Topic: U.S. Republican Party
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Focus
The Monitor's top 11 US stories of 2012
From storms to politics, the year was a wild ride. What are the most meaningful US stories of 2012? Here's the Monitor's list, in roughly chronological order.
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Focus
Republican Party 2.0: 4 GOP leaders share ideas for political upgrade
In the aftermath of election 2012, four prominent Republicans share their visions for how the GOP can adapt its messaging to reflect a diversifying US electorate.
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'Fiscal cliff' 101: 5 basic questions answered
President Obama and congressional leaders are working to stop the US from going over the “fiscal cliff,” a combination of higher taxes and lower spending set to take effect Jan. 1. Here are five steps to understanding what's going on.
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6 ways to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'
Republican congressional leaders and President Obama sharply disagree over how to deal with the impending “fiscal cliff.” But a successful plan shouldn’t be that hard to put in place. Here are six ways Washington can avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
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War with Iran? 5 ways events overseas could shape Obama's second term.
The threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program is the most urgent example of the foreign-policy challenges that face President Obama in his second term. Here are four others.
All Content
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Beyond the 'cliff': Why spending cuts are next on the agenda
The just-concluded fiscal cliff deal answered most questions about taxes, for now, but until Obama and Congress address spending cuts, the federal deficit problem has not been solved.
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Opinion: Why I'll be avoiding the sequel to the 'fiscal cliff' drama
I invested a great deal of time following the Fiscal Cliff Drama and its main characters, John Boehner and President Obama. But the great fight over taxes and spending cuts ended with a cop-out. There was no satisfying dénouement, and the ticking time-bomb turned out to be fake.
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Decoder Wire
Chris Christie: Did primal scream help or hurt his presidential prospects? (+video)Gov. Chris Christie tore into Speaker Boehner and the House GOP over the delay in a vote on Sandy relief. That could help him get reelected but hurt him in a Republican primary campaign.
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House speaker vote: John Boehner wins reelection after tough few weeks
John Boehner's reelection to a second term as House speaker followed failed negotiations with Obama, a divisive fiscal cliff vote, and a bashing over delays in relief aid for hurricane Sandy.
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Chapter & Verse
Presidential biographer Edmund Morris discusses Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and more'I was not drawn to either man because he was president,' says Morris of Roosevelt and Reagan, but instead by 'the enduring fascination of their character.'
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Bitterly divided Congress greets new members just in time for new fiscal fight
The outgoing Congress, which has been criticized as the least productive one in more than 60 years, staggered to an end this week by passing a limited deal to avoid the worst of the so-called 'fiscal cliff.'
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Congress will vote on Sandy aid this week, says Boehner (+video)
House Speaker John Boehner rescheduled a vote on Sandy relief funding for Friday at the urging of lawmakers from the storm's hardest hit regions. The funding is slated to go toward immediate relief for victims as well as rebuilding efforts.
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'Fiscal cliff' deal: Will the Tea Party find renewed strength? (+video)
Some, including members of the Tea Party, are dissatisfied with the recently agreed upon deal relating to the fiscal cliff. Tea Party groups are looking toward the next election in hopes of replacing less conservative Republican members of Congress with Tea Party candidates.
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Opinion: Love it or loathe it, the 'fiscal cliff' deal brought compromise
As unsatisfying as the bargain is in substance, its achievement reaffirms an essential element of America’s democracy – the need for compromise. That aspect of the 'fiscal cliff' deal will be needed as the US approaches the debt ceiling and debate on spending cuts and tax reform.
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Under pressure, Boehner is said to promise votes on hurricane Sandy relief (+ video)
Rep. Peter King says Boehner made the promise to Republicans from the affected states. Earlier, President Obama joined a bipartisan chorus seeking immediate action on Sandy from the House.
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'Fiscal cliff' deal: After rush of relief, debt ceiling clash already looms
The fiscal cliff deal passed the House after Republicans broke ranks over taxes. But spending cuts loom large in the next clash, over raising the debt ceiling, which Obama says is non-negotiable.
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Robert Reich
After the fiscal cliff comes the debt ceilingThe battle over the fiscal cliff was only a prelude to the coming battle over raising the debt ceiling – Reich writes – a battle that will likely continue through early March, when the Treasury runs out of tricks to avoid a default on the nation’s debt.
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How Obama won and lost in 'fiscal cliff' deal
President Obama would have looked incompetent if the nation had gone over the fiscal cliff. But now he faces three more cliffs early in 2013, and those could limit his scope.
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Stock markets leap after 'fiscal cliff' compromise, but problems lurk
The House of Representatives passed the budget bill late Tuesday night, a contentious exercise because many Republicans had wanted a deal that did more to cut government spending.
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Decoder Wire
Donald Trump slams GOP: How would he have struck 'fiscal cliff' deal?Donald Trump slams GOP in tweets, saying that Republicans got nothing in the fiscal cliff deal. Here's a look at some principles the real estate mogul might have followed had he been negotiating.
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$1 million Apple heist: Thieves hit Paris store on New Year's Eve
$1 million Apple heist at the flagship store in Paris was a 'well prepared' operation, police said. Four armed thieves used the commotion around New Year's Eve festivities in downtown Paris to carry out the $1 million Apple heist.
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House Republicans' 'fiscal cliff' gripe: When will we ever get spending cuts? (+video)
What riles House Republicans isn't the taxes on the rich in the Senate's 'fiscal cliff' bill, it's the absence of significant spending cuts. But changes at this late date could scuttle the bill.
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Robert Reich
Senate 'fiscal cliff' deal is lousyHere are four reasons the 'fiscal cliff' deal emerging from the Senate doesn't serve America well. President Obama could have done better in negotiations with the Republicans.
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In 'fiscal cliff' deal, Joe Biden upstages President Obama (+ video)
With 'fiscal cliff' talks teetering, Vice President Joe Biden – a former longtime senator – stepped in to broker a deal with his old colleagues and and stave off big tax hikes for most Americans.
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The Vote
Dancing troupe of middle-class taxpayers: Obama's 'fiscal cliff' trump card?President Obama took to the stage Monday to press Congress not to allow taxes to go up on middle-class taxpayers – and he had a rambunctious group of them on hand to support him.
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'Dairy cliff'? Milk prices poised to spike unless Congress acts.
Prices could surge in January, but probably not double, if inaction by Congress results in the revival of a 1949 price system. And it probably won't come to that, as lawmakers work to avert dairy-case price shock.
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Obama, Hillary Clinton top Gallup's most admired: Who else is on the list?
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both extended their winning streaks as the man and woman most admired by Americans. The women's list is more diverse than the men's.
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'Fiscal cliff': How far apart are the sides now on tax cut deal?
Both sides have appeared to come closer together on Bush-era tax cuts, but many other issues remain, and Senate majority leader Harry Reid still isn't saying much publicly.
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Fiscal cliff: 48 hours to go and Senate negotiations slow to a crawl
A late-breaking Republican demand to cut Social Security benefits through an alternative method of calculating inflation adjustments has put negotiations at an impasse.
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Little enthusiasm among GOP for Hagel, but he has Obama's support
President Barack Obama said he saw nothing that would disqualify former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel from being nominated for US defense secretary. However, some Republicans have expressed doubts about Hagel's positions on Iran and Israel.
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