GOP Bails on Its Feminine Side

Tea partiers' push for noncompliance may backfire, GOP warns

(NEWSER) - The GOP is worried that an anti-government backlash could lead to underrepresentation of conservatives in the census and shrink the number of Republican lawmakers. Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul have urged supporters not to provide anything to census workers except the number of people in their household. "The census should be nothing more than a headcount," Paul wrote this month. "It was never intended to serve as a vehicle for gathering personal information on citizens." More»

President chides Republicans for telling constituents he'll 'destroy America'

(NEWSER) - President Obama went toe-to-toe with House Republicans today, accusing them of opposing legislation for political gain. Obama chastised the Republicans for labelling health care reform as a "Bolshevik plot" and said, "The fact of the matter is, many of you, if you voted with the administration on something, are politically vulnerable with your own base," Obama said. "Because what you've been telling your constituents is, 'This guy's doing all kinds of crazy stuff that's going to destroy America.'" More»

Win follows GOP moderate, conservative split

(NEWSER) - Retired Air Force Capt. Bill Owens has pulled off a major upset for the Democratic Party and won the closely watched election in New York state's 23rd congressional district. Owens was ahead of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman 49% to 45% with 92% of precincts reporting, according to AP . Moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava received 6% of the vote despite withdrawing from the race over the weekend under pressure from the party's right wing. More»

New name may have greater pull than tainted Repub label

(NEWSER) - Candidates on both sides are doing their best to hide their party affiliation but it's the Republicans who have the most to worry about, writes Nate Silver . "The Democratic brand is marginal in about half the country, but the Republican brand is radioactive in about two-thirds of it ," Silver writes at FiveThirtyEight.com. It might even be time, Silver notes, for the party to consider rebranding itself "the Conservatives." More»

Conservative gets a boost, but maybe not a very big one

(NEWSER) - Republican Dede Scozzafava's surprise decision to suspend her congressional race in New York leaves Conservative Doug Hoffman to battle Democrat Dan Owens. Here's what the political blogosphere is saying:

• Nate Silver , FiveThirtyEight: "Gun to my head? Sure, I'd take Hoffman at this point." But it's not that cut and dried: Most conservative Republicans had already defected to Hoffman, so the gain may not be that big.