For years, red state socialism - the steady, one-way flow of taxpayer dollars from Washington DC to solidly Republican states - has been one of the defining traits of American federalism. Which is why the conservative charge that Wisconsin schools - and their unionized teachers - received $670 million in federal funding is so laughable. […]

Perhaps more than any other factor, the overwhelming Republican midterm triumph was fueled by the elderly. Voters 65 and over, the only age group to support John McCain in 2008, boosted their share of the turnout to 21% from 16% two years earlier. Nationwide, Republicans won seniors by a staggering 59% to 38%. But now, […]

In just the latest front in the perpetual GOP campaign to divide and conquer, Republicans are trying to get Americans to turn on their neighbors who work for government and unions on each other. Of course, the Republican assault on collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin, Ohio,

On Tuesday, House Budget Committee Paul Ryan blasted Obama budget chief Jack Lew over entitlement spending, declaring "why did you duck?" But for their part, Republicans have yet to offer their own plan for addressing the fiscal health of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. While Majority Leader Eric Cantor promised "a serious document" addressing entitlement […]

If nothing else, the Republican Party is a machine for generating talking points - and irony. While Senators Mitch McConnell and Jeff Sessions insisted President Obama's $3.73 trillion budget proposal wasn't "serious," over in the Speaker House John Boehner and his lieutenant Paul Ryan claimed Obama "punted" on the deficit. Sadly, those sound bites came […]

George W. Bush was the first modern president to cut taxes during wartime. Now, the unpaid $2 trillion bill for the wars he fought - and chose to fight - is long overdue. While President Obama and the Republican leadership in Congress jockey to position their budget cutting plans, it's time for both parties - […]

Perpetual presidential candidate Mitt Romney has performed more flips than an X Games champion. The pro-choice Senate candidate (and Planned Parenthood donor) of 1994 did a hard right turn on abortion for the approaching 2008 GOP primaries, prompting adviser Michael Murphy to acknowledge "he's been a pro-life Mormon faking it as a pro-choice friendly." On […]

This week, Arizona Senator and Republican Minority Whip Jon Kyl declared he would not seek a fourth term in 2012. Of course, in 1994 Kyl, one of the signers of the GOP Contract with America, promised he would only serve two. And the ironies don't end there. Within hours of Kyl's announcement, six-term Congressman Jeff […]

Back in September 2009, Republicans made the unfortunate selection Louisiana Congressman and physician Charles Boustany to deliver the GOP response to President Obama's address on health care. Unfortunate, it turned out, because tort reform champion Boustany himself has been repeatedly - and successfully - sued for medical malpractice. Now, Georgia Congressman and retired obstetrician Phil […]

On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that federal judicial vacancies are reaching a "crisis point." As it turns out, when Republicans aren't turning to record-setting obstructionism to block President Obama's nominees to the federal bench, they are threatening the "umpires" of the law outright. Just weeks after the Tucson slaughter that claimed the life of […]