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In the first 24 hours after his selection to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential candidate, LGBT (Lesbian, “Gay,” Bisexual, and Transgender) advocacy groups have declared war on Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, targeting him as a villain. But by doing so, LGBT activists risk putting a spotlight on controversial issues high on the cultural agenda of the political left, including same-sex marriage and open LGBT behavior in the military, issues that might not fly as high in some less-liberal regions of the nation, including some swing states. The Human Rights Coalition produced one of the most graphic attacks (above), summarizing...

Gasoline and oil futures surged Tuesday to the highest prices since May, as traders predicted the damage from a fire at California's third largest refinery could take months to repair. The lowest retail gasoline prices of the year may already be behind us, some traders say, especially in light of this incident as well as refinery issues around the U.S. and across the Atlantic in the North Sea. September RBOB gasoline futures briefly topped $3 a gallon Tuesday, and settled just shy of that mark, near a 3-month high. The more than 2 percent gain in gasoline futures sparked big...

Hundreds of thousands voted with their presence, and their wallets. It was as if August 1 was an election day. Except the voters — people of faith, hundreds of thousands of them — didn’t go to polling places. They went to Chick-fil-A. And they weren’t voting with ballots. They were voting with their presence, and their wallets. By now you’ve seen the photos of the phenomenal crowds, which swamped virtually every one of the 1,600 Chick-fil-A locations nationwide. We saw lines of cars stretching blocks in every direction. To show his support, one man from Oregon drove to the nearest...

According to a recent Washington Post poll, there is broad national support for Voter ID legislation despite concerns about voter suppression. “Almost three-quarters of all Americans support the idea that people should have to show photo identification to vote, even though they are nearly as concerned about voter suppression as they are about fraud in presidential elections…” reports the Post on August 11. “A controversy over voter ID laws is a prominent backdrop to this year’s election, with courtroom showdowns in Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere over voting rights and otherwise mundane election procedures.” “About half of those polled see voter...

Five years into the Long Slump it almost seems as if we are back to square one. China is sufficiently alarmed by the flint hardness of its "soft-landing" to talk up trillions of fresh stimulus. The European Central Bank is preparing to print “whatever it takes”to save Spain and Italy. Markets are pricing in an 80pc chance of yet more printing by the US Federal Reserve in September or soon after. There is no doubt that the three superpowers acting in concert can launch a mini-cycle of growth early next year - assuming they deliver on their rhetoric - but...

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, and vice presidential candidate Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., wave at the crowd during a campaign event, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in Norfolk, Va.   Thanks to Paul Ryan, Campaign 2012 is now a two-front class war.Mitt Romney wanted the election to be a straight-up referendum on President Obama’s handling of the economy. Obama responded by framing the race as a choice between an incumbent middle-class champion and a corporate raider whose plans would only help the rich.(RELATED: Romney's Pick of Ryan Brings Medicare to Center Stage)Polls suggested Obama’s...

Republican ticket will force the real issues onto the table Mitt Romney’s choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate is a boldly clarifying jolt for a presidential contest whose issues and stakes have been in desperate need of definition. Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan has been the architect of low tax, and lower spending, proposals that the Republicans advocate as catalysts for economic revival and American prosperity in the long run. He is also an able proponent of the view that overly large government has become a smothering weight on the country. By tapping the...

Washington (CNN) – Mitt Romney’s selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate promises to cast a spotlight on American Catholicism in an election year when the tradition has already been a major focus. Ryan, a Catholic who chairs the House Budget Committee, is better known for his outspoken fiscal conservatism than for leading on conservative Catholic social causes like opposing abortion and gay marriage. But Romney called attention to Ryan's religion Saturday in introducing him as his running mate: "A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life," Romney said....

The news that Mitt Romney picked Rep. Paul Ryan, who has suggested changing Medicare, as his running mate sparked worries over the weekend among some residents at the Stella Maris retirement community in Miami Beach—concerns that could reverberate among seniors nationwide. Nancy Scarchilli, a 92-year-old registered Democrat who is undecided this year, said Medicare "just paid a beautiful penny for my hospitalization" for heart failure, adding that she likes the program "the way it is." Gisela Adán, another resident of the Stella Maris retirement community, said Saturday she relies on Social Security and Medicare but was unfamiliar with the details...

Liberal pundits are already fanning out in force to attack and discredit Paul Ryan. Michael Tomasky, who recently wrote a Newsweek cover story calling Mitt Romney a “wimp,” has now decided that Romney’s bold move is “a terrible choice” because Ryan has proven himself to be an extremist on budget issues. No doubt there are many Democrats rubbing their hands in glee in contemplation of reviving some version of the ad that featured an actor playing Paul Ryan pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair off a cliff. But the smarter ones are worried. First, if Ryan is an extremist and...

The other day, I passed a Republican Party county office here in my home state, its window attractively emblazoned with placards declaring "Believe in America. Romney 2012" and "New Hampshire Believes. Romney 2012." There's not a lot of evidence for the latter proposition, but I'm certainly willing to believe that Romney believes that New Hampshire believes. [Snip] If it were up to me, the {Romney's] campaign slogan would be "You're screwed, losers. Steyn 2012" — or, after yielding to the consultants' internals showing that moderates want something more sunny and upbeat, maybe "Get real, you chumps. Steyn 2012." That's the...

When several friends sent me e-mails with links to Wayne Allyn Root’s column, I knew it was viral, and then sure enough, on Tuesday, Rush featured excerpts of it on his radio show. By now, you may have read Mr. Root’s piece which was posted at The Blaze on Monday. The column, titled, “Obama’s College Classmate: ‘The Obama Scandal is at Columbia’,” echoes what I have been thinking long before this ridiculously desperate attempt by the Democrats to smear Mitt Romney with a stupidly false accusation about his taxes. How do I know the accusation is false? The pathetic Senate...

The draft language in the Democratic Party platform endorsing marriage equality has been revealed and shown to say “we support marriage equality” is set to become a tenet of the party’s beliefs. In addition to endorsing marriage equality, the language also calls for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and urges passage of DOMA repeal legislation known as the Respect for Marriage Act. Notably, the language explicitly backs religious freedom for marriage, saying religions should “decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.” Buzzfeed was first to make the language public ahead of the scheduled...

WASHINGTON — Concerning Mormons and Republicans, history offers a large helping of irony. In 1843, an Army officer named John C. Fremont led a geographical expedition of 39 men more than 1,700 miles to the shores of the Great Salt Lake. His report on the journey inspired hounded Mormons to mount their wagons and resettle in the Great Basin. Thirteen years later in Philadelphia, Fremont became the first presidential nominee of the Republican Party, which adopted a platform opposing the "twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery." The slogan, and the anti-Mormon sentiment behind it, caught on. A Republican...

President Obama has declared war on religion by forcing religious institutions to go against their faith. Mitt Romney will stand up and protect religious freedom whenever it is threatened.

Dear Friend, In this video commentary, I discuss how Obamacare is triggering a national doctor shortage, decreasing the quality of care for us all. Tune in!

Will Barack Obama’s innate likability turn out to be the decisive factor that keeps him in the White House? Several polls suggest that the president’s biggest advantage over Mitt Romney involves the strong tendency of Americans to see him as more friendly, accessible, and personally appealing than his GOP challenger. Even with dark clouds surrounding the economy and highly energized, well-funded conservatives preparing to storm the seat of power, Obama strategists view Fortress Likability as the final, secure stronghold that will deliver them from all electoral dangers. The Romney camp counters with arguments that cite several emerging factors sure to...

President Obama appeals to women by pushing the issue of access to contraceptives, while Mitt Romney accuses him of watering down welfare reform — an issue that tends to stir up feelings about race among whites. With the election still locked in a near-tie, the politics of gender and race have moved into the spotlight of the presidential campaign. For most of the summer, the debate has focused on two things: the state of the economy and Mitt Romney's background in business. But in recent days, the two campaigns have added new, sharp-edged issues to the mix.

ROME, Italy, August 7, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI is warning that the United States is facing threats of “unprecedented gravity” to religious freedom. In a letter on behalf of the pope to Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone observed that “concerted efforts are being made to redefine and restrict the exercise of the right to religious freedom.” The comments come as the U.S. bishops campaign for religious liberty in the face of attacks such as President Obama’s HHS mandate, which requires employers to cover contraceptives, sterilizations, and...

Pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen tells Newsmax that if Americans’ satisfaction with their financial situation does not improve before November, there is “no way” President Obama will be re-elected. He also warns that if Romney does not take Florida, he has “no chance” of winning the White House — but adds that Obama is in trouble there because of seniors’ opposition to Obamacare. Rasmussen is founder and president of Rasmussen Reports and co-founder of the sports network ESPN. He has been an independent public opinion pollster for more than a decade, and most major news organizations cite his reports....