GOP Web Game Yanked After Anti-Semitic Flap

Republican strategy being 'field tested' on highways

(NEWSER) - For a likely preview of the GOP's upcoming fear-fueled political campaigns, look no further than the ominous billboards sprouting along the nation's highways, like the one portraying President Obama as "Saddam Hussein" out to kill American babies. The GOP strategy to exploit "visceral fear" to raise campaign funds revealed earlier this week in a leaked RNC presentation is already being "field-tested" by interest groups sympathetic to the party, writes John Avlon in the Daily Beast . More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Steele told fellow Republicans to go after President Obama himself instead of lesser Democrats, the Washington Post reports. "If we have the courage of our convictions, and we do, then we will and we must stand up against disastrous policies, regardless of the president's popularity," the RNC chairman said in a speech. He called Obama's first 100 days a "reign of terror" and said the president has ceded his agenda "almost entirely to radicals like Nancy Pelosi." More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Steele has taken much flak in his short tenure as GOP chairman, and he offers no apologies. “I’m trying to move an elephant that’s become mired in its own muck,” he tells the New York Times. Steele has long been an impulse kind of guy, the Times notes, and his off-the-cuff criticism of Rush Limbaugh and promise of a "hip-hop makeover" for the party are just the latest examples. "I'm very spontaneous," he says. More»

(NEWSER) - Michael Steele emerged from a grueling contest today to become the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee, Politico reports. The six-ballot process, the most drawn-out in years, ended in the rare election of a non-member. “This is awesome,” the former Maryland lieutenant governor said, drawing a laugh. He said he accepted the post with “a great deal of humility and a sense of service.” More»

(AP) - The top Senate Republican warned today that the GOP risks remaining out of power in the White House and Congress unless it better explains its core principles to woo one-time faithful and new loyalists. Mitch McConnell spoke to party activists gathered in Washington to elect a new national chairman tomorrow, implying that the party strayed from its beliefs under President Bush. More»