Top Items:
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Anthony Weiner: Not Including Public Plan Will Cost Reform “100 Votes” in the House — [Jane will be appearing on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports today at 1pm EDT. —Ed.] — When I wrote that 64 Democrats in the House had pledged to vote against a health care bill with no public plan …
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Paul Krugman:
The public option as a signal — Look, it is possible to have universal care without a public option; Switzerland does. But there are some good reasons for the prominence of the public option in our debate. — One is substantive: to have a workable system without the public option …
Mike Lux / The Huffington Post:
The News of Its Death Is Greatly Exaggerated — Kent Conrad has repeatedly said there are not enough votes in the Senate for a public option, and now says he won't vote for one. HHS Secretary Sebelius says the public insurance option is not essential. These statements add …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Health concession fuels blowback
Health concession fuels blowback
Discussion:
Firedoglake, TalkLeft, Hot Air, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Capital Journal, AMERICAblog News, Crooks and Liars, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Raw Story and Salon
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Sorry, Can't Pass Health Care Bill Without a Public Option
Sorry, Can't Pass Health Care Bill Without a Public Option
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Plum Line, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, HorseRaceBlog, Ezra Klein, The Reaction, About.com US Liberal Politics, Blogs and Stories, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Blog entry, Salon, Matthew Yglesias, QandO, Working In These Times, Time, Taibblog, American Power and Dennis the Peasant
Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Liberal Dems alarmed by public option move
Liberal Dems alarmed by public option move
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Washington Independent, Townhall.com and Reuters
Rachel Slajda / Talking Points Memo:
Man Carrying An Assault Rifle And Pistol Outside Obama Event — A man was seen carrying an assault rifle and a pistol outside the VFW Convention in Phoenix where President Obama spoke today, a local newspaper reports. (Click through for a photo.) — Local police said it's legal under Arizona law …
Discussion:
Instapundit, Jay Bookman, Confederate Yankee, BLACKFIVE, alicublog, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Sadly, No!, Gawker and The Political Carnival
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Rachel Slajda / Talking Points Memo:
Twelve Carry Guns — Including Assault Rifle — Outside Obama Event — About 12 people were carrying guns, including at least one semi-automatic assault rifle, outside a building where President Obama was speaking today. — No one was arrested outside the VFW National Convention in Phoenix …
John Faherty / Arizona Republic:
Obama: ‘Honored and humbled’ to speak before veterans in Phoenix
Obama: ‘Honored and humbled’ to speak before veterans in Phoenix
Discussion:
Guardian, The Political Carnival, The Impolitic, On Deadline, Wonkette and Prairie Weather
Mike Allen / The Politico:
White House disables e-tip box — Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box — flag@whitehouse.gov — that was set up to receive information on “fishy” claims about President Barack Obama's health plan.
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Los Angeles Times:
Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan — When cryptic posters portraying President Obama as the Joker from “Batman” began popping up around Los Angeles and other cities, the question many asked was, Who is behind the image? — Was it an ultra-conservative grassroots group …
James Rucker / The Huffington Post:
Wal-Mart, CVS, Best Buy ditch Glenn Beck (plus 5 more companies) — Cross-posted at Jack and Jill Politics, Firedoglake, and Daily Kos. — Big news today. We've confirmed that eight more major advertisers have pulled their support from Glenn Beck's show — Wal-Mart, Best Buy, CVS …
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Kpicket / The washington times Blogs:
Rep. Massa: I will vote against the interests of my district — Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) addressed an intimate group of Netroots activists during their annual Netroots Nation gathering in Pittsburgh this weekend. Mr. Massa reiterated his support for a single-payer health care bill.
Discussion:
Hot Air, QandO, Moonbattery, Wizbang, YID With LID, GayPatriot, Weasel Zippers, Below The Beltway, Freedom's Lighthouse, Gateway Pundit and Dennis the Peasant
National Review:
Rationing and Rationality — Defined at a high level of abstraction, rationing is inevitable in medicine. Not everything that might be in a patient's best interest can be done in a world of finite resources, and some constraint has to limit his treatment. Thus the left-wing jibe that the market features “rationing by price.”
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Rasmussen Reports:
Voters Skeptical About Health Care Reform Claims Made By Pelosi and Hoyer — Lost in the uproar over a comment in USA Today by the top two House Democrats that those protesting health care reform are “un-American” were several statements aimed at assuring Americans that their access to quality care will be even greater.
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Anill / Think Progress:
Joe The Plumber Says He Would ‘Beat The Livin’ Tar' Out Of Pelosi — This past weekend, at the right wing's RightOnline blogger conference in Pittsburgh — sponsored by Americans for Prosperity — Alternet's Adele Stan reported that Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher attacked Nancy Pelosi for calling teabaggers “un-American.”
Discussion:
AlterNet.org, addiestan, Feministe, At-Largely, Norwegianity, The Political Carnival, Wonkette and Below The Beltway
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Heather / Crooks and Liars:
Joe the Plumber: Those Kind of People I Usually Took Behind …
Joe the Plumber: Those Kind of People I Usually Took Behind …
Discussion:
TPMDC
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Winning By Losing — Charlie Cook just said something very profound (which is unusual.) Chris Matthews asked whether or not the Democrats would lose the House next year and he said he didn't think so, but that they might lose 20 seats. And then he said this:
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Ezra Klein:
Chuck Grassley's Dispiriting Bipartisanship — Spent a few hours today as one of the panelist's on Dylan Ratigan's “Morning Meeting.” Toward the end of the second hour, Chuck Grassley hopped on the program to talk death panels and bipartisanship. It sounded like bipartisanship dying.
Discussion:
Media Matters Action Network, Obsidian Wings, Newshoggers.com, Washington Monthly and Wonkette
RELATED:
CNSNews:
Conservatives Now Outnumber Liberals in All 50 States, Says Gallup Poll — (CNSNews.com) - Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to the Gallup Poll. — At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year …
Washington Post:
Time to Legalize Drugs — Undercover Baltimore police officer Dante Arthur was doing what he does well, arresting drug dealers, when he approached a group in January. What he didn't know was that one of suspects knew from a previous arrest that Arthur was police. Arthur was shot twice in the face.
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
Luntz admits he tries to convince focus group attendees to oppose health care reform. — In May, pollster Frank Luntz presented a memo to congressional Republicans, laying out a strategy for opposing health care reform. Since then, the GOP has closely followed his script.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Associated Press:
Obama administration says marriage law unfair — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration filed court papers Monday claiming a federal marriage law discriminates against gays, even as government lawyers continue to defend the law. — Justice Department lawyers are seeking to dismiss …
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Nicholas Beaudrot / Donkeylicious:
The Flowchart — During the FDR 2.0 panel, an audience member asked Chris Hayes to give the condensed version of what the health care bills current under debate would actually do. He started his description by saying something like 'are you guys all familiar with flowcharts? ... right, we're all geeks here'.
Katie Baker / Newsweek Blogs:
Why the Ladies Love Jon Hamm of ‘Mad Men’ — The other day, I saw Don Draper in a restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Or rather, I saw Jon Hamm, the award-winning actor who plays the ad exec anti-hero on AMC's Mad Men, which kicked off its third season Sunday night.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
CNN anchor to protester: Hey, stop calling yourselves “real Americans” — All this poor guy meant by “real” is that the people at Obama's town halls were true grassroots activists who went on their own initiative, not as fronts for the White House or some conservative astroturf operation.
Madison Park / CNN:
90 percent of U.S. bills carry traces of cocaine — (CNN) — The term “dirty money” is for real. — In the course of its average 20 months in circulation, U.S. currency gets whisked into ATMs, clutched, touched and traded perhaps thousands of times at coffee shops, convenience stores and newsstands.
Discussion:
PoliBlog
Benjamin L. Hartman / Associated Press:
Orly Taitz: Obama policies are ‘clear and present danger to Israel’ — The driving force behind the ‘birther’ movement has found her star is rising in Israel. — U.S. President Barack Obama's domestic and foreign policies pose “a clear and present danger to Israel,” says the driving force behind …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Israel Matzav, The Washington Independent and Salon