Former GOP Staffer Shares His Thoughts

Longtime TPM Reader JB explains what I left out in my post this morning about the post-2012 GOP …

One thing you left out of your commentary on the post-election GOP is what hasn’t changed. More specifically, what neither the party establishment or the Tea Party types ever even thought of changing.

Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Will Be Girls. Or Not.

In climate of rightwing racial and gender panic, Republican Congressman proposes classes to teach children proper gender roles.

Good Times

Hannity: Hey, I never said Obama was Muslim.

Bleak Future

What’s America coming to when you can’t even build a remote-controlled, truck-mounted radiation death ray anymore?

Pelosi Sends Surveillance Memo to Her Caucus

Pelosi sent a members-only fact sheet to her caucus trumpeting ways Democrats have improved surveillance law and bolstered civil liberties protections since the Bush years. We’ve got the memo here.

The GOP’s New Abortion Bill

TPM Reader MB on the new GOP abortion ban bill …

I just wanted to underscore how horrific the Republicans’ abortion bill was, and how it’s sent shockwaves through my circle of friends. While I’m political, many of my friends aren’t, and they were terrified last night when they heard the 20 week ban had passed the House. They didn’t understand the process and thought it would soon become law. I had to assure them that the Democrats would stop the ban and that it’d die in the Senate.

Status Check on the Autopsy

There were supposedly two takeaways from the 2012 election. First, the GOP had a difficult time polling the new American electorate, a shortcoming tied to the second takeaway, which was that the GOP was ill-prepared to win elections in the new American electorate which was more socially liberal and less white and, on both measures, getting more so. Basically all Democrats believed this, albeit somewhat self-servingly. Most independent analysts believed it because it seemed to be obvious. And a lot of Republicans seemed to believe it - especially those most focused on winning elections, which tends to mean party elites. But look where we are right now.

A Nation of Weiners?

Japanese politicians apparently have a really hard time not embarrassing themselves on theTwitter.

Please Get This Doofus Off TV

Like quantum theory and relativity, who can really explain why they still let lazy and permanently and embarrassingly wrong ‘historian’ Niall Ferguson on TV? All I can figure is that it is a testament to how much Americans are still pushovers for a British, especially a high-born British accent. This morning he’s on MSNBC complaining about the regulatory burden on small businesses and apparently how some small business of his failed, obviously because of onerous regulations.

ICYMI: Michael Hastings, Dead at 33

In case you missed the news last night, a big shock and a big loss in the world of journalism. Michael Hastings died yesterday in a car crash in Los Angeles. He was 33. He was probably known best, among many other things, for the blockbuster 2010 story in Rolling Stone that led President Obama to fire then-commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal.

ICYMI: Michael Hastings, Dead at 33

In case you missed the news last night, a big shock and a big loss in the world of journalism. Michael Hastings died yesterday in a car crash in Los Angeles. He was 33. He was probably known best, among many other things, for the blockbuster 2010 story in Rolling Stone that led President Obama to fire then-commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal.

Not So Much

Our report on why congressional oversight of the intelligence community doesn’t work very well and maybe isn’t supposed to. Fascinating piece.