It’s been just weeks since Mitt Romney lost his job as the party’s standard bearer, but the jostling to succeed him as the party’s nominee is already off to a busy start. …

RINO Hunters Fire Warning Shots At Republican Senate Candidates

After two disappointing election cycles, Republican leaders demanded that conservative groups end their war on electable primary candidates or risk handing the Senate to the Democrats in 2014. This week, the groups delivered their reply: “Nuts!”

Activists on the right launched a volley of criticism at 2014’s first major Senate hopeful on Monday, Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV). Capito is considered a strong contender for the seat held by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), especially if he decides to retire, but her conservative detractors are demanding a purer candidate.

It’s all very reminiscent of the kind of primary fight a lot of Republicans are desperate to avoid after 2012’s Senate shellacking. But the groups who helped get candidates like Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin on the ballot this year say they’re ready to fight it out with the establishment again in 2014. West Virginia is just the first battlefield of what could be many.

Chris Christie’s Post-Sandy Rise Defies His GOP Critics

Some Republicans still want answers from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for his embrace of President Obama just days before the election and in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. But the tough-talking governor has won plenty of other allies for his handling of the storm’s aftermath.

Creationism Controversies The Norm Among Potential Republican 2016 Contenders

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) raised eyebrows Monday when he told GQ he couldn’t answer a question about the age of the earth because “I’m not a scientist, man.”

Having a top prospect for the 2016 presidential nomination say the age of the planet is “one of the great mysteries” comes at an awkward time for a party attempting to rebuild from its Nov. 6 drubbing at the hands of voters turned off by the GOP’s embrace of social conservatives. But Rubio is hardly alone among potential Republican presidential contenders. Other big names for 2016 have weighed in publicly at various times over the years to position themselves as supportive of creationism proponents.

The Anti-Jindal: Rubio Uses Soft Touch On Romney’s ‘Gifts’ Remark

If Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is building a brick wall between himself and Mitt Romney, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is building a low picket fence.

The two men — considered possible contenders for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination — are taking very different tacks when it comes to reorienting the GOP away from Romney’s “gifts” remark, which has been universally decried among Republicans as a spectacular failure of messaging at best and a dangerous misunderstanding of the American electorate at worst. Jindal is trying to cast himself as the poster boy for the latter view. Rubio seems more interested in being the spokesperson for the former postion.

Republican Underground Emerges From The Shadows

They are few, but they are vocal: the pro-same-sex marriage, pro-choice, pro-tax Republican activists. For years, these groups have labored off the radar, trying to convince a party unwilling to listen that it needs to moderate on issues from social to fiscal. But after the Democrats’ decisive victories on Nov. 6, the Republican Underground says its finally time to go mainstream.

Obama’s Approval Rating, Popularity Spike After Election

There may not be a consensus yet on how much political capital President Obama picked up in his re-election, but a number of post-election polls suggest his victory did wonders for his public standing.

A USA Today/Gallup survey released on Friday showed Obama and his party drawing goodwill from much of the country in the wake of their triumph at the ballot box last week. Fifty-eight percent of Americans have a favorable view of the president — up 3 points from the USA Today/Gallup poll conducted right before the election. It’s also his highest favorability rating in the poll since July of 2009.

Jon Stewart: ‘How On Earth Did Mitt Romney Find Out About The Extraordinary Bag Of Gifts?’

Jon Stewart on Thursday had some fun with Mitt Romney’s recent comments claiming President Obama won re-election by doling out “gifts” to minorities and young people.

“How on Earth did Mitt Romney find out about the extraordinary bag of gifts?” Stewart asked. So what did Obama give the lucky voters? A bag of weed, a food stamp koozie, a contraception variety pack, a Quran and a piñata filled with green cards, among other goodies.

Bobby Jindal Again Explodes Over ‘Insulting’ Romney Comments

Bobby Jindal isn’t done excoriating Mitt Romney for attributing Obama’s win to the president’s offer of “free stuff” for Democratic voters. On Thursday, the Louisiana governor told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the former nominee was “completely unhelpful” in his remarks.

“This is not where the Republican party needs to go,” he said. “Look, If you want voters to like you, the first thing you’ve got to do is to like them first. And it’s certainly not helpful to tell voters that you think their votes were bought.”

AUDIO: Romney Suggests Democrats Run On Free Dental Care In 2016

Audio and new quotes from Mitt Romney’s postmortem calls with donors have emerged in which the Republican nominee elaborates on his claim that “big gifts” from President Obama to minorities, youth, and women swung the election.

If this audio had come out two weeks ago, the tape would officially classify as yet another Romney gaffe.