With the Democratic candidates for mayor pretty well locked up, much has been made about who will run on the other side. There have been lots of rich people pushing for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to make a go for it, and billionaire John Catsimatidis has expressed interest if Kelly declines, but there are others! What would you think our current Mayor's girlfriend Diana Taylor made a go for Gracie Mansion? She's has been wanting to spend a night there and previously mulled a Senate run—and it appears that GOPers have noticed. more ›

People, the presidential election is November 6, 2012. It might sound like a lot of time between now and then, but the Wall Street Journal wants to make sure its man—former Massachusetts Governor, lover of women who stay home with the kids and presumptive Republican candidate, Mitt Romney—is armed with all the advice he needs. So in today's Wall Street Journal, there's an editorial giving him advice on how to differentiate himself from President Barack Obama, PLUS an op-ed from Karl Rove about choosing running mates. This is better than going to Lucy van Pelt! more ›

It's no secret that Mike Lupica has scrawled his name and Ray Kelly's into a heart onto the ole' sycamore on the Daily News' playground, and today the columnist tells us all why Kelly would make such a fantastic mayor of New York City. "Some of the people polled say Kelly doesn’t know enough about issues beyond crime or terrorism," Lupica writes, "But there happens to be a good reason for that: Kelly has spent the last decade fighting crime and terrorism in his current job." So, that means we should give him a pass on the whole, "no other experience other than fighting crime or terrorism" thing? more ›

Today is Primary Day in New York, where registered Republicans can cast their vote for a presidential candidate. Shockingly, a low turnout is expected, even though the candidates include Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. more ›

Rudolph Giuliani has become the latest Republican to pretend to enjoy the thought of Mitt Romney being elected president. “When I look at where we are as a nation and the challenges we face, I am convinced that Mitt Romney will provide a clear contrast to President Obama,” Giuliani said in a statement earlier today. Woah, a "clear contrast?" Get a room, you two! But as Capital New York reminds us, things weren't always so peachy. Just four months ago Giuliani said of Romney, “I ran against him in ‘07 and ‘08, I’ve never seen a guy change his position so many times, so fast, on a dime." Isn't it amazing what a miserable field of candidates can do to one's viewpoint? more ›

Thanks to cribbing their views on women's rights from Mad Men and seeming hopelessly out of touch with the country's growing sense of economic inequality (see: car elevators), the Republican party's presumptive nominee is trailing President Obama in the polls, 48% to 43%. Somewhere buried under the Zimmerman / Santorum news cycle, President Obama was in Florida today to push for the Buffett Rule, requiring those who make more than $2 million annually to pay a minimum of 30% tax rate. But Ham Rove's American Crossroads PAC has a plan: make Obama and Buffett pay more in voluntary taxes. more ›

George W. Bush hasn't just been scooping poop since he left office—the man has devised an economic policy that will save the country. And it's not just more tax cuts either, it's—wait, no, no it's more tax cuts. Bush took this refreshing new message to the New York Historical Society today for a conference entitled "Tax Policies for 4% Growth." more ›

Mitt Romney's wife Ann called into a radio station today before Wisconsin's Tuesday primary to assuage doubts that her husband is in fact, the Least Interesting Man in the World. When asked if she wanted to beat back against the perception that he is "stiff," Romney laughed and replied, "Well, you know, I guess we better unzip him and let the real Mitt Romney out because he is not!” Yeah, all you have to do is open Mitt's lumbar chamber, run the command unzip.exe on the file humorsmile.zip and step back and watch him go! more ›

The candidate who has vowed to stop the spread of obscene pornography hurled an obscenity yesterday at a New York Times reporter after a campaign speech in Wisconsin. When Jeff Zeleny asked Rick Santorum about calling Mitt Romney "the worst Republican in the country," the candidate snapped, "Stop lying…quit distorting my words…if I see it, it's bullshit." Somewhere, a strategist is on his sixth Diet Dr. Pepper, furiously coaching Mitt Romney through the word "C-R-A-P." more ›

Rick Santorum does it again. Hot on the heels of telling Puerto Rico to speak English the GOP hopeful has put up a screed on his website that frets over how "America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography." more ›

Remember The Komen! A recent CBS/New York Times poll [pdf] shows that 51% of voters support letting any employer "opt out" of covering the cost of birth control for religious or moral objections, with 40% saying that employers should pick up the tab. Will President Johnson Campaign Obama tack to the right, or will people realize that family planning is one of the top ten public health achievements of the last century? more ›

Chris Christie isn't sorry that he called a Rutgers law student and veteran Navy SEAL an "idiot" during a town hall meeting last week. “Just because he was a Navy SEAL doesn’t give him the right to be a jerk,” Christie told reporters. “This was a guy with a political agenda who came in and wanted to try and make me look bad and not let me answer the question. He can cry his crocodile tears all he wants." Yes, because the only person who is allowed to have a political agenda is the Governor of New Jersey. more ›

Speaking to FOX News yesterday, Mitt Romney's wife Ann was describing how living with multiple sclerosis has changed her outlook on life. At this point, the Romneys' job is to NOT point out their obscene wealth, no matter what the context. But Ann Romney seemingly couldn't resist. "And—and, so, you know, we can be poor in spirit and I don't—I don’t look—I don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. It can be here today and gone tomorrow." Except for your tax-exempt retirement funds worth tens of millions of dollars. Those are designed to be around for awhile. more ›

The Federal Bureau of Investigation may investigate claims that Republican Congressman from Staten Island Michael Grimm received illegal cash donations from the followers of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Tosef Pinto. An FBI official told the Wall Street Journal that the bureau is "gathering information" on the allegations, first reported in the New York Times but apparently noted by former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who said he informed the FBI of possible illegal activity in 2010. more ›

At a rally in Michigan earlier today, GOP presidential frontrunner Rick Santorum told the crowd the real reason the economy tanked four years ago: "We went into a recession in 2008 because of gasoline prices." According to BuzzFeed, Santorum added, "The bubble burst in housing because people couldn’t pay their mortgages because of $4 a gallon gasoline." In related news, the Iraq War was caused by Social Security, the obesity epidemic is due to Solyndra, and the current unemployment rate? That's Mrs. Santorum's fault. more ›

It's pretty tough to sound dumber than Rick Santorum, who's been on a tear recently by comparing Barack Obama to Hitler, calling public schools "factories," and accusing the president of practicing "phony theology." But Santorum aide Alice Stewart one-upped her boss on MSNBC today noting that Santorum wasn't actually making some crypto-racist comment about Barry's religion, "He was referring to the radical Islamic policies the president has." more ›

After reports that he strong-armed $500K in mystical donations from the followers of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm has had to distance himself from his duties as a Mitt Romney surrogate. But yesterday he told supporters that this whole "impropriety" stink isn't so bad, compared to his other gigs as a Marine and FBI agent. "I’ve had people try to kill me. I’m going to dust myself off and I’m going to keep fighting for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn.” more ›

New details surrounding an altercation at a Niagara Falls casino between Republican state senator Mark Grisanti and several members of the Seneca Nation have cast doubt on the politician's story that he played the part of peacemaker. Video footage shows Grisanti pointing and shouting at a security officer, then later being held in a choke hold by another one of the officers. Businessman and former member of the Seneca's Tribal Council, Ross John, also tells The Buffalo News that Grisanti used a racial epithet against a guard. "I was maybe 15 feet away. I heard it. '[Grisanti] yelled, 'Don't you know who the [expletive] I am, you [expletive]?' " more ›

Although Mitt Romney still leads in a combined analysis of national polling, the PPP's latest survey has Rick Santorum at the top with 38% to Romney's 23%. Why? "Republicans are significantly souring on both Romney and Gingrich." But as with any Not-Android candidate, the more scrutiny they receive, the less palatable they appear to voters who've never been to the CPAC. For instance, Santorum was confronted this morning by George Stephanopoulos with a passage of his 2005 book blasting "radical feminists" for "undermining the traditional family and convincing women that professional accomplishments are the key to happiness." Santorum's response was SO meta: "That section of the book, if you want to be honest with it, was co-written by my wife." more ›

Left for dead in Florida and Nevada, Rick Santorum won all three contests last night in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado, sending warning signals from Mitt Romney's CPU to the mini replica of the 2001 monolith that stands in for the candidate's heart. At his victory speech, Santorum said he wasn't aiming to become "the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama." more ›

In today's Presidential capitulation triangulation news bulletin, the Obama administration has signaled that it will rethink a law that would require insurance plans offered by Catholic universities and charities to provide women with birth control without charging them. “We’re going to look for a way to move forward that both provides women with the preventative care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions," David Axelrod told MSNBC yesterday. "To turn it into a kind of political football to take advantage—to try and capitalize that isn't going to make it easier to resolve that issue," Obama For America's football coach said without a hint of irony. more ›

As expected, Mitt Romney soundly beat Newt Gingrich in the Nevada caucuses yesterday, no thanks to Donald Trump, who endorsed the candidate on Thursday. According to an extremely scientific poll of Nevada Facebook users, just 9.6% thought it had a positive affect on Romney, 41.4% voted "negative," and 49% voted "neither." In other equally important polling news, Rasmussen finds that Santorum beats Obama if you sample 12% of the electorate, and a certain cat has outsourced his way to impending victory. more ›

Would you believe that a majority of pop musicians disagree with Republican dogma? In recent days Newt Gingrich was sued by the co-author of "Eye of the Tiger" after he used it at numerous campaign events, and Mitt Romney was asked by K'naan to stop using his song "Wavin' Flag." "I'm for immigrants. I'm for poor people, and they don't seem to be what he's endorsing," the rapper told the Times. "My song being his victory song didn't seem quite right." So where can the GOP candidates turn to pump up their pasty crowds? We've compiled a shortlist of tunes that are the least likely to earn a cease-and-desist order. more ›

Because a guy named "Brad" is in the office today, the country has been graced with Mitt Romney's tax returns. They show that in 2010 the candidate earned $21.7 million, and paid $3 million in federal taxes, for an effective tax rate of 13.9%. Romney also gave $2.98 million to charity, $1.5 million of which went to the Mormon Church. Reuters also reports that Romney closed down accounts in Switzerland and the Caymans that year "after an investment advisor decided it could be politically embarrassing to Romney." more ›

What does Newt Gingrich's 12% win over Mitt Romney in South Carolina mean? Even if Gingrich doesn't have Romney's war chest and organization for Florida's primary on the 31st, his momentum is snowballing in the state's print media, and this morning Romney admitted he made a mistake in declining to release his tax returns, and said he will make them available on Tuesday. “We made a mistake in holding off as long as we did,” the candidate told FOX News, noting that he pays a "substantial" amount of taxes. Still Gingrich can point out that in terms of percentage, he pays double what a member of the 0.01% does. more ›

Like a certain prurient Congressman, drunk on power and thirsty for alternatives, the South Carolina electorate has spurned their betrothed for the powdery jowls of another. Newt Gingrich is currently leading Mitt Romney ahead of today's GOP primary, 37% to 28% according to the PPP. In related news, we're taking the rest of the day off to close the deal on some Moon Condos. more ›

He's trailing in the polls, he hates Social Security, and... and... oh, who cares: News outlets are reporting that Texas Governor Rick Perry is ending his presidential dreams. more ›

To satisfy America's bloodlust for pallid men in funeral attire yelling at each other, the GOP presidential candidates faced off in two debates, twelve hours apart, ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. At last night's ABC debate at St. Anselm, frontrunner Willard Romney was content to let Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich claw each other's eyes out. But at this morning's NBC/Lunesta debate his rivals came to their senses and with the help of Romney's inability to relate to anyone other than T-1000, attempted to tear down his commanding lead in the polls. more ›