Republican Party

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told a gathering of officials from Ohio that the GOP needs to be more welcoming to people who disagree with core GOP tenets. "We're going to have to be a little hands off on some of these issues … and get people into the party," he said. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, was leaned on by Speaker John A. Boehner to persuade GOP lawmakers to temporarily back off the spending cuts they had asked for in any increase to the debt ceiling. (Associated Press)

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President Obama, during a White House news conference Monday, said GOP threats to hold the line on the nation's borrowing are "irresponsible." Republicans hope the debt limit debate can be used to make Democrats address the deficit. (Associated Press)

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Newly elected Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, is a tea party favorite with serious legal chops who already has advised the Republican Party to adopt the motto “Opportunity Conservatism.” (Associated Press)

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**FILE** U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Republican, gives his victory speech at the Republican Party election headquarters at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 2, 2010. (Associated Press)

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House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (left) and Speaker John A. Boehner enter a GOP meeting Wednesday, showing solidarity. (Associated Press)

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Late on New Year's Day, Speaker of the House John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, walks past reporters after a closed-door meeting meeting of House Republicans as the "fiscal cliff" bill passed by the Senate last night waits for a vote in the GOP-controlled House, at the Capitol, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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House Speaker John A. Boehner (center right), Ohio Republican, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (center left), Virginia Republican, walk to a second GOP caucus meeting to discuss the "fiscal cliff" bill — which was passed by the Senate on Monday night — at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)