the gop

TPM has gathered a list of Republican members of Congress raising the possibility that John Boehner could see his short time as Speaker of the House come to an end in 2012:

“He’s (Boehner) got a big problem when he comes back,” one anonymous congressman claimed. “He may have a hard time keeping his Speakership after this.”

“We were hung out to dry by our leadership,” said another unnamed member.

My guess is that these unnamed members are most likely Tea Party members of Congress that really don't understand politics all that much. I don't really see Boehner losing his position as Speaker, mainly because this is a big election year and that would make the GOP look really bad.

On the other hand, if Boehner doesn't do some serious healing or explaining in the next couple of weeks, it could become a possibility. The GOP wants to look united going into an election and the payroll tax fight showed they weren't. What's even worst is that with Congress' approval in the 9% range and people viewing that branch as being completely broken having a totally Republican controlled Congress could lead to even more roadblock with the two chambers unable to agree.

My guess is that Boehner will hold onto his position, but only after being taken to the woodshed by his caucus. The Tea Party members will remind him that they are the reason the GOP got a majority in 2010 and the reason he is Speaker, so play nice or they will make life hell on him.

Whichever way it ends up going, one thing is for sure - it's going to be fun as hell to watch. Republicans have loved in the past pointing to a Democratic party divided, mainly over the 2008 primary and the healthcare battle. None of those begin to compare to what we are seeing in the GOP right now.

News was made yesterday when Ron Paul walked out of an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger when asked about some racist newsletters sent in his name in the 80's and 90's. Here's video of that moment:

But was CNN out of bounds here, or is Ron Paul trying not to hold up to his history? Well it turns out that in 1995 Ron Paul gave a C-Span interview where he took full responsibility of the newsletters

Ron Paul has a serious racist past and he's trying to run from it now. Luckily we have the way back machine of the internets to expose the truth about him.

This also shows why the GOP is in an extreme frenzy trying to discredit Paul. He's looking like he'll win Iowa and that puts the GOP in a really bad position, especially in a time when there has been a lot of racism charges against the party.

The circus is just getting started, so grab some popcorn because this show is going to be one for the history books!

Republicans are getting nervous, and I mean really nervous. They have painted themselves into a corner by opposing the payroll tax cut and are now even fracturing.

The nervousness can be seen by what today's Wall Street Journal editorial board is saying:

The GOP leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday that they are surely going to pass. This is no easy double play.

Republicans have also achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter, although he's spent most of his Presidency promoting tax increases and he would hit the economy with one of the largest tax increases ever in 2013. This should be impossible.

The GOP has a deep seeded hatred of President Obama. I know this sounds harsh, but their actions alone prove it. The Republicans in Congress have constantly opposed anything that President Obama wants with the simple justification that President Obama wants it.

This here is a perfect example of that. The GOP has long been the party of "lower taxes", yet right before Christmas they are viewed as the tax raisers. They have sacrificed a pillar of their parties core beliefs simply to oppose anything President Obama wants and now this sacrifice may have cost them a lot of seats in next year's election.

Just this week alone a lot of polls have come out showing President Obama's approval rating on the rise. In most of them he is only within a point or two of 50% again and for the first time in months more approve than disapprove of the way he is doing his job.

Reading more into the CBS/New York Times poll I posted earlier, it looks like the GOP has some rough road ahead when they try to retake the White House, even with President Obama’s low approval rating. As with most other polls, this one also finds Herman Cain as the front runner:

We still see a hot race for the front runner, but Cain is sitting pretty right now. One amazing take-a-way is how much Rick Perry has plummeted. The media really got it wrong on this one.

There are a couple of numbers I left out of that table which do show a problem. Right now 12% want someone else and 11% are undecided. So that gives us 23% who aren’t sold on the choices they have and that spells an enthusiasm problem for the field. Another interesting tidbit is that even with all the debates we have had, 80% of the people who had chosen a candidate still think it’s too early to say if they are 100% sold on their pick. The GOP field isn’t selling themselves at all and that is a big problem and actually this number has increased since last month and with a couple more debates under the belt.

But what about the issues? Well this poll dives into those somewhat. First off is how American’s are prioritizing the country’s problems:

If you ask Democrats the Republicans controlling the House are the problem. If you ask Republicans the problem lies in Senate and and the White House. None of that should really matter though. The problem is that our government is broken and Americans are fed up with it according to a new Gallup poll that shows a record 82%. 

This poll could also show that the Republican plan is working. 69% now say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch. while 57% say they have little or no faith in the government to solve domestic problems. Those statistics fit right into the "small/no government" beliefs of the GOP, but it get's even worse with 49% now believing that the government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of citizens. Now while I said this was the affect of the GOP plan, I don't mean it's good news for the GOP.