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Articles by Seth McLaughlin

** FILE ** Speaker of the House John Boehner, Ohio Republican, speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Boehner seen holding top post despite purge

Despite rumblings from some Republican backbenchers, Speaker John A. Boehner's hold on the House's top post appears secure after key conservative lawmakers said they don't expect anyone to challenge him.

December 12, 2012
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio is pursued by reporters as he walks to the House floor to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Barack Obama on the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boehner said President Barack Obama is slow-walking talks to avoid the fiscal cliff, and hasn't outlined spending cuts he's willing to support as part of a compromise. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Americans desire a ‘fiscal cliff’ deal without pain

With the clock ticking on Congress to strike a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," Americans increasingly want to see their leaders compromise to get a deal done — as long as the pain of any compromise leaves them untouched.

December 11, 2012
**FILE** Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican

Storm relief sets up new spending without cuts

President Obama's call for $60 billion in additional spending to cover damage from Superstorm Sandy tops a congressional wish list of more stimulus spending, expanded unemployment benefits and extending the payroll tax cut — all without finding cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

December 10, 2012
Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat, accompanied by Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, to discuss efforts to "boost the economy and prevent Americans from abruptly losing their jobless benefits at the end of the year." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Little interest in renewing payroll-tax holiday

Democrats want to see tax rates go up on the wealthy; Republicans want to see cuts in entitlement programs. But neither side is trumpeting an extension of the payroll-tax cut, which is also expected to expire at the end of the year — opening the door for the federal government to dig deeper into the pockets of 160 million workers.

December 9, 2012
**FILE** With fellow Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota (left) and others looking on, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky outlines Republicans' stance on negotiations with the president and Hill Democrats on the "fiscal cliff" on Nov. 27, 2012. (Associated Press)

Democrats block quick vote on Obama ‘fiscal cliff’ plan

Senate Republicans forced their Democratic counterparts to block a vote on President Obama's own "fiscal cliff" budget proposal Wednesday — a move that GOP lawmakers said exposed the weakness of the White House's proposal.

December 5, 2012
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republlican, talks to reporters after private discussions with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on the "fiscal cliff" negotiations at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats shrug off Republicans’ ‘fiscal cliff’ counter

House Republican leaders delivered a $2.2 trillion "fiscal cliff" counteroffer to President Obama on Monday that included $800 billion in tax increases, but the White House and congressional Democrats said that still isn't enough revenue to begin negotiating.

December 3, 2012
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, says the public broadcast of negotiations on the “fiscal cliff” could hold lawmakers responsible for their promises and give Americans a firsthand view of public versus private rhetoric. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Republicans urged to call Democrats’ bluff

Grover Norquist says Republicans will emerge victorious from the "fiscal cliff" fight if they put television cameras in the negotiating room and smoke out Democrats over their reluctance to cut entitlement programs — the biggest drivers of federal spending and the national debt.

December 2, 2012
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, speaks about the looming financial crisis to reporters at the House Visitors Center at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Lot of movement, no progress on ‘fiscal cliff’: Tax increases vs. spending cuts

President Obama's top aides floated a budget framework to Republicans on Thursday that would call for $1.6 trillion in tax increases coupled with a promise for future spending trims in order to head off the "fiscal cliff," an offer GOP leaders immediately rejected, saying the White House needs to "get serious" about spending cuts.

November 29, 2012
Erskine Bowles, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, sees chances for avoiding going over the “fiscal cliff” at less than 1 in 3. President Obama is sending aides to Capitol Hill on Thursday to meet with legislative leaders. (Associated Press)

Are parties hurtling toward ‘fiscal cliff’?

With little tangible headway being made in Washington on averting the looming federal taxes-and-spending crisis, a key observer said Wednesday that he puts the chances of Congress reaching a deal before the Jan. 1 "fiscal cliff" deadline at less than 1 in 3.

November 28, 2012
Sen. Marco Rubio’s trip to Iowa for Gov. Terry Branstad’s fundraiser this month has excited members of his party looking toward 2016. Iowa, after all, is home to the first-in-the nation caucuses, though the Florida Republican downplayed any extra significance for the trip. (Associated Press)

Rubio jumps to the head of GOP’s class

Sen. Marco Rubio, in a matter of days, leapfrogged from being one of Mitt Romney's reliable foot soldiers on the campaign trail to being a front-runner for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

November 27, 2012
Sen. Bob Corker, seen in July, says he is “not obligated” to stick to the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, formulated by Grover Norquist in the mid-1980s. Other influential Republicans say they may be willing to abandon it if Democrats will work with them to achieve entitlement reform and debt reduction. (Associated Press)

GOP fealty to ‘no new taxes’ pledge slipping

Trying to signal a good-faith commitment to the ongoing "fiscal cliff" debt negotiations, some prominent Republicans increasingly are indicating a willingness to walk away from Grover Norquist's influential "no new taxes" pledge, saying that even if they signed it, they no longer feel bound by it.

November 26, 2012
Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, says unemployment benefits are a good investment. He said he would extend the benefits for another year as part of a broader package. (Associated Press)

Democrats seek more benefits for jobless

Warning that more than 2 million Americans are poised to lose their long-term unemployment insurance, some Democrats are calling on Congress to extend the "economic lifeline" before it expires next month.

November 26, 2012
Judson Phillips, the organizer of the National Tea Party Convention, talks during a news conference in Nashville, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Tea party vows to stay for long haul, takes no blame for GOP losses

Tea party leaders say they refuse to be the scapegoats for the drubbing Republicans took on Election Day, claiming it was the party establishment — not their insurgent movement — that cost the party seats in the House and Senate and returned President Obama to the White House.

November 22, 2012
David Stockman (Associated Press)

Both parties’ tax plans would add to the deficit

The "fiscal cliff" debate in Washington has been cast as a choice between runaway Democratic spending and draconian Republican cuts, but no matter who wins the argument, both parties' tax plans add to the deficit — by a minimum of $4.3 trillion through 2022, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

November 18, 2012
Rep. Paul Ryan (AP Photo)

GOP: Ryan plan must be bolder

Returning to a new postelection reality on Capitol Hill, House Republicans say Rep. Paul Ryan will continue to be a major player with their caucus after his failed bid as Mitt Romney's running mate, but that the budget he pushed through the House the past two years no longer does enough to clean up the nation's fiscal mess.

November 14, 2012
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gives a thumbs up as he arrives to give his concession speech during his election night rally in Boston on Nov. 7, 2012. (Associated Press)

Tea partyers say GOP must learn from defeat

Slamming the Republican Party establishment for tapping Mitt Romney as its standard-bearer, the co-founder of the nation's largest tea party group said Wednesday the lessons learned from the 2012 presidential election will strengthen the grass-roots movement, making it an even more important part of the GOP's future.

November 7, 2012
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters en route from Pittsburgh to Boston, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

ELECTION 2012: Romney’s bid brings Mormons to political forefront

Mitt Romney's run for president in 2012 has blazed a new path for Mormons, making him the first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fight his way to the top of a major-party ticket and into the hearts of millions of Americans on the biggest of political stages.

November 6, 2012
With the Wisconsin Capitol dome behind him, President Obama speaks at a campaign event on Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in downtown Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama, Romney rush to the finish with battleground state stops

Running at a breakneck pace in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest presidential battles in American history, President Obama and Mitt Romney spent the last full day of the campaign scouring the country for additional votes, and calling on their troops to give them the ground support they need to capture the White House.

November 5, 2012
Supporters in the key swing state of Ohio reach out to Mitt Romney in Cleveland on Sunday. “I need your vote, I need your work, I need your help,” he said to cheering crowds. “Walk with me. Let’s walk together. Let’s start anew.” (Associated Press)

Romney pledges ‘real change’ that will end partisan gridlock

Darting across eight battleground states, Mitt Romney spent the final weekend of the presidential race delivering a muscular critique of the Obama administration and saying he is uniquely qualified to end the partisan gridlock in Washington that threatens to push the country into a double-dip recession.

November 4, 2012