In a sign of the political hangover congressional Republicans are suffering in the wake of the government shutdown, three-quarters of Americans in a new national poll say that most GOP members of Congress don’t deserve to be re-elected. A CNN/ORC International survey released Monday also found a majority saying that […] Read more »
The shutdown showdown: What changed in Washington, what didn’t
As with a terrible headache that finally eases, the reverberations of the 16-day government shutdown continue to echo around Washington even though the immediate crisis has passed. The question everyone in politics is trying to answer is whether and how much the shutdown showdown changed things inside and outside Washington. […] Read more »
Cruz Emerges Stronger From Republican Debacle
In the aftermath of the U.S. government shutdown and a close call with default, there is a political consensus among Democrats, many Republicans, establishment conservatives, business leaders and the inside-the-Beltway commentariat: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Tea Party members in the House have done grievous harm to themselves and […] Read more »
Fiscal Crisis Sounds the Charge in G.O.P.’s ‘Civil War’
… The budget fight that led to the first government shutdown in 17 years did not just set off a round of recriminations among Republicans over who was to blame for the politically disastrous standoff. It also heralded a very public escalation of a far more consequential battle for control […] Read more »
In House, Tough to Move Needle in 2014
With the debt ceiling/government shutdown standoff over, attention has turned to the question of who won and who lost, and what it means for 2014. On the first question, most public opinion polls have offered an easy answer: The Republican Party took the biggest hit. The answer to the second […] Read more »
October House Overview: GOP Risk Factors
… Given the GOP-tilted nature of the congressional map and the dynamics of midterm turnout, we have always maintained that House Republicans would need to engage in some spectacularly self-destructive behavior in order for Democrats to have any shot at netting 17 seats and a majority next November. Over the […] Read more »