Free Republic

the estate tax -- also known as the "death tax."... set to soar at the beginning of 2013 ... The estate tax dates back to 1916 when then-President Woodrow Wilson imposed the tax of 1 to 10 percent on the wealthy because World War I reduced federal government revenues. Under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the tax rose to 77 percent, as Congress tried to prevent wealth from becoming concentrated among a few powerful and super-rich families. Ironically, many nations historically more concerned with class and wealth -- namely Russia and China -- have since abandoned their estate taxes.

LAWTON, Iowa - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign took on the appearance of a family business as she headed into the final week of the race for Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses, driving home to activists the stakes in those caucuses and her view that she's ready for the job. "Next week the eyes of the country and the world will be on Iowa, the world will be holding its breath," said Clinton. "We know that this decision you face is so important, you are picking a president and there isn't any more significant decision for you to make as a...

DES MOINES, Iowa - While rival Barack Obama is turning to celebrity, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton is bringing a distinctly family feel to her bid for the party's nomination by opening her latest campaign swing with her 88-year-old mother in tow. Clinton, locked in a tight race with Obama and former Sen. John Edwards in the state's leadoff caucuses, planned a two-day series of grass-roots events encouraging people to "bring a buddy" to the Jan. 3 caucuses. "I wanted to bring a buddy with me so I brought my mother, Dorothy Rodham," said Clinton. "She lives with Bill and me...

In the history of the Democratic Party, the election of 1980 looms large: the year the party lost the White House, the Senate, a generation of Midwestern liberals and, in some ways, its confidence that it was the natural, even inevitable, majority party. Now, that election has a sequel. Call it the return of the sons: Chet Culver, the Iowa secretary of state and the son of former Senator John C. Culver, is running for governor of Iowa. Senator Evan Bayh, son of former Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, is organizing and testing the waters for a possible presidential bid...