Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
Jane Hamsher's 10 reasons to kill the bill — I've gotten a lot of requests to respond to Jane Hamsher's list of 10 reasons to kill the Senate bill. At this point, I'm not sure there's much in the way of productive dialogue to be had here. Some of the list is purposefully misleading …
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CNN:
CNN Poll: 6 point jump in support for health care bill — Washington (CNN) - Support for the health care reform bill that Democrats are pushing through the Senate has risen six points since early December, according to a new national poll, and although a majority of Americans still oppose its passage …
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
10 Reasons to Kill the Senate Bill — FDL has become the go-to place for coverage of the health care bill due to the work of our incredible team. Jon Walker's second-to-none knowledge of the health care bill has made the policy and political analysis he offers up at FDL Action a driving force.
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Don't Kill the Bill, Cont'd — In a new column posted this morning, Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher renews her call to defeat the Senate health bill—a position, I know, many of our mutual friends on the left share. — I respect her right to that opinion. I respect the fact …
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Kamikaze Democrats? — I see a meme developing among conservative-ish opponents of healthcare reform: … Sounds grim! And Trende in particular marshals plenty of wonky, district level evidence to support this view. But I'm going to repeat what I said over the weekend …
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Why 2014? — Josh Marshall mentions something about the …
Why 2014? — Josh Marshall mentions something about the …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, YID With LID, TPMCafe, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, The Foundry, Matthew Yglesias, TalkLeft and National Review
Kaiser Health News:
The Senate Bill Saves Families Money
The Senate Bill Saves Families Money
Discussion:
The Agenda on National …, Guardian, Matthew Yglesias, The Gaggle, Ezra Klein, The Daily Dish, Democracy in America and RADAMISTO
David Saltonstall / NY Daily News:
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani expected to announce Tuesday he will not run for U.S. Senate — So long, Rudy. — Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to announce Tuesday he is not running for U.S. Senate or anything else in 2010, effectively ending his storied - and often stormy - electoral career, The Daily News has learned.
Discussion:
New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, JammieWearingFool, Hot Air, MyDD, Swing State Project and GOP 12
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Little Green Footballs:
Why I Left the Right, Exhibit P for Pawlenty — Newsweek has an interview with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, the very model of a modern GOP candidate, considered by many as a possible front runner for the Presidency in 2012: Anti-science and anti-gay. … Is this a kind of “moderate” creationism?
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Howard Fineman / Newsweek:
Tim Pawlenty Gets No Respect
Tim Pawlenty Gets No Respect
Discussion:
Pharyngula, Right Wing Watch, Ben Smith's Blog, Hotline On Call, GOP 12 and The Washington Independent
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Exclusive: ACORN Qualifies for Funding in Senate Health Care Bill — Senator Roland Burris is claiming credit for a provision in Harry Reid's “manager's amendment,” unveiled Saturday morning, that could funnel money to ACORN through the health care bill. — On December 9, Burris …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Obama signs Franken's anti-rape amendment into law. — The White House Press Office sent out a statement today announcing that President Obama signed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 into law on Saturday: … Within the Appropriations Act is Sen. Al Franken's (D-MN) …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Right-Wing Hoping Robert Byrd Dies in Time to Block Health Reform — Given that the GOP has basically been checkmated on health reform, I found myself wondering yesterday why they're persisting with obstruction tactics. Surely letting the Democrats just pass the bill and then everyone gets …
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
An ugly finale for health-care reform
An ugly finale for health-care reform
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, NewsBusters.org, Jesus' General, race42008.com, Time, TPM LiveWire, Cato @ Liberty, The Field on the Narcosphere, protein wisdom, BuzzFlash.org, Politics Daily, Indecision Forever, Political Byline, RADAMISTO, Jay Bookman, Swampland, Prairie Weather, The Huffington Post, QandO, The Moderate Voice, Democratic Strategist, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Althouse, The Note and The Politico
Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
MSNBC Libtalker: ‘Morning Joe’ Team Takes Direction From WH — STATE CONTROL? — Schultz: WH Contacts Team ‘Joe’ Directly During Program! — For anyone wondering why an increasing number of conservatives now use the term “state-controlled media” (which originated with Rush Limbaugh) …
The Huffington Post:
Lieberman: Obama Never Pressed Me On Public Option — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) insists that the White House did not pressure him to get in line behind either a public health insurance option or a Medicare buy-in compromise during the health care debate this year.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Hot Air, Wonk Room, Firedoglake, Ezra Klein, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, TPMDC, IntoxiNation, AMERICAblog News, FiveThirtyEight and Washington Post
BBC:
Mexico City backs gay marriage — Lawmakers in Mexico City have become the first in Latin America to legalise gay marriage. — City legislators passed the bill 39-20, with five abstentions. The city's mayor is now widely expected to sign the bill into law.
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Emily Chang / CNN:
TV show exposes China's race issue — Shanghai, China (CNN) — It all started with the lure of the glitz, the glamour and the dream of being China's next pop star. But, as with many reality shows, Lou Jing's instant fame came with unanticipated consequences.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Listicle of the Day: Worst Washington Post Columnists of the Zeroes — It's beginning to feel a lot like listicle time: … I want to keep the explication to a minimum, but this is an award for the aggregate badness of one's Washington Post columns, not a holistic judgment of the character …
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings
The Politico:
Former speaker gets pricey perks — U.S. taxpayers are spending more than $40,000 per month on office space, staff, cell phones and a leased SUV for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, even as he works as a lobbyist for private corporations and foreign governments.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
McCain: Ted Kennedy Would Have Been Disappointed Because Health Care Bill Isn't Bipartisan — Now that Senate Dems have voted for cloture on the health care bill, passing the major hurdle on the road to making reform a reality, Republicans have already rolled out their response …
Drew Westen / The Huffington Post:
Leadership, Obama Style, and the Looming Losses in 2010: Pretty Speeches, Compromised Values, and the Quest for the Lowest Common Denominator — As the president's job performance numbers and ratings on his handling of virtually every domestic issue have fallen below 50 percent …
Naomi Klein / The Huffington Post:
For Obama, No Opportunity Too Big to Blow — Cross-posted with EnviroNation. — Contrary to countless reports, the debacle in Copenhagen was not everyone's fault. It did not happen because human beings are incapable of agreeing, or are inherently self-destructive.
J.H. / Media Matters for America:
Glenn Beck: Media Matters ' 2009 Misinformer of the Year — Glenn Beck's well of ridiculous was deep and poisonous before he launched his Fox News show, but the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States — and the permissive cheerleading of his Fox News honchos …
Capitol Confidential / Big Government:
Code TEA: Tea Parties, Go Home! All Politics Is Local — TEA Parties nation-wide have found that calling, writing, and showing up in person in D.C. has the same impact as a hiccup in a hurricane. After turning out thousands of citizens at rallies, overwhelming the Senate phone lines …
Discussion:
Dr. Melissa Clouthier
Chris Frates / The Politico:
Reid defends deals — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) offered a vigorous defense Monday of the deals in the Senate reform bill that benefit individual states, saying “it doesn't speak well” of senators who didn't secure such deals. — “There are 100 senators here and I don't know that there's …
Discussion:
Moonbattery, Stop The ACLU, Associated Press, The Hill, Gateway Pundit and protein wisdom