RNC

There were a handful of primary elections last week in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia, and while the results from Middle America were more or less predictable—“establishment” Republicans prevailed against some Trumpier-than-thou candidates—the headlines were revealing in their way: “Parties’…

One fact of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency is that the policy results have been pretty conservative. For some conservatives, this is enough to sustain a great enthusiasm for Trump and his presidency. For others, like me, the concerns about Trump’s erratic behavior, his casual…

In the wake of Democrat Doug Jones’s surprise win over Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the Senate, pundits and prognosticators were scrambling to make sense of the new political landscape. The verdict was almost all bad for the Republican party.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD live-blogged the Alabama Senate special election between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday night. Moore campaigned under the shadow of credible allegations of sexual misconduct when he was in his 30s, though by the end he had the support of both President…

Members of the Republican National Committee are responding to the news that Joyce Simmons, committeewoman for Nebraska, resigned her post Monday in response to the RNC renewing its support for Roy Moore.

The Republican National Committee reversed its decision to withdraw financial support from Roy Moore’s Senate campaign last week, in the wake of President Trump’s endorsement and Moore’s gains in the polls.

In the wake of President Trump’s official endorsement of Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore, the Republican National Committee chose to resume funding Moore’s campaign for the U.S. Senate, a move that state-level members of the RNC greeted with a range of sanguinity.

On December 5, the Republican National Committee formalized its support for Roy Moore by sending $170,000 to aid his campaign in the race’s final week. The decision came days after President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Moore. The money is a pittance in the world of modern campaign…

A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, as the poet had it, but a flailing inconsistency isn’t a particularly good look either.

White people love Subarus. Google's spy cars have documented the "street view" of much of the United States (and the rest of the world). But what are some applications of all of this data scientists could use? Google's folks decided to analyze the types of cars parked on the street to see if they…

The chairwoman of the RNC responded to intra-party criticism of President Trump with a warning Monday.

Michigan Republican party chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel is slated to succeed Reince Priebus as head of the RNC next year, according to a statement from President-elect Donald Trump, after she was named deputy chair Wednesday.

The Republican National Committee has mishandled the Donald Trump situation from the word "go". Rather than recognizing him for what he was—a toxic interloper who would rain destruction upon the party brand—it instead treated him just like any other candidate.

The top spokesman for the Republican National Committee defended Donald Trump's outreach and appeal to black voters, citing the color-blind membership policy of the GOP nominee's swanky South Florida Mar-a-Lago golf club.

The Washington Post is reporting that "Free the Delegates," a group of activists that tried to use party rules to strip Donald Trump of the nomination at the Republican convention, is making another attempt to replace Trump on the ticket:

Cleveland

CLEVELAND — A coalition of gadfly delegates will try to slow proceedings at the start of the Republican National Convention this afternoon. There is no robust push to stop Donald Trump from becoming the nominee (that was effectively quashed last week); instead, they will push to have a roll call…

Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University political scientist, has published a predictive model of presidential elections for decades. Through three simple factors—economic growth, presidential job approval, and tenure of the incumbent party—Abramowitz explains most of the variation in presidential…

Call it déjà vu, call it old whine in new bottles, call it a tale thrice told, perhaps by an idiot; there are a lot of things one can call this Republican political season, but new is not one of them. Been-there-done-that might be more like it.

A Republican delegate and national committee member is pushing to change the party rules in order to ensure Donald Trump's nomination at the upcoming convention. He claims not to be doing the bidding of Trump or the Republican National Committee. But his effort, if successful, would help both avoid…

As a group of Republican delegates continue their push for the freedom to vote their conscience when casting presidential nominating ballots at the Republican National Convention, John McCain said Tuesday that it's within their rights to vote how they see fit.

A group of Republican activists from Vermont and Virginia have written a letter to the delegates attending the Republican National Convention, urging those delegates to withhold their vote for Donald Trump unless and until the New York businessman releases his tax returns.

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on the Republican National Committee's efforts to squelch the "Dump Trump" movement among delegates. The article ended with this ominous line:

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, executive editor Fred Barnes argues that unless Donald Trump's 2016 course is corrected, the election this fall might very well be a repeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964.

The delegate-led effort to stop Donald Trump from receiving the Republican nomination for president continues to grow. That's according to participants in a conference call Sunday evening that coordinated efforts from activists and Republican National Committee delegates who oppose Trump's…

Donald Trump is struggling to raise cash for his campaign against Hillary Clinton.

The Republican National Committee is out with a new web ad that uses Trumpian language to describe its party's presumptive general election opponent for president.

Many intellectuals misunderstand Donald Trump. Intellectuals often forget that Americans vote for a man, not a white paper, and that Trump passed the very first test for Republican candidates in 2016 while the rest of the field flunked. He was angry and seemed capable of acting on his anger. Trump…

In a memo distributed to the press this morning, the Republican National Committee is fighting back against Donald Trump, who has criticized the political party for its system of selecting a presidential nominee.

With the growing likelihood of a brokered convention, lots of ink and pixels has been spilled on what might happen if there isn't a first ballot winner in Cleveland.

With the Republican National Convention in Cleveland rapidly approaching, local officials are taking advantage of a $50 million federal security grant to stock up for the coming protests.

There would seem to be three possible outcomes for the Republican nominating process. Each has (more or less) a historical precedent.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus joined George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week to discuss violence at Donald Trump's rallies and this summer's Republican National Convention.

Ted Cruz's supporters have been furiously arguing this week that Marco Rubio and John Kasich should drop out of the GOP presidential race so that Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head match-up.

The Republican National Committee is responding to Barack Obama's final State of the Union Address by releasing this video, focusing on national security failures:

'Twas the night before Christmas, when out on the stump

A new ad from the Republican National Committee goes after Democrats on foreign policy. The ad--titled "Can Leaders Like These Keep Us Safe?"--includes voiceovers from Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and John Kerry.

A new advertisement by the Republican National Committee compares Hillary Clinton to John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

It was just over a week ago when House majority leader Kevin McCarthy first considered dropping out of the race for speaker.

House speaker John Boehner has released a statement following the announcement that majority leader Kevin McCarthy is dropping out of the race for speaker. Here's the statement:

The Republican National Committee is selling a special, "Hillary-Clinton"-branded wipe cloth.

Denver

The Republican National Committee has come out against the Iran nuclear deal, which it labels as part of the "Clinton-Obama foreign policy." The RNC makes their case in a 33-second web video which will be released later today:

The The Republican National Committee is releasing a new video to argue that Democrat Hillary Clinton turn over the private email server she maintained while serving as secretary of state to an indpendent investigator. The web video showcases several reporters and members of the media excoriating…

In this week's edition of the boss's email newsletter -- Kristol Clear -- readers are asked to rank their top three picks for the GOP's 2016 presidential nominee. The boss writes:

The Republican National Committee has released a research book attacking Democrat Martin O'Malley. O'Malley is expected to jump in the presidential race tomorrow.

In a 41-second video that's set to be released later this morning, the Republican National Committee is using a populist message to hit Hillary Clinton for "hypocrisy."  

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina says the United States is "not making progress" in its fight against ISIS. In a recent interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Fiorina said President Obama "understates the significance of the situation" with the terrorist group that has taken over large…

The Republican field for president is remarkably large, but are there really 36 possible contenders for the nomination? That's how many options a new online straw poll from the Republican National Committee offers.

The Republican National Committee is kicking off a paid online ad campaign just ahead of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign announcement. Clinton is expected to make the much anticipated move as early as this weekend.

The Republican National Committee has released this web video, hitting the White House, the State Department, and the Clinton campaign for avoiding questions related to Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of private email to conduct official business:

Democrats have not had to answer for the actions of Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (who offered to change a policy position in exchange for not being criticized, and threatened to paint President Obama as anti-Semitic and anti-women). Or for the Bill, Hillary, and…

Last November, Tennessee’s Republican governor Bill Haslam won his reelection effort resoundingly, taking 70 percent of the vote and every single county in the state. Just six weeks later, Haslam surprised nearly everyone in Tennessee’s Republican-controlled state assembly by announcing that one of…

The Republican National Committee is looking for Hillary Clinton. Which is why, according to a memo they've sent to the press, they're asking, “Where’s Hillary?”

The Republican National Committee responds to President Obama's executive amnesty with this video:

How sweeping was the Republican wave of 2014? Yes, the GOP has held the House of Representatives (with gains) and taken control of the Senate. But the party is also likely to come out ahead for the year in governor’s races—something few thought possible at the beginning of the cycle. And here’s a…

The Republican National Committee announced today a new ad campaign arguing "Obama's Foreign Policy Is on the Ballot" in next week's election. 

At Real Clear Politics, Sean Trende offers a theory about why so many Senate races are close and yet Republicans seem poised to do well anyway. Looking at polling trends from past election cycles, Trende sees a situation where Democratic candidates are unlikely to improve much on their current…

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign has developed a multi-level online computer game. The game, called "Mission Majority," is programmed to look like an 8-bit-era video game and features an elephant named Giopi (sounds like "GOP") as a playable character. The player runs and jumps,…

The boss was on the set of MSNBC's Morning Joe Friday to discuss Iraq, the Tea Party, and the midterm elections. Watch the videos below:

Over at the New York Times, Nate Cohn throws cold water on the notion that 2014 is going to be a landmark year for the GOP: 

The RNC’s Site Selection Committee has recommended Cleveland, Ohio, as the host city of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Cleveland last held a national political convention in 1936, when Kansas governor Alfred Landon defeated Senator William Borah of Idaho for the Republican presidential…

In late June, the Pew Research Center released "Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology." Breaking the nation's voting public into seven types (plus one type that does not regularly vote), Pew aims to give a more granular perspective on the nation's body politic. Pew's political map can be a…

The Republican National Committee is out with this new video showing that President Obama is mad:

The Watertown Daily Times reports that Elise Stefanik beat out Matt Doheny to win the endorsement of the Conservative party in New York's 21st congressional district:

THE WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with executive editor Fred Barnes on the republicans' efforts to win big in 2014, and whether the Tea Party will play the role of spoiler as republicans hope to take back the Senate.

The GOP dismisses President Obama's State of the Union Address with this online video, showing the president repeated lines from previous addresses:

Republican state senator Dick Black of Virginia is considering running for the House seat currently represented by retiring Republican Frank Wolf. Black announced on Facebook he was forming an exploratory committee.

The politics of Obamacare have erased a lead Democrats once held in the generic congressional ballot for the 2014 elections, according to a new poll from CNN. Here are the details:

The Republican National Committee announced today that it is hosting a press conference for Democrats who will be running on Obamacare. They've invited a host of Democratic politicians who think Obamacare is a good idea, though it's likely none will show up:

The least interesting thing that happened in the odd-year election was Chris Christie’s reelection as governor of New Jersey. It was like a football game between Alabama and Vassar: A Republican governor with extraordinary political skills and an impressive record in his first term crushes a…

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a Republican, is on his way to winning big in his bid for reelection Tuesday, and there's already talk he may be on his way to running for president in three years. Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, Christie argued he's not a moderate as he's sometimes portrayed.

The Republican National Committee issued a press release this morning saying it filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out Obamacare enrollment figures. Here's the press release:

Louisana governor Bobby Jindal, the two-term Republican and potential presidential candidate, has announced the formation of a new group called America Next. The organization bills itself as a "conservative policy group" that aims to "focus on winning a war of ideas." Here's an excerpt from a…

One of American conservatism's leading thinkers, James Ceaser of the University of Virginia, weighs in on "To authorize or not to authorize:" 

Baton Rouge, La.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the recent RNC meeting in Boston, and the fights between 2016 contenders and how these debates help the GOP.

The Republican National Committee says it's putting its money where its mouth is by running paid ads against CNN and NBC over the networks' plans to run a documentary (CNN) and mini-series (NBC) on Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 presidential election, a spokesman for the RNC says. 

Republican state senator Elbert Guillory of Louisiana, who recently switched from the Democratic party, has announced the creation of a new political action committee with the goal of electing black conservatives. Guillory will serve as honorary chairman of Free At Last PAC, which purports to…

The Fox News Sunday panel debates the GOP's tactical divide on Obamacare, including the boss and Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint:

Republican Andy Vidak, the newly elected California state senator from Fresno, won a heavily Democratic and Hispanic district in last week's special election. The Washington Times reports that Vidak succeeded because he and other local Republicans showed up:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, asked on Tuesday to respond to an ongoing back and forth between himself and fellow Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, said he was "asked a question" about national security and answered it.

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum spoke Thursday at the Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington about the failure of the Republican party and its presidential nominee to speak to the concerns of middle class and working people. Politico's James Hohmann reports:

The Republican National Committee announces that it's filing a Freedom of Information Act request for the release of all "Benghazi Emails Between Obama’s Reelection Campaign and State Department." The RNC's press release reads:

“South Carolina has passed a bill that criminalizes the implementation of Obama’s health care law reform law,” said HuffPost Live host Jacob Soboroff last week. The claim, from the Huffington Post and others, is that South Carolina is attempting to “nullify” Obamacare. But what the…

Rep. Walter B. Jones of North Carolina occupies a strange place on the spectrum of American politics. An 18-year House veteran from the conservative coast, Jones is a pro-life former Democrat, raised Baptist but a Catholic convert. The 70-year-old Republican’s biggest claim to fame may have come in…

Standing in the wings of the auditorium at Howard University’s business school were three or four young volunteers who didn’t look like students. Each wore a small red sticker on his chest, which read, “Stand with Rand.” As Howard students filed into the room, the volunteers would gently push…

At the Republican National Committee’s self-healing session Monday morning at the National Press Club, Chairman Reince Priebus ran through a five-point “action plan” for moving the party forward. It’s a plan, Priebus said, of “bold strokes” that shows the GOP is “done with business as usual.” Per…

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus reiterated that he believes Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster over the Obama administration’s drone policy was a “unifying moment” for the GOP and that the party is "totally on board" with the libertarian senator.

Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus announced a "national marketing and branding campaign" on CBS this morning:

Former Republican governor William Weld of Massachusetts says he isn't seeking Secretary of State John Kerry's Senate seat. NBC reports:

The Republican National Committee has sent out this background brief titled, "Chuck Hagel Is The Wrong Choice For Secretary Of Defense." 

In March 1975, with the United States in post-Watergate disarray at home, stunned by repeated diplomatic defeats at the United Nations, and about to suffer the humiliation of seeing an ally at whose side we had fought for many years be overrun by the North Vietnamese Communist Army, Daniel Patrick…

At the Washington Post, Jen Rubin writes of a renewed interest in compassionate conservatism, citing Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, Republican Paul Ryan, and Gertrude Himmelfarb, writing in THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Here's Rubin:

The New York Times has greeted the appointment of South Carolina congressman Tim Scott to succeed fellow Republican Jim DeMint in the Senate with an op-ed decrying the selection--and Scott himself--as "token."

The Republican National Committee announced the formation of a committee set to examine what the party did wrong in the last election.

What happened with the Senate? That’s one question Republicans are likely asking themselves after a disappointing Election Day. 

Viewers of the 2012 debates have witnessed an extraordinary turnaround. John Stuart Mill famously spoke of “a party of order and stability, and a party of progress or reform.” Once upon a time, Barack Obama and Joe Biden could claim the mantle of change and progress. But the televised exchanges…

Here are New Jersey governor Chris Christie's remarks at the Republican convention, as prepared for delivery:

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Tampa during the Republican National Convention, a campaign official confirms. 

USA Today reports:

A new television ad from Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee looks at Barack Obama's history of opposing the 1996 reforms to welfare and promises a Romney administration will restore "work back in welfare." The ad begins by asking the viewer, "Do you support work for welfare?" Watch…

Regardless of one's precise political peccadilloes, most of us agree this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime. However, one gets the feeling the Romney campaign, and even the RNC, either aren't aware of the stakes or, perhaps, just not sure of the best way to convey those stakes…

The Massachusetts Republican party has a new ad criticizing Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren for her real estate speculation practices--purchasing homes, many of which were foreclosures, and selling them for a profit. The video claims Warren was "profitting off the misery of the middle…

Barack Obama's campaign speech yesterday in Ohio was billed as a "reframing" and and a "reboot," but as a new video from the Republican National Committee shows, it was really a "replay" of an "old speech," one given April 3 to the Associated Press Luncheon.

I have been reading A Time for Choosing, the wonderful new e-book from RCP’s Carl Cannon and Tom Bevan about the 2012 campaign, and was really struck by this passage about the Democratic counter-punch to Team Romney. Cannon and Bevan note how Democrats decided to attack Romney as:

On his personal website, former congressman Artur Davis confirmed at least some of the recent rumors surrounding him—that the lifelong Democrat, the man who endorsed Barack Obama for president early in 2007 and seconded his nomination at the Democratic party convention in 2008, now considers…

My goodness. This story is just plain nuts:

This story got me thinking about the GOP's complicated relationship with the big banks:

That's the question the latest web ad from the Republican National Committee is asking--"What do you do when you don't have a record to run on?"

Ben LaBolt, President Obama's campaign spokesman, claimed on Twitter that the Republican National Committee, "following their nominee's example," has "apparently been outsourced to Manila."

With a month left before Indiana's Republican primary, incumbent senator Dick Lugar is facing more negative ads from two important conservative advocacy groups.

In an increasingly contentious Connecticut Senate primary, Republicans Linda McMahon and Chris Shays are arguing that each is a better fiscal conservative than the other. In a new blog post, the McMahon campaign says Shays, a former congressman, has a similar record on spending and debt as the…

The latest Republican National Committee web ad, titled "Same Tired Rhetoric," shows that President Obama keeps saying the same thing over (and over!) again:

Six-term Republican senator Dick Lugar is seeking a seventh, but he’s been facing his toughest primary challenge in decades. His opponent, state treasurer Richard Mourdock, charges that Lugar isn’t conservative enough and is  “Obama’s favorite Republican”—a play on Lugar’s early reputation as…

The Republican National Committee is releasing a new web ad today that contrasts Vice President Joe Biden's declaration last year that "the United States and Russia no longer have good reason not to trust one another" with news that Russia is arming Bashar al-Assad as he beats back protesters in…

The Republican National Committee jumps on President Obama's hot mic comments to his Russian counterpart earlier today and cuts this ad: 

Last week, the Club for Growth purchased airtime in Indiana to run advertisements against Dick Lugar, the six-term Republican senator facing a tough primary election against Indiana state treasurer Richard Mourdock. The Club's latest ad, released today, targets Lugar as a big spender and tax…

Politico reports that the Club for Growth has bought television airtime in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and South Bend, Indiana to run ads against incumbent Republican senator Dick Lugar. The ad buy will be the first outside TV advertising for this race that'll help Lugar's Republican opponent,…

The Republican National Committee is wishing Obamacare--President Obama's signature health care overhaul legislation--a "happy birthday" with this banner, hanging from the RNC office here in Washington:

Mitt Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told CNN this morning that Boston will "reset" its campaign for the general election. Via Greg Sargent:

Bob Turner, the newly-elected Republican congressman from New York City who replaced Democrat Anthony Weiner, will be running for the GOP nomination to challenge Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat and New York's junior senator. The Associated Press reports:

Tom Cotton, a Republican candidate for Congress in Arkansas, has two new television ads running in the state's Fourth Congressional District. The ads highlight Cotton's service in Iraq as an Army Ranger and focus on his pledge to fight for a balanced budget and overturn Obamacare. Watch the ads…

The Hill reports that Florida senator Marco Rubio will today be making his first Senate endorsement for Josh Mandel, a Republican challenging Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown:

Olympia Snowe’s announcement last week not to seek a fourth term to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate surprised many in her home state and in Washington. Democrats are now hoping to win the Maine seat, just last week considered an easy win for Republicans.

In his latest Weekend Interview, James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal discusses social conservatism and its positive influence on American politics (and on the Republican party) with Jeffrey Bell, author of The Case for Polarized Politics: Why America Needs Social Conservatism. Here's a taste…

The latest Mitt Romney hit on Rick Santorum is headlined, "RICK SANTORUM: BIG LABOR'S FAVORITE SENATOR," and cites Santorum's 1996 vote against a national "right to work" law as primary evidence for its claim. But while Santorum, who represented labor-heavy Pennsylvania, was to the left of some of…

Via Real Clear Politics, Democratic party spokesman Brad Woodhouse makes a bizarre assertion in response to Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus comparing Obama to the captain of a wrecked Italian cruise ship:

The first master’s thesis defense committee on which I served, more years ago than I care to count, evaluated an effort titled “Liberal Deviations of Robert A. Taft, 1945-1953.” As a young assistant professor still intoxicated by a heady academic liberal consensus, I was prone to dismiss the…

Just as they said they would, the RNC is out with this ad today that uses President Obama's words (and promises) against himself:

CNN's Dana Bash touted her interview with Texas congressman Ron Paul and his son, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, by noting on Twitter that the elder Paul "ruled out running outside" the Republican party if he fails to win the GOP nomination for president. But that's not exactly what Ron Paul said.…

When Barack Obama last ran for president, he didn’t have much of a paper trail. He’d only been a state senator and U.S. senator for a few years, and had done a pretty good job of keeping his head down. Obama had not published much and had hardly been quoted. Now, however, there’s a large trove of…

Florida congressman Connie Mack IV is now the front runner in the Republican Senate primary race, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Mack, who has not yet officially announced his candidacy, leads all other Republicans vying for the spot, including former U.S. senator George LeMieux, who was…

Mitt Romney's campaign pollster, Neil Newhouse, said this morning that 2012 looks like a "potentially wave election" and he believes it will be an "extension" of the Republican wave of 2010. "Republicans can't wait for this election," Newhouse said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science…

Jonathan Karl of ABC says the latest ad from the Republican National Committee is a preview of how the eventual GOP nominee will try to frame the 2012 election. Watch it below:

On Martin Bashir's television program this afternoon, Democratic strategist and MSNBC analyst Karen Finney said that Republicans are supporting Herman Cain because of his race:

The president has announced a new program to let people refinance their mortgages.

Incumbent Republican governor Bobby Jindal was reelected yesterday in Louisiana's blanket primary election. Jindal, who received 65 percent of the vote against 9 other opponents, won a clear majority and therefore will not face a runoff. Jindal carried all 64 parishes and made big gains in Cajun…

The New Hampshire Union Leader reports:

Matt Strawn, the chairman of the Iowa Republican party, announced the 2012 Iowa caucuses will be held on January 3, moving up from the planned February 6 date. From the press release:

Charleston, W. Va.

The Associated Press reports: 

CNN reports that Florida is likely to move up its Republican presidential primary to January 31:

Richmond, Virginia

Maryland governor Martin O’Malley said Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry “seceded” from the National Governors Association (NGA), of which O'Malley is a member. The Democratic governor made the tongue-in-cheek remark to reporters in Washington this morning at a breakfast sponsored by the…

In yesterday's special election for Congress in Nevada, Republican Mark Amodei trounced Democrat Kate Marshall in the Second Congressional District. Amodei received 58 percent of the vote, while Marshall received only 36 percent. The Las Vegas Sun has more:

Texas congressman Ron Paul is out with a new ad attacking Texas governor Rick Perry for his support of Al Gore in the 1988 presidential election, when Perry was still a registered Democrat. Watch the ad below:

New Jersey governor Chris Christie talks to the press about what Americans want in a president (via Real Clear Politics):

Ralph Reed, organizer of the Faith and Freedom Conference, introduced former Utah governor Jon Huntsman this morning as "a good conservative and a great friend." Huntsman, who previously served as President Obama's ambassador to China, said he would speak on two topics--"life and liberty." He used…

From Fox News:

Remember Barack Obama? He’s the president of the United States. As a candidate he promised hope and change. Now he defends the status quo. The fact that the status quo is clearly unsustainable doesn’t deter him. His budget’s endless deficits and rising debt takes us down a perfectly obvious road to…

And so, despite his doubts and dithering, President Obama is taking us to war in another Muslim country. Good for him.

While the Democratic National Committee has decided to throw its support behind the pro-public sector union protesters in Wisconsin, the Republican National Committee is doing its part to get Democratic senators back to work.

RNC chair Reince Priebus just emailed me (and everyone else on the RNC's list) advice for what I should be doing this Valentine's Day: 

American political parties are loose associations that lack any kind of formal structures. The two parties stretch across three broad categories -- the electorate, the party organization in place to facilitate the campaign, and the government.  None of these parts of the party is formally connected…

The Hill reports on a hopeful change at the RNC: 

The fifth ballot at the RNC race:

Round two: 

The 168 RNC members have just cast their ballots in the first round of voting in the RNC election. Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus got 45 votes, Michael Steele 44, GOP operative Maria Cino 32, Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis 24, and former Missouri chairman Ann Wagner 23. That's pretty much…

Heading into the RNC meeting and election this week, the Hotline reports that Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus remains the frontrunner in the race for RNC chairman. The winner needs 85 of the 168 RNC votes, and Priebus has 38 publicly declared supporters, while former Michigan GOP chairman and…

In John McCormack's interview with Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee said: "Tell me what election we lost because I gave $15,000 to Guam."

The picture is pretty bleak for Michael Steele--a majority of RNC members have pledged to vote for someone other than Steele. So is there any chance he would throw his support to another candidate if the balloting doesn't go his way? "No," Steele told THE WEEKLY STANDARD yesterday. "I'm running to…

Following the RNC debate in Washington D.C. this afternoon, Chairman Michael Steele vigorously defended his controversial decision to spend RNC money on Republicans in the U.S. territories--a move that a number of RNC members saw as an unwise use of resources and a cynical attempt to win the votes…

It's been apparent for some time that Michael Steele's chances of winning reelection were slim to none, but just in case there's any doubt, Politico's Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin report: 

Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for the RNC chairmanship. His status as Michael Steele's former right-hand man has enabled him to peel off important members of Steele's coalition and win the backing of some of Steele's biggest critics (Priebus's…

The Republican National Committee will meet in January to choose a new chairman, and the reporters at Hotline's On Call blog have been keeping a running total of how many votes each candidate has been able to announce publicly.  Michael Steele has publicly secured 15 delegates (85 are needed for…

Liberals seem to be pretty gosh darned unhappy with the state of the political alignment these days. They were miserable during the Bush years, and they have grown quite ornery with the Obama administration, despite the fact that the 44th president delivered Obamacare. It's been a long time in the…

Former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan has decided that he will not try to win his old job back. Duncan says in a statement:  

Well, this should make the RNC race more interesting: 

Earlier today we noted a Fox News report that claimed Michael Steele will announce he is not running for a second term as RNC chairman, but Fox reports now that Steele is running. For those on the edge of their seats, we'll know for sure if Steele is or is not running following his 7:30 p.m.…

It was reported over the weekend that Michael Steele, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), will not be seeking another term. This is not a huge surprise. Steele had long been criticized for his role as the chairman of the RNC, and already several alternative candidates…

CNN's Peter Hamby reports that former Missouri GOP chairwoman Ann Wagner has joined the race to run the RNC: 

Politico's Jonathan Martin reports: 

Morton Blackwell, an RNC committeeman from Virginia and head of the conservative Leadership Institute, has thrown his support to Saul Anuzis in the race for the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Blackwell writes in a letter to fellow RNC members: 

Are Michael Steele's days as RNC chairman numbered? This morning, Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, viewed as a Steele ally, offered a lukewarm endorsement of Steele's chairmanship and confirmed that top Republican officials are urging him to run against Steele. "I've certainly been getting a…

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele drew his first official challenger this morning when former Michigan GOP chairman and current Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis declared his intentions on Twitter. "I’m in. I’m running for Chairman of the RNC," tweeted Anuzis, who posted a link…

Fred Barnes writes in today's Wall Street Journal:

The Hill's Elise Viebeck reports: