Palin Seeks 'Sign From God' on 2012 Run

GOP as useless as 7 vowels in Scrabble, needs new letters

(NEWSER) - Just like you get to throw in your tiles when Scrabble gives you seven useless vowels, so too do Republican voters keep picking again—and coming up with the same useless tiles, says Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . That's because the GOP is an out-of-date "captive of conflicting ideological bases," including anti-abortion forces, anti-taxes, anti-immigration, libertarians, and more. What America really needs is a second party in its two-party system—ie, "a coherent Republican opposition" that is able to respond realistically to the true problems facing the United States. "We need a 'Different Kind of Republican' the way Bill Clinton gave us a 'Different Kind of Democrat,'" writes Friedman. And maybe that means a crushing defeat in this election to force a hard reboot. More»

'I don't try to rig straw polls,' says candidate

(NEWSER) - Fresh off his loss to Mitt Romney at CPAC , Rick Santorum hit the talk shows this morning, and he's downplaying the victory, reports Politico : "You have to talk to the Romney campaign and how many tickets they bought—we've heard all sorts of things," Santorum told CNN. "Ron Paul has won those (straw polls) because he trucks in a lot of people, pays for their ticket, and they come in and vote. I don't try to rig straw polls." Elsewhere on the Sunday dial, as per Politico : More»

Hints at Romney problems, saying too late to 'spin it'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin topped off the Conservative Political Action Conference last night with a rousing speech, avoiding endorsing any candidate, but certainly hinting at Mitt Romney's weaknesses, reports the Wall Street Journal . Palin said that Republicans need a conservative whose beliefs are "instinctive," not someone molded by spin doctors and Washington consultants. "It's too late in the game to teach it or spin it at this point," said Palin, without actually mentioning Romney by name. "It's either there or it isn't." More»

Rick Santorum supporters have attacked him lately over caucus results

(NEWSER) - Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn will step down this week, he announced in a YouTube video today, citing "competing priorities" in his personal, business, and political lives. What he didn't mention was the intense criticism he's been under from Rick Santorum supporters, who accuse him of intentionally refusing to acknowledge their candidate's victory in the Iowa caucuses, the Des Moines Register observes. More»

Establishment, Tea Party, libertarians all negative in different ways

(NEWSER) - With the Republican Party so divided, it's no surprise that its response to President Obama's State of the Union address would also be divided, notes the Washington Post . In addition to an official response by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and a Tea Party response by Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and the other GOP candidates also weighed in:

• Cain's rebuttal focused on familiar Tea Party complaints—"Obamacare," "class warfare," and the "liberal media." Cain also addressed old sexual harassment allegations against him, noting that the "false attacks" derailed his campaign, but that accusations against Newt Gingrich failed because "the American people are waking up to dirty, gutter politics,” he said. “The American voters are saying, ‘We ain’t stupid.’"