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.

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Jockey for Position at CPAC

By Eric Pianin and Josh Boak

As failed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered an encore speech Friday to a major gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, a fresh crop of...
Rand Paul Edges Out Marco Rubio in CPAC Straw Poll

By Samuel P Jacobs, Reuters

Conservative activists picked Senator Rand Paul on Saturday as their preferred presidential nominee for 2016, in an early but often unreliable snapshot of the Republican Party's base.
At CPAC, GOP Talks of Future But Gets Stuck on Past

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

Republicans gathered en masse outside D.C. to talk about their future, but much of the focus of speeches Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference was on the past.
Jeb Bush: 10 Things You Should Know About Him

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

As some 8,000 conservatives gathered outside Washington, D.C., on Thursday for the first of a three-day confab about where the party is headed, Jeb Bush – the former Florida governor frequently...
Ryan Releases New GOP Plan to Balance Budget

By Richard Cowan, Reuters

Republicans kicked off their latest deficit-reduction gambit on Tuesday with a 10-year balanced budget plan that could either be shelved within weeks or help kick-start negotiations with President...

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