CPAC

'Voter Fraud,' 'The Media,' 'Hurricane Sandy': No Consensus At CPAC On Why Romney Lost

Pema Levy | March 16, 2013, 11:46AM

Mitt Romney addresses CPAC 2013, Friday, March 15, 2013. (Jeff Malet)

A year after Mitt Romney won the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, attendees this weekend had no consensus theory for how their candidate lost in November.

Republican soul-searching has been a major theme at CPAC, the right-wing's blockbuster conference, being held this year outside of Washington in suburban Maryland. But after two days, there is no dominant narrative or talking point to explain their bruising defeat or how to right the Republican ship in 2016.

Read more »

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Offers Up Thanks (And Not Much Else) At CPAC

Benjy Sarlin | March 15, 2013, 2:40PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney received an enthusiastic welcome at CPAC on Friday, where he graciously thanked conservatives for supporting his 2012 campaign, but offered little reflection as to why it ultimately failed.

"I'm sorry I won't be your president," Romney said. "I will be your coworker and I'll work shoulder by shoulder beside you."

Read more »

Immigration Reform

Why Immigration Reform Might Pass In Two YouTube Videos

Benjy Sarlin | March 13, 2013, 2:47PM

How far has the conversation shifted on immigration since the election? Let's consider two videos, just over a year apart.

Read more »

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's Return Highlights GOP's Seismic Shift On Immigration

Benjy Sarlin | March 6, 2013, 12:15PM

Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio at a presidential campaign rally in Miami, August 13, 2012

After a self-imposed exile in La Jolla, Mitt Romney re-emerged last week to find the political landscape unrecognizable from the one he left in November -- and nowhere more than on immigration.

Read more »

Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush Bashes Romney, Obamacare In New Book

Benjy Sarlin | March 5, 2013, 11:55AM

Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney aboard Romney campaign plane, October 31, 2012

Jeb Bush's new tome, "Immigration Wars: Forging An American Solution," hit bookstores on Tuesday and is already making waves in the immigration debate and 2016 sweepstakes alike.

Bush's book, co-authored by Goldwater Institute director Clint Bolick, shares a lot in tone and style with other works by plausible presidential candidates. A lot of feel-good American rhetoric, inspiring anecdotes about average citizens, hat tips to popular causes in the party, and reminders of the author's accomplishments in unrelated areas (in this case, education.) Its core parts are a framework for immigration reform and a political manifesto about GOP outreach to Latinos, both of which are hotly debated within the party and could be directly affected by Bush's book. Here are some of the highlights:

Read more »

Mitt Romney

James Carter: Person Who Recorded '47 Percent' Video Wasn't A High-Dollar Donor (VIDEO)

Tom Kludt | February 22, 2013, 7:19AM

Update: February 22, 2013, 8:43 AM

Democratic opposition researcher James Carter on Thursday said the individual who recorded Mitt Romney making his infamous "47 percent" remarks at a Florida fundraiser was not a high-dollar donor.

Read more »