GOP Memo Warns of House Rout

Defeat likely to send party further to the right, ensuring future losses

(NEWSER) - A battle between reformers and traditionalists for the soul of the GOP lies in the party's immediate future, David Brooks writes in the New York Times—and the reformers don't stand a chance. The conservative old guard, with Rush Limbaugh as its loudest mouthpiece and Sarah Palin as its heroine, has a lock on Republican institutions that it will take more losses to loosen, Brooks writes. More»

Reps who switched vote already spinning change for constituents

(NEWSER) - Less than 2 hours after the House passed the $700 billion bailout bill, President Bush signed it this afternoon. With a stroke of a pen, he set in motion $110 million in tax cuts and sent the legislators on both sides of the 263-171 vote home to explain themselves to their constituents just over a month before Election Day, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The Senate version of the bailout bill has ballooned to more than 400 pages as legislators flesh out details in hopes of gaining passage as soon as tonight, Politico reports. The marquee measure boosts FDIC coverage of individual accounts from $100,000 to $250,000, with numerous lower-profile provisions intended to speed passage and increase pressure on the House to get moving. More»

Mike Coffman already backpedaling after bringing up birther issue

(NEWSER) - Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado is already backpedaling furiously after being caught on tape bringing up President Obama's citizenship and questioning his patriotism. "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said at a fundraiser last week, according to NBC 9 News . "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." More»

Campaign aims to do the opposite of McCain

(NEWSER) - Team Romney’s rule of thumb: Do the opposite of everything John McCain did in 2008, or so reports Politico in a look at the campaign's strategy. The approach applies broadly, say advisers—focus hugely on the economy, fully engage in fundraising, integrate early with the Republican National Committee—but comes most into play in the search for a VP. The campaign doesn’t want to end up with its own version of Sarah Palin, so it is going to great lengths to avoid anyone who could be seen as unprepared. The goal, according to one official: Go with an "incredibly boring white guy." More»