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:
The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias, PostPartisan, Associated Press, Democratic Strategist, TPMDC, PoliBlog, Newsweek Blogs, The Plum Line, Wake up America, Online NewsHour, The Note, Megan McArdle, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Outside The Beltway and Lawyers, Guns and Money
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New York Times:
What's the Outlook for Democrats? — Democratic Senators Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota announced this week that they would retire from their long-held seats rather than face uphill battles in this year's midterm elections.
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post, Think Progress, Ben Smith's Blog, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Jeffrey Goldberg and Israel Matzav
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.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, GOP 12, Michael Calderone's Blog, Weekly Standard, Prairie Weather and The Buzz
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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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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...”
Discussion:
New York Post, The Hill, Commentary, Hit & Run, Wake up America, Gates of Vienna, PoliJAM Blog, The Anchoress, Glenn Beck, RedState, Another Black Conservative, Mike Huckabee President 2012, Pajamas Media, AmSpecBlog, NO QUARTER, The Lonely Conservative, theblogprof, Confederate Yankee and Sister Toldjah
Chris Zavadil / Fremont Tribune:
Nelson: We should have waited on health care — Sen. Ben Nelson said Tuesday it was a mistake for the Obama Administration to take on massive health care reforms in 2009, and suggested efforts would have been better spent addressing the economy. — Nelson, who provided the crucial 60th vote …
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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.
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:
Daily Kos, A Certain Enthusiasm, Hot Air, Scorecard's Blog, Politics Nation, Real Clear Politics and TPMDC
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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.
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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
ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: Air Marshal Surge in ‘Race Against Time’ — U.S. Fears More Airplane Bombers Are in the Terrorist Pipeline. — President Barack Obama has ordered a “surge” of federal air marshals to be in place by Feb.1 in what officials said was a “race against time,” with other suicide bombers believed …
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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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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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.
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.
Wall Street Journal:
Watch Out for GOP Populism — Rep. Paul Ryan an enemy of business? — Printer — Friendly — It's easy to underestimate conservatism's chances in these dark days. Over the last year, the Republican Party has appeared to be either a gang of obstructionists or a confused relic …
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.
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
David Lazarus / Los Angeles Times:
Banks take revenge for new consumer rules — They're introducing all sorts of new fees and changes as laws take effect that are designed to make financial heavyweights friendlier to customers. — Happy new year. Now pay up. — That's the message from our friends in the banking industry …
Discussion:
Politics Daily
Pundit Review Radio / BLACKFIVE:
DHS Comments On Yon Post (?!?) — Well, down in my short little post on Mike Yon's latest problems with the Border Bullies as he calls them, Johnnie von Bernhardi pops up to accuse Mike of lying, and me and all conservatives of flying off the handle. Since he hasn't posted since July …
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.