“Politics” on The Daily Caller

Reporting from Bin Jawwad, Libya— A sustained counterattack by Libyan government forces sent overmatched rebel fighters fleeing eastward through this desert crossroads early Tuesday as heavy fighting engulfed the battered town. (more)

Washington (CNN) – Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who garnered attention and lost his job after building a Ten Commandments monument outside Alabama’s judicial building, is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination, his top aide confirmed to CNN. (more)

Congress gave itself a three-week reprieve on a government shutdown, then spent the first 10 days on vacation. Now, lawmakers return with the shutdown deadline once again looming, and a deal seemingly as far away as ever. (more)

It’s Boehner’s Fault: New Republic explains why Obama didn’t get a Libya Bounce in the polls: It seems political scientists have determined that a “key variable” when a President takes military action is ” the reaction of politicians and leaders in the party out of power.” When opponents don’t criticize, the President’s numbers rise. When they criticize, they don’t. In this case, Republicans, including Boehner and Gingrich, criticized. Hence, no “poll bump.” Blame an  ”increasingly hyper-partisan politics” and “the extreme, anti-all-things-Obama sentiment that’s taken hold of the GOP”! … Obvious elephant-like problem with this convenient theory: Maybe the reaction of opponents to any given military action is a dependent variable. The independent variable would be, you know, the smartness/stupidity of the action itself. If it seems reasonable and necessary, the political opponents keep quiet. If it seems ill-advised, confused and clumsily handled, they criticize.  Hey, it’s a theory! I don’t see how TNR‘s fancy political science correlation  tells us to blame Boehner but not  Obama.  [Maybe TNR was just trying to "put sophisticated ideas into the news cycle" like Matt Yglesias--ed Sort of like fabric softener? This one came out in the rinse!] (more)

One year later, former Congressman Bart Stupak is still feeling the effects of the critical role he played in healthcare reform. In an interview with ‘The Atlantic,’ Stupak said he still gets “accosted” by angry citizens. (more)

Washington (CNN) – CNN has exclusively learned that Rep. Michele Bachmann will form a presidential exploratory committee. The Minnesota Republican plans to file papers for the committee in early June, with an announcement likely around that same time. (more)

Betty Sutton is a Democratic member of Congress from Ohio and member of the House Armed Services Committee who is proud of her legislative work to rein in the influence of lobbyists in Washington. (more)

Why K Street Hates Sherrod Brown: When Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown says that “card check”–organized labor’s proposal to let union organizers avoid secret-ballot elections– is dead, “card check” is dead. (more)

After some relatively quiet years, the national gun debate locked and loaded for another round last week after President Obama hinted his desire to reform the current background check system. Plenty has happened in the past few years with both sides entrenched in deep partisan arguments. To prepare readers for the onslaught of over-exaggerated political rhetoric, ambitious policies and former victims crying before the camera, The Daily Caller is launching a multi-part guide for readers not entirely up to snuff. Click here for Part I.
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U.S. military operations in Libya could wipe out a significant chunk of the budget cuts won by congressional Republicans in recent weeks, defense analysts say. (more)

Trying to determine what President Barack Obama’s end goal is on Libya has some scratching their heads. While the president has said Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi must relinquish power, his administration has also sent clear signals that regime change is not the aim of the military campaign in Libya. (more)

The intra-party poaching begins as Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour hires one of Mitt Romney’s top advisers, Sally Bradshaw. It’s the first serious defection from one potential 2012 Republican Presidential candidate to another, according to the National Journal. (more)

Glenn Reynolds interviewed me on Instavision earlier this week. I have to admit it looks better than bloggingheads. Production values! … In 14 minutes we cover lots of topics: Wisconsin, what’s happened to blogging, why I switched to Daily Caller, and–at about 8:09–my recipe for a winning Republican message in 2012. … Hint: It involves Wall Street … (more)

A Republican lawmaker on Tuesday accused Democrats of leaving the country a fiscal “pile of crap” for not passing a budget when they controlled both chambers of Congress. (more)

In an Arizona Daily Star op-ed Sunday, President Obama called for “common sense” in re-examining the country’s firearms debate. But between significant players in the firearms debate, there still isn’t much “common” ground in their sense-making. (more)

“New Party Within A Party”: Joe Mathews on the growth of a labor-skeptic caucus within the union-dominated California Democratic Party. Already they’re being called “Republicans” by the imaginative Robert Cruickshank. But they’re not. They’re liberals. They just seem to actually want the government to work. … (more)

Washington (CNN) – A majority of Americans would support a move by the United States and other allies to establish a no fly zone in Libya, according to a new national poll. (more)

Democrats are hoping they’ve found a secret weapon for winning back the House in 2012: Twitter. (more)

A Democratic National Committee spokesman said Monday that DNC Chairman Tim Kaine is “increasingly likely to run” for Senate in Virginia, but added that reports that Kaine announced his campaign to a group of students are premature. (more)

For Wisconsin voters on both sides of the aisle, it’s senatorial hunting season, and thanks to the organizing power of social media, it may be like shooting fish in a barrel. Embroiled in the state’s budget controversy, all 16 senators vulnerable to the state’s recall laws have had petitions launched against them. (more)