Top Items:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Romney won't run for Kennedy's seat — Former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney will not seek the Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy's death, a Romney spokesman said Thursday. — Responding to speculation that Romney may be interested in the seat—which he challenged Kennedy for in 1994 …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
PREDICTING POLITICIZATION.... It looks like word went out yesterday about what leading conservative voices should say about Ted Kennedy's death: complain about the memorial service that hasn't happened yet. … All of this came the same day Kennedy's death was announced.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
A ‘Wellstone effect’ for Kennedy? — Key conservative voices have begun to charge in the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy's death that Democrats are inappropriately politicizing the senator's death, his memorial and his legacy. — Kennedy was that ultimate political creature, a “lion of the Senate …
Media Matters for America:
Conservative media invoke Wellstone memorial smear in predicting …
Conservative media invoke Wellstone memorial smear in predicting …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, MyDD, Democracy in America, Minnesota Independent, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo and The Politico
Jules Crittenden:
Dems In Mourning — His friend of many years' body not yet cold …
Dems In Mourning — His friend of many years' body not yet cold …
Discussion:
WAMU 88.5, TVbytheNumbers, Boston Herald, Capitol Briefing, theblogprof, Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit and Don Surber
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Obtained: The RNC's Health Care Survey — I just chatted with Raymond Denny, the 64-year-old La Center, Wash., man who received the RNC's “2009 Future of American Health Survey,” which alleged that President Obama's health reform plans might discriminate against Republicans. Here's the survey question:
Discussion:
Glenn Thrush's Blog, Think Progress, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Swampland, Runnin' Scared and Salon
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Suggested By ... Glenn Beck? — Dave Weigel catches a remarkable mailing from the Republican National Committee: … You can't dismiss this as fringe weirdos or “entertainment,” can you? The official Republican Party is telling its members that Democrats may use voting registration information to identify and kill them.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Whoops! RNC Admits Screwing Up With Suggestion That Health Care …
Whoops! RNC Admits Screwing Up With Suggestion That Health Care …
Discussion:
Glenn Thrush's Blog
Robert Moore / Coloradoan Online:
Markey: Medicare will take hit — Some people, including Medicare recipients, will have to give up some current benefits to truly reform the nation's health-care system, Rep. Betsy Markey told a gathering of constituents in Fort Collins on Wednesday. — Markey has repeatedly said during …
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Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Dem. Rep. Betsy Markey: Yep, Medicare Will Take a Hit
Dem. Rep. Betsy Markey: Yep, Medicare Will Take a Hit
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Taylor Gandossy / CNN:
Girl taken in 1991 surfaces; couple held — (CNN) — A 29-year old woman walked into a northern California police station, saying she was abducted 18 years ago, authorities said Thursday. Two people are being held in connection with the case. — Jaycee Dugard is in good health …
Matea Gold / Show Tracker:
UPDATED: As boycott continues, Glenn Beck's audience swells — An advertising boycott against Fox News host Glenn Beck has succeeded in keeping most major sponsors from running commercials on his show even as the controversial commentator's viewership has grown.
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Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
The Onion Wins The Internet. — First, there was the article on the “afterbirthers” demanding to see Obama's placenta. Now, we have an Onion segment discussing whether or not using a minotaur to gore detainees is, in fact, torture. Obviously there are two sides to the question.
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Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:
Pastor Of Gun-Toter At Obama Event Prayed For Obama To Die — Chris Broughton, the man who brought an assault rifle and a handgun to the Obama event in Arizona last week, attended a fiery anti-Obama sermon the day before the event, in which Pastor Steven Anderson said he was going to …
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CNSNews:
Howard Dean: Democrats Left Tort Reform Out of Health Care Bill Because They Feared ‘Taking On’ Trial Lawyers — (CNSNews.com) - Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a medical doctor who served as governor of Vermont, said at a town hall meeting on Tuesday night …
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Steele Confused, Overwhelmed By NPR Interview: 'Now Wait A Minute. Hold up. ... You're Trying To Be Cute.' — In an interview with Michael Steele, NPR's Steve Inskeep repeatedly asked the RNC chairman to explain why Republicans keep defending Medicare at the same time they claim …
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
Key Democrat suggests party moderates ‘brain dead’ — WASHINGTON (AP) - A key House liberal suggested Thursday that party moderates who've pushed for changes in health care legislation are “brain dead” and out for insurance company campaign donations. — Moderate Blue Dog Democrats …
Joshua Rhett Miller / Fox News:
ABC, NBC Won't Air Ad Critical of Obama's Health Care Plan — The refusal by ABC and NBC to run a national ad critical of President Obama's health care reform plan is raising questions from the group behind the spot — particularly in light of ABC's health care special aired in prime time last June hosted at the White House
gqrr.com:
Corzine Closes Gap in New Jersey Governor Race — Stan Greenberg, Al Quinlan and Drew Lieberman — Democracy Corps — Research Categories … Executive Summary — A new survey conducted for Stan Greenberg and James Carville's organization Democracy Corps by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner …
Stars & Stripes:
Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters … WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters' coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”
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Ellis Goodwin / Chickasha Daily-Express:
Inhofe slams health reform — At a town hall meeting Wednesday Sen. Jim Inhofe told Chickasha residents he does not need to read the 1,000 page health care reform bill, he will simply vote against it. — “I don't have to read it, or know what's in it. I'm going to oppose it anyways,” he said.
Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:
Wall Street Journal Unbelievably Keeping Mark Penn as Columnist — Yesterday we reported that Microtrend-spouting flack Mark Penn's PR firm was using his Wall Street Journal column to drum up PR business. Penn is ethically compromised. But today, the WSJ tells us they're keeping Penn on as a columnist.
CBS News:
Democratic Health Care Bill Divulges IRS Tax Data — Posted by Declan McCullagh One of the problems with any proposed law that's over 1,000 pages long and constantly changing is that much deviltry can lie in the details. Take the Democrats' proposal to rewrite health care policy …
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, Riehl World View, The Volokh Conspiracy and Wake up America
Barry Massey / Associated Press:
NM Gov. Richardson said to be clear of fed probe — SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former high-ranking members of his administration won't be criminally charged in a yearlong federal investigation into pay-to-play allegations involving one of the Democratic governor's …
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Anchorage Daily News:
Palin won't show at fundraiser, denies accepting invitation — TONIGHT: Spokeswoman says ex-governor was never asked. — Organizers of an Anchorage event that has been billing Sarah Palin for weeks as a star speaker were left scrambling Wednesday after learning that the former governor …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Even The New Republic now calls for a party purge of corporate-owned “centrists” — The New Republic, 2004, endorsing Joe Lieberman for President: … TNR's Jonathan Chait, in The Los Angeles Times, 2006, viciously condemning those who mounted a primary challenge against Lieberman (an “anti-Lieberman jihad"):
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
FEC allows Club to go after Specter donors — Donors upset with Sen. Arlen Specter's (D-Pa.) decision to bolt the Republican Party earlier this year will have the opportunity to get their money back, thanks to a Federal Election Commission decision issued Thursday.
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Mary Mapes knew Bush volunteered for Vietnam: CBS report — This story by Bernard Goldberg certainly takes me back to the early days of my blogging career. Shortly after the 2004 Republican convention, Mary Mapes produced a segment for 60 Minutes II that alleged that George W. Bush …
Discussion:
Power Line, The Moderate Voice, Little Green Footballs, Dean's World, QandO, theblogprof and Crooks and Liars