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:
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Chris Dodd to step aside — Embattled Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) has scheduled a press conference at his home in Connecticut Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek re-election, according to sources familiar with his plans. — Dodd's retirement comes after months …
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Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Harold Ford Jr. Weighs a Challenge to Gillibrand — Encouraged by a group of influential New York Democrats, Harold Ford Jr., the former congressman from Tennessee, is weighing a bid to unseat Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in this fall's Democratic primary, according to three people who have spoken with him.
The Politico:
Top Democrats head for the exits — The grim outlook for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections just got a little worse. — Four top Democrats—including veteran Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan—all prepared to pull the plug on their campaigns in a 24-hour period that began Tuesday …
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Senator Dodd Will Not Seek Re-election, Democrats Say
Senator Dodd Will Not Seek Re-election, Democrats Say
Discussion:
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Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd won't seek reelection, will retire at end of term
Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd won't seek reelection, will retire at end of term
Discussion:
Hot Air, msnbc.com, The Hill, Michelle Malkin, Power Line, sisu, Wonk Room, RHRealityCheck.org, Don Surber, Online NewsHour, Weekly Standard, Prairie Weather and Pajamas Media
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 — House and Senate leaders have formally agreed to bypass a bicameral conference committee to merge two healthcare bills, and have opted to instead “ping-pong” the Senate bill over to the House and back again, according to House leadership aides.
Discussion:
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Clemente Lisi / New York Post: Obama promised 8 times during campaign to televise health care debate
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, Federal Eye, The Washington Independent and The Swamp
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
King: Use word ‘terrorism’ more — New York Rep. Peter King, a leading Republican critic of the White House on terror policy, offered a piece of advice on “Good Morning America” today: Obama should speak the word “terrorism” more. — “You are saying someone should be held accountable.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE.... Rep. Pete King (R) of New York …
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE.... Rep. Pete King (R) of New York …
Discussion:
Think Progress
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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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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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 …
Kyle Trygstad / Politics Nation:
Pomeroy Will Not Run For Senate — North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy will not run for Senate, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee source tells RealClearPolitics. — Pomeroy, the state's lone congressman, had been considered Democrats' strongest candidate to replace Sen. Byron Dorgan …
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Ed Schultz Asked To Run For Senate
Ed Schultz Asked To Run For Senate
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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.
Discussion:
Nice Deb
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Rahm for Mayor? — According to Sally Quinn, Rahm Emanuel has told people that his position as President Obama's chief of staff is an 18-month job and that “he is considering a run for mayor of Chicago.” — “Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's current term is up in February 2011 — there is no term-limit on the office.
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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.
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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:
Washington Monthly, Indecision Forever, Politics Daily, Raw Story 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 …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, NewsReal Blog, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Prairie Weather and The Mahablog
New York Times:
Another Iranian Revolution? Not Likely — THE Islamic Republic of Iran is not about to implode. Nevertheless, the misguided idea that it may do so is becoming enshrined as conventional wisdom in Washington. — For President Obama, this misconception provides a bit of cover …
Discussion:
Laura Rozen's Blog, Enduring America, RealClearWorld, The Majlis, The Daily Dish and Daniel W. Drezner
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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:
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The Page
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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.
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 …
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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.
Bloomberg:
More Ex-Detainees Resort to Terror, Officials Say — Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — As many as one in five former Guantanamo Bay detainees are suspected of or confirmed to have engaged in terrorist activity after their release, U.S. officials said, citing the latest government statistics.