Politico

Senate Democrats are salivating at the prospect of attacking Republicans in 2010 who voted against an anti-rape amendment sponsored by Al Franken, reports Politico. The provision, which was supported by 68 senators, would prevent the Department of Defense from contracting with companies that prohibit employees from suing over workplace disputes — including complaints of sexual [...]

Last week Politico reported that the House Republicans’ minority leader, Rep. John Boehner, and whip, Rep. Eric Cantor were “wary” of the damage Rep. Michele Bachmann could cause to the party because of her inflammatory statements. The two rushed to the support of Bachmann in a letter on the official blog of the House Minority [...]

Knocking off U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann will take a lot of cash. The flamboyant Republican has already raised $600,000 this election cycle — more than any other members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. That might explain why state Sen. Tarryl Clark, who’s hoping to unseat Bachmann, was in Pittsburgh last week currying favor with liberal bloggers [...]

The Republican Party of Minnesota released a new radio ad today targeting U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson over recent comments explaining why he doesn’t hold town meetings. The ad, titled “Out of Touch,” will run on radio stations in the Seventh Congressional District.

Norm Coleman will be the next chairman of the Republican National Committee. That’s the skinny being pedaled by Politico’s Mike Allen. Here’s the bit from Allen’s daily newsletter:
WORD ON THE STREET: The next RNC chairman will be Norm Coleman, after he loses his recount fight and big donors see Michael Steele’s March numbers.
Of course we’ve [...]

There’s a divide opening in how the media is covering the story of Norm Coleman’s vulnerable donor database: Some outlets blame shoddy security practices by the campaign, others blame “hackers.” The latter group — which includes Politico, MinnPost and right-wing blog Power Line, among others — echoes the campaign’s assertion that the exposure of donors’ [...]

Where do national Republican leaders, who are helping bankroll Norm Coleman’s election contest fight, see Minnesota’s Senate saga going? “We’re in completely,” National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) tells The Politico. “We’ll support Norm to the bitter end.”

New Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele sees rosy prospects for a re-elected Norm Coleman in a statement the RNC released today. But Coleman’s past haunts him when it comes to money matters, says Politico in an extended rehash of the former U.S. senator’s finances that’s lightly spiced with sympathetic ruminations from former U.S. [...]

In a not-exactly-rare correction, the New York Times acknowledged it incorrectly indicated that a statement by Rep. Michele Bachmann, praising President-Elect Obama, was uttered on Nov. 5 not Nov. 6. The reason for the error: The paper confused Sarah “Pals around with Terrorists” Palin, who made comments about Obama on Nov. 6, with Michele “anti-American” Bachmann.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 180-degree turn on Barack Obama has made her a New York Times cover girl today, the lead example in a front-page story on Republicans whose opinions of Obama have undergone drastic makeovers in the five days since his landslide victory in the presidential election. But hers wasn’t an immediate conversion, or even overnight as the Times has it. The political calculation required to move from worries about Obama’s “anti-American views” to his gladness over his African-American background took a little more time, even for a woman who also promised him a kiss.