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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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:
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.
Discussion:
The New Republic
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, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Plum Line, The Washington Independent, DownWithTyranny!, No More Mister Nice Blog, VetVoice, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, Gothamist, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Lawyers, Guns and Money, AMERICAblog News and Eschaton
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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, Political Punch, Media Decoder, Raw Story, The Daily Dish, AMERICAblog News, TPM LiveWire and The Washington Independent
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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Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Steele comments have GOP aides pleading, ‘Get him to stop’
Steele comments have GOP aides pleading, ‘Get him to stop’
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Fix, Washington Times, American Power, The Caucus, Top of the Ticket, The Note, Raw Story, Weasel Zippers and Politics Daily
lauraingraham.com:
Free Clips — Michael Steele on the state of the GOP and his new book.
Free Clips — Michael Steele on the state of the GOP and his new book.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Steele's book caught GOP leaders by surprise
Steele's book caught GOP leaders by surprise
Discussion:
The Hill, The Brody File, The Plum Line, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, CNN, Gawker and TPMDC
Philip Klein / AmSpecBlog:
Steele on GOP Chairmanship: “I Didn't Seek This Job”
Steele on GOP Chairmanship: “I Didn't Seek This Job”
Discussion:
Think Progress, TPMDC, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page, FrumForum, The Plum Line and msnbc.com
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Ford Says He Won't Be ‘Bullied’ — Under assault from allies of Sen. Kirsten 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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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Ford staffs up — Harold Ford's bid for Senate just got a little more serious: He's hired a spokesman, and — I'm told — brought on board Mike Bloomberg's campaign manager and pollster to help with his bid. Two sources close to the nascent campaign said the pollster, Doug Schoen …
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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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 …
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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Charlie Cook / National Journal Online:
Democrats Trapped In A Vicious Circle — FROM RETIREMENTS TO PARTY DEFECTIONS, THE BAD NEWS FOR 2010 KEEPS COMING. — In the world of economics, a virtuous circle is created when a series of positive events triggers a self-perpetuating pattern of other good occurrences — a positive feedback loop, in other words.
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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.
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 …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Paul Krugman, The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly and The Atlantic Business Channel
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.
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, Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs, Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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.
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.
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. .
Brad Watson / WFAA-TV:
Craig James eyeing politics, not ruling out U.S. Senate run — DALLAS Former SMU football star and ESPN Analyst Craig James has made news recently regarding his role with his son and former Texas Tech Football Coach Mike Leach. But James could be making news this year in politics, too.