and his wife Gayle appeared on the show and swapped spouses with Gary Busey and his fiance Steffanie Sampson. Haggard resigned from the New Life Church in disgrace in 2006, amid revelations that he had had a drug-fueled sexual relationship with a gay male former escort. In the episode, HaggardThe...
    TPM2012 David Taintor

    Colbert Debuts His Own Fancy Election Coverage Tool

    As the vote counting in Iowa stretched into early Wednesday morning, cable news anchors did their best to keep up their enthusiastic coverage. "Fortunately, they were up to the challenge," Colbert said. Especially the folks over at Fox News: "hunky quarterback Bret Baier and beautiful bird of prey Megyn Kelly." But even they nearly reached their breaking point. Baier eventually pulled out his iPad calculator to determine the night's slim margins. And CNN, not to be outdone, debuted a fancy "flick" tool ...
    TPM2012 David Taintor

    Jon Stewart Dumps On Iowa Caucus Losers

    Jon Stewart -- like any self-respecting, left-leaning pundit -- thinks the Iowa caucuses are "over-hyped" and "over-covered." "I want to shit on this," he said, "but it's kind of beautiful. The entire Iowa process seems like a historical reenactment, and yet shocks you with its simplicity." So Stewart wanted the cable networks to just let it play out in real time, a demonstration of "civic democracy." But CNN went ahead and messed that up with its holographic "dildo people," Stewart said. But now, on to ...
    TPM2012 David Taintor

    Cain To Kick Off 'Revolutions Solution' Bus Tour

    Herman Cain is back -- and he's coming to a town near you. The former pizza mogul and former presidential candidate is launching the "Cain's Revolutions Solution" bus tour, Cain told Fox News' Sean Hannity Wednesday night. And like the name suggests, the tour will focus on "solutions." "The first solution we're going to promote actively is 9-9-9, the revolution," Cain said, referring to his economic plan that would cut wealthy Americans' taxes. "We are going get commitments from members of Congress in...
    IdeaLab Carl Franzen

    Netflix Announces 2 Billion Hours Streamed, Shoots Self In Foot?

    Finally some good news out of Neflix! The nation's largest video subscription company, which alienated customers by raising prices last summer (among other perplexing business decisions) on Wednesday announced that its subscribers watched over 2 billion hours worth of streaming content in the last three months of the year. "We were thrilled to deliver more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies across 45 countries in the fourth quarter," said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings in a press...
    TPM2012 Pema Levy

    Today On The Trail: January 5, 2012

    Good morning, Five days from the first in the nation primary and the battle for New Hampshire is underway. Here are the ten things you need to know. Mitt looks to seal the deal fast: The Romney campaign has one goal now: clinch the nomination as quickly as possible. With a commanding lead in the polls in New Hampshire, the campaign wants to win by a landslide and keep momentum on his side going into South Carolina. The danger for Romney is that even a victory, if not by a large margin, could beRomney...
    Muckraker Jillian Rayfield

    The Battle Over Gay Marriage Set To Go Nationwide

    Washington is the latest state to start up a battle for marriage equality, in a year that was already going to be full of major fights for gay rights. Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) announced Wednesday that she will put forward legislation on Monday that would legalize gay marriage in Washington, saying that "it's time, it's the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it." Washington may be the latest state to push for gay marriage, but in other states gay rights advocates have already been. ...
    Muckraker Ryan J. Reilly

    Obama To Basically Ignore Congress' Terrorists-In-Military-Custody Mandate

    Federal law enforcement officials had been worried about the "uncertainty" that a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would create for agents dealing with a terrorist attack because of the plethora of qualifiers that would send a terrorist suspect into military custody. But the signing statement issued by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve appears to indicate that it should be business as usual as the administration develops implementation rules for the new provisions over...
    TPM2012 Kyle Leighton

    Why The GOP Still Has An Enthusiasm Problem

    The line on enthusiasm for the 2012 election has gone like this -- Republicans are fed up with President Obama and his policies, so they can't wait to get to the polls in 2012 to vote him out. The only problem? The data isn't so clear, and we're starting to understand why. Gallup numbers from September seem to reinforce the conventional wisdom that the GOP was ready to go. But then in December the polling firm found the fire for Republicans dissipating, just as the first votes of the presidential was...
    TPMDC Brian Beutler

    Here's What Romney's Unreleased Tax Returns Almost Certainly Hide

    Mitt Romney still says he's unlikely to publicly release his tax information, even if he clinches the Republican presidential nomination, and Democrats have a pretty good idea why. Romney is a privileged poster child for the "Buffett Rule" -- President Obama's principle that the tax code should make it impossible for a person of great wealth to pay a lower share of their income in taxes than ordinary people. The DNC knows it, policy wonks know it, Romney certainly knows it. But the reasons why are...
    TPM2012 Benjy Sarlin

    Coronation Watch: Mitt Looks To Seal The Deal Fast

    MANCHESTER, NH -- Mitt Romney is today in the best position he's ever been to win the Republican nomination since the campaign began. But even if he stays on track, how long the primary goes -- and how ugly it gets -- will be pressing issues. To that end, the top goal for his team and its supporters is to end the fight fast with a crushing display of force in New Hampshire that prevents any of his rivals from gaining more momentum in tougher states like South Carolina and Florida. "New Hampshire is...
    Muckraker Ryan J. Reilly

    Accused Of Retaliation, Sheriff Joe Wants DOJ To Name His Department's Alleged Victims

    Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office -- the same law enforcement agency accused of retaliating against political opponents -- wants the names of "each and every" resident interviewed by Justice Department officials who accused the MCSO of racial discrimination and other civil rights violations. But a Justice Department spokeswoman said Wednesday that they "look forward to sitting down soon with MCSO," but "will not hesitate to take prompt legal action" if they find that MCSO "is again...
    TPM2012 Michael Lester

    Day In 100 Seconds: Meet Carolyn And Edith!! (And Richard Cordray)

    With the results of the caucuses in Iowa not coming in until the wee small hours, news media in The US has been operating on only a couple of hours of sleep Not the only ones put out by the late night, we're starting to see the GOP candidates drop out of the race. Never worry though, because when someone steps aside, there's always a face or two willing to step in... ...
    IdeaLab Carl Franzen

    President Obama Joins Instagram, Gets Comment Spammed

    There's been alot of talk around the Web lately about the impact social media will have in the 2012 elections, with some even going so far as to say that social media will decide the winners. In light of that, it should be no surprise that President Obama decided on Tuesday night to begin posting arty photos online using the popular photo-sharing iPhone app Instagram. Instagram is an iOS-exclusive app that launched in 2010, allowing users to snap photos with their iOS-device's built-in camera and post ...
    Muckraker Nick R. Martin

    Army Reservist In Hot Water Over Ron Paul Speech

    An Afghanistan war veteran is in trouble for giving a political speech while in uniform at a caucus night rally with Ron Paul on Tuesday in Iowa. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Reserve told TPM on Wednesday that Cpl. Jesse Thorsen may have violated military policy when he wore his fatigues on stage and praised the Texas congressman's presidential bid. Thorsen's commander is now looking into the speech and will figure out what to do next, said the spokeswoman, Maj. Angel Wallace. The Des Moines-based...
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