US Is Pissed, and It Won't Stop Nov. 2

The Tea Party really made things interesting this year

(NEWSER) - From a January special election right up to the unexpectedly-productive lame duck Congress that just finished, 2010 was an incredible year in politics. Here's the rundown of Politico's top moments:

• Jan. 9, Scott Brown surges—The Republican took the lead in polls, sending uneasy Democrats into full-fledged panic mode. Just 11 days later, Brown did the unthinkable: Pulled Ted Kennedy's Senate seat into the GOP column (and touted his daughters' availability on national television).

Lends 'populist cover' to billionaire-backed movement

(NEWSER) - Christine O'Donnell's fictional resume and anti-masturbation antics may have liberals laughing , but she's no joke, writes Frank Rich in the New York Times . Her ascent is a pure "godsend" for the GOP. Unlike Rove and the Republican old guard, O'Donnell is more than willing to "play the role of useful idiot"—giving a "populist cover" to a movement funded by billionaires and corporate interests, says Rich. More»

Carl Paladino may be even more trouble for GOP than O'Donnell

(NEWSER) - Christine O'Donnell got the most press (click here to see) but tea party favorite Carl Paladino's win in New York might have been an even bigger upset. Here's what the pundits are saying:

• “The Republican Party of New York is now officially dead,” writes Dan Collins of the Huffington Post . “Replace it with something better. Greens, Libertarians, Socialists, Whigs—they can't be any worse.” Paladino's " racist emails " make him the most offensive tea partier yet.
• “Paladino's brand of ill-informed Tea Party rage” will destroy the Republicans’ credibility in New York—“or what’s left of it anyway,” agrees Bill Hammond of the New York Daily News . His proposals are all dumb, unworkable, or outright illegal. “Maybe this train wreck will wake Republicans to the danger of self-financed candidates.”

DeMint's tactics cost party a majority, senators complain

(NEWSER) - While their counterparts in the House are celebrating a historic win, Senate Republicans are pointing fingers over their failure to recapture the chamber. Some prominent senators and party operatives blame Sarah Palin and South Carolina's Jim DeMint for helping candidates too conservative to win gain the GOP nominations in Colorado, Delaware, and Nevada. "If you think what happened in Delaware is ‘a win’ for the Republican Party then we don’t have a snowball’s chance to win the White House," says Sen. Lindsay Graham. More»

This is just the beginning, activists say

(NEWSER) - The Tea Party proved itself to be a major force in yesterday's elections, but a force for what has yet to be determined. "No one in this movement is stopping today. This is not an endgame. This is just a beginning," a leader of the Tea Party patriots told the Wall Street Journal as candidates backed by the movement swept to victory in Florida and Kentucky. In Delaware and Nevada, however, the fears of the GOP establishment were realized as Tea Party-backed candidates were defeated in races the Republicans had expected to win easily. More»