Top Items:
The Politico:
Dems launch defense to save Reid — Democrats are preparing to throw the race card back in the laps of Republicans as part of a counter attack designed to help save Harry Reid's political career. — First, Reid's allies plan to distribute the NAACP vote ratings of Republican senators who have scolded him.
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CNN:
Congressional Black Caucus backs Reid — (CNN) - As first reported Sunday evening by CNN Political Editor Mark Preston, the Congressional Black Caucus has accepted Sen. Harry Reid's apology for remarks he made about President Obama's race and is dismissing calls for him to step down as majority leader.
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Looking for Lott's Revenge, GOP Aims at Reid Gaffe
Looking for Lott's Revenge, GOP Aims at Reid Gaffe
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Gawker and The Awl
Associated Press:
Republicans Cite Lott in Calling for Reid to Quit
Republicans Cite Lott in Calling for Reid to Quit
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Fox News and Indecision Forever
Mark Blumenthal / Pollster.com All Content:
Massachusetts Polls: Divergent Results But One Clear Finding — We have two new polls out in Massachusetts on the January 19 special election to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, and their results could not be more different. The new survey conducted Saturday through Wednesday last week …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
DNC sends senior aide to Boston — Hari Sevugan, the DNC's national press secretary, confirms he's headed to Boston to help with Martha Coakley's effort, a move that underscores how focused the party is on the race. — Sevugan's campaign and party role has been on offense …
New York Post:
Now Harold Ford Jr. backs gay marriage — In what will likely be read as another sign of his interest in running against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in this year's Democratic primary, ex-Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr. publicly said for the first time that he was in favor of same-sex marriage.
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Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:
Senator's War Chest Grows, but So Does Primary Threat — As United States Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand's allies have elbowed out her would-be Democratic challengers one by one, they emphasized what was perhaps her most formidable weapon: her fund-raising muscle.
Scott Raab / Esquire:
The Notorious Blago — The former Illinois governor has a new dog (Skittles), a new source of income (Elvis impersonations) and — despite an old worry (prison) — a confounding optimism. You have to read this. — From the February 2010 “People Who Matter” issue — on sale this week
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Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Palin derided by top McCain aide, book — Sarah Palin was an unprepared, uninformed vice presidential candidate who repeatedly made false statements in public, according to a top McCain campaign aide. — In a “60 Minutes” segment based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's new book …
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Jesse McKinley / New York Times:
Two Ideological Foes Unite to Overturn Proposition 8 — SAN FRANCISCO — The last time David Boies and Theodore B. Olson battled in a courtroom, the presidency hung in the balance as they represented opposite sides arguing the fate of the 2000 election. — So Mr. Boies, who worked for Al Gore …
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Maura Dolan / Los Angeles Times:
Prop. 8 trial to include unprecedented testimony
Prop. 8 trial to include unprecedented testimony
Discussion:
American Foundation …
David Rose / Daily Mail:
The mini ice age starts here — The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world's most eminent climate scientists. — Their predictions …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Learning From Europe — As health care reform nears the finish line, there is much wailing and rending of garments among conservatives. And I'm not just talking about the tea partiers. Even calmer conservatives have been issuing dire warnings that Obamacare will turn America into a European-style social democracy.
Yves Smith / naked capitalism:
The Most Stunning (and Uncommented on) Revelation in Too Big Too Fail — Although I read it two months ago, I haven't made much in the way of comments on Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big Too Fail, figuring the ground was well plowed by others. However, the bit that I found the most shocking …
Discussion:
The Impolitic
Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
Honey, Will You Be My Game-Changer? — Pigeon O'Brien, leading Rielle Hunter expert, thinks the first part of the riveting Heilemann/Halperin excerpt on the Edwards Family Horrorshow story portrays Hunter too much as a stalker. That would fit in with what seems to be the flaw …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog
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David Catanese / The Politico:
Gov. Hoeven to announce for Senate — North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven is expected to kick off his candidacy for U.S. Senate Monday evening at a GOP district convention in Bismarck, according to a state Republican familiar with his plans. — Hoeven's announcement will come just six days …
David Freddoso / Washington Examiner:
TSA nominee in 2008: Alliances with Israel, France make us subject to terror attack — Erroll Southers, President Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Safety Administration, said in a 2008 web interview on terrorism that America is subject to terror attacks because of its alliances with countries like Israel and France.
Fredreka Schouten / USA Today:
No one punished under congressional ethics rules — WASHINGTON — Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to “drain the swamp,” as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing. — In that time, allegations …
Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:
The Bogus Flight 253 ‘One-Way Ticket’ Meme: Anatomy Of A Myth — In a remarkable example of how bad information can travel far and wide, dozens of media outlets around the world have said Umar Abdulmutallab was traveling on a one-way ticket to Detroit when he allegedly tried to blow up Flight 253 …
John Bolton / Wall Street Journal:
Let's Take Bureaucracy Out of Intelligence — Groupthink products like National Intelligence Estimates make us vulnerable. — Printer — Friendly — Although the U.S. intelligence community (IC) has been stung by failures relating to the Christmas terrorist attack, these failures are symptomatic of far larger problems.
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Media Notes: A look at Tucker Carlson's political Web site, the Daily Caller — “We need a roundup of the weirdness,” Tucker Carlson shouted, walking past a row of young staffers hunched over laptops on the sort of cheap- looking teak tables that scream start-up venture.