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The Politico:
GOP headache: The birther issue — When lawmakers return home for recess in August, they can expect to hear tough questions from constituents on the economy, health care and government spending. — But Republicans are preparing for something else: the birthers.
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Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Mike Stark on Capitol Hill: Know Your Birthers — Mike Stark has been up on the Hill all week whipping Democrats to hold fast on the public plan, and in his spare time, he decided to ask Republicans if Barack Obama was born in the United States. Not only do they not want to answer — they run.
Wen Stephenson / WBUR and NPR:
The Fury of the ‘Birthers’ — A detail of President Barack Obama's birth certificate, from The Annenberg Political Fact Check (FactCheck.org), a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. — Post your comments below — President Barack Obama turns 48 next week.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, NewsBusters.org, Political Punch, Hot Air, Prairie Weather, About.com Conservative …, The Caucus and Balloon Juice
Mike Stark / The Huffington Post:
Elected Birthers on the Hill — Thanks to FireDogLake and Campaign Silo for giving me the opportunity to do this work! — Check out this video: several Republican Congressman tell me they don't believe Barack Obama is an American. Several dodge the question.
The Politico:
GOP headache: The birther issue — So far, Hoekstra hasn't faced any such questions. — “When you're in a state with 15.2 percent unemployment,” he said, “most people have other things on their mind than this.” — But as if to illustrate the touchiness of the subject, Hoekstra quickly added: “Not that this isn't important.”
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Inhofe Clarifies Claim That Birthers “Have A Point,” Blames White House — As you've already seen, Senator Jim Inhofe made a big splash today by telling the Politico that the birthers “have a point,” adding that he doesn't “discourage” their movement. — But he's now clarifying his claim …
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:Gibbs: Birther conspiracy theory is ‘made-up, fictional nonsense.’
Discussion:
The Plum Line
Radley Balko / Reason:
The Henry Louis Gates “Teaching Moment” — The arrest of Harvard African-American Studies Professor Henry Louis Gates has certainly got everyone talking. Unfortunately, everyone's talking about the wrong issue. — Responding to a 911 call from a woman who observed Gates prying open …
Discussion:
The Opinionator, The Daily Beast, Slate, The Agitator, Scared Monkeys, Cold Fury, Balloon Juice, Moe Lane, Hullabaloo and And So it Goes in Shreveport
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Boston Globe:
Gates caller says she didn't cite race — Woman laments media accounts — The woman whose report of a possible house break-in led to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. said she never mentioned race during her 911 call and is “personally devastated” …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
A Straw In The Wind In Favor Of Gates — Interesting - the 911 caller asserts, and the Cambridge Police confirm, that she didn't mention the race of the suspected in-breakers when she made the 911 call. Gates had made a similar claim to the effect that the caller could not have seen …
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
House Dem Putting GOPers On The Spot By Introducing Measure Describing Hawaii As Obama's Birthplace — Okay, this is getting really good. Dem Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii is going to introduce a resolution on the House floor today that seems designed to put House GOPers who are flirting with birtherism in a jam.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Think Progress, Open Congress, Newshoggers.com, Daily Kos, D-Day, Hot Air and TPMDC
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Governor Palin, You're No Hillary Clinton — Over at Pollster.com, Brendan Nyhan (whom you should be reading) espouses a fairly common sentiment: that Sarah Palin's favorability numbers, while poor, are not a whole heck of a lot worse than Hillary Clinton's were at the same point in the electoral cycle.
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Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Amid New Scrutiny, John Yoo Rebuts Critics of Detainee Memos — Quietly but Forcefully, Author of Detainee Memos Rebuts Critics — Some public figures, if their judgment and ethics come under fire, retreat into solitude. Then there is John C. Yoo. — The former Justice Department official …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, Emptywheel, Law Blog, Reason, Neptunus Lex, The BLT, Newshoggers.com and The Volokh Conspiracy
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Jennifer Agiesta / Behind the Numbers:Biden's Watchdog Role May Have Bite
Discussion:
Hot Air, KeithHennessey.com, Politics Nation, The Foundry, The Political Carnival and Wake up America
Larry Margasak / Associated Press:
AP IMPACT: Dodd, Conrad told deals were sweetened … WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony.
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Voinovich slams DeMint and Coburn for GOP downfall; blames ‘the southerners’ — Too many conservative senators like Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are to blame for the GOP's downfall, one of their retiring Republican colleagues complained Monday.
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Pelosi unpopular? 'I don't care' — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is one of the most despised political figures in the country. — And, frankly, she doesn't give a damn. — “No, I don't care,” Pelosi told POLITICO last Thursday, laughing heartily as she walked beneath the Capitol dome and plunged into a crowd of tourists.
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Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:UPDATED: Because Politico is really just a GOP bulletin board
Discussion:
Campaign Silo
Tom Beaumont / Des Moines Register:
Grassley to vote against Sotomayor confirmation — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said today he planned to oppose the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court when the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on her nomination Tuesday. — The vote, which Grassley announced …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
An Incoherent Truth — Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats — mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995. And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Time, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Huffington Post, Buck Naked Politics, The Treatment, Washington Times, PoliGazette, DownWithTyranny!, D-Day, Patterico's Pontifications, OpenSecrets.org, Facing South, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Campaign Silo, NOW! Blog, Grasping Reality …, AMERICAblog News, Taylor Marsh, The Note, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Prairie Weather and MoJo Blog Posts
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE.... I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, though I'd hoped it wouldn't. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, during an official press briefing, was actually asked about the Birther conspiracy nuts. — I'm fairly certain it was Bill Press …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
Bunning's not running — Cantankerous Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning has officially dropped out of next year's reelection campaign — citing his paltry fundraising efforts. — Bunning's office just put out the following statement: — I have the same conservative principles in 2009 …
The Daily Beast:
Finally, Action on Gay Soldiers — Blogs and Stories — The Daily Beast has learned that the Senate, prompted by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, will hold hearings on “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—a first since 1993, despite Obama's campaign promises. — After determining she didn't have enough votes …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
The hidden hand — The wave of publicity for the Birther movement hasn't yet crested, with the dentist who's the movement's leading legal light, Orly Taitz, saying she's taping the Colbert Report tomorrow, and popping up elsewhere in the mainstream media. — This isn't necessarily a bad thing …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
CBS News:
Palin's “Mad as Hell” Speech — Outgoing Alaska Governor Lashes Out at Media in Resignation Address, But Will It Work in the Long Term? — (CBS) This story was written by CBS News digital journalist Scott Conroy and director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Van Hollen: Senate may need to ‘pull the plug’ on talks — Senate leaders may need to “pull the plug” on bipartisan negotiations on healthcare reform legislation, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Monday. — Van Hollen, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) …
David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
Lou Dobbs and the Birthers: Mainstreaming fringe ideas for ratings eventually will catch up with you — Howard Kurtz this weekend was only the latest media critic to pile on Lou Dobbs for his promotion of the Birthers' conspiracy theories on CNN. Like nearly everyone else …
Ilya Somin / The Volokh Conspiracy:
A Modest Proposal for Bar Exam Reform: This week, many of my former students will be undergoing the painful experience of taking the Virginia bar exam. My general view on bar exams is that they should be abolished, or at least that you should not be required to pass one in order to practice law.
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