It’s safe to say that foreign policy was not the strong suit of this year’s contenders for the GOP presidential nomination. Rick Perry labeled the Turkish government “Islamic terrorists.” Newt Gingrich referred to Palestinians as “invented” people. Herman Cain called Uzbekistan “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” and memorably blanked when asked what he thought of NATO’s incursion into Libya. Michele Bachmann pledged to close the US embassy in Iran, which hasn’t existed since 1980. Rick Santorum gave a major foreign policy speech at a Jelly Belly factory in California. About the Author Ari Berman is a contributing writer for The Nation magazine and an Investigative Journalism Fellow at The Nation... Also by the Author A GOP win in November would move the most conservative bench in history even further ... Continue reading →

WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday questioned Mitt Romney's choice in foreign policy advisers, saying that some are so right-wing that the advice they give deserves "second thought." "I don't know who all of his advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right. And sometimes they might be in a position to make judgments or recommendations to the candidate that should get a second thought," Powell said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." He gave the example of Romney recently saying that Russia is the "number one geopolitical foe" to the United States. "Come on Mitt, think," Powell said. "That isn't the case." Romney's team of about 40 foreign ... Continue reading →

There might be some question. The voter fraud issue was investigated in Wisconsin fairly recently, in the form of an Election Fraud Task Force and a deep dive into 2008's vote results. The yearlong investigation charged 20 people -- this in an election with around 3 million ballots. For fraud to equal "one or two points" in that election, you'd have needed 30,000-60,000 phony ballots. The proven fraud actually amounted to 0.0007 percent of all votes. Continue reading →

Virginia voters will see changes at the polls come November. They will now be required to provide identification within three days after the election for their vote to count. Although the new law is designed to combat voter fraud, it comes with a hefty price tag. The State Board of Elections said the cost of mailing voter cards will be about $1.36 million. Deputy Secretary of the State Board of Elections Justin Riemer said it certainly is a lot of money, but it will go a long way. He said this is just one of the tools that will help educate voters about what they need to know about the election process. "Certainly, I think there's always an argument as far as if the money ... Continue reading →