Republican Party

Nutty as trail mix

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:01:00 PST

No, Gov. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., doesn't make our Crazy List because of that press conference, the political apologia to end all apologias. Of course, it was great theater: the admission of an extramarital affair by a conservative politician who, while in Congress, voted for the impeachment of Bill Clinton because of the president's "reprehensible" relationship with Monica Lewinsky. The Faulkner-cum-Fellini spectacle of this Southern presidential aspirant, flailing wildly on national TV without a script about his Argentine tryst, as curiously jubilant-looking young women beam in the background. The endearing performance by a tearful man who blamed it on "that whole sparking thing."

Steele memo: Yes, GOP's trying to stall healthcare reform

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:30:00 PST

Just over six months ago, pollster Frank Luntz had some advice for his Republican colleagues, advice he desperately wanted them to take: "You simply MUST be vocally and passionately on the side of REFORM... If the dynamic becomes 'President Obama is on the side of reform and Republicans are against it,' then the battle is lost and every word in this document is useless."

DeMint: GOP leadership "has gone to the left"

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:56:00 PST

Most people wouldn't say that the problem with today's Republican Party is that it's too liberal. Not Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

The GOP's Tea Party problem

Alex Koppelman — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:38:00 PST

Republicans may have been working to co-opt the Tea Parties that have been so popular on the right, but fundamentally the movement always had soem anti-GOP feeling at its core. And while the protests may still end up helping Republicans next year, in part by getting conservative voters, to borrow a phrase, fired up and ready to go, there are some signs that the whole thing could still end up badly for the party.

"Tea Party: The Documentary Film"

Mike Madden — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:41:00 PST

Considering it celebrated a movie about a movement that prides itself on its rough edges, surly resistance to government and populist spirit, the D.C. premiere Wednesday night of "Tea Party: The Documentary Film" made for kind of a strange affair.

GOP keeps fighting its war on ACORN

Gabriel Winant — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:30:00 PST

ACORN is rigging our elections, and undoing the basic principles of the American Revolution. Also, the community group is stealing from the poor. But that’s not surprising, because for all intents and purposes, it’s a mafia-type organization. Oh, and its tentacles are everywhere in the federal government, extending all the way to the president himself, and he in turn is shielding the group from prosecution.

Poll: Rush most influential conservative

Associated Press — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:01:00 PST

By a wide margin, Americans consider Rush Limbaugh the nation's most influential conservative voice.

Palin, Prejean: Beastly treatment for beauties

Gene Lyons — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:05:00 PST

Anybody who expects this column to lampoon beauty-pageant contestants has another think coming. Last time I made a satirical thrust in that direction, two women whose friendship I treasure coolly informed me they'd been Rodeo Queens of their respective county fairs. Did I have a problem with that?

Is it tea party time in Texas?

Mike Madden — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:24:00 PST

Rick Perry strode across the stage last Wednesday night and leaned over into the microphone. This was his moment to shine; two dozen of his fellow Republican governors, and a couple of hundred big GOP corporate donors, were gathered at a barbecue to celebrate Republican victories and look ahead to more to come in 2010. And Perry, the governor of Texas, wants very much to make sure he's celebrating next year, despite what could be a nasty primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to secure the Republican nomination.

Can populism be liberal?

Michael Lind — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:05:00 PST

Is a Jackson revival under way? I'm referring not to the late King of Pop but to the 19th century populist president whom his opponents called "King Andrew." According to Michael Barone, in the 2010 elections Republicans have a chance to knock Democrats out of as many as three dozen insecure congressional seats in "Jacksonian districts."

RNC considers instituting a purity test

Alex Koppelman — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:24:00 PST

Some conservatives want the Republican Party to strive for ideological purity in its platform and choice of candidates. Others want to make it official policy.

How the GOP got its groove back

Mike Madden — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:20:00 PST

Finding the epicenter of the looming Republican comeback is pretty easy, at least this week. As it happens, you can drive there from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in less than 30 minutes, and with only two turns. Once you get to the massive golf and spa complex with signs warning pedestrians and bicyclists to stay off the road, you're in the right place.

Majority of Republicans think ACORN stole election for Obama

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:34:00 PST

What I said in my last post, about Doug Hoffman representing the conservative id, especially now, when he makes completely nonsensical claims about ACORN stealing an upstate New York Congressional election from him? I'll admit it: I had no idea how right I was.

"Get your pit bull on!"

Edward McClelland — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:20:00 PST

Sarah Palin fans began gathering late Monday night for a book signing that wouldn't begin until 6 o'clock Tuesday evening. The signing fell during Michigan's two most sacred weeks -- firearm deer season. So Ken Bellhorn left his hunting camp at 1 a.m., and showed up at the Barnes & Noble in Woodland Mall still dressed in an orange camo jacket, a John Deere T-shirt, and hunting boots. He got there early enough to claim one of the 940 wristbands that guaranteed him an autographed copy.

Does Sarah Palin make GOP governors nervous?

Mike Madden — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:19:00 PST

Republican governors gathered outside Austin Wednesday to crow about their two newest colleagues in Virginia and New Jersey. But one of their newest ex-colleagues was also busy Wednesday, kicking off her book tour. And like anywhere in politics lately, Sarah Palin was inescapable at the Republican Governors Association meeting.

New poll: GOP demands purity of essence

Gabriel Winant — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:50:00 PST

When the Republican base takes a purist turn and starts driving out moderates, as it did in an upstate New York Congressional race recently, it’s tempting to write them off as politically unhinged, and totally detached from strategic reality. And a new poll shows that impulse isn't entirely incorrect.

I have Palin fatigue already

Joan Walsh — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:17:00 PST

I've gotten e-mail and Twitter messages begging me to ignore Sarah Palin's return to the national conversation, from her Oprah appearance to her book debut to the icky, Sarah-in-shorts Newsweek cover (I sure am glad Jon Meacham decided to make his mag the classy one, all about ideas!) and everything in between. I can't make Salon a Palin-free zone (nor do I want to). All I can do is promise to ban the term "Palinpalooza" from the pages of Salon. Done.

The new Palin campaign commences

Max Blumenthal — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:17:00 PST

Sarah Palin's heavily publicized book tour begins in earnest this Monday, but weeks before, her ghostwritten memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, had already vaulted into the number one position at Amazon. Warming up for a tour that will take her across Middle America in a bus, Palin tested her lines in a November 7th speech before a crowd of 5,000 anti-abortion activists in Wisconsin. She promptly cited an urban legend as a "disturbing trend," claiming the Treasury Department had moved the phrase "In God We Trust" from presidential dollar coins. (The rumor most likely originated with a 2006 story on the far-right website WorldNetDaily.)

Can't the GOP just get along?

Emily Holleman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:14:00 PST

Even as the Republicans try to shift focus to what they see as the Democrats’ loss of political capital, the ruptures in the GOP just won’t disappear. Now, Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., has brought the spotlight back to the party’s warring factions. In an interview with the Greenville News, Inglis said the famed Reagan coalition of social and fiscal conservatives is “running on fumes.”

Another shot fired in battle over GOP's future

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:01:00 PST

The conservative movement has a new star in its fight against establishment Republicans it deems too liberal. Marco Rubio, a former speaker of the Florida House, who's running against Gov. Charlie Crist for the GOP's nomination in a Senate race, has taken up the spotlight that briefly went to Doug Hoffman, the unlikely third-party star who lost a close race in a Congressional election in New York earlier this month. And now Rubio's getting an extra boost from a big name on the right.