5 Things to Watch in NY-23 Race

Movement can't go on ignoring military spending

(NEWSER) - The Tea Party will have a big say on GOP policy in the next Congress, but what it doesn't have is any coherent foreign policy, writes Peter Beinart at the Daily Beast. The movement might want to stay true to its ideal of reducing the deficit, scaling back the federal government's power, and staying true to the Constitution, but it can't ignore spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or interventionist foreign policy in general, Beinart argues. More»

Polling inaccuracies might surprise us today

(NEWSER) - We keep hearing doom and gloom for the Democrats, and there’s a good chance that’s accurate, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . But thanks to a few potential polling flaws, things could turn out differently; the Dems might even hang onto the House. Here’s why:

1. Polls often skip cell-phone-only voters—Some 25% of adults don’t use landlines at all, and their demographics lean Democratic.

But movement may hurt GOP more than it helps

(NEWSER) - The Tea Party movement looks set to emerge from next month's election with enough members of Congress to be able to advance its agenda, a New York Times analysis finds. Eight Tea-Party backed Senate candidates and 33 House candidates stand a good or better chance of winning and the caucus is likely to exert influence beyond its numbers, pressuring Republican leaders to cut spending and taxes and repeal health care legislation. More»

Graham calls Arizona senator 'de facto leader of the Republican Party'

(NEWSER) - John McCain has made the transformation from possible Obama ally to a full-blooded Republican partisan, though insiders aren’t quite sure why. Some see his vocal opposition to the Obama administration’s policies as a concession to the realities of next year’s election, where he may face a challenge from the right. Friend Lindsey Graham paints McCain’s outrage as common sense. “What would have been a change was if he wasn’t pissed off,” he tells Politico . More»

For most, leadership is ineffective, or nonexistent

(NEWSER) - A lot of strong opinions are swirling around the Republican base, but none of them appear to point a way forward for the fractured party. GOP voters and GOP-leaning independents polled are united in their distrust of—even anger at—the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress. But second in line for their ire are their own leaders—when they can agree on who they are. More mention Sarah Palin as the embodiment of their values than any other figure—but she doesn't top 20%. More»