Top Items:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
TRANSPARENT BIGOTRY.... Following up on an earlier item, at least one high-profile Republican senator announced he doesn't want to see President Obama nominate a gay American for the Supreme Court. … I don't expect much from Thune, but I have to wonder if he realizes how incredibly ridiculous this is.
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J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Sessions would consider gay SCOTUS nominee — Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday he could consider a gay nominee for the nation's highest court. — “I'm not inclined to think that's an automatic disqualification,” Sessions said of a gay nominee.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
A Justice Who Is Gay — Two of the most qualified center-left jurists …
A Justice Who Is Gay — Two of the most qualified center-left jurists …
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
UPDATED: Steele Condemns Maine Decision, Revealing Split With Snowe and Collins — After the RNC said he wouldn't be issuing a statement on Maine's decision to legalize gay marriage today, RNC Chairman Michael Steele is in fact condemning the decision, a position that puts him at odds …
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Maine.gov:
Governor Signs LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom — AUGUSTA - Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom. — “I have followed closely the debate on this issue.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Pam's House Blend, Salon, Crooks and Liars, HRC Back Story, The Bilerico Project, Daily Kos, New York Times, PoliticalBase.com Blog, Comments from Left Field, pandagon.net, Talking Points Memo, AMERICAblog News, Ben Smith's Blog, Raw Story, Think Progress and Newshoggers.com
Matt Wickenheiser / pressherald.mainetoday.com:
Baldacci signs same-sex marriage into law
Baldacci signs same-sex marriage into law
Discussion:
The Hill, Ballot Box, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Shakesville, DownWithTyranny! and #gay
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Steele yields powers to foes in RNC
EXCLUSIVE: Steele yields powers to foes in RNC
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hot Air, TBogg, Salon, Rumproast, pourmecoffee's posterous, D-Day and The New Republic
National Enquirer:
JOHN EDWARDS' MISTRESS DEMANDS DNA TEST FOR BABY! — John Edwards' furious mistress is demanding he submit to a DNA test, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively! — Rielle Hunter - the longtime secret lover of the disgraced 2-time presidential candidate - wants definitive proof that Edwards …
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Jennifer Parker / George's Bottom Line:
Did Elizabeth Edwards Know When She Said This? — Elizabeth Edwards' admission that she knew about her husband's affair “days after” his presidential announcement back in 2006 puts this interview I had with the two of them in a new light. — It came just two days after Edwards announced his presidential bid.
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket
Daily Oklahoman:
House bypasses governor's veto to claim Oklahoma's sovereignty — Although Gov. Brad Henry vetoed similar legislation 10 days earlier, House members Monday again approved a resolution claiming Oklahoma's sovereignty. — Unlike House Joint Resolution 1003, House Concurrent Resolution 1028 does not need the governor's approval.
Mother Jones:
A Cheney Cover-Up? — Someone in the White House tried to deep-six Philip Zelikow's anti-torture memo. Welcome to the latest Bush-era whodunit. — Post Comment — Who in the George W. Bush White House tried to shred a memo challenging the use of torture?
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Kristi Keck / CNN:
Obama tones down National Prayer Day observance
Obama tones down National Prayer Day observance
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
CNN:
Poll: Don't investigate torture techniques — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates that most Americans don't want to see an investigation of Bush administration officials who authorized harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists, even though most people think such procedures were forms of torture.
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Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Ed Gillespie: There wasn't a single woman of comparable ‘temperament and intellect’ to Alito. — On “The Situation Room” this afternoon, former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie said that “it would be wrong” if President Obama looks at only women for potential Supreme Court nominees …
The Politico:
Meltdown: Specter stands alone — Arlen Specter infuriated Senate Republicans when he bolted from their party last week. Now he's alienated just about everybody in the Senate Democratic caucus, too. — Since declaring himself a Democrat last Tuesday, Specter has defied Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Swamp, Politics Daily, CNN, Commentary, The Note and NO QUARTER
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Pakistan-US Relations Are Upside Down — I think the headline “U.S. Presses Visiting Pakistani Leader on Taliban Threat” pretty much sums up what's gone wrong in the US-Pakistan relationship. The Pakistani Taliban are waging a war whose aim is to overthrow the government of Pakistan.
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Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
IS CONGRESS TURNING TOWARDS SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM? — Steny Hoyer, it seems, is making some noises about Social Security reform. Good luck with that, I guess. The interesting nugget in the article, however, is that “House and Senate leaders have resisted the idea of naming a special commission …
Discussion:
MoJo Blog Posts
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Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Obama Offers D.C. Voucher Program Extension for Existing Students — President Obama will seek to extend the controversial D.C. school voucher program until all 1,716 participants have graduated from high school, although no new students will be accepted, according to an administration official …
Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Global Tax Raid — President Obama revealed Monday that he's half a supply-sider. If only someone could explain to him the other half. We have a tax code, the President said, “that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York.”
Ryan Powers / Think Progress:
Limbaugh Responds To Powell: He Needs To ‘Close The Loop And Become A Democrat’ — On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said that he believed the Republican party is in “deep trouble,” “getting smaller,” and being led by polarizing figures like Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Rush Limbaugh.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gallup, NewsBusters.org, The Plum Line and Stop The ACLU
John R. Bolton / Washington Post:
Obama's Prosecutions by Proxy — President Obama's passivity before the threatened foreign prosecution of Bush administration officials achieves by inaction what he fears doing directly. This may be smart politics within the Democratic Party, but it risks grave long-term damage to the United States.
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
With Gay Issues in View, Obama Is Pressed to Engage — WASHINGTON — President Obama was noticeably silent last month when the Iowa Supreme Court overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage. — But now Mr. Obama — who has said he opposes same-sex marriage as a Christian but describes himself as a …
Wall Street Journal:
Stress Tests Separate Strong From Weak — The Federal Reserve directed at least seven of the nation's biggest banks to bolster their capital levels by $65 billion while effectively blessing the stability of six others, marking for the first time a bold line between some of the nation's stronger and weaker banks.
Lee Fang / Think Progress:
EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Limbaugh Mocks Recession During Speech To Wealthy Right-Wing Donors — Last night, Rush Limbaugh came to Washington, D.C. to address the President's Club Dinner, a meeting of wealthy donors and supporters of the Heritage Foundation. The audience included Supreme Court …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, RedState, GOP 12, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Mahablog and The Garlic
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Too Much, Magic Bus — PajamasTV hasn't really been in the news since it hired Sam “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher to report on the war in Gaza, but it's still kicking. Some of its most popular content is coming from black conservative comic Alphonzo Rachel, who sometimes appears as “President Zobama.”