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 Plum Line, MyDD, Salon, Buck Naked Politics, TPMMuckraker, msnbc.com, Denver Post, The Confluence, Sunlight Foundation, Emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, Think Progress, JustOneMinute, Democracy in America, Outside The Beltway, Michelle Malkin, The Impolitic, Media Blog and AMERICAblog News
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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 …
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 …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecy
Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecy
Discussion:
NO QUARTER, Associated Press, Right Wing News, In The Agora, Sister Toldjah and The Agitator
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Preview of tonight's prime-time presser
Preview of tonight's prime-time presser
Discussion:
Moe Lane, The Note, Sister Toldjah, Pundit & Pundette, The Rhetorican and KeithHennessey.com
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:
The Hill, Associated Press, Cold Fury, Reason, RedState, Wizbang, Maggie's Farm, Patterico's Pontifications and Below The Beltway
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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?
CNN:
Senator: Democrats “baffled” by president's health care stance — WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the prospects for passing health reform by the time Congress leaves for its August recess look bleaker, Democratic grumbling about President Obama is growing louder. One Democratic senator tells CNN …
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:
DeMint refuses to take back ‘Waterloo’ statement
DeMint refuses to take back ‘Waterloo’ statement
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
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, ABCNEWS, TPMDC, The Note, D-Day, Salon, MoJo Blog Posts and Daily Kos
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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Rachel Weiner / The Huffington Post:
Liz Cheney Defends Birthers On Larry King (VIDEO)
Liz Cheney Defends Birthers On Larry King (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, At-Largely, Personal Democracy Forum blogs, Jack & Jill Politics and AMERICAblog News
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:
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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 …
RELATED:
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 …
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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 …
Discussion:
The Fix, OpenSecrets.org, Minnesota Independent, Pam's House Blend, On Deadline, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, GOP 12, Balloon Juice and TPMDC
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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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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.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
KATRINA WASN'T AN EMERGENCY?.... Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) …
KATRINA WASN'T AN EMERGENCY?.... Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) …
Discussion:
The New Republic
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 …
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.
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, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, CBS News and Think Progress
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 …
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.
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.
Discussion:
TPMDC
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
The remarkable vote to kill the plane and what it means for America's military future. — This is a big deal: The Senate today voted to halt production of the F-22 stealth fighter plane, and it did so 58-40, a margin much wider than expected. — Not only is this a major victory for Secretary …