Top Items:
New York Times:
Congress Reaches Deal on Stimulus Plan — WASHINGTON — House and Senate leaders on Wednesday struck a deal on a $789 billion economic stimulus bill after little more than 24 hours of rapid-fire negotiations with the Obama administration, clearing the way for final Congressional action later this week.
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Did Reid roll Pelosi? — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid played a little high-stakes chicken with each other at the tail end of Wednesday's shotgun stimulus talks. — It's not clear who won - or who blinked. — According to a half dozen Congressional aides and members …
Connie Hair / Human Events:
Republicans Shut Out of Stimulus Conference Negotiations — Republicans have caught the Democrats in a midnight “stimulus” power play that seeks to cut Republican conferees out of the House-Senate negotiations to resolve a final version of the Obama “stimulus” package.
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
It's a Deal. Uh, Maybe Not. Maybe a Little Premature — The much-anticipated conference session — where a $789 billion deal on the economic stimulus package was about to become formal — has just been postponed. It was quite a spectacle, with several veteran senators and chairmen waiting …
Jeff Poor / The Business & Media Institute:
Congressman Gives Speech in Front of Pelosi's Office: ‘There Are More Shady Deals Going on Behind Closed Doors’ — Chairman of Republican Study Committee Rep. Tom Price blasts congressional leaders for not making the stimulus bill negotiations open to the public. — Business & Media Institute
David Espo / Associated Press:Congress, White House agree on $790B stimulus bill
Discussion:
The Politico, Bloomberg, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Machine, D-Day, MyDD, Hullabaloo and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:Will Any Other Republicans Support the Stimulus Deal?
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!
Washington Post:Congress Reaches Stimulus Accord
Discussion:
The Fix, JustOneMinute, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Plum Line, The RBC, Wonkette and Democratic Strategist
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Cantor's Office Responds: Video Depicting AFSCME Members As Goons — Updated below with call on Cantor to apologize. — This isn't going to make the big unions very happy. GOP House leader Eric Cantor's office has come up with an intriguing response to the AFSCME ad bllitz targeting GOP leaders …
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John Amato / Crooks and Liars:Rep. Eric Cantor sends out anti-Italian American, Union bashing …
Discussion:
Democrats.com
New York Times:
Continuity of the Wrong Kind — The Obama administration failed — miserably — the first test of its commitment to ditching the extravagant legal claims used by the Bush administration to try to impose blanket secrecy on anti-terrorism policies and avoid accountability for serial abuses of the law.
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Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:On State Secrets, Why Didn't The Administration Seek A Continuance?
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
Jeffrey Goldberg:
A Stunning Israeli Election — As I noted, I'm pretty far from Israel (geographically, that is), but my cell phone works in the western desert, and I've been talking to friends in Tel Aviv. A number of quick observations: — 1. The stunner, for me at least: The Labor Party is dead.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Informed Comment, Weekly Standard, The American Scene, Israel Matzav and FP Passport
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
Give Geithner a Break — I don't think he did well yesterday. I don't know that he's the right guy for the job. But what I do know is the following: — 1. Nobody, absolutely nobody, has more incentive to get this right than the Obama Administration. If the economy collapses — well …
Rasmussen Reports:
67% Say They Could Do A Better Job On The Economy Than Congress — When it comes to the nation's economic issues, 67% of U.S. voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress. — Nineteen percent (19%) trust members of Congress more …
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Nick Gillespie / Reason:
Remember This Catchphrase: “Maybe Too Little, Always Too Late” — Now that the stimulus package is about to become law (likely signed by Barack Obama on President's Day next Monday no less!), here's something to keep in mind. And on file. — And if this chart is correct …
The Huffington Post:
Bailed-Out Firms Distributing Cash Rewards: “Please Do Not Call It A Bonus” — Two Wall Street firms that received at least $60 billion in government bailout funds will be rewarding their financial advisers with controversial retention payments, the terms of which one senior executive described as …
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, Brave New Films blog, Christy Hardin Smith, Pam's House Blend and The Impolitic
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News Press:
Opportunites pour in for Cape teen who captured Obama's attention — Julio Osegueda's 15 minutes of fame is starting to bring in opportunity. — Since the 19-year-old Cape Coral resident had the opportunity to ask the president about receiving better benefits at his McDonald's job Tuesday during …
Richard W. Stevenson / New York Times:
Measuring a Victory — WASHINGTON — It is a quick, sweet victory for the new president, and potentially a historic one. The question now is whether the $789 billion economic stimulus plan agreed to by Congressional leaders on Wednesday is the opening act for a more ambitious domestic agenda …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
The Age:
Angry survivors blame council ‘green’ policy — ANGRY residents last night accused local authorities of contributing to the bushfire toll by failing to let residents chop down trees and clear up bushland that posed a fire risk. — During question time at a packed community meeting …
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT HUSSEIN: “A $550 Billion Electronic Run on the Banks” … This is un-frickin-believable. The financial crisis was deliberate, planned, staged. Who made the run? … Electronic Run On Banks - $550 Billion Withdrawn In 1 Hour, Federal Reserve Halts Withdrawals …
Veronique de Rugy / Reason:
800 Billion Reasons To Be Worried — The Senate stimulus bill should only stimulate taxpayer anger — How bad is the stimulus bill just passed by the Senate? Well, at least as bad as the one passed last week by the House of Representatives, but probably not as bad as the final bill …
Congress Matters:
Banking CEOs: We didn't think the bailout was necessary — by David Waldman aka Kagro X — Hey, who knew? — At the House Financial Services Committee hearing minutes ago, Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA-43) asked the following question: … I thought that was just about the biggest softball I'd ever heard.
Los Angeles Times:
Schwarzenegger, legislative leaders settle on budget framework — Participants in the negotiations say the spending proposal, aimed at closing a $42-billion budget gap, would lower investment in schools and other programs while imposing temporary tax increases.
Discussion:
Townhall.com
Megan McArdle:
Maxine Waters brings the crazy — Her questions to the bankers are so bizarre that they don't know what to do. Ken Lewis looks like a deer in the headlights as Waters asks her about offshore loss mitigation efforts. He can't even figure out what she's talking about …
Cade Metz / The Register:
‘Network management’ meets child porn — US Senator Dianne Feinstein hopes to update President Barack Obama's $838bn economic stimulus package so that American ISPs can deter child pornography, copyright infringement, and other unlawful activity by way of “reasonable network management.”
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Steve Austria (R-OH) Doesn't Know When the Depression Happened — Austrian economics (pardon the pun) continues to take over the Republican Party: … Probabilities indicate that this is not the stupidest conservative in congress.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Huffington Post, Democracy in America, Washington Monthly, The Daily Briefing, OhioDaily and MoJoBlog
Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:
So Far, Amateur Hour — The first however-many days of Barack Obama's presidency have been a study in amateurism. — Many suspected that Obama wasn't quite ready, but kept their fingers crossed. Optimistic disappointment is the new holding pattern. — What's missing from Obama's performance …
Igor Kossov / CBS News:
Murtha May Be In Hot Water — This week might bring another ethical embarrassment to the Democrats, who have been stung in recent weeks by revelations of misconduct by some of President Obama's nominees for key positions. The FBI is investigating Representative John P. Murtha's relationship …
David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Solicitor general nominee says ‘enemy combatants’ can be held without trial — Elena Kagan tells a senator she agrees with Attorney General Holder that the U.S. is at war and therefore may detain suspected terrorists indefinitely. — Reporting from Washington — Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan …
Mike Hall / AFL-CIO NOW BLOG:
Senate Committee Approves Solis as Labor Secretary — One week after postponing a confirmation vote on Hilda Soli as secretary of labor, the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today approved on a voice vote President's Obama's choice to lead the Labor Department and sent …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Jared Bernstein Explains the Connection Between Stimulus and Banking Rescue — Politically speaking, both the idea of a fiscal stimulus package in general and the specific stimulus plan working its way through the legislative process are quite possible. Rescuing—or “bailing out”—the financial system is another matter.
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