FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S VOID  —  The GOP's leadership void... The hits keep on coming for Steele, though the RNC reported raising $11.4 million in March... But that is less than the $13 million-plus the DNC is reporting... Is Bart Stupak going to call it quits?... Obama heads to Prague this evening …

McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders  —  RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday …

Obama Bans Islam, Jihad From National Security Strategy Document  —  The change is a significant shift in the National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventative war.

What really happens at Tea Party rallies  —  (CNN) — When it comes to the Tea Party movement, the stereotypes don't tell the whole story.  —  Here's what you often see in the coverage of Tea Party rallies: offensive posters blasting President Obama and Democratic leaders …

Rubio's path  —  Marco Rubio's remarkable fundraising haul — $3.6 million this quarter, he just announced — is a reminder of the scale of his stardom inside the Republican Party, all of whose core constituencies seem to like the guy.  —  He's already hearing every day (and brushing it off) …

Supreme Court May Soon Lack Protestant Justices  —  text sizeAAA  —  With U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens talking openly about retirement, attention has focused on the “who” — as in who is on President Obama's short list of potential nominees.

Black conservative tea party backers take heat  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - They've been called Oreos, traitors and Uncle Toms, and are used to having to defend their values.  Now black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement …

Palin to attend rally, benefit in Mpls.  —  The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will attend a rally and a high-bucks fundraiser for the Minnesota Republican Party Wednesday.  —  For Sarah Palin's Wednesday stop in Minneapolis, the masses will come first, to be followed by the moneyed.

Health care overhaul spawns mass confusion for public  —  WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them.  —  Questions reflecting confusion …

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit  —  (Reuters) - The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

Parties Even in Congressional Midterm Preferences  —  Rise in voter enthusiasm after passage of healthcare has since steadied  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Daily tracking for the week ending April 4 finds the two major parties tied at 46% in the congressional voting preferences of registered voters nationally.

Economic Scene: To Cut Health Costs, U.S. Needs to Learn to Say No  —  How can we learn to say no?  —  The federal government is now starting to build the institutions that will try to reduce the soaring growth of health care costs.  There will be a group to compare the effectiveness …

Juneau County DA warns districts on sex ed law  —  Teaching curriculum could lead to criminal charges against teachers, he writes  —  By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison — A district attorney is telling Juneau County schools to abandon their sex education courses …

The 9/14 Presidency  —  Barack Obama is operating with the war powers granted George W. Bush three days after the 9/11 attacks.  —  If you believe the president's Republican critics, Barack Obama takes a law enforcement approach to terrorism.  His FBI came under fire for reading Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab …

Obama weighs new peace plan for the Middle East  —  Despite recent turbulence in U.S. relations with Israel, President Obama is “seriously considering” proposing an American peace plan to resolve the Palestinian conflict, according to two top administration officials.