Top Items:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
What we're seeing in Massachusetts — Because of the heavy interest we'll try to get our Massachusetts numbers out over the weekend. But because we've already conducted most of the interviews for it here are some of the major storylines we're seeing: —At this point a plurality …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Can Dems pass health care if Brown wins? — The notion of a Republican winning Ted Kennedy's seat remains unlikely, despite (or perhaps because of) the recent hubbub around the race. — But it's a real enough possibility that Democrats have started to consider the question.
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
It's On - Push Polling “Hate Group” Support for Brown — See update to this post: Is SEIU Behind Anti-Brown Push Polling? — I received this e-mail from a Massachusetts resident and businesswoman (and I verified her identity through publicly available sources), regarding a phone call she received last night:
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Palin's tea party raises eyebrows — Sarah Palin's plan to deliver the keynote address — for a fee — at next month's first-ever National Tea Party Convention is getting renewed attention in light of her rejection Thursday of an invitation to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
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NPR Blogs:
Loud Protests on NPR's ‘Tea Party’ Cartoon — For nearly two months, the animated political cartoon sat on npr.org virtually unnoticed. And then someone discovered it, was disgusted and launched it into the blogosphere — making it a raucous rallying point for conservatives.
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Steele: ‘I Wrote This Book Before I Became Chairman’ (Um, Really?) — Appearing today on Laura Ingraham's radio show, RNC chairman Michael Steele said that he wrote his book Right Now before he became chairman. The problem is, the book itself doesn't read like it could have possibly …
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Native-American GOP Congressman Calls Steele's 'Honest Injun …
Native-American GOP Congressman Calls Steele's 'Honest Injun …
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, The Swamp, Indian Country Today, JOSHUAPUNDIT, D.C. Now and Washington Post
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Giuliani Update — Through his spokesman, Rudy Giuliani has clarified the remarks he made this morning on GMA regarding terrorist attacks on the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama. — The Mayor's spokesman says that the remark “didn't come across as it was intended” …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Media Decoder, AMERICAblog News, Political Punch, Raw Story, Gawker, TPM LiveWire and The Washington Independent
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George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Rudy Giuliani Wrong in Saying ‘No Domestic Attacks Under Bush’ — President Obama yesterday took personal responsibility for failures in the Christmas day terror plot, but Rudy Giuliani still isn't convinced. — I spoke to the former mayor of New York City this morning on GMA …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dish, The Washington Independent, Liberal Values, The Plum Line, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny!, VetVoice, No More Mister Nice Blog, AMERICAblog News, Gothamist, Washington Monthly, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Eschaton
Pete Yost / Associated Press:
Judge tosses out most evidence on Gitmo detainee — Buzz up! — WASHINGTON - A federal judge has tossed out most of the government's evidence against a tarrorism detainee on grounds his confessions were coerced, allegedly by U.S. forces, before he became a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool, unbossed.com, Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Weasel Zippers and Riehl World View
James Pethokoukis:
9 reasons why the Dec. jobs report is bad news for Dems — Talk about one last gasp from the horrible year that was 2009. On the political front, the December jobs numbers were terrible news for the White House and congressional Democrats in a midterm election year. Here's how it plays out:
Discussion:
The Corner on National …
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Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Unions Rally to Oppose a Proposed Tax on Health Insurance
Unions Rally to Oppose a Proposed Tax on Health Insurance
Discussion:
naked capitalism
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Ford Says He Won't Be Bullied by Allies of Gillibrand — Under assault from allies of Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, former Congressman Harold E. Ford Jr. fired back on Friday afternoon, saying he would be not be “bullied or intimidated” by “party bosses” as he considers challenging her in this fall's Democratic primary.
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Maggie Haberman / New York Post:
Reid to Bloomberg: don't back Ford Jr.
Reid to Bloomberg: don't back Ford Jr.
Discussion:
Campaign Diaries, FrumForum, The Daily Politics, Gothamist, msnbc.com and New York Times
Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Carville: Airport scanners can ‘measure my penis’ — The debate over full body security scans just got a lot more graphic, thanks to Democratic political strategist and frequent flyer James Carville. — Speaking on The Tony Kornheiser Show Friday, Carville laid out, or unzipped, his vision for airport security.
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Courts Whittle Spending Limits in Election Law — WASHINGTON — Even before a landmark Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance law expected within days, a series of other court decisions is reshaping the political battlefield by freeing corporations, unions and other interest groups …
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Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
What the GOP Can Learn from a Pizza Chain — America is about second acts. We love contrition and redemption. — This is one of those rare moments when the conventional wisdom in Washington is right. The Democrats are poised to have a bad year; the only argument is over how bad it will be.
The Politico:
Dems plot to protect Napolitano — Democrats worried about protecting the homeland in wake of the Christmas Day terror plot are also working to protect one of their own: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. — With at least seven congressional committees investigating the failures behind …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gruber responds: ‘Completely consistent’ — One of the key voices for Congressional health care legislation, MIT economist Jon Gruber, is taking fire from the precincts of the left that oppose the Senate plan over the fact that he is on contract with Department of Health and Human Services.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Rational Arguments, Emptywheel, Hit & Run, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Swampland, MyDD, The New Republic, Megan McArdle, TalkLeft, Ezra Klein, Clusterstock, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, Gateway Pundit, AmSpecBlog, Capital Gains and Games blogs, AMERICAblog News, Riehl World View and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
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Rusty / The Jawa Report:
Taliban's Siraj Haqqani: Rape, Murder & Videotape By Brad Thor (*Sticky*) — Combine Hustler's Larry Flynt with Coppola's Don Corleone and what do you get? Siraj Haqqani, the Taliban's Godfather of Porn. — Allow me to set the stage for one of jihad's bravest, most pious Muslim warriors.
Chris Irvine / Telegraph:
British woman ‘arrested in Dubai after being raped’ — A 23-year-old British woman on holiday in Dubai told police she had been raped, only to be arrested herself for having illegal sexual intercourse. — The woman, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, was celebrating her engagement …
Tina Daunt / The Huffington Post:
The Secret History of Kubrick, the Blog Theme That Changed the Internet — Kubrick, the template that launched millions of beautiful blogs and helped transform the Internet, is expected to be retired mid-year as the default theme for the popular WordPress blogging platform.
James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:
A blogger's parting with the right — (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times / January 7, 2009) — Charles Johnson's Little Green Footballs website once was devoted to writing about the ‘Loony Left.’ Now he prefers to focus on his liberal social views and disagreeing conservatives.
Rusty / The Jawa Report:
Scheuer: Obama Terror Czar Nixed Killing bin Laden — Maggie has a lengthy post connecting the many times we could have killed Osama bin Laden during the 1990s to the recent attack in Afghanistan that killed several CIA agents, including the top al Qaeda expert on the ground. .
Susan Jo Keller / New York Times:
Catherine E. F. Biden, Mother of the Vice President, Is Dead at 92 — WASHINGTON — Catherine Biden, the mother of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a presence on the campaign trail with him in 2008, died Friday at the Biden home in Wilmington, Del. She was 92. — Her death was announced by Mr. Biden.
Discussion:
MyDD
Wall Street Journal:
The Risk of Catastrophic Victory — Obama is in the midst of one. Can the GOP avert one of their own? — Printer — Friendly — Passage of the health-care bill will be, for the administration, a catastrophic victory. If it is voted through in time for the State of the Union Address …
Susan Crabtree / The Hill:
GOP senators write Obama letter objecting to alleged bomber's trial — More than 20 Republican senators wrote a letter to President Barack Obama on Friday objecting to the administration's decision to try terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in civilian courts.