Fueled by Fringe, GOP in a Tight Spot

(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."

Attack focuses on Bill Maher comments, White House 'boys' club'

(NEWSER) - Democrats often slam the GOP's "war on women," but now it's the Republicans who are hitting back at "Obama's war on women" in a new attack ad, Mediaite reports. The Republican National Committee ad focuses on controversial remarks Bill Maher—who is also a bigtime Obama donor—has made about women, and prominently features CNN's Erin Burnett interrogating an uncomfortable-looking David Axelrod over the remarks. It then moves on to Ron Suskind's Confidence Men, the book that painted a picture of the White House as a "hostile workplace" for women. More»

May force partisan standoff

(NEWSER) - The GOP may not have the votes to repeal health care reform, but they're still setting their sights on it. Incoming Republicans say they plan to curtail the controversial law by finding creative ways to hobble it, finds the New York Times . They may, for instance, cut funding and personnel at the IRS to slow the implementation of new health insurance requirements, or use spending bills to block federal insurance regulations they oppose. More»

Current Republican field riddled with weak spots

(NEWSER) - Republicans talk a good game about challenging President Obama in 2012, but the GOP would look scarier if it had even one legitimate challenger , says Dick Polman. "Obama's job-approval numbers are tepid these days—but he looks robust when matched against actual Republican challengers," warns the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist. "Not to mention the inevitable wounds and scars that any Republican will suffer during a primary season that promises to be downright Darwinian." More»

Health care reform law opposition becomes Republican litmus test

(NEWSER) - The push to repeal health care reform has become a rallying cry for GOP candidates pushing for big congressional victories this year and eager to show their willingness to take on the Democratic agenda. In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist and conservative upstart Marco Rubio agreed on little else in a weekend debate, during which Crist used the issue to appear just as ready as Rubio to fight President Obama. John McCain and Sarah Palin delivered a similar message while stumping for his re-election. More»