New Legislature, same old problem in Illinois: No budget

Illinois' financial crisis is being handed off from one set of lawmakers to another this week - a problem that, at 18 months, is the nation's longest-running budget stalemate. The key players: The conservative businessman-turned-governor Bruce Rauner and Michael Madigan, the old-school Democratic House speaker whose decades at the helm has made him a Capitol institution.

Would Romney trigger a backlash from hardcore Trump supporters?

President-elect Trump shocked the political world by meeting with Mitt Romney and apparently considering him for secretary of state. If he nominates the former Massachusetts governor, would he also demoralize his supporters? Receiving deluge of social media & private comms re: Romney Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as sec of state https://t.co/HDtpjeJTc3 - Kellyanne Conway November 24, 2016 Early Thanksgiving morning, former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tweeted an article about Trump loyalists who were opposed to a Romney nomination, saying she was "receiving deluge of social media and private comms" regarding the unsuccessful 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

Some Republicans urge ticket-splitting for Clinton

Since then, he's been a reliable backer of Republican presidential nominees, including both presidents Bush, Bob Dole and Mitt Romney. The software engineer from Matthews isn't a fan of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, but he insists she would make a more reasonable president, especially on foreign affairs, than Trump.

Michael Reagan: Stop comparing Trump to my…

Ronald Reagan's 71-year-old adopted son Michael spent all day Monday trying to distance his father from Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying the late 40th president would never support "this kind of campaign." Michael Reagan's tweetstorm started early Monday morning after Mr. Trump implied during a Pennsylvania rally that Hillary Clinton had cheated on her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Take heart, Mr. Trump: Lots of debaters have rebounded

If there is any silver lining for Donald Trump, it's that the road to the White House is often lined with abysmal performances in the first presidential debate. Ronald Reagan had to fend off concerns about dementia in 1984 after stumbling through his first battle with Walter Mondale.

Polls may favor a landslide in November, but history does not

Donald Trump, after weeks of self-inflicted damage, has seen support for his candidacy in national polls dip into the 30s - Barry Goldwater and Walter Mondale territory - while Hillary Clinton has extended her lead to double digits in several crucial swing states. The vote may be more favorable to Trump than the worst-case-scenario prognosticators suggest for a very simple reason: Landslides do not really happen in presidential elections anymore.

Hanson: Hillary’s neoliberals seek to transform party

The rise of George McGovern's hard-left agenda in 1972, followed later in the decade by Jimmy Carter's evangelical liberalism, drove centrist Democrats into the arms of Richard Nixon and later Ronald Reagan. These so-called neoconservatives grew tired of liberals' perceived laxity about fighting the Cold War.

Reagan’s daughter on Trump 2nd Amendment comment: ‘Horrifying’

Reagan's daughter on Trump 2nd Amendment comment: 'Horrifying' Critics said the comments encourage violence, while Trump said he was talking about voting power. Check out this story on dailyworld.com: http://usat.ly/2bjCdci In this file photo from 2011, Patti Davis is photographed in her home with her dog "Gracie."

Reagan’s daughter blasts Trump: My father was shot by someone…

Ronald Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, was among the many Americans outraged by Donald Trump's threat that gun owners should do something to stop his opponent from nominating liberal judges. Davis, an author and anti-nuclear weapons activist, reminded the Republican presidential nominee that her father had been shot and wounded shortly after his inauguration by a would-be assassin who was inspired by an unwitting celebrity.

How presidential debates might die

Donald Trump has started whining about the presidential debates, perhaps setting the stage for skipping them. It should be a reminder that the tradition of televised presidential debates has always been something of a miracle - one that didn't have to become established, and one that could end fairly easily.

A party that doesn’t recognize itself convenes in Cleveland

Thanks to Donald Trump, the Republican National Convention that opens here Monday will be like no other in the modern era - a gathering of a divided and nervous political party preparing to nominate a candidate who stormed through the nominating process after turning his back on a generation or more of conservative orthodoxy. In many ways, what transpires in Cleveland will seem familiar.

The Greatest Show on Earth: Our National Political Conventionsby Lee…

Conventions matter - to the presidential nominees, to every candidate, national and local, running in 2016, to the party faithful, and to the public seeking the right leadership. A national convention is a combination of things - it's a political rally, a Fourth of July celebration, an evangelical tent meeting.