Topic: Republicans

Jon Stewart Is Not Letting Cheney or Rumsfeld Join the Scandal Parade

Comedy Central

In continuing to address "Hurricane Scandy," Stewart had to admit that Republicans has something with the IRS and Benghazi dust-ups. He even proposed teaming up with Fox News! But you know who still doesn't get to take a GOP victory lap? Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

By Elspeth Reeve

May 8, 2013

Mark Sanford's Scandal-Proof Formula: The Party Trumps the Sex, Every Time

The combination of Sanford's sex scandal and his opponent's relationship to a funny person wan't enough to overcome the fact that South Carolina's first congressional district is very Republican. The lesson, maybe even for Anthony Weiner: Don't have a sex scandal in a swing district. Just look at the math.

Comments | 1,618 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 6, 2013

Hackers Turned the NRCC Website into Spam for Viagra

People are so mean when Republicans try to highlight there are actual young people who like the GOP.

Comments | 2,614 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 3, 2013

Marco Rubio Won't Please Everyone, and Not Everyone in the GOP Is Very Pleased

Rubio's op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal says that while he'll listen to upset voters about immigration reform, there's only so much criticism from professional conservatives he'll put up with. There's plenty to go around.

Comments | 596 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 10, 2013

Rand Paul's Twisted History Blames GOP Race Problem on Depression-Era Gifts

Rand Paul's explanation for how Republicans lost the support of black voters, at a Howard University speech Wednesday, sounded a lot like Mitt Romney's explanation for why he lost the 2012 election — that Obama won because he offered "gifts." Rand Paul's explanation is wrong.

Comments | 5,937 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 4, 2013

The GOP's Pursuit of BuzzFeed-Style Memes Is Suicidal

A Republican Party website is going to try to reach young people by stealing the jokey lists and memes from BuzzFeed. While it's funny to imagine "stuffy white men" (the RNC's words!) brainstorm OMG LOL listicles, this is not cosnervatives' first attempt to tap the power of social media to make their ideas go viral.

Comments | 3,926 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 2, 2013

Why the GOP Should Embrace Federally Funded Studies of Duck Penises

One of conservatives' favorite examples of wasteful government spending in recent weeks has been a study of duck penises. This is dumb, and Newt Gingrich knows it: They should promote the very type of technological innovation made possible by the weird science research the party is currently dismissing as silly and wasteful.

Comments | 2,134 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 20, 2013

Conservatives Worry Latinos Aren't Worth Pandering To

If Latinos won't reward Republicans, why should Republicans do anything to help Latinos? 

Comments | 1,555 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 18, 2013

The RNC Is Stuck in Kansas, Evermore

The Republican National Committee says in a new report that it can figure out how to win national elections by following the examples of the 30 Republican governors. But a closer look at what state those 30 governors govern, and when they got elected, complicates the picture. 

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 18, 2013

What's Inside the GOP Plan to Fix Itself

The lessons the Republican National Committee learned from the 2012 elections is that both the party's message and its policy needs fixing.

Comments | 862 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 18, 2013

Can the Official Wing of the GOP Rein in the Angry Wing?

There were really two CPACs this weekend: official CPAC and angry CPAC. This is where you could see the conflict between the party's attempt to get new voters and the rebellion of its old ones.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 16, 2013

Ted Cruz Says Conservatives Are Finally Winning

After three days of panels and speeches about what the GOP can do to make a comeback, the idea that no comeback is necessary must have been refreshing to the CPAC attendees. By the end of Cruz's closing keynote speech, they were on their feet. Of course, that was because he asked.

Comments | 5,173 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 16, 2013

Palin Denounces Cheap Campaign Tricks, Drinks Big Gulp

President Obama is hurting the country by abandoning his responsibilities in order to run a permanent campaign, Sarah Palin told CPAC Saturday. Then she took a sip from a Big Gulp. At the close of her speech, she carried it off stage like a trophy. 

Comments | 4,483 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 16, 2013

Bachmann's Vision for a New GOP: More Caring, More Benghazi

Like many of the politicians at CPAC with ambitions for higher office, Michele Bachmann offered a vision of a new path forward for Republicans. Bachmann's was unique in that it combined a more inclusive message — "We care about people!" — with her signature cable news-ready attacks on President Obama.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 15, 2013

CPAC's 'Trump the Race Card' Panel Derailed by Actual Segregationist

 A panel about how conservatives can fight back when liberals call them racists descended into shouting when an actual segregationist joined a CPAC panel titled "Trump the Race Card: Are You Sick and Tired of Being Called a Racist and You Know You're Not One?" We're not making any of this up.

Comments | 27,753 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 15, 2013

What Went Wrong in 2012? Don't Say Romney

Why did Republicans lose the 2012 elections when so many Republicans really didn't like President Obama?

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 14, 2013

How Many New Ideas Does the GOP Need?

Rand Paul presented old ideas as new ones in his I'm-the-future-of-the-GOP speech to CPAC Thursday, while Marco Rubio presented newish ideas as old ones.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Connor Simpson

Mar 5, 2013

Republicans Still Have a Problem with Women's Pants

A group of seven Iowa Republicans are making waves for trying to ban "no fault" divorces, but their reasons can be concerning when you let them speak at length. It's all about the politics of women's pants, a problem that never seems to go away for Republicans on any level.

Comments | 3,276 Views

By Elspeth Reeve and Philip Bump

Mar 4, 2013

Look Who's Feuding Now: A Map of Conservative Fingerpointing

Republicans have been going through a civil war since they fared much worse than they expected in the 2012 elections. Actually, it's a lot of civil wars. So many that it's hard to keep them all straight. We've created a chart of GOP infighting to help you sort them out.

Comments | 14,838 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 4, 2013

Stop Feeling Bad for Jenny Sanford

An affair destroyed former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's career, and it turns out he wanted his ex-wife to manage his comeback. What a jerk! Except, it's now time to dispose of the sad little Good Wife trope.

Comments | 12,721 Views

By David Wagner

Feb 27, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Dana Milbank on Hagel's confirmation, Sheila Bair on why the GOP should care about income inequality, Richard Karlgaard on Wal-Mart's dipping sales, Simon Jenkins on Europe's resurgent populism, and Mathew Ingram on new anti-piracy rules. 

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 26, 2013

Chris Christie Is Becoming Democrats' Favorite Republican

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is not going to the Conservative Political Action Conference, but he is going to implement the expansion of Medicaid called for under Obamacare.

Comments | 2,752 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 26, 2013

Spendocalypse, Soon

The Political Math Behind Obama's Plan to Blame the GOP for Everything

Despite his promise today that he's "not interested in playing a blame game," polls suggest that doing just that would be a very effective strategy for President Obama.

Comments | 1,460 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 26, 2013

Conservatives Hate the Soda Ban, but They Love Their Diet Coke

Even though Republicans have made a big stink about liberals coming for their fatty food and soda, well, Republicans like their soda calorie-free, according to a new poll.

Comments | 690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 26, 2013

Some Republicans Come Out in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage

At least 75 prominent Republicans, including two sitting members of Congress, will file a brief with the Supreme Court this week defending the idea that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Comments | 5,345 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 5, 2013

Paul Ryan vs. Eric Cantor in the Battle for the Future of the GOP

On the very same day House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is giving a major speech about the GOP's next steps at the American Enterprise Institute, Politico reports that former vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan is considering abandoning a 2016 presidential run in favor of consolidating power in the House in areas where Cantor has been influential.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jan 29, 2013

Marco Rubio's Crusade to Sell Immigration Reform to Conservatives

Rush Limbaugh warned on Monday that "It's up to me and Fox News" to stop the threat of amnesty for illegal immigrants he sees in a new bipartisan immigration reform plan. But it's looking like it's up to Sen. Marco Rubio to sell the plan.

Comments | 1,636 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 24, 2013

Bobby Jindal Needs to Stop Giving Rebuttals

In a 25-minute-long speech billed as a "rebuttal" to President Obama's strikingly well received second inaugural address, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said our government "is a failure."

Comments | 5,271 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 23, 2013

Today in Research

You'll Never Guess Who Is Most Likely to Claim Reverse Racism

Discovered: The predictable race and political affiliation of "reverse racism" victims; car crashes are more deadly for the morbidly obese; ADHD on the rise in high-income minority communities; plain labeling could cut smoking rates.

Comments | 6,725 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jan 21, 2013

Trimming the Times

The Real Swearing-in, MIT vs. Aaron Swartz, and 'The Following'

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Comments | 674 Views

By David Wagner

Jan 14, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Antonio Villaraigosa on immigration reform, George Packer on Southern Republicans, Jennifer Welsh on France's intervention in Mali, Chris Cillizza on the Senate losing its lions, and Gary Younge on Obama's Iraq amnesia. 

Comments | 1,624 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 7, 2013

This Congressman Actually Introduced a Bill to Ban the Trillion-Dollar Coin

We thought the point of a trillion-dollar coin wasn't about the coin itself so much as what an idea that crazy said about Republicans' idea of compromise these days. Tell that to Greg Walden of Oregon.

Comments | 3,462 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 13, 2012

Conservatives Dominated Twitter in 2012, but Was That Such a Good Thing?

The so-called Top Conservaties on Twitter, led by their #tcot hashtag, dominated the trends on Twitter this election year, but official new data from Twitter suggests that they may not have controlled the conversations they started.

Comments | 607 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 11, 2012

Can the GOP Fix Its Minority Problem?

Five weeks after its losses in the election, the Republican Party is still trying to figure out how to talk to people who aren't older white males. So far, the strategy has crystallized to look something like this.

Comments | 2,414 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 6, 2012

Why Jim DeMint's Would-Be Successor Refuses to Be 'The Black Republican'

It's a little tricky to talk about this — the history Tim Scott might help start to re-write for the GOP as its only black Congressman turned Senator — without dwelling too much on the history of affirmative action... and South Carolina.

Comments | 3,403 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 5, 2012

Jon Stewart and the Real House Wife of the House of Representatives

The one woman Republicans appointed is in charge of what sounds like mundane busy work, and basically that makes Miller, as Stewart puts it, a "House wife."

Comments | 1,667 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 4, 2012

Cliff Diving

Who's the GOP Fighting for on the Cliff?

A newly released poll shows that the 53 percent of Americans would blame Republicans in Congress if a fiscal cliff agreement isn't reached. Obviously, that's more than the 1 Percent they're fighting for.

Comments | 2,443 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Nov 28, 2012

How Conservatives Beat Obama's #My2K Hashtag

After the president took the battle for the fiscal cliff over the edge of Twitter today, conservatives went right to work using the hashtag to push back up the social-media mountain — and quite successfully thus far.

Comments | 3,268 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Nov 28, 2012

How Walmart Employees Ruined Jon Stewart's Black Friday

You know what, Walmart employees? Things could be worse. You could be working in, say, a flammable factory in Bangladesh.

Comments | 4,713 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Nov 28, 2012

House Republicans Pick Only White Men To Be Committee Chairmen

Yesterday, the House of Representatives picked the leaders of 19 committees for the upcoming 113th Congress yesterday and every one of them is a white male

Comments | 2,722 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Nov 26, 2012

Cliff Diving

The GOP War Against Grover Norquist

America's biggest anti-tax advocate has gotten the vast majority of congressional Republicans to sign his pledge to never raise taxes. But with the fiscal cliff looming, some influential Republicans are suddenly offering to break the pledge. Here's why.

Comments | 6,337 Views

By Connor Simpson

Nov 23, 2012

Let's Talk About a Potential Bush in 2016

Oh, boy, are you guys ready for more 2016 speculation? We hope so! The latest obvious rumor says Jeb Bush is quietly debating throwing his name in for the Republican nomination. 

Comments | 3,621 Views

By David Wagner

Nov 16, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Jonathan Freedland on Gaza, Jacey Eckhart on military marriages, Daniel Gross on the payroll tax, Christina Larson on Hu Jintao, and Eugene Robinson on Republicans' listening problem.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By David Wagner

Nov 15, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Ezra Klein on tax reform, Alex Pareene on Republican rebranding, Amy Davidson on military sex scandals, Emer O'Toole on Savita, and Stephen Gandel on Goldman Sachs.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Nov 13, 2012

The Daily Show Was Sort of Made for the Petraeus Scandal

After seeing how well feelings and hunches worked out in that landslide of the election, Republicans are now putting the Petraeus scandal to the same test. And just like the election, Jon Stewart is here to crush those feelings.

Comments | 8,300 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Nov 9, 2012

Some Republicans Like Their Coalition Just as It Is, Thank You Very Much

The Republican Party is having a conversation about how to reach more than old white people as voters. "What Republicans need to learn is how do we speak to all Americans," House Speaker John Boehner told ABC's Diane Sawyer.

Comments | 7,740 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Nov 7, 2012

Not Winning the Senate Stings Republicans Most of All

Among the themes of second-guessing and deep regret that are emerging of rubble of last night's defeats is the thought that the Senate could be under the control of Republicans right now if weren't for their habit of running supremely unlikable candidates. 

Comments | 17,535 Views

By John Hudson

Nov 5, 2012

Election Predictions Are Passé. Let's Talk Post-Election Predictions

Let's face it: The 2012 election is so passé. Voting may be less than 24 hours away but the media has moved on to bigger and better things: Like what's going to happen after the presidential election?

Comments | 2,280 Views

By Jen Doll

Oct 31, 2012

The Trouble With Interpolitical Dating Is Just the Trouble with Dating

Can you, if you are a Democrat, even, perhaps, not an actively campaigning one, but one who would certainly never deign to vote for Mitt Romney, consider in good faith a Republican as a possible suitor? Can you, if you are a Republican, ever love someone who believes in the presidency of Barack Obama?

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Connor Simpson

Oct 25, 2012

John Sununu Plays the Race Card

John Sununu's appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight took an ugly turn when the normally unflappable Romney surrogate John Sununu said that Colin Powell only endorsed Barack Obama because they're both black. 

Comments | 4,314 Views

By Connor Simpson

Oct 25, 2012

Conservatives Get All Hot and Bothered Over Obama's Suggestive New Ad

President Obama teamed up with the most divisive 26-year-old in the world to make a suggestive ad encouraging young people to vote, but it seems to have upset some old conservative men on Twitter.

Comments | 34,161 Views

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