Top Items:
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Our One-Party Democracy — Watching both the health care and climate/energy debates in Congress, it is hard not to draw the following conclusion: There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Reason, Power Line, distributedrepublic …, American Power, Cato @ Liberty, Fausta's Blog, The Corner on National …, Jules Crittenden, Sister Toldjah, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Peking Duck, Neptunus Lex, The Atlanticist, The League of Ordinary …, Cafe Talk Aggregator, Babalú Blog, Climate Progress, Liberal Values, Shot in the Dark, The Moderate Voice, Gawker, Environmental Capital, NewsBusters.org, Pundit & Pundette, A Conservative Shemale and Greg's Opinion
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Jonah Goldberg / The Corner on National Review Online:
Thomas Friedman is a Liberal Fascist — By: Jonah Goldberg — Mark beat me to it, but I must put in my two cents. Thomas Friedman writes: … So there you have it. If only America could drop its inefficient and antiquated system, designed in the age before globalization and modernity and …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
FRIEDMAN PONDERS ‘ONE-PARTY DEMOCRACY’.... I'd overlooked Thomas Friedman's NYT column this morning, but after noticing how angry it made conservative bloggers, I figured I should probably take a look. — I'm glad I did. Friedman argues that China's one-party autocracy, despite its …
Discussion:
The League of Ordinary …
Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
GOP Lawmaker's Graphic Sex-Bragging Caught On Tape — We've all seen those stories where a careless politician gets a little too candid when speaking into a hot mic. But this one's really in a whole different league. — [RELATED SLIDESHOW: TPM'S HISTORY OF THE SEX-SCANDALOUS FALL OF THE MODERN CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT]
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Talking Points Memo, Navel Gazing, Daily Kos, FishBowlLA, The Political Carnival and Feministing
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Shelby Grad / L.A. Now:
O.C. Assemblyman Duvall resigns amid recorded sexual comments — Orange County Assemblyman Michael Duvall, who was caught on an open mike making sexual comments, resigned today. — “I am deeply saddened that my inappropriate comments have become a major distraction for my colleagues in the Assembly …
Navel Gazing:
OC Assemblyman In Bed With Lobbyist . . . No, Literally In Bed — SACRAMENTO—Freshmen legislators arriving in Sacramento receive advice from veteran politicians about the intricacies of working in California's capital. One of those tips is to remember that microphones broadcasting legislative debates …
Jim Newell / Wonkette:
Vulgar CA Assemblyman Caught On Open Mic Bragging About Various …
Vulgar CA Assemblyman Caught On Open Mic Bragging About Various …
Discussion:
pandagon.net
Brad / Think Progress:
‘Family Values’ California Politician Caught Bragging About His …
‘Family Values’ California Politician Caught Bragging About His …
Discussion:
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BEWARE OF LIVE MICROPHONES.... California state Rep. Michael Duvall …
BEWARE OF LIVE MICROPHONES.... California state Rep. Michael Duvall …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Penny Starr / CNSNews:
Obama Pitched Universal Health Care to Students in Meeting Prior to His Speech on Education — (CNSNews.com) - Prior to his nationally broadcast speech to students on Tuesday, President Barack Obama made a pitch for health care reform in a discussion with 40 freshmen at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech
Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Boston Globe, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Matthew Yglesias, NY Daily News, Firedoglake, Prescriptions, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Associated Press, QandO, Wonkette, Washington Wire, The Note, Hot Air, TPMDC, Townhall.com, George's Bottom Line, Think Progress and Pundit & Pundette
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
White House talking points blast Palin — A source sends on the talking points the White House is circulating to allies in advance of President Obama's speech, most of them reiterating familiar themes of momentum and security. — But the White House has also chosen specifically to focus …
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Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Boehner: GOP leaders haven't met Obama for health talks since April — The ball is in President Obama's court to reach out to Republicans if he wants a bipartisan bill on healthcare reform, House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) said Monday morning. — Boehner told reporters that the president …
Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama: I was too ambiguous on healthcare reform
Obama: I was too ambiguous on healthcare reform
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Snowe: White House Needs to Compromise on the Public Option
Snowe: White House Needs to Compromise on the Public Option
Discussion:
Open Left
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Obama's Intended Audience: 100 House Democrats...
Obama's Intended Audience: 100 House Democrats...
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight
WhiteHouse.gov Blog:
EXCERPTS OF THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS TONIGHT: — I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform.
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Analysis: Two precedents in jeopardy — Analysis — If supporters of federal curbs on political campaign spending by corporations were counting on Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., to hesitate to strike down such restrictions, they could take no comfort …
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Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
After Thesis Uproar, McDonnell's Strongly Worded Comments on Gays Resurface — ‘Homosexual Conduct’ Comments ‘Irrelevant’ to Campaign, He Says — In January 2003, then-Del. Robert F. McDonnell helped gavel in one of the most extraordinary judicial reappointment hearings in Virginia history …
Discussion:
National Review Online, Power Line, The Daily Dish, Salon, DCist, All Spin Zone, Taylor Marsh, NewsBusters.org and Below The Beltway
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Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:
With one simple sentence, ABC News confirms the death of Beltway journalism — It's from an online report about the Obama school “controversy,” and it's written by Dan Harris. In his piece, Harris notes that conservatives pre-emptively blasted Obama's stay-in-school speech even though conservatives …
The Huffington Post:
GOP Picks One-Time “Birther” To Rebut Obama's Health Care Speech [UPDATED] — UPDATE: An eagle-eyed reader points out that Boustany, after espousing his “Birther” views on camera, below, caved and retracted his statement on a Louisiana KPEL radio show. — Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Truthdig, Glenn Thrush's Blog, The Washington Independent, AMERICAblog News and Gawker
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Attacks on Sunstein Frustrate Conservative Fans — On January 8, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein would be nominated to run the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. It was a surprising choice for a job, created in 1980 …
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Jesse Lee / WhiteHouse.gov Blog:
The Speech Tonight — With all of the TV chatter and bickering, it might be easy to forget what makes health insurance reform such a monumental issue. It is not about the fortunes of one political party or another; it is about the anxiety and insecurity Americans face …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The GOP vs Fiscal Conservatism — Charlie Cook and others are predicting a sea-change in public mood, with support for the GOP rising because of deficits. This strikes me as an amazing thing. It makes Charlie Brown, the football and Lucy look like the model of intelligent interaction.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
FISCAL CONSERVATISM.... David M. Walker, the comptroller general …
FISCAL CONSERVATISM.... David M. Walker, the comptroller general …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com
Drudge Report:
WHIP COUNT: DEMS LACK THE VOTES — At least 44 more moderate Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record in opposition to the current health care bill in the House, a Hill source claims. Likewise, at least 57 liberal Members of the Democrat Caucus have gone on the record saying …
Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Go, Hillary, Go! — The boss hears from two sources that Hillary Clinton is considering stepping down as Secretary of State this fall in order to run for Governor of New York.
Discussion:
Gawker
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Less Spocky, More Rocky — As soon as I started covering Barack Obama, I knew he was going to be trouble. — Not Global Trouble, like W. and Dick Cheney. Or Hanky-Panky Trouble, like Bill Clinton and John Edwards. Or Tedious Trouble, like John Kerry and Michael Dukakis.
Beltway Buzz:
Democrat House Member Bart Stupak Confident He Can Block Health Care — Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak tells the Beltway Buzz he's “confident” he has the votes to block the rule that allows H.R. 3200 onto the floor for debate. However, he says he's not taking anything for granted.
Discussion:
The Hill
Jennifer Lebovich / MiamiHerald.com:
11 accused of faking voter registration cards in Miami-Dade — Eleven people hired to register potential voters in Miami-Dade County before last year's presidential election were being sought Wednesday for falsifying hundreds of voter registration cards. — The Miami-Dade State Attorney's …