Snowe falls away, leaving Senate Dems without GOP support on healthcare  —  Senate Democrats are going to have to move forward on healthcare without a single Republican supporter after Sen. Olympia Snowe said Tuesday she could not back the Finance Committee's bill.

Conservatives Draw Blood From Acorn  —  WASHINGTON — For months during last year's presidential race, conservatives sought to tar the Obama campaign with accusations of voter fraud and other transgressions by the national community organizing group Acorn, which had done some work for the campaign.

12% Say Most Opponents of Obama Health Care Plan Are Racist  —  Twelve percent (12%) of voters nationwide believe that most opponents of President Obama's health care reform plan are racist.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of voters disagree, and 21% are not sure.

Acorn Runs Off the Rails  —  'We're just community organizers, just like the president used to be.'  —  On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 to strip Acorn, the premier community organizing group on the left, of more than $1.6 million in federal housing money meant to assist low-income people obtain loans and prepare tax forms.

Obama Admin: Cap And Trade Could Cost Families $1,761 A Year  —  Posted by Declan McCullagh The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul  —  Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.

Simple Arithmetic  —  This week we put out our annual benchmark survey of employer health coverage and costs.  Two numbers jumped off the pages.  —  The first number was the average cost of a family health insurance policy in 2009: $13,375.  To put that number in context, if you are an employer …

Rush Limbaugh hits racial bottom, digs  —  Gang, some of you are going to crack on me hard for this, but I just took down the post from earlier today about the white kid being beat up on the bus by the black bullies.  I used that incident to talk about black male violence …

As Right Jabs Continue, White House Debates a Counterpunching Strategy  —  Facing a near-daily barrage of attacks from conservative opponents, White House officials are engaged in an internal debate over how hard to hit back, even as they have grown increasingly aggressive in countering allegations they deem to be absurd.

If Jay Leno Wants Better Reviews He Can Start By Removing the Lapel Flag  —  Critics love David Letterman.  They love him because he's mean and liberal and does everything they demand: further the leftist agenda through the brutal use of humiliation to target any public figure (or their child) who might derail Leftist causes.

The Baucus Plan and the Exchanges  —  Color me impressed.  I've argued before that the Health Insurance Exchanges are the most important piece of health-care reform, and they're being unacceptably weakened and constrained.  The House bill, for instance, specifically allows businesses with only 20 or fewer people to join.

BREAKING: DNC, OFA Dump Demand for the Public Option  —  Organizing for America has dropped the demand for the public option from their open letter to members of Congress.  As recently as Sept. 11, the letter featured on OFA's Health Care Action Center stated that health care reform must:

Morning Fix: A McMahon in the Senate?  —  World Wresting Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R) will formally enter the Connecticut Senate race today, adding a celebrity element to a contest that promises to be among the most competitive in the country.  —  “Washington is out of control …

Votes are lined up to appoint a senator  —  Top Democrats press for Mass. bill  —  Senate President Therese M. Murray has not pushed the bill.  —  Legislative leaders on Beacon Hill believe they have narrow majorities in both chambers to give Governor Deval Patrick the power to appoint …