U.S. Presidential Election

First It Was Charlie Sheen. Now Antonio Villaraigosa Is Hanging With... Mitt Romney?

Remember the presidential campaign? Feels like forever ago, but you may recall that L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was out of town a lot rounding up votes for President Obama.Cable news bookers grew to rely on him whenever they needed someone to trash Mitt Romney's "extreme" views on immigration. A ... More >>

Henry Rollins: The American People Kicked Your Ass, Republicans

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] I am in Washington DC right now. The time before the winner of the presidency was announced wa ... More >>

Presidential Winner 2012: Obama Beats Romney

President Obama's reelection campaign took Ohio and thus the election shortly after 8:13 p.m., NBC News reported. Mitt Romney won in contentious and important states such as North Carolina and Arizona, but once the projections had Ohio and its potent electoral votes in Obama's corner, it appeared t ... More >>

Gays Could Win Presidential Election for Barack Obama, Says Gallup Report

Guess ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and taking a strong pro-gay marriage stand could help President Barack Obama's re-election effort. According to the Gallup Report, with the presidential race running so tight, gays and lesbians overwhelming support for Obama could help him edge out Republican ca ... More >>

Marijuana Advocates Plan Anti-Obama Protests at Presidential Campaign Offices

Mitt Romney's embrace of the Republican right wing (via his choice of running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan) would seem to have put most of the left firmly in the hands of Team Obama. Not so fast, apparently. Many in the marijuana nation are still fuming over the president's crackdown on weed dispensaries ... More >>

Gay Republican Fred Karger Wants Your Vote, Calls Mitt Romney 'Mechanical'

Gay Republican Fred Karger, who's based in Southern California, has been stirring things up on the campaign trail this year, seeking the Republican nomination for president. The uber-underdog Karger is not going to get it -- candidate Mitt Romney will get the nod. But he's still on the ballot for Ca ... More >>

School Bullies Are The Cool Kids, Says UCLA Researcher

The old read on school bullies was that they were making up for low self-esteem. Every punch in the shoulder, every atomic wedgie was a cry for help and attention. Right? Wrong, says UCLA professor of developmental psychology Jaana Juvonen. She argues that your local campus bully is, indeed, the c ... More >>

Arizona Nutjob Sheriff Joe Arpaio Bringing His Drivel to Beverly Hills

There goes the neighborhood. Self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" and aging crackpot Joe Arpaio will be bringing his special brand of media whoring from Phoenix, Arizona, to Beverly Hills on Friday. Arpaio's endorsing Phil Liberatore, a mustachioed conservative facing off in the Republican ... More >>

Porn's Mortal Enemy, Santorum, Has Bailed, But L.A. Industry Now Frets Over Romney

What do you do when you're an industry targeted for annihilation by a presidential candidate who is dropping out? If you're the porn industry, and that candidate is the anti-gay, anti-smut Rick Santorum, you head on over to Porn Star Karaoke at Sardo's in Burbank and celebrate. Right? Well, not so ... More >>

Is Rick Santorum Gay? New Study Says Homophobes May Dig the Same Sex

Do you hate gays and lesbians with all your heart and soul? We've got news for you: a new scientific report says you may actually have same-sex desires yourself. Does this mean that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is gay? Hmmmmmm... Conducted by a research team from the University o ... More >>

Ron Paul Mania at UCLA: Stadium Reaches Capacity, Students Climb Trees to Get a Glimpse

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has the libertarian college kids going ga-ga for his firm anti-big government stance. Whereas the clean, hopeful, Shepard-Fairey vetted Obama campaign in 2008 was all the rage with Gen Y, Paul's more skeptical (even paranoid) approach is winning over young v ... More >>

$5.59 Gas in Los Angeles: Fuel Reaches High Not Seen Since 2008

The jobless rate is down. People are starting to spend money again. Some of Wall Street's biggest stocks, like Apple, are trading at record highs. Damn, this Great Recession might have just turned a corner for the better. Finally. Wait a minute. Did you say $5.59-a-gallon gas? Right here in L.A?

Dave Mustaine's Advice for Starving Women in Africa: "Put a Plug in It"

Dave Mustaine is intense. His band Megadeth pairs oppositional forces -- aggressive, machine-gun rhythms with near-pop melodies -- and similarly Mustaine's personality seems a yin-yang contradiction of simmering rage and family values. On the road with the fourth Gigantour, which hits Gibson Amphit ... More >>

Open Mike Eagle Talks Uganda, the Indie Rap Illuminati, and the Republican Primaries

​See also: Open Mike Eagle Unapologetically Talks About "Art Rap" Over the last two years,

Santorum's Fecal Sex Dilemma Puts Headlines in Whole New Light: Our Top 10 Faves

cafepress.com​As you probably already know, Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum is no friend of the gay and lesbian nation. He sparked a furor in 2003 when he told Associated Press he was against gay sex and sodomy. LA Weekly (and nationally syndicated) columnist Dan Savage respon ... More >>

Subversive Comedy with Jimmy Dore

Kelly Clarkson Endorses Ron Paul: The Five Most Baffling Political Pairings

This really happened. See #1 for details.​When it comes to presidential endorsements, musicians tend to be pretty predictable. Most all of them seem to go for Democrats, except for Ted Nugent. And then, inevitably, the Republican candidates go ahead and use the left-leaning rockers' music anyw ... More >>

Back Story: How Jeremy Bernard Became the White House's First Openly Gay Social Secretary

Ted SoquiJeremy Bernard, left, with former partner Rufus Gifford in 2008​On February 1, 2007, political fund raiser Jeremy Bernard wasn't thinking about making history. It was his first day on the job for U.S. Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and Bernard and his then-partner, R ... More >>

Republican Presidential Debate To Be Held At Reagan Library

It's on.​Had enough politics for a while? Well too bad, because the first debate of the 2012 presidential race is just around the corner.Politico and NBC News announced today that they will host the first Republican primary debate sometime next spring at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in S ... More >>

Today in Photographs: June 5, 1968

New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy lies mortally wounded in the Ambassador Hotel, shot following his victory in California's Democratic presidential primary.Photo: Boris Yaro/Getty Trust

Election '08: Nevada's Turn of the Wheel

BY MARC COOPER Some quick hits from the Bistro Buffet at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas: -- Never before I have ever seen so many people wearing political trappings at the gaming tables. More than 95% is Obama-Biden. -- Both Michelle Obama and John McCain are buzzing through opposite ends of town. ... More >>

Election '08: Battleground Report -- Obama Blitzes Nevada

BY MARC COOPER With thousands of Californians pouring over the border to assist in a last-minute door-to-door ground blitz, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama revved up a crowd of 15,000 local supporters Saturday morning saying that "there's only 3 days left before we change America." Lo ... More >>

A Political Halloween in West Hollywood

If a fun-loving public was looking for a break from a tense political season, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval was not the place to be. "No on 8" signs, buttons, and stickers were impossible to avoid, and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared in the form of multiple look-a ... More >>

Barack Obama's Slippery Fund-Raising Slope

Small donors aside, he's awash in cash from big labor and business. Can he say no?

Election '08: Arise, Ye Socialists!

BY MARC COOPER Now that McCain-Palin have reverted to an overt form of McCarthyism as a last-minute ploy, repeatedly labeling Barack Obama as a "socialist," it's only logical to expect that the last few days of their campaign will become overtly racist. Those who know me, know very well I'm hardly ... More >>

Obama Buddy Is Union Buster

Tyler Perry is on the outs with everyone — except Oprah and Barack

Word of Mouths

Michelle Obama's Night Out in L.A.: Malia and Sasha Meet the Jonas Brothers

Dream come true for Malia, and indirect reference to Sarah Palin from Michelle, who says her husband is "not afraid of smart people."

Queer Town: Obama's Gay Moment

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama undoubtedly thrilled, and probably somewhat shocked, gays and lesbians last night when he spoke this line during his nomination speech in Denver: “I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian br ... More >>

Villaraigosa Hits the Campaign Trail...Again

It's amazing what can happen in a year. Around this time last summer, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa admitted to an extra-marital affair, political allies distanced themselves from the East LA Golden Boy, and talk about the mayor becoming the next governor of California completely and utterly ceased...a ... More >>

Queer Town: McCain Plays Small Ball in California

On the evening of June 26, with the right kind of ears, a steady, collective groan could be heard from thousands of gay Republicans throughout California…followed by an eerie silence. Their man, Senator John McCain, decided to play small ball in his quest for the White House, and came out with a ... More >>

Queer Town: Villaraigosa Jumps (Belatedly) on the Gay Marriage Bandwagon

A week, almost to the hour, after the first gay couple legally wed in Los Angeles County, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will finally preside over a same sex marriage. American Beauty producer Bruce Cohen, who won an Oscar for the film, and New York art consultant Gabriel Catone will take their vows dow ... More >>

Queer Town: Human Rights Campaign Endorses Obama

The Human Rights Campaign, the ultimate Washington D.C. lobbying group for gays and lesbians, has officially endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president.

Clinton Defeats Clinton: After North Carolina and Indiana, a Postmortem on Hillary's Campaign

It's all over now, Baby Blue, as Barack Obama wins the presidential nomination for the third or fourth time

Do Obama's Mounting Wins Make California/Latino Vote Irrelevant?

Reading the presidential tea leaves

Hillary Wins Massachusetts but Loses Her Alma-Mater Wellesley

Hillary Clinton may have dominated the Massachusetts Democratic primary last Tuesday, weathering the endorsements of both Ted Kennedy and John Kerry for Barack Obama, but she was beaten handily by Obama in her old college town. According to the Wellesley Townsman, the Wellesley College grad picked ... More >>

The (Yes, It's Arrived) Latino Factor: Latinos Choose Hillary...

... bum out Obama, and give a little nod to McCain

Maria Shriver for Obama

Maria Shriver, the first lady of the state of California and cousin of Caroline Kennedy, has endorsed Senator Barack Obama. Shriver made an impromptu appearance at an Obama rally at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion Sunday, where Michelle Obama, wife of the presidential candidate, Oprah Winfrey, and Carolin ... More >>

Marc Cooper in Iowa: Zero Hour

Des Moines, Iowa -- Barack Obama capped off his quest to win the statewide Democratic presidential caucuses by emotionally exhorting the youthful core of his supporters to make sure they show up at tonight's prolonged exercise in voting. "In a few hours you will have a chance to make history, Iowa ... More >>

Ballot Bull

Republicans and Dems get down to dirty business as election nears

Circular Firing Squad

While Arnold grabs the center and gets props, California’s GOP bosses rush right

Robert Greenwald's Modest Proposal

How online activists’ fear of Fox News helped drag Democrats into hyperpartisan censorship

Black Power(less)

The decline of black politics in America

Two Sides of JFK

The arrival of the reckless and cautious John Kerry

The Revenge of the Pols

John Kerry and John Edwards are more conventional candidates than Howard Dean and Wesley Clark — and they may be stronger, too

The Democrats Do L.A.

The 2000 national convention had everything except the next president

Party Animals

Gray has a blast; Dick, a sour time

W. Stands for Wrongful

And suffrage hits the skids

Campaign2000.com

What the administration's antitrust crusade against Microsoft means for Al Gore on the stump