The Tea Party

Seven Tests That Can Keep Republicans from Screwing Up

By Edward Morrissey

It didn’t take long for Republicans to make their first tin-eared mistake after winning a broad victory in November. In fact, they had barely opened the new session of Congress before performing a...
One Place the Trump Train Isn’t Stopping: Paul Ryan’s Backyard

By Martin Matishak

In a year in which an outsider candidate seized the reins of one of the country’s two major political parties, there’s one place where folks haven’t gotten the anti-establishment message: House...
Two-Thirds of the US Government Basically Won’t Work for the Next Year

By Rob Garver

With a deadlocked Supreme Court and a compromise-averse Congress, 2016 promises to be a year in which simply keeping the lights on will be a major accomplishment.
House Freedom Caucus Prepares to Challenge Ryan on 2016 Agenda

By Eric Pianin

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has gotten off to a strong start with the far-right conservatives in his conference who drove former Speaker John Boehner from office and blocked Boehner’s heir...
Ted Cruz Gets a Boost from Powerful Conservative Insiders

By Rob Garver

An influential political action group in Washington, Heritage Action for America, all but endorsed the presidential candidacy of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Monday, with the release of an analysis of the...

Boehner Ready to Exit a Historically Feeble Congress

By Rob Garver

As he heads into what appears to be the final week his leadership of the House of Representatives, House Speaker John Boehner will be the subject of no end of retrospective profiles of his career...
Did Paul Ryan Outsmart the Freedom Caucus?

By Rob Garver

The news that Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan had persuaded a large majority of the House of Representatives’ most conservative element to support his bid for Speaker of the House left the...
Paul Ryan Has Probably Already Lost His Shot at the Presidency

By Rob Garver

Regardless of whether Rep. Paul Ryan decides to declare himself a candidate for Speaker of the House sometime this week, his political future will likely sustain some real damage – and there is...
Meet the Freedom Caucus, the Group Inflaming Washington

By Martin Matishak

If you don’t know much about a group of congressional lawmakers called the House Freedom Caucus, don’t worry; you’ll hear about them plenty in the weeks and month ahead.
Why You – Yes, You – Could Be the Next Speaker of the House

By Martin Matishak

Spoiler alert: The race to be the next Speaker of the House is pretty much over.

How Scott Walker Would Reform the GOP

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

It’s the one question everybody asks, including this reporter: Are you running for president in 2016? It’s also the one question Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin – the Republican reformer who...
Reports of the Tea Party’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

By Peter Weber, TheWeek.com

The Tea Party isn't a political party, with the requisite leadership structure and well-defined power centers. It's a conglomerate of various groups with different agendas, fundraising sources, and...
Will the Pope Overthrow Neoliberal Economics?

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

This week, Time magazine named Pope Francis its man of the year , an impressive accomplishment for a man who has held his position as head of the Catholic Church for less than a year and was largely...
Cynical Americans Aren’t Banking on a Budget Deal

By Eric Pianin

Americans could get an early Christmas gift in the form of a budget deal from Congress that would cancel a second round of across-the-board sequester cuts and avoid the risk of another government...
Congress’s Last Chance to Avoid a Fiscal Disaster

By Eric Pianin and Rob Garver

Momentum is building for a two-year bipartisan budget deal by the end of the week as Congress appears determined to end a dismal legislative and political year on something of a high note.

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