Going Into 2014, The GOP/Tea Party Agenda Is Unwinding

Wherever you look, the GOP's message - - mean-spirited, punitive, inaccurate and often unconstitutional - - is eroding.

On the consulate attack in Benghazi, a cudgel against Hillary Clinton:  

A New York Times report on the September 11, 2012, attack that killed four Americans -- including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens -- in Benghazi, Libya, calls into question much of what Republicans accusing the Obama administration of a cover-up have said about the incident.

On Obamacare:

A crucial GOP line of attack against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that millions of people will supposedly lose coverage thanks to shifting requirements on the health insurance exchanges — a flagrant violation of President Obama’s infamous “if you like your plan, you can keep it” proclamation. The truth has always been more complicated, of course. Republicans are constantly blurring the line between people who lose a plan and people who lose coverage. That is, many people might lose a particular insurance plan but immediately be presented with other options. 

Now, a new report from the minority staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has destroyed the foundation of that particular GOP claim. It projects that only 10,000 people will lose coverage because of the ACA and be unable to regain it — or in other words, 0.2 percent of the oft-cited 5 million cancellations statistic.

On same-sex marriage: 

An 18th state just joined the ranks of those that allow same-sex marriage in the United States. Just one day after New Mexico became the 17th state to legalize gay marriage, a federal judge made Utah the 18th, ruling that the state's ban on same-sex marriages violated constitutional rights. After the weekend, on Monday, December 23rd, the same judge denied a request to place a hold on same-sex weddings. 

Ohio, too, came a step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage on Monday. A federal judge ruled that state officials must recognize same-sex marriages on death certificates.  

On mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients:

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional a Florida law that required welfare applicants to undergo mandatory drug testing, setting the stage for a legal battle that could affect similar efforts nationwide.

On blocking an open-pit mine in Northern Wisconsin hills and wetlands:

Feds Again Cite Flaws In New WI Iron Mining Law

On reproductive rights:

A federal appeals court panel Friday upheld an injunction delaying Wisconsin's new law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, writing that state attorneys failed to prove implementing the law quickly would protect women's health.

On Second Amendment absolutism: 

A federal judge upheld most of New York's new gun control law on Tuesday, rejecting arguments that its bans on large-capacity magazines and the sale of some semi-automatic rifles violate Second Amendment rights. 

Judge William Skretny in Buffalo concluded those provisions are constitutional because they're related to achieving an "important governmental interest" in public safety. Those two features make guns more lethal, he wrote, citing testimony submitted in the case.

On sales of "Unintimidated" - - unimpressive:

About 7,200 copies of Gov. Scott Walker's book "Unintimidated" have sold during its first month in bookstores, an average of more than 250 copies a day. 

The sales figures as of Monday, provided by Nielsen, put Walker on pace to sell about as many copies as the memoir of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, another Republican Midwestern governor who released a book amid talk of a presidential run. But Walker still has a long way to go to match sales that other Republican politicians who have published books in recent years have seen.