Wednesday, May 29, 2013   Published Weekday Mornings   To see the full version of today's cartoon, click on the preview graphic of the cartoon (below the Commentary) to be taken to the full version in your favorite web browser. A Party In Need Of Help Greg Sargent: Today's GOP is fundamentally unserious about governing Study: Republicans are "the less credible party" Molly Ball: How to Save the GOP GOP legend Bob Dole laments GOP's move to the far right The Wisdom of Bob Dole Olympia Snowe: Bob Dole is right about GOP Snowe says GOP should 'rethink their approach as a political party' Senate GOP feels jilted after being wined and dined by Obama on deficit talks Steve Benen: GOP hypocrisy towards Obama is amazing Jonathan Bernstein: GOP's post-policy posture even harms GOP-aligned interest groups A Small Step Forward Michele Bachmann Says Won't Seek Re-election Next Year Michele Bachmann Presidential Campaign Investigation Joined By FBI The Michele Bachmann Campaign Probe, Explained Bachmann's surprise & why no one believes her announcement had nothing to do the investigations Scandalmania 2013 IRS higher-ups requested info on conservative groups, letters show Fox News: How didn't it know about Rosen case? House Judiciary investigating whether Holder lied under oath Holder Still 'Not Satisfied' With How Leaks Are Investigated The Real Target: Clinton Aides At State Dept. Now The Focus of New Subpoenas for Benghazi Talking Points Sequestration Nation More Americans are feeling the effects of the sequester John Nichols: Bridges Shouldn't Have to Collapse for Congress to Get Serious About Infrastructure Evan Soltas: When Sequestration Becomes Devastation Poll: The American public wants money spent on disasters - cost be damned Health Care Checkup Study: Differences in Medicare spending due mainly to health differences House Democrats gear up for Affordable Care Act outreach GOP floats permanent 'doc fix' bill Ed Kilgore: The Wingnut Hole In The ACA Energy, Climate & Environment Hurricane Season Is Starting, and Projections Are Higher Than Average Wal-Mart to Pay $81.6M for Illegal Waste Disposal Nations In Turmoil Josh Rogin: Obama Asks Pentagon For Syrian No-Fly Zone Plan Syrian rebels warn Hezbollah to back down; Lebanese soldiers killed on border Assad's Syrian forces and Hezbollah send more troops to disputed city of Qusayr Israel warns Russia against giving Assad's Syrian govt. missiles The War Over There U.S. drone strike kills Pakistan Taliban number two Pakistani officials: U.S. drone kills 4 militants near Afghan border Afghan officials say suicide assault repulsed UK says its 'ready to return Afghan suspects' from their version of Guantanamo, Camp Bastion International News Sectarian violence erupts in Myanmar New SARS-like virus is a 'threat to the entire world' Chinese rescuers save baby lodged in sewage pipe Midwest Roundup Bills fall by wayside as Nebraska legislative session nears end Neb. Legislature overrides about half of Gov. Heineman's line-item budget vetoes Recent rains ease drought in region, swell rivers Access to Marshalltown, Iowa still limited by flooding Iowa pork producer Smithfield bought for $4.72 billion The First Step As the adherents of just about any twelve-step program will tell you, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. For the past half-decade, we've been among the voices trying to coax the modern Republican Party toward step one, multiple times - even before our current archive system existed. Unfortunately, to the detriment of both their own political party and the American people, the only steps the Republican party seems willing to take are off the edge of an ideological cliff. When we read Greg Sargent's headline Tuesday - which echoed one we wrote two years ago this week - we realized parts of today's Republican Party have been on their current version of a political death march since before this century began. With both GOP legend Bob Dole and recently retired Senator Olympia Snowe calling out the GOP as desperately in need of rethinking their priorities, we were once again reminded that the current Republican Party is in almost exactly the same position as the Democratic Party was in the mid-1980s - a comparison we've been making for years now. Indeed, it's the same comparison Molly Ball outlined last week in The Atlantic. While the parallels between then and now are both eerie and startlingly sad, the differences remind us even more how far the GOP has fallen into their own madness... To continue reading... click here. And now, for your Daily Felltoon preview for May 29, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) Jobs & The Economy Home prices post biggest increase in 7 years Report: Nearly 40 percent of mothers are now family breadwinners in U.S. | U.S. economy holding up surprisingly well in spite of austerity Peter Orszag: The Upside of Low Employment? Longer Life. Wall Street Watch Regulators probing big banks' debt collection practices | Electric car maker Tesla's stock soars; operator of charging stations for electric cars tanks Economic Inequality Study Proves Income Inequality Gets Worse When You Slash Taxes On The Rich Paul Krugman: Inequality & Taxing the Rich Kevin Drum: How the Rich Got Richer, Global Comparisons Edition Worldwide Economics Central Banks Worldwide Act With a New Boldness Switzerland frees banks to settle U.S. tax evasion cases Improving U.S. economy, rebounding Japanese economy, can't stop OECD from cutting world growth forecast Immigration: Reform Coming Pelosi hoping immigration deal can be done by August So Far, Immigration Bill Is Slow to Stir Foes' Passion Justice & Injustice George Zimmerman returns to court for pretrial hearing Seven men charged in global money-laundering operation Communications Breakdown Facebook Promises To Take Action On Domestic Violence Content Being Posted By Some Users News Corp promises relentless cuts at newspapers Media Matters Larry King joins Russian-American cable channel RT Josh Barro to join Business Insider as politics editor Here It Is! Your HuskerNutz Preview for May 29, 2013 (Click the preview cartoon above to see the full version of the cartoon) National Politics Postal Service is on its last legs, with little help in sight | Kevin Drum: The Post Office is Failing, and It's Congress's Fault White House Update Obama to name J. Furman Chairman of WH Council of Economic Advisers Ezra Klein: In his 2nd term, Obama wants experience, not outside voices News From Capitol Hill Kevin Drum: Filibuster Summer is Coming Our Way Harry Reid: Abuse of Senate filibuster must end On The Left Sen. Franken goes from top target in 2014 to heavy re-election favorite Greg Sargent: Elsewhere, Democrats prepare for nuclear war Jonathan Chait: Obama to Senate - Obstruct This Joe Muto: Tales of a Liberal Mole at Fox News On The Right Study: GOP districts have become whiter, more conservative Poll: GOP's Mitch McConnell In Trouble For 2014 McConnell's bad numbers: No, they're not a push poll. Benen: Some pettiness is expected in politics - but Jim Inhofe is pushing it States Of Confusion Feds investigate Maryland train derailment, fire, explosion; collision with garbage truck examined | Indiana's Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood Is Dead We hope you enjoy "The Daily Felltoon" every business day. Thanks for continuing to be a member! Paul Fell Shawn "Smith" Peirce Paul Fell Cartoons, Inc.