Hyperbolic Newt's Antics Highlight Desperate GOP

She doesn't seem to be on the same page as Reid

(NEWSER) - It was a little thing. After Tuesday’s powwow with the president on Afghan strategy, Harry Reid emerged from the White House with Nancy Pelosi and announced: “Everyone said that ‘whatever decision you make, we will support it,’” as the House speaker rolled her eyes. Though she maintains she's "not upset," it's clear that the question of whether to send more troops to Afghanistan is a decisive issue among Democrats, notes Politico. More»

(NEWSER) - “The opponents of reform are getting serious now,” Paul Waldman writes of the health care debate for the American Prospect, “and they've turned the volume on their megaphones of mendacity up to 11.” Herewith, some of the most cringe-inducing arguments against:

• It's not broken: Progressives dismiss this out of hand, but it's "not a practical argument—it's a moral argument," Waldman writes. "If a captain of industry can't buy better health care than the guy who cuts his lawn can, then the world just isn't functioning as it should."

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich lashed out today against President Obama’s health care plan, saying the nation should deal with crushing unemployment first, Politico reports. “America does not work if Americans are not working,” he said. “Getting Americans working should be the number one priority.” Gingrich called for a 50% reduction in the Social Security payroll tax and a cut in corporate taxes, a plan he says is supported by several members of Congress. More»

(NEWSER) - The CIA debacle engulfing Nancy Pelosi stems from two key mistakes on the part of the House speaker, Jay Newton-Small writes in Time. Pelosi’s dangerous belief that media training is “a waste of her time” was demonstrated when she walked away from her own press conference on the subject of interrogation briefings. Her other mistake—or character flaw—is reacting rashly in unanticipated situations. More»

Former House speaker fills GOP leadership void

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich is back, and he seems to want everyone to know it. The former Republican House speaker is bashing President Obama on everything from his stimulus plan—a “European socialist model"—to his "fantasy foreign policy," Politico reports. "Gingrich is the classic political counterinsurgent," a GOP consultant says. "He thrives in periods of time when he is able to post up against an agenda." More»