Bachmann: I'm Being 'Palinized'

Says she just doesn't get why liberals don't like her

(NEWSER) - Michele Bachmann gave an interview to MinnPost in which she rails against the usual subjects with the usual hyperbole, but her response when asked why liberals hate her is memorable: "I don't know. I'm a lovable little fuzz ball! I have no idea what they would have to fear. I guess you would have to ask them; they would have the better answer to your question. I don't fear the left, and maybe that's part of the loathing that they feel toward me." More»

Richard Cohen: Now, ignorance is a virtue

(NEWSER) - HBO's Game Change is aptly titled: Sarah Palin did indeed change American politics, and not for the better, writes Richard Cohen in the Washington Post . Palin aides have confirmed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of an "ignoramus" who was "determinately incurious"; this year's "deluge of dysfunctional presidential candidates" shows that the trend has continued. "With her selection as John McCain’s running mate, American politics lost its way—and maybe its mind as well," he notes. More»

House, Senate groups haven't met in months

(NEWSER) - In January, the Senate Tea Party Caucus was in full swing, holding a meeting on Capitol Hill—but neither that group nor its House counterpart have done much of anything since. Though a leader of the Senate caucus points out that “it’s only been nine months,” the group’s members seem to be learning that running a caucus can be a time drain that offers few results, Politico reports. More»

'Someone has to say no. I will'

(NEWSER) - Michele Bachmann is taking a break from the stump to vote against the debt deal. “Someone has to say ‘no.’ I will,” she said in a statement issued last night. “The 'deal' ... spends too much and doesn't cut enough,” she said. “Mr. President, I'm not sure what voice you're listening to, but I can assure you that the voice of the American people wasn't the voice that compelled Washington to act.” More»

Mitch McConnell, Tea Party at the forefront: Chris Cillizza

(NEWSER) - The debt-deal dust has yet to settle, but that's not stopping anyone from analyzing its political consequences. In the Washington Post , Chris Cillizza notes the winners:

• Mitch McConnell was “the Mariano Rivera of the debt deal. He waited until the game was in its final moments, came onto the field and helped close things down.”
• The Tea Party showed its sway, driving John Boehner to delay his bill and “add conservative sweeteners to get the 217 votes he needed.”