Top Items:
Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Sen. Ben Nelson to announce support for health-care bill — Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the final Democratic holdout on health care, was prepared to announce to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, Michelle Malkin, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The New Republic, The Page and Riehl World View
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Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Defense appropriations bill passes Senate 88-10, clears way for health — The Senate passed a defense appropriations bill Saturday as the chamber's Democrats cleared the decks for its healthcare reform legislation. — The $636 billion Pentagon budget and added unrelated amendments including extension …
Discussion:
The Politico
Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Obama slams insurance industry going into health reform's home stretch — As the Senate prepares for a final round of votes on its healthcare reform bill, President Barack Obama chastised the insurance industry for its lobbying against the legislation. — In his weekly address Saturday …
Discussion:
The Swamp
David M. Herszehorn / Prescriptions:
An Obama Team Vets Ben Nelson's Wish List — Top White House officials, including a deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, and a senior adviser, Pete Rouse, are at the Capitol now trying to win the support of Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, who may be the last big Democratic hold-out.
The Politico:
Reid ‘confident,’ Nelson not there yet — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledged to push ahead with a health-reform bill Saturday, even though late-night negotiations failed to yield an endorsement from the senator holding the crucial 60th vote, Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson.
Discussion:
The Confluence, The Foundry, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Note, The Lonely Conservative and The Hill
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Fox News: Ben Nelson Opposes Health Reform Because He 'Understands …
Fox News: Ben Nelson Opposes Health Reform Because He 'Understands …
Alec MacGillis / Washington Post:
Ben Nelson's Medicaid concerns questioned
Ben Nelson's Medicaid concerns questioned
Discussion:
TPMDC, Ezra Klein, Wonk Room, Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, The Washington Independent and Power Line
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Methodists work Nelson: 'Set aside his personal agenda and think …
Methodists work Nelson: 'Set aside his personal agenda and think …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Guardian:
Low targets, goals dropped: Copenhagen ends in failure — Deal thrashed out at talks condemned as climate change scepticism in action — The UN climate summit reached a weak outline of a global agreement in Copenhagen tonight, falling far short of what Britain and many poor countries …
Discussion:
Grist, QandO, Telegraph, The Other McCain, Scared Monkeys, DeSmogBlog, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News, Jay Currie and Wall Street Journal
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Victoria Reggie Kennedy / Washington Post:
The moment Ted Kennedy would not want to lose — My late husband, Ted Kennedy, was passionate about health-care reform. It was the cause of his life. He believed that health care for all our citizens was a fundamental right, not a privilege, and that this year the stars …
Mark Matthews / Orlando Sentinel:
Grayson wants to send critic to jail for five years — WASHINGTON — Not everyone thinks imitation is the best form of flattery. — In fact, U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando took such offense at a parody website aimed at unseating him that the freshman Democrat has asked …
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Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Grayson threatens to imprison critic — File this story under the pot calling the kettle black. — Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), prone for throwing his own political bombs at Republicans, has threatened a local critic with five years in jail for creating the website “mycongressmanisnuts.com,”
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Flashback of the Day — When Sen. Al Franken objected to Sen. Joe Lieberman's request for additional time, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that in his 20-plus years in the Senate he had never heard a senator do that before. — However, a Political Wire reader sends this excerpt from the Congressional Record from October 10, 2002:
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
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CNN:
DC snowstorm chills Pelosi's global warming trip — Copenhagen (CNN) - In a strange twist, a Washington snowstorm is forcing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, to make an early departure from a global warming summit here in Denmark. — Pelosi told CNN that military officials leading …
ABCNEWS:
Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists — Cruise Missiles Launched Thursday Hit Two Suspected al Qaeda Sites; Major Escalation of US Efforts Against Terrorists — On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday …
Discussion:
This ain't Hell …
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Wheeling In The Cots: A Winter Snow Emergency—And An Absentee Lieberman—Is Complicating Democrats' Health Care Push — As if Democrats didn't have enough to worry about. Overnight and into tomorrow, Washington, D.C. is preparing for a major snow storm, complete with thunder and high winds.
New York Times:
U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S. — COPENHAGEN — With the swift bang of a gavel on Saturday morning, a prolonged fight between nations small and large over an international pact to limit climate risks that was forged the night before by the United States and four partners came to a somewhat murky end.
George Monbiot / Guardian:
Copenhagen negotiators bicker and filibuster while the biosphere burns — George Monbiot despairs at the chaotic, disastrous denouement of a chaotic and disastrous climate summit — First they put the planet in square brackets, now they have deleted it from the text.
Chris Frates / The Politico:
MoveOn opposes Senate bill — Progressive standard bearer MoveOn is opposing the Senate bill and asking its millions of members to sign a petition calling on liberal Sens. Bernie Sanders, Roland Burris, and Russ Feingold to block the bill's passage until it can be strengthened. — From the email:
Kate Connolly / Guardian:
Infamous sign stolen from Auschwitz — • Police believe gang behind theft of Nazi slogan — • Act of vandalism ‘knows no equal’ - Polish minister — A state of emergency was announced in Poland today involving tightened border controls and random police checks as a nationwide hunt …
Discussion:
normblog
Michelle / Hot Air:
Hot Air TV: Jason Mattera takes on the AARP — In January, I dubbed the porkulus bill the “Generational Theft Act of 2009.” Generational theft has been the leitmotif of the Obama administration throughout the entire year. We rang in the new year with it and the White House and Democratic majority …
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
The Left/Right Populist Wrap-Around vs. the Beltway Insiders — Glenn Greenwald and Ed Kilgore both have very good pieces up today on the impoverished left/right dialectic that dominates the media coverage of politics, and its inadequacy when it comes to discussing the dynamics of the health care debate.