GOP Loses Last Stronghold in New England

(NEWSER) - Republicans are rallying donors behind Jim Tedisco in preparation for a possible legal battle over the results of yesterday’s US House election in upstate New York, the Hill reports. In an email to donors today, GOP leaders say Democrats are preparing to “steal” the seat. Democratic candidate Jim Murphy leads the race to succeed Kirsten Gillibrand by 59 votes, but no absentee ballots have been counted. More»

Minnesota GOP rep hangs on after questioning patriotism of fellow lawmakers

(NEWSER) - Rep. Michele Bachmann survived her campaign near-death experience, narrowly holding on to her House seat in yesterday's election, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Bachman caused a furor 2 weeks ago when she charged not only Barack Obama but fellow members of Congress with harboring "anti-American" views in a cable TV interview. The national GOP pulled its funding from her campaign, and money poured into the coffers of her opponent, Elwyn Tinkelberg. More»

But the cafeteria managers, not GOP, chose his company

(NEWSER) - The GOP's decision to bring back Styrofoam cups to a Capitol cafeteria has been a real boon for an old pal of the seemingly ever-present Koch brothers. The owner of WinCup, the company supplying the Styrofoam cups, is a former Koch Industries exec, the Huffington Post reports. But everybody swears it's a coincidence: The cafeteria management company, not GOP leaders, chose the supplier. More»

Republicans reverse Democrats' green initiatives in Congress cafeterias

(NEWSER) - The Republicans are back in control of the House, and they're bringing something with them: styrofoam cups. The cups, along with plastic forks and a number of other things seen as not eco-friendly, were done away with four years ago by Nancy Pelosi to reduce Congress's carbon footprint. Now, the Republicans are reversing those initiatives, with the chair of the House administration committee calling the $475,000-per-year program "neither cost-effective nor energy efficient." More»

130 former legislators calls for civility on Capitol Hill in letter

(NEWSER) - More than 130 former members of Congress banded together to offer a message to 2010 congressional candidates via letter: Stop the "zero-sum game" partisanship that has paralyzed the legislative branch. So many former lawmakers have never spoken with one voice to all congressional candidates, but they felt prodded by the "sorry state of affairs" on Capitol Hill, in which "the goal often seems to be more to devastate the other side than to find common ground to solve problems,” Politico reports. More»