Tea Party's Image Turns More Negative  —  Ted Cruz's Popularity Soars among Tea Party Republicans  —  The Tea Party is less popular than ever, with even many Republicans now viewing the movement negatively.  Overall, nearly half of the public (49%) has an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party, while 30% have a favorable opinion.

Ryan breaks from Boehner, votes ‘no’  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) split with his party's leadership and voted against the Senate fiscal agreement on Wednesday night.  —  In a statement, Ryan called the legislation to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling “a missed opportunity” to reduce the federal debt.

Cory Booker makes history as he defeats Steve Lonegan in U.S. Senate election  —  NEWARK — Cory Booker's star-quality and his skill at surviving the roughhouse politics of New Jersey's biggest city took him from the mayor's office to the U.S. Senate today in a hard-fought victory over Republican iconoclast Steve Lonegan.

Conservatives Learned The Wrong Lessons From The Shutdown Debacle  —  For a certain block of House conservatives, the ones who drove Speaker John Boehner toward a government shutdown and near-default against his will, the lesson of the last few weeks isn't that they overreached.

McCain: No more shutdowns, ‘I guarantee it’  —  Washington (CNN) - Sen. John McCain promised Thursday the government will not shut down again in the near future, and argued the President, as the victor in the recent showdown, will now have to engage with his political opponents on Capitol Hill.

Don't Execute the Man Who Paralyzed Me (Guest Column)  —  Joseph Paul Franklin, who has confessed to shooting Flynt in 1978 and been convicted in a series of racially motivated murders, is set for execution in Missouri in November.  Flynt writes for THR, “I have every reason to be overjoyed with that decision, but I am anything but.”

Documents reveal NSA's extensive involvement in targeted killing program  —  It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home.  But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put …

The Year of Living Carlos Dangerously  —  Anthony Weiner's sexting addiction nuked his political career (twice!), endangered his marriage (twice!), and turned him into a walking penis joke (forever!).  —  Marshall Sella tails Weiner through his doomed campaign for New York mayor …

Norquist: Defunders Owe Conservatives an Apology  —  Grover Norquist isn't happy with the Defunders.  The Americans for Tax Reform president told reporters today that they have a lot of apologies to make and bridges to re-build.  —  “It'd be a good idea if they stopped referring …

Hillary Clinton, Welcome to the White House  —  She has no Democratic challenger, and the Republican Party is no longer a credible opposition force.  —  Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles as she waits to answer questions from an audience at Chatham House on October 11, 2013 in London, England.

House stenographer hauled from floor  —  A House floor stenographer was abruptly hauled out of the chamber after charging the dais and screaming during Wednesday's late night vote on raising the debt ceiling and funding the federal government.  —  As the bill sailed toward final passage …

A Teachable Moment  —  One of the themes running through my various government shutdown posts has been the importance of seeing the current wave of right-wing populism clearly and weighing its merits and demerits judiciously.  That requires understanding the strategic thinking that led …

The Republican Surrender  —  President Obama signed the bill reopening the government and lifting the debt ceiling early Thursday morning.  —  The Republican Party slunk away on Wednesday from its failed, ruinous strategy to get its way through the use of havoc.