Top Items:
Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
White House declines to disclose visits by health industry executives — Citing an argument used by the Bush administration, the Secret Service rejects a request from a watchdog group to list those who have visited the White House to discuss the healthcare overhaul.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Plum Line, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Outside The Beltway, D-Day, Salon, MyDD, Buck Naked Politics, The Confluence, Denver Post, msnbc.com, TPMMuckraker, Emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Sunlight Foundation, Taylor Marsh, Think Progress, JustOneMinute, Democracy in America, Michelle Malkin, The Impolitic and Media Blog
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Stephen Colbert on Chuck Todd and torture investigations — (updated below - Update II - Update III) — Amazingly, reports that Eric Holder is considering commencing an investigation into Bush-era torture crimes has created extreme consternation in multiple Beltway circles despite how narrow …
Discussion:
New York Times, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Huffington Post, Outside The Beltway and Raw Story
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
In Health Care Fight, Defining Moment Nears for President — WASHINGTON — Six months into his administration, President Obama is at a pivotal moment. He has pushed through a $787 billion economic stimulus package, bailed out Wall Street and, on Tuesday, managed to beat the defense industry in the Senate …
Matt Welch / Reason:
The Transitive Property of Marginalization, and the Unconscious …
The Transitive Property of Marginalization, and the Unconscious …
Discussion:
Democracy in America
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Durbin: No pre-recess vote on healthcare — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a pre-recess vote on healthcare reform is unlikely. — “We're going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked …
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Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Pelosi: Congress should work through recess — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday said she's open to keeping the House in session through the August recess to pass its healthcare overhaul. — “I think 70 percent of the American people would want that,” Pelosi said. “I want a bill.”
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TPMDC, ABCNEWS, D-Day, Campaign Silo, The Note, Salon and MoJo Blog Posts
JammieWearingFool:
'You're Going To Destroy My Presidency' — Recall Barack Obama whining the other day how “this isn't about me”? — Well, that's nonsense. Of course it's all about him. … Somebody please send Baracky a waaaahmbulance. — Oh wait, are they covered by his plan?
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National Journal Online:
Dems Start To Push Back Hard To Prevent A ‘Waterloo’ — A telling episode recounted by Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley reveals the Obama administration might be more worried than they are letting on that a Republican senator's comparison of the healthcare overhaul to Waterloo might be dangerously close to the truth.
Discussion:
Power Line, The Confluence, The Hill, Maggie's Farm, Associated Press, Reason, RedState, Cold Fury, Wizbang, Patterico's Pontifications and Below The Beltway
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Liz Cheney: No question on citizenship — Liz Cheney is taking some heat today for, amid a discussion on Larry King Live of the fringe movement that doubts Obama's citizenship, appearing to defend it. — “People are fundamentally uncomfortable, and they're fundamentally increasingly uncomfortable …
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Capitol Briefing:
Democrats Defeat Concealed Weapons Amendment — In a 58-39 vote, supporters of the looser gun law — including all but two Republicans and 20 moderate Democrats — fell two votes short of the 60 they needed under Senate rules to approve the measure. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Thune …
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New York Times:
L.I. Man Pleaded Guilty in Attack on U.S. Base in Afghanistan — A 26-year-old American-born Long Island man who traveled to Pakistan and trained in a Qaeda camp there last year pleaded guilty in January to trying to kill United States soldiers in a rocket attack against a military base in Afghanistan …
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Deirdre Walsh / CNN:
GOP's new youth ambassador: Lady Gaga? — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Politics may make for strange bedfellows — but even for this town, this may be the oddest couple to ever make beautiful music together: House Republicans...and pop diva Lady Gaga. — At Tuesday morning's weekly GOP conference meeting …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Indecision Forever, Below The Beltway, Shakesville, Michelle Malkin and Ironic Surrealism v3.0
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Orrin Hatch quits health care talks — The health care Gang of Seven is now down to six. — Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of seven senators involved in bipartisan Finance Committee negotiations, has left the talks. — Hatch informed Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Wednesday afternoon …
Rasmussen Reports:
53% Now Oppose Congressional Health Care Reform — The health care reform legislation working its way through Congress has lost support over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% of U.S. voters are at least somewhat in favor of the reform effort while 53% are at least somewhat opposed.
Discussion:
AIP Blog, Hot Air, YID With LID, The Strata-Sphere, HotAirPundit, Don Surber and RedState
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Dude, Where's My Sperm? — I've been freaking myself out over the past 24 hours by reading Reece Rushing's CAP report on dangerous chemicals impairing American fertility. For the fellows, there's reduced sperm count: — And the ladies aren't being spared either: — What's to blame? Well:
Discussion:
Center for American Progress
The Campaign Spot:
Oooh, Don't Forget, ‘Now Is The Time To Act’! — Senate Republicans e-mail me: … It's good, don't get me wrong, but they left off a few of my favorite Obama cliches, some of which are straw men, some of which are rhetorical crutches: “We inherited these problems”; “the alternative is to do nothing” …
Bob Franken / Politics Daily:
Sarah Palin 2013: A Look Ahead — It is noon, Jan. 20, 2013. Sarah Palin raises her right hand to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. — Palin had won a decisive victory over the incumbent, Barack Obama. The country was still trapped in economic rubble …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever
Quinnipiac University:
Toomey Ties Specter In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Say New Democrat Does Not Deserve Another Term — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey has shrunk to a tie with 45 percent for Specter and 44 percent for Toomey …
Chris Harris / Media Matters Action Network:
Rep. Blackburn: “We're Not Going To Cry ‘Emergency’ Every Time We Have A Katrina” … THE MEANING OF “EMERGENCY” — While extolling the virtues of a balanced budget during a PAYGO debate on the floor of the House, Rep. Marsha Blackburn shamefully exclaimed: … This statement is shocking on many levels.
Douglas Martin / New York Times:
John S. Barry, Main Force Behind WD-40, Dies at 84 — John S. Barry, an executive who masterminded the spread of WD-40, the petroleum-based lubricant and protectant created for the space program, into millions of American households, died on July 3 in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Republicans nominate Scozzafava in NY 23 — Republican party leaders chose state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, a leading moderate in the state legislature, as their nominee to succeed Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) in an upcoming special election. — The eleven Republican county chairmen within …
ABCNEWS:
Sarah Palin: Report She Violated Ethics Laws Is ‘Misguided’ And ‘Factually In Error’ — Leaked Report Says Alaska Governor's Trust Fund Could Violate Ethics Act — Independent Counsel Sympathetic to Palin — Despite finding probable cause to investigate, Daniel said he was …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Robert Draper / New York Times:
The Ultimate Obama Insider — On Jan. 25, 2008, the day before the South Carolina Democratic primary, Barack Obama endured a grueling succession of campaign events across the state. When his staff informed him that the evening would conclude with a brief show-up at the Pink Ice Ball …
Washington Post:
Obama Talks Health Care — In a telephone interview with editorial page editor Fred Hiatt Wednesday afternoon, President Obama said he will not accept a health-care reform bill, even one that is deficit-neutral, if it does not also begin to reduce the cost of care.
David S. Hilzenrath / Washington Post:
Health Insurance Lobby Cherry-Picks Data in Fight Against Public Plan — The industry that helped scuttle health reform 15 years ago with its “Harry and Louise” ads is back, voicing support for a central element of the Obama administration's plans: making sure everyone is covered.
Discussion:
MoJo Blog Posts, The Hill's Pundits Blog, The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and CBS News