I’m trying to keep a running tally of the direct funds to states from the foreclosure fraud settlement that will get diverted to General Funds to fill budget holes. When we last left this story, Maine had decided to send $5.7 million to the general fund, joining Missouri’s $40 million and Wisconsin’s $26 million. So [...]

Next week marks the 75th anniversary of Social Security, and in the official House Democratic talking points set next week as a time to discuss the program. But already, House members are defending Social Security, resisting efforts to cut it, and even working to strengthen it over the short and long term. Gabrielle Giffords, a [...]

Reporters should be careful to divine meaning from any special election, especially ones from concentrated Democratic or Republican areas. But Ed Lynch, a Republican in FL-19, spent the last month or so telling everyone who would listen – and a few who wouldn’t – that his campaign in the FL-19 special election to replace the [...]