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"Census 2010: Gains and Losses in Congress

The Census Bureau rearranged the country’s political map on Tuesday, giving more Congressional seats to the South and the West, and taking away from the Northeast and the Midwest. The state population counts are the first results released from the 2010 Census, and are used to reapportion seats in Congress, and, in turn, the Electoral College.

The United State population grew to 308,745,538 over the last decade, an increase of 9.7 percent, the slowest rate of growth since 1940. "

Census GOP

"There really is no other way to say it: the Republicans won, the liberal Democrats lost, and the president sided with the Republicans. The subject, of course, is an agreement to extend all the Bust tax cuts. The president tonight announced a "bipartisan framework" for agreement on, among other things, to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years. A Republican House aide tells me tonight it is "a damn good deal." And so it is, from the perspective of conservatives.

As they've been demanding, all of the Bush tax cuts are extended for two years. The estate tax that was due to pop back up to a rate of 55 percent was retained, but with a $5 million exemption and at a rate of 35 percent (better than Republicans privately expected). For that huge concession, the president extracted... a 13 month extension in unemployment benefits.

Now it's true that the deal includes a one-year payroll tax cut of 2 percent. Plus other tax credits -- the earned income credit, the child tax credit and the newly-created college credit -- all remain in place. And businesses will be allowed to expense 100 percent of their purchases for equipment. Liberals and White House spinners will argue that the White House "wanted" many of those tax credits and breaks, but in point of fact the Republicans didn't mind giving more tax breaks. It sounds better to slide those items into the White House's column, but really the only concession by the Republicans was on extension of the unemployment benefits."

Taxes Barack_Obama GOP

"President Obama and congressional Republicans have reached a tentative deal to extend the Bush tax cuts for all income levels
and are presenting the proposal to congressional Democrats Monday afternoon, The Daily Caller has learned.

The deal will extend the current tax levels for two more years, preventing taxes from going up on any income levels, despite the wishes of many liberal Democrats — including Obama — that individuals making more than $200,000 a year and families with more than $250,000 a year in income see their rates go up.

In exchange, Republicans have agreed to extend unemployment insurance benefits
for an additional 13 months.

Obama presented the proposal to Democratic congressional leaders at the White House Monday afternoon, seeking to obtain their approval for the deal.

A House Democratic leadership source cautioned that the full party caucus will need to give their approval to any deal, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, will likely present to them at a Tuesday evening meeting.

Other details include a temporary two percent reduction in payroll taxes to replace Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit from the 2009 stimulus bill, and a compromise on the estate tax, which will be set for two years at 35 percent, with a $5 million exemption amount.

The tax rate for capital gains and dividends will be maintained at 15 percent. "

Taxes Barack_Obama GOP

vidence appears to be mounting that the Obama administration has systematically targeted for closing Chrysler dealers who contributed to Repubicans. What started earlier this week as mainly a rumbling on the Right side of the Blogosphere has gathered some

barack_obama GOP bailout

Founded in the decade before the Civil War as the Northern voice of union, the Republican Party today is more electorally dependent on the South than at any point in its past.

In the House and Senate, nearly half of all Republicans were elected from that

GOP

Centrism has emerged as a dominant factor in public opinion as the Obama era begins. The political values and core attitudes that the Pew Research Center has monitored since 1987 show little overall ideological movement. Republicans and Democrats are even

GOP democrats pew_research_center independents

I am not ordering anybody to follow this checklist. I’m not even going to nag about it. I am merely suggesting that you consider answering the questions on them before you go off on how the party isn’t listening to you.

* What is the name of your l

GOP

Though, demographically, the nation is tilting toward the Party of Government, the GOP must remain the party of free enterprise
, and should follow the counsel of Australia's Robert Menzies, long ago:

"(T)he duty of an opposition ... is to oppose selecti

politics GOP

gop mike_huckabee

For many Republicans, including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, the reaction to Sen. Arlen Specter’s party switch was unequivocal: good riddance.

Yet even as his jilted former party slams the door behind him, the GOP is quietly pur

GOP

Dr. Frank Luntz, a top Republican consultant on the language of politics, is warning the GOP that the American people want health-care reform and that lawmakers need to try to avoid directly opposing President Barack Obama.

“You simply MUST be vocally an

healthcare GOP

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.
"S

jebbush Ronald_Reagan GOP

Real change comes not from throwing tea bags at the steps of city hall, but by accumulating political power to effect change. And it is extremely easy to do so at the local level. As a long time activist within the political party and now an elected Repub

Tea_Parties GOP

Looking to rebrand a struggling Republican Party, a group of party heavyweights including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) are launching a new group that will hold town halls around the country and look to produce GOP ideas on

jebbush mccain GOP mittromney

"There is a sense of rebellion brewing," said Katon Dawson, the outgoing South Carolina Republican Party chairman, who cited unexpectedly high attendance at anti-tax “tea parties” last week.

That same sense is detectable in New Hampshire, where Union Lea

GOP conservative gaymarriage

Congressional Republicans, led by House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), came out swinging against President Barack Obama's apparent new-found willingness to entertain the possibility of prosecuting former Bush Administration o

CIA barack_obama GOP

Remember when Republicans were worried about whether new RNC chairman Michael Steele could be an effective fundraiser, or whether his controversial comments would hurt the party's finances?

Month by month, that looks like an increasingly overblown concer

michael_steele tim_kaine GOP

1. The jury remains out (to say the least) on the Michael Steele era (see especially: nuts and bolts, communications, fundraising).

2. The inordinate actual power that radio and cable hosts have over the actions of Republican elected officials.

3. The m

GOP

Speaking as one of those conservative reformers, I'd make two points. First, nobody was saying that tax cuts couldn't potentially become politically salient again if the Republicans got clobbered repeatedly at the polls and a sizable Democratic majority e

taxes GOP

Just something to ponder. For a couple years now, there's been a growing chorus of pundits, analysts and — most significantly — conservative reformers who've claimed to one degree or another that the GOPs anti-tax posture has lost its political salience.

taxes GOP