Seth McLaughlin
Articles by Seth McLaughlin
Romney to N.H.: You ‘don’t have to settle’ for Obama
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney kicked off his first traditional campaign trip of the general election Friday by returning to the sprawling New Hampshire farm from where he launched his second presidential bid just over a year ago. Published June 15, 2012
Romney on board for battleground bus tour
Mitt Romney is set to launch a six-state bus tour Friday that will carry him through crucial battleground states President Obama captured in the 2008 election — and could offer the presumptive Republican presidential nominee the chance for some unscripted campaign moments. Published June 14, 2012
Romney to top CEOs: White House is anti-business
Showering business leaders Wednesday with promises of lower tax rates and a lighter regulatory environment, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney accused President Obama of trying to duck responsibility for embracing policies that have generated the nation's "tepid" economic recovery and left millions of people out of work. Published June 13, 2012
Romney’s initiatives: Miracles or gimmickry?
Facing a budget deficit of $3 billion when he took over as Massachusetts governor in 2003, Mitt Romney immediately instituted emergency spending cuts, raised fees on items such as birth certificates, gun licenses and boat registrations, and closed corporate tax breaks to solve the shortfall. Published June 10, 2012
In Walker recall, road to White House runs through Wisconsin
National Republicans think that if Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives his recall election Tuesday, it will be much harder for President Obama to keep the state in the Democratic column in the November election. Published June 3, 2012
Romney: Obama didn’t risk much in Solyndra — taxpayers did
Standing outside the shuttered California headquarters of Solyndra on Thursday, Mitt Romney said President Obama must answer to voters for the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars he gambled on the politically connected solar technology company, which went belly-up in 2011. Published May 31, 2012
Presidential camps skirmish in Romney’s Bay State backyard
The Obama campaign marched into Mitt Romney's old political backyard of Massachusetts on Thursday to make the case that the GOP nominee's economic approach didn't work during his one-term as governor and won't work as president. Published May 31, 2012
As Texas ensures GOP nod, Romney campaign takes shape
After clinching the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday in Texas, Mitt Romney has emerged from a bloody primary slog running neck-and-neck with President Obama — putting him in the exact same position as the last two Republicans to lead their party into the general election. Published May 29, 2012
Home field disadvantage: Romney’s winning map excludes Massachusetts
If Mitt Romney wins the White House this fall, he will in all likelihood do so while beating some very long historical odds. Published May 27, 2012
Romney downplays value of small class size
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's plans for reshaping K-12 education has injected an old debate into the presidential race: Do smaller classroom sizes produce better students? Published May 24, 2012
In campaign twist, Romney camp plays Clinton card against Obama
An unlikely battle for Bubba's legacy has broken out in the presidential race, with GOP candidate Mitt Romney praising Bill Clinton's presidency as a bank-shot way to argue that President Obama has "discarded" his Democratic predecessor's wisdom about the end of big government. Published May 24, 2012
Tea-party target Hatch gets Palin’s endorsement
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch's re-election bid Wednesday, calling the onetime tea-party target a "lifelong conservative" who has fought for a balanced-budget amendment and for conservative Supreme Court justices. Published May 23, 2012
Obama, Romney use states’ rights as they see fit
The 10th Amendment, the amendment supposedly reserving for the states all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government, gets a lot of rhetorical love on the campaign trail. Published May 20, 2012
Ex-presidents factor into Romney’s campaign
Mitt Romney, campaigning in battleground state Iowa on Tuesday, scored a long-awaited — if not exactly surprising — endorsement in Washington from the last Republican occupant of the White House. Published May 15, 2012
Paul aide: Don’t look for a Romney endorsement
Ron Paul's campaign conceded Tuesday he won't win enough delegates to be Republicans' presidential nominee, but says he will continue to try to win supporters to influence the GOP's platform and rules at the August convention. Published May 15, 2012
Gay marriage gives Romney chance to fire up base
While many Republicans consider the sudden emergence of gay marriage as an issue in the 2012 presidential campaign an unhelpful distraction, social conservatives Sunday insisted the Obama administration has given presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney an opportunity. Published May 13, 2012
Romney backs traditional marriage at Liberty University
Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney assured the thousands of conservative Christians gathered for the graduation ceremony at Liberty University, the school founded by evangelical icon Jerry Falwell, that he stands with them on traditional marriage. Published May 12, 2012
Romney’s team starts to look like Bush’s
Mitt Romney's corps of advisers is heavily salted with figures who surrounded President George W. Bush as he watched over massive increases in federal spending, the creation of more government programs and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the nation-building efforts that followed. Published May 10, 2012
‘Still deciding’ does damage to Romney’s Hispanic reach
The difficulties Mitt Romney faces in wooing Hispanic voters this year were underscored Tuesday when the Republicans' top Hispanic outreach official said the former Massachusetts governor is "still deciding" his position on immigration. Published May 8, 2012
Obama denies presiding over ‘bloated government’
After presiding over three consecutive years of trillion-dollar deficits, President Obama told an audience in New York on Tuesday not to believe critics who accuse him of running a "bloated government." Published May 8, 2012