Progressive News Feeds

Long lines to vote in Florida for the 2012 election Though Republican election officials in battleground states sought to dampen voter turn out of traditionally Democratic voters through by instituting identification requirements and limiting early voting hours, a new analysis of census data by the Associated Press shows that African Americans “voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time.” The analysis finds that had “people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly”: The 2012 data suggest Romney was a particularly weak GOP candidate, unable to motivate white voters let alone attract significant black or Latino support . Obama’s personal appeal and the slowly improving economy helped overcome doubts and spur record levels of minority voters in a way that may not be easily replicated for Democrats soon

Tags: economy, election-2012, elections, guns, health, security, university, war

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) During the August Republican National Convention in Tampa, a right-wing political group led by two former aides to House Republican Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) courted women with “ hair and makeup touch ups ” at a “Women Up!” pavilion. Now, a new radio ad by the same tax-exempt group suggests female voters are unable to make up their minds and vote for the candidate who is most handsome.

Tags: author, election-2012, facebook, finance, health, house, palin, progressive news, thinkprogress, yg network

So Mitt Romney posted this on the inter-webs this week: At first glance, this appears to be a follow-up on Romney’s mockery of Obama at the Republican National Convention: President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans — [ pauses for audience laughter(!) ] — and to heal the planet. MY promise is to help you and your family. But then you see that picture in the video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and say, WTF

Tags: credit, election-2012, feeds, global-warming, peace, politics, thinkprogress, weather

Mike Murphy Republican consultant Mike Murphy, a former Romney strategist, said on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday that it is unfair to criticize Mitt Romney’s lack of specificity on how to pay for his proposed 20 percent income tax cut.

Tags: author, barack-obama, climate, economy, election-2012, health, israel, media, obama, thinkprogress, yahoo

October 6 is the final day to register to vote for residents of Alaska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Today marks the first wave of voter registration deadlines for the 2012 election. Fifteen more states have their final registration deadline on October 9, including swing states of Colorado, Florida, and Ohio.

Tags: action, congress, conspiracy, election, election-2012, facebook, feeds, florida, health, progressive news, security, voter registration

A new Washington Post poll asked key swing state voters in Virginia which presidential candidate — regardless of the one they actually support — they “trust to do a better job determining the future of the Medicare program.” Among respondents who reported that they are likely to vote in November, 52 percent prefer Obama’s leadership on Medicare, compared to just 39 percent who trust Romney to make the right decisions for the program:

Tags: barack-obama, economy, election-2012, lgbt, mitt-romney, obama, planned parenthood, science

Romney giving his speech to the Republican National Convention In an interview with Fox News this afternoon, Mitt Romney shot back at critics who complained that he didn’t mention Afghanistan or praise U.S. troops in his convention speech last week, arguing that he focused on issues that are “important.” Fox News’s Brett Baier told Romney that “several speakers” at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this week criticized the GOP presidential nominee for the omissions (actually it was right-wing foreign policy leader Bill Kristol who started the attacks ) and asked him if he had any regrets.

Tags: afghanistan, clinton, defense spending, economy, election-2012, foreign policy, health, science, tweets, war

In 2007, Paul Ryan cast the lone pro-gay vote of his career, voting for a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would have made it illegal to fire an employee just for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Tags: election-2012, israel, lesbian, lgbt-rights, progressive news, science, security, tweets

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R-WI) Former Secretary of Health and Human Services and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) is again denying his previous support for much of the Affordable Care Act.

Tags: affordable, election, election-2012, facebook, health, politics, president, security, tommy-thompson, tweets, yahoo

The Nation We asked our readers what they would add to the Democratic Party platform. From alternative energy to the right to vote, here’s what they told us

Tags: author, democratic party, election-2012, function-load, progressive news, script, the nation, typeof-window-onload, var-addtl