By no measure can The Wall Street Journal be mistaken for a liberal newspaper, so the findings of its latest poll should greatly disturb Republicans.

A poll released late last week, done in conjunction with NBC News, found that most Americans support collective bargaining rights for workers, want to end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy and impose a surtax on people making more than $1 million annually, and believe economic growth is a higher priority for government than deficit reduction.

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Here's a bit of news that should spoil the day for Sarah Palin, Mike Wilson, Dusty Rhodes and their ilk: A comparison of two polls suggests  that socialism is more popular among Americans than the Tea Party movement.

A new, wide-ranging Washington Post-ABC News poll reveals that 35 percent of respondents had a favorable view of the Tea Party, compared to 36 percent that likes socialism in an earlier Gallup poll. Fifty-two percent of Americans now hold unfavorable views of the Tea Party, which is an all-time high.

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After the tragic shootings Saturday in Arizona involving a U.S. congresswoman and a federal judge, some progressive commentators were quick to note the heated rhetoric and provocative imagery used by Sarah Palin's political action committee (PAC), with many blaming it for helping incite violence.

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A speech sponsored by the Cincinnati 912 Project at a local Catholic high school has been canceled because it violates the Archdiocese's policy prohibiting partisan events.

The 912 Project, a group inspired by right-wing talk show host and self-professed “rodeo clown” Glenn Beck, had rented space at Purcell Marian High School in East Walnut Hills for the Dec. 11 event.

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In the increasingly odd race for Ohio auditor, two local Republicans are making headlines around the state. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters sent a nasty letter to the Tea Party's auditor candidate while County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. defended the Democratic candidate from a GOP attack.

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**UPDATE AT BOTTOM**

It's 72 hours and counting.

That's how long it has been since CityBeate-mailed Mike Wilson, a Republican candidate and Cincinnati Tea Party leader, to learn why he skipped a planned appearance at a candidates' forum Wednesday night in Forest Park. So far, we've received no reply.

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It's gone now, but the buzz about it at City Hall and in political circles still is ongoing.

An e-mail circulated this week — presumably among conservative Republicans — referenced the Wikipedia entry for Cincinnati City Hall, which had been changed to include a lie about Congressman Steve Driehaus, a Democrat, implying he was anti-Christian.

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This week's Porkopolis column looks at the Internet critics questioning the military service of State Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery), a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Some conservative bloggers have wondered whether Pillich earned the ribbons and medals that she wears at some campaign appearances.

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Last week's Porkopolis column examined the in-fighting among the various Tea Party factions after the spokesman of the Tea Party Express wrote a satirical blog item about a letter from “Coloreds” to President Abraham Lincoln.

The not very funny but very hateful item was written by conservative radio talk show host Mark Williams, who was angered by the NAACP's resolution asking the political movement to denounce and expel its racist elements.

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For all the chatter about conservatives and Tea Partiers trying to take over the Republican Party by becoming precinct executives, the person who is perhaps the most prominent local conservative lost his race.

Amid the pages and pages of results from the May 4 primary election is the news that attorney Chris Finney, a leader of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), was defeated in his bid for a seat on the Hamilton County Republican Party’s Central Committee.

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