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Maine's donkey party loves the rich and the poor — but can't protect both

In the current legislative fight over Republican Governor Paul LePage's lust to slash Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) programs because of a $221-million shortfall in its budget, Democrats say over and over that they want to protect the po
Two-faced Democrats
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 17, 2012

Letters to the Boston editors, February 17, 2012

Regarding your recent "House of Incorrections" story (Talking Politics, February 3), I think it would be more believable if some criminal-justice experts were quoted.
Burning down the house
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | February 17, 2012

Mitt's Charlie Card

Last week, Mitt Romney stood uncomfortably to the side as he accepted the endorsement of reality-show blowhard and occasional birther Donald Trump in Las Vegas.
It's no surprise that Barack Obama would copy from Deval Patrick's re-election playbook. But why is Mitt Romney making Charlie Baker's mistakes?
By DAVID BERNSTEIN | February 10, 2012

'It's Halftime in America'

Karl Rove is pissed off, and for once we can understand why.
Plus, same-sex marriage's latest boost
By EDITORIAL | February 10, 2012

Getting the Ron-around

While fellow Republican hopefuls Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum fight it out in Florida, Ron Paul, dark-horse candidate and Constitutional fundamentalist, sallied forth along his unorthodox campaign trail, hitting states with upcoming cauc
Checking in with presidential hopeful Paul
By NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | February 03, 2012

The Massachusetts legislature is the principal roadblock to putting the state's criminal-justice system on the right track

As you read this, Beacon Hill is debating a "three-strikes" crime bill, while waiting for the US Attorney's Office to hand down indictments in the scandal over patronage at the probation department.
House of Incorrections
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 03, 2012

The Dr. Phil Years

The pundits and politicos have had a tough time analyzing Elizabeth Warren as a candidate in the coming race for US Senate with Republican incumbent Scott Brown.
Before she became a political phenomenon, Elizabeth Warren grew beyond academia to take her message to the public
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 27, 2012

Local adjunct professors fight for their piece of the pie

Even as Governor Paul LePage and others tout the importance of the community college system in Maine, the adjunct professors at Southern Maine Community College and the University of Southern Maine are without contracts.
Coming to the table
By DEIRDRE FULTON | January 27, 2012

Obama's Vision: ''An America Built to Last''

By any measure, President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech would have been considered a political winner, but coming just one day after the Republicans' constipated Florida-primary debate, Obama scored an undeniable triumph.
Plus, Deval Patrick
By EDITORIAL | January 27, 2012

Think Mitt Romney had a bad week? Joe Biden's was worse.

Progressives snickered endlessly last night, re-assured that the GOP primary will continue to be a bruising, embarassing, drawn-out affair for MITT ROMNEY and NEWT GINGRICH. They...
By Carly Carioli | January 22, 2012

Mitt Romney's 2012 Gaffe Review

Everyone's favorite awkward GOP candidate.
Big Fat Whale
By BRIAN MCFADDEN | January 20, 2012

America's Next Top Kennedy

We are all mere mortals, Massachusetts pols like to say, and they are Kennedys.
Joe III is the new Kennedy on the block, and his campaign for Congress inevitably has Bay Staters thinking of Camelot
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 20, 2012

Further adventures of my vegan dad

The return.
Failure
By KARL STEVENS | January 13, 2012

Bus stopped?

The media mob will have high-tailed it out of New Hampshire by the time you read this.
The iconic campaign bus is no longer full of newspaper reporters writing for the folks back home. Are the political-junkie Web sites filling the void?
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 13, 2012

The Making of Paul LePage

Governor Paul LePage generated more controversy and negative press in his first year in office than most Maine politicians do in their entire careers.
Part One: Escaping Poverty; or, the Horatio Alger Years
By COLIN WOODARD | January 13, 2012

Medical marijuana 2.0

The medical marijuana movement has always had to be nimble.
In a tough political environment, the movement weighs a tricky reinvention
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | January 13, 2012

Romney's secret formula

The Republican nomination thing may not be as complicated as the media is making it out to be, but it sure is fun.
Don't be fooled — Mitt is the one
By EDITORIAL | January 13, 2012

Going undercover in Gingrich's GOP primary operation

The best way to comprehend the nuts and bolts of the American political machine is to work for it. And so I did. For Newt Gingrich.
Newt Hampshire
By DAN MCCARTHY | January 13, 2012

Rick Perry is the Houston Texans, and how the rest of the GOP presidential field measures up to the NFL playoffs

Sports radio guy and notorious pants salesman DAMON AMENDOLARA breaks it down: RICK PERRY is the Houston Texans: meaning he has no chance. NEWT GINGRICH?...
By Carly Carioli | January 11, 2012

And the winner of the 2012 New Hampshire Primary is . . . Vermin Supreme!

There is nothing quite like the joy of a convert to the cause of VERMIN SUPREME, the grandaddy of protest candidates who has been occupying...
By Carly Carioli | January 10, 2012

Election Night Live-Tweet Blog: New Hampshire GOP Primary 2012 #FITN

Follow along as David Bernstein @dbernstein and Chris Faraone @fara1 follow the #FITN primary results live. &lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;altcast_code=ed6a5f
By Carly Carioli | January 10, 2012

PHOTOS: Scenes from the NH primaries, starring Romney, Santorum, Occupy, Vermin Supreme, and Callista Gingrich's hair

This weekend, while the entire Granite State was gripped with #FITN fever, our operatives leapt into the fray -- even infiltrating the Newt Gingrich phone...
By webteam | January 09, 2012

I'm Here. I'm Drunk. Get Over It: Sunday dispatch from the NH primaries

Sometimes the only way to really dive into an early morning presidential debate is with a little cough syrup. Or actually a lot of cough...
By Chris Faraone | January 08, 2012

Rick Santorum: Back in Blah (and three other dumb-ass GOP blunders)

Oh, Rick Santorum. We're so going to enjoy your all-too-brief sojourn as a serious presidential candidate. RICK SANTORUM: I DIDN'T SAY BLACK PEOPLE, I SAID...
By Carly Carioli | January 06, 2012

Calling out 'three strikes'

Three nights before Christmas, hundreds of concerned citizens crammed into the St. James African Orthodox Church in Roxbury to address what one civil-rights activist calls "the most stunningly racist piece of legislation" to hit Massachusetts in decades
Is the country's most notoriously failed law coming to the commonwealth?
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 06, 2012

Mediocre in the Midwest

Republicans are aflame with urgency about removing Barack Obama from the White House, but they just can't seem to get enthused about any of the available replacements.
Romney rambles on
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 06, 2012

How 'three strikes' legislation fails

Despite evidence that "three strikes" mandatory sentencing laws don't work, are punishingly expensive for taxpayers, and make an already unfair criminal-justice system even more irrational and racist, the Massachusetts legislature seems hell-bent on ena
A bad pitch
By EDITORIAL | January 06, 2012

Stupid is equal-opportunity

To me, 2011 offered a buffet of publicly expressed stupidity, perpetuated by a broad swatch of races, genders, and ideological factions. Here are a few gems.
Diverse City
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | January 06, 2012

The GOP’s pride is showing; Chafee’s new chief; blame Iran!

Professional white man Mittens Romney edged out Rick Santorum by only eight votes in Iowa this week, with America's most prominent homophobe falling just short after a busload of his supporters got lost in a corn maze they visited en route to their farm
A degrading scenario
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | January 06, 2012

The Year Ahead in Mitt

Here's a quick look at some key dates for Romney, and what you might want to keep an eye on when his face pops up on your TV screen. Remember, there's a lot at stake: if he wins, you get at least four more years of Mitt-watching.
Prepare yourself for 12 months — well, at least 11 — of watching our handsome, well-coiffed former governor
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 30, 2011

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