Top Items:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
‘DROPPING LIKE FLIES’?.... Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is retiring. So is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). And before anyone could catch their breath, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) announced he's not seeking re-election, either. — It led ABC News to report that “Democrats are dropping like flies.”
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Note, Associated Press, TPMDC, PoliBlog, The Politico, Newsweek Blogs, The Plum Line, Online NewsHour and Megan McArdle
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Mark Preston / CNN:
House Democrat passes on Senate bid — (CNN) - North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy will not run for the Senate in 2010, two Democratic congressional leadership sources tell CNN. — Pomeroy will make the announcement this afternoon that he will not seek to succeed retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan, a fellow Democrat.
Discussion:
The Politico
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Chris Dodd to step aside
Chris Dodd to step aside
Discussion:
New York Times, ABCNEWS, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, PostPartisan, The Washington Independent, TPMDC, FiveThirtyEight, Power Line, Congress Matters, Michelle Malkin, Online NewsHour, DaTechguy's Blog, The Atlantic Politics Channel, FP Passport, Riehl World View, The Huffington Post, AMERICAblog News, Wall Street Journal, theblogprof, Iowa Independent, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review Online, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wake up America, The Note, Scared Monkeys and The Moderate Voice
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
“Sick” Of The Israelis And The Palestinians — Ben Rhodes has denied that Rahm said this to the Israelis. Well, it sure sounds like Rahm. — More to the point, who wouldn't be sick of the Israelis and the Palestinians at this point? — I too am sick of the Israelis for their contempt …
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Ron Christie / Pundits Blog:
Amateur hour is over — Enough is enough. There was a time when the amateur hour that has characterized the behavior of the staff in the Obama White Hour over the past year could be chalked up to innocent inexperience. Now that behavior is nothing short of dangerous and President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Politico, PERRspectives, The Washington Independent, Federal Eye and The Swamp
Natasha Mozgovaya / Haaretz:
Emanuel: U.S. fed up with Israel, Palestinians — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently told the Israeli consul in Los Angeles that the Obama administration is fed up with both Israel and the Palestinians, Army Radio reported on Wednesday. — Emanuel met with Jacob Dayan …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
King: Use word ‘terrorism’ more
King: Use word ‘terrorism’ more
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, Firedoglake, Jay Bookman, Raw Story, Think Progress and TPMDC
Breitbart.tv:
The C-SPAN Lie? See Eight Clips of Obama Promising Televised Healthcare Negotiations — “One of my jobs as President will be to guide this process...”
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Jared Allen / The Hill:
Dems agree that House will take up, tweak Senate healthcare bill
Dems agree that House will take up, tweak Senate healthcare bill
Discussion:
The Note, Michelle Malkin, The Corner on National …, Associated Press, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, The Foundry, The Huffington Post, The Politico, Open Left, AmSpecBlog, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Gateway Pundit and TalkLeft
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
The First Senator From the Tea Party? — Charlie Crist's perma-tanned face bears none of the strain you would expect from the archetype of the embattled Republican. Politicians are supposed to keep up appearances, but Crist is especially convincing, one of the more earnest politicians you will see, whether or not he means it.
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New York Post:
White House budget director ditched pregnant girlfriend for ABC News gal — President Obama's budget guru has a secret love child — with the woman he jilted for his hot new fiance, The Post has learned. — White House budget director Peter Orszag's ex, shipping heiress Claire Milonas …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
An opening for Arnold? — Here's the best rumor I've heard today, inspired in part by the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger has, of late, been saying nice things about the president at every turn and by the announcement that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is retiring.
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Andrew Breitbart / Big Journalism:
‘You Are a Bad, Bad, Bad Journalist’ — I couldn't believe I was having this conversation. It felt like a scene from a movie that conveniently ties plot points together when two critical characters in the storyline share a moment of implausible significance - where the intrepid reporter finally runs his target to ground.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Arnold blasts health care bill: ‘Trough of bribes, deals and loopholes’ — So scratch that thing about cozying up to the White House. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in California's perpetual budget hell, blasted the elements of health care legislation that impose new burdens on the states in his State of the State speech today:
Discussion:
The Page
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ArkansasBusiness.com:
Blanche Lincoln Rips Nebraska Health Care Deal — LITTLE ROCK - U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln on Tuesday said a political deal that benefits Nebraska and may have clinched a lawmaker's support for health care legislation should be removed from the bill. — The Democratic senator from Arkansas …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hill, The Lonely Conservative and Weekly Standard
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Reuters:
Obama ‘Frustrated’ By ‘Slow’ Confirmation For Nominees, Expected To Re-Nominate — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — President Obama is increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of confirmation for his judicial and executive appointees, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Discussion:
Main Justice
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
RE-NOMINATIONS.... Conservative obstructionism has blocked votes …
RE-NOMINATIONS.... Conservative obstructionism has blocked votes …
Discussion:
ACS Blog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Ford Jr. weighs longshot bid for NY-Senate — Former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. is weighing the possibility of challenging appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand later this year, a longshot candidacy for the one-time rising star in Democratic politics. — Ford, according to a report …
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Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Worst RNC cash flow in a decade — A 2009 spending spree has left the Republican National Committee (RNC) with its worst election-year cash flow this decade. — A 2009 spending spree has left the Republican National Committee (RNC) with its worst election-year cash flow this decade.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Politics Daily, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, Indecision Forever and Taegan Goddard's …
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Without a movement, progressives can't aid Obama's agenda — Every Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — has raised the hope that he would bring with him a new era of progressive reform. The legislative torrents of the New Deal and the Great Society …
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Top 20 Democrats Who Could Lose Their Seats over Health Care Vote — Embattled Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder (AR-02) — I've been going over the list of Republican challengers, to try and figure out which present the most serious threats to those who voted “yes” on the health care bill the first time it went through the House.
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: Arkansas Senate Race — 2010 Arkansas Senate Race Still A Referendum on Lincoln — As 2010 begins, the numbers for Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln are pretty much the same as last year's while she prepares to face Arkansas voters in November.
Discussion:
Commentary, A Certain Enthusiasm, Daily Kos, Scorecard's Blog, Politics Nation, TPMDC and Real Clear Politics
Jeff Richardson / Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
‘Frozen Gore’ sculpture returns in Fairbanks to fuel climate change debate — FAIRBANKS - In what might become an annual tradition, an ice sculpture of former Vice President Al Gore has taken its place in front of Thrifty Liquor along Airport Way. — The two-ton “Frozen Gore” sculpture isn't exactly a tribute.
Gene Fynes / D.C. Wire:
GOP Congress members wade into same-sex marriage debate — Thirty-nine congressional Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), have filed an amicus brief in D.C. Superior Court calling for a voter referendum on whether to legalize same-sex marriage in the District.
Steve Krakauer / Mediaite:
Ann Coulter Is Worried About “Foreskin” And “Anus” Bombing — Conservative commentator Ann Coulter and the ACLU are teaming up to take on these new intrusive body scan machines at airports. — Obviously, they have very different angles on the story. Coulter has a few reasons …
Brian McGrory / Boston Globe:
Where's Martha Coakley? — If you're a registered voter in Massachusetts, your friendly Democratic Senate candidate, Martha Coakley, is sticking her thumb in your eye. — Coakley, in exquisitely diva-like form, is refusing all invitations to debate her Republican opponent in the race …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Eye on 2010, Investors.com, Weekly Standard, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Riehl World View and sisu
CNN:
14 terror suspects mistakenly kill themselves — Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Fourteen suspected terrorists died Tuesday night when the bus they rigged with explosives blew up prematurely, police said. — The explosion occurred as the suspects were riding the bus in the province of Kunduz, said police chief Abdul Raziq Yaqobi.
Discussion:
Mudville Gazette
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Boy, now he's in real trouble; Obama administration revokes U.S. visa of accused Nigerian bomber — Under the category of looks-like-about-12-days-too- late, the State Department has announced it is revoking the U.S. visa for suspected Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.