Tea Party Leaders are expressing outrage and disappointment over the House passing a bill late New Year's Day that allows President Obama and Congressional Democrats to raise taxes on wealthy Americans with no guarantee of future spending cuts.

"Sadly, our New Year's predictions have all come true," said Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots. "Congress and the president had all year to do their jobs and be fiscally responsible – and, just like we said they would, they waited until the last possible moment to fail their nation miserably with a 'fiscal cliff' scheme to raise taxes and keep overspending.

The issue for those who believe the nation has a spending problem and not a revenue problem suddenly became a nightmare when 85 Republicans in the House joined 172 of their Democrat colleagues in supporting the measure that was sent over in the wee hours of the morning on New Year's Day. more >>

With the election, scandals and budget battles, 2012 saw plenty of political losers. Here are the top ten political losers in American politics for 2012.

1. Americans

With Congress and President Barack Obama on the verge of passing an agreement to avoid the "fiscal cliff," America's political leaders have again shown an unwillingness to make difficult choices to deal with the nation's national debt, now at around $16.4 trillion. Americans said they were unsatisfied with the status quo and wanted their political leaders to work together to solve the nation's difficult problems, yet they re-elected a Democratic president, Democratic Senate and Republican House. more >>

In American politics, who and what emerged from 2012 in a better position than they were at the beginning of the year? Here are the top ten winners in American politics for 2012.

1. Barack Obama

With his re-election, President Barack Obama once again won the biggest prize in American politics. more >>

A new Gallup poll shows that President Barack Obama and his once presidential rival and now outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the most admired man and woman of 2012.

But this was by no means a first for Clinton. It was her 17th year to take the top spot.

The USA Today/Gallup poll conducted between Dec. 19-22 is somewhat unique in that it asks respondents an open-ended question that allows them to choose anyone as opposed to most polls that ask a specific question and offer a list of options for the respondent to select from. more >>

With the presidential and congressional elections, battles over the federal budget, debates over immigration and same-sex marriage, and one of the most watched Supreme Court cases in a generation, 2012 was an eventful year for U.S. politics. Here is The Christian Post's list of the top 10 moments in U.S. politics for 2012.

1. Barack Obama Re-Elected

President Barack Obama once again won the biggest prize in American politics. The Obama campaign's "get out the vote" effort surpassed any previous presidential campaign in its sophistication and use of new technologies and will become a model for future campaigns. more >>

According to a recently released survey by a major research organization, even after increased national exposure American perceptions of Mormonism have changed little over the past year.

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life released their findings last week, which were based off of surveys conducted from Dec. 5 to 9 among an estimated 1,500 adults. Pew's findings included 82 percent of respondents saying they learned little or nothing about Mormonism during the presidential campaign and "cult" being the word chosen most to describe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

David E. Campbell, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, told The Christian Post that the findings of the Pew survey were "not surprising." more >>