GOP: It's Time to Rebrand to 'Conservative'

New York race just the beginning, activists say

(NEWSER) - The conservative coup in New York’s special election shows just how little control the GOP has over the ascendant tea party movement—it's a mutiny, and it's just gaining steam, activists say. The folks who helped push Republican Dede Scozzafava out of the race in favor of conservative Doug Hoffman tell Politico they’re itching for the next showdown. “The Hoffman campaign was the beginning. It was not the climax. There are going to be other conflicts,” promised one protest organizer, citing Charlie Crist as the next big target. More»

Party back from last year's beating but upheaval still likely

(NEWSER) - The victories in Virginia and New Jersey look set to revitalize the Republican Party ahead of next year's elections, writes Adam Nagourney. The party now has the chance to re-energize its base and prepare for a proper comeback from last year's defeat, although the Democratic win in New York's 23rd district shows that plenty of upheaval likely still lies ahead, Nagourney notes in the New York Times. More»

Hoffman calls Scozzafava a 'turncoat'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin-backed conservative upstart Doug Hoffman called Dede Scozzafava a “turncoat” after the New York Republican state assemblywoman endorsed Hoffman’s Democratic opponent, Bill Owens. Scozzafava issued her surprise endorsement a day after pulling out of the upstate congressional race. With prominent conservatives backing Hoffman, an independent, Scozzafava had been running a distant third in the polls. “This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP,” a spokesman for Hoffman said in a statement. 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.

Democrats love his with-us-or-against-us conservatism

(NEWSER) - Jim DeMint might just be the Democrats’ secret weapon. For starters, the senator from South Carolina is making good on his declaration that he’d rather have “30 Republicans in the Senate who believe in principles of freedom than 60 who don’t,” endorsing lots of far-right candidates around the country, many of whom are unelectable. But the damage he’s doing to the party could stretch well beyond 2010, writes Stuart Rothenberg for Roll Call . More»