Top Items:
Louise M. Slaughter / CNN:
A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform — Editor's note: Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, a Democrat, represents the 28th Congressional District of New York. Slaughter is the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and the only microbiologist in Congress.
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The Politico:
Obama plans for health care delay, new jobs bill — The White House privately anticipates health care talks to slip into February — past President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address — and then plans to make a “very hard pivot” to a new jobs bill, according to senior administration officials.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
A ‘lot’ of Blue Dogs may flip to vote for Senate health bill, says member — Centrist, Blue Dog Democrats are likely to favor the Senate's healthcare bill if it comes up for a vote, one of their members said Wednesday. — Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), a Blue Dog who voted …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Senior Dem: Kill the Senate health reform bill and start over — The Senate's healthcare bill is fatally flawed, a senior Democrat atop a powerful committee said on Wednesday. — Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee and co-chairwoman …
John Fund / Wall Street Journal:
For Their Next Trick . . . The latest example of violating principles of transparency and accountability in the single-minded pursuit of legislative victory. — Printer — Friendly — Look for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to try to circumvent …
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
WH putting health-care off until ... February? — Politico's Mike Allen and Alexander Trowbridge have some bad news for Democrats, especially in the Senate, where Harry Reid has kept the chamber locked in battle over ObamaCare for weeks in an attempt to hit the finish line by Christmas.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, RedState, The Politico, TigerHawk, Riehl World View, PoliPundit.com and The Caucus
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Why I Don't Write About Sarah Palin's Facebook Posts — Last week, PolitiFact.com announced its “Lie of the Year”: Sarah Palin's claim that the health care bill might create “death panels” that would kill elderly or disabled Americans. It was a lie, the editors pointed out …
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Sarah Palin Tries To Rewrite History Of Her Own “Death Panel” Falsehood
Sarah Palin Tries To Rewrite History Of Her Own “Death Panel” Falsehood
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: MEDIA MANIPULATION AT ITS MOST INANE.... You've probably noticed the phenomenon.
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Palin: I told you so! — It didn't take long for Jim DeMint's outrage …
Palin: I told you so! — It didn't take long for Jim DeMint's outrage …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Think Progress, Dean's World and Ben Smith's Blog
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Crapo: GOP unlikely to be able to repeal health bill — Republicans are unlikely to repeal the health reform legislation before Congress if they take control of the House and Senate, a GOP senator conceded Wednesday. — Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said Republicans are unlikely to be able …
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Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Senate bill poised for Christmas Eve passage with 60-39 cloture vote
Senate bill poised for Christmas Eve passage with 60-39 cloture vote
Discussion:
MyDD
CNN:
CNN Poll: More Americans think Democratic policies better than Republican — Washington (CNN) - Despite the bruising battle over their health care reform proposals, congressional Democrats have maintained an advantage over their Republican counterparts on one key measure, according to a new national poll.
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Lieberman's favorables drop over past two weeks — Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) favorable ratings have taken almost a 10-point drop in the past two weeks, a new poll found. — 31 percent of people told a CNN poll conducted Dec. 16-20 that they had a favorable opinion of Lieberman …
The Politico:
McCain, GOP secretly courting another Dem to switch — Republicans are stepping up their efforts to persuade more House Democrats to switch parties and are zeroing in on a second-term Pennsylvanian who is not ruling out such a move. — Democratic Rep. Chris Carney received a phone call Wednesday …
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Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Jane Hamsher, Grover Norquist Call for Rahm Emanuel's Resignation — Today, Grover Norquist and I are calling for an investigation into Rahm Emanuel's activities at Freddie Mac, and the White House's blocking of an Inspector General who would look into it. The letter follows:
Ezra Klein:
Yes, Obama did campaign on the public option — Oy. I'll defend the argument that the health-care bill that looks likely to pass is structurally similar to the health-care proposal released by the Obama campaign. But it's impossible to defend Obama's statement that “I didn't campaign on the public option.”
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James Warren / Atlantic Correspondents:
Colbert Dishes On Bush, Glenn Beck, and MSNBC — When Chicago's Second City comedy troupe held a weekend-long 50th anniversary bash, the obvious highlights were Friday and Saturday shows with Martin Short, Steve Carell, Bonnie Hunt, Jim Belushi, George Wendt, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Mediaite, Outside The Beltway, Raw Story and Pressing Issues
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces New Delay — WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, CBS News, Hot Air, USA Today, The Washington Independent, No More Mister Nice Blog, Fausta's Blog, Law Blog, The Note, ATTACKERMAN, The Lonely Conservative, ChattahBox News Blog, TPM LiveWire, Truthdig, Think Progress, Neptunus Lex, Althouse, And So it Goes in Shreveport, JustOneMinute, Politics Daily, The Corner on National …, Commentary, IntoxiNation, National Review, TalkLeft and The Page
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Mike Potemra / The Corner on National Review Online:
Congratulations to Captain Picard! — By: Mike Potemra — Palace sources say Patrick Stewart is about to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. It turns out he is an avid supporter of Britain's Labour party; his support must be especially welcome in this, one of Labour's darker hours.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, pandagon.net, Matthew Yglesias, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly and The Other McCain
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Challenge to health bill's constitutionality fails, 39-60 — A challenge to the Senate health bill's constitutionality failed on Wednesday afternoon in a party-lines vote. — Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) point of order arguing that the Senate bill is unconstitutional under …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Meep Meep — My own view is that 2009 has been an extraordinarily successful year for Obama. Since this is currently a minority view and will prompt a chorus of “In The Tank!”, allow me to explain. — The substantive record is clear enough. Torture is ended, if Gitmo remains enormously difficult …
Discussion:
The New Editor
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
After quiet first months, Franken's sharp tongue emerges in Senate — Al Franken, the Democrat from Minnesota who won election to the Senate after a successful career as a comic and author, has begun to show the sharp-tongued side of his personality by ripping into GOP staffers behind the scenes.
The Huffington Post:
Jane Norton, GOP Senate Candidate, Sits Silently As Obama Called A Muslim — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Former Colorado lieutenant governor Jane Norton, one of the five candidates competing in the Republican primary for the state's 2010 Senate race, is distinguishing herself with her full-hearted embrace of the tea party crowd.
Los Angeles Times:
Schwarzenegger to seek federal help for California budget — Facing another huge deficit, the governor wants $8 billion or threatens massive cuts in social services. He also plans to renew push for offshore oil drilling. — Reporting from Sacramento - Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion …
Discussion:
Commentary, Calitics, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, L.A. NOW, QandO, The Hill, Another Black Conservative, JammieWearingFool and American Power
Christopher Hayes / The Nation:
The Great Leap — In the heart of downtown Chongqing, a sprawling city-state in Western China on the banks of the Yangtze River, a six-story tower commemorates those who died in what the Chinese call “the anti-Japanese war.” After Japan invaded in 1937, the government moved the capital of China upriver from Nanjing to Chongqing.