Top Items:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Internal Memo To Top Dem Donors Warns Mass Senate Race Is “Very Tight,” “Urgent” — In a sign of serious worry about the increasingly tense battle for Ted Kennedy's seat, the Democratic National Committee and the Martha Coakley campaign have blasted a private memo to top national Dem donors …
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Martha Coakley Is Not Just Wrong on Terror War - She's Dangerous (Must-See Video) — There are no terrorists in Afghanistan? — On Wednesday December 30 Jordanian doctor and Al-Qaeda blogger Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi killed 7 CIA officers in a suicide bomb attack at an outpost in southeastern Afghanistan.
Pete Abel / The Moderate Voice:
Brown, Coakley, and a Confession — So Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley had their final debate last night; and by all accounts — at least all the accounts I've read — it was a feisty affair. — If you follow political matters at all …
Erik Gallant / The Fray:
New Martha Coakley ad attacking Scott Brown misspells ‘Massachusetts’
New Martha Coakley ad attacking Scott Brown misspells ‘Massachusetts’
Discussion:
Lone Republican, The TrogloPundit, Yahoo! News, Media Nation, Wake up America, Hot Air, The Politico and TPMDC
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race
Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Glenn Thrush's Blog, The Atlantic Politics Channel, A Certain Enthusiasm, National Review Online, Left Coast Rebel, Hot Air, Boston Globe, Fausta's Blog, Maggie's Notebook, The Other McCain, Riehl World View, Another Black Conservative, Commentary, neo-neocon, The Corner on National …, Jules Crittenden, Sister Toldjah, Instapundit, AmSpecBlog and The Plum Line
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Nice Work... New Coakley Attack Ad Misspells Massachusetts
Nice Work... New Coakley Attack Ad Misspells Massachusetts
Discussion:
Martha Coakley, theblogprof, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Corner on National …, RedState, The Other McCain and TPMDC
The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
NV Sen Moved to Lean Takeover, Dems Still have Edge in MA Sen — New polling confirms that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) is mired near 40% in general election ballot tests against all potential opponents, even those voters know nothing about. It will be extremely difficult …
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Yahoo! News:
McCain on claims of campaign's lax vetting of Palin: 'I wouldn't know.' — Buzz up! — An interview on “The Today Show” this morning became contentious when host Matt Lauer questioned Sen. John McCain about allegations in a new book that his campaign did little background research …
John Fund / Wall Street Journal:
Harry Reid's Swansong — Will Harry Reid retire at the end of this year? — Printer — Friendly — In the end, I don't believe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will run for re-election. Whether or not the health care bill he muscled through the Senate becomes law, the 70-year-old will bow out of his race for a fifth term.
Peter Hamby / CNN:
Ensign: Lay off Reid
Ensign: Lay off Reid
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, Roll Call, skippy the bush kangaroo, Gawker, Left Coast Rebel, TPMDC and Riehl World View
Bill Carter / Media Decoder:
Conan O'Brien Says He Won't Host ‘Tonight Show’ After Leno — Conan O'Brien released a statement Tuesday saying that he no longer wanted to be the host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC if it appeared at 12:05 a.m. — Mr. O'Brien's brief run as host at 11:35 p.m. is to be cut short next month …
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans — Over the past decade or so, divorce has gradually become more uncommon in the United States. Since 2003, however, the decline in divorce rates has been largely confined to states which have not passed a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Kevin Diaz / Hot Dish Politics:
Palin, Bachmann Tea Party sessions closed to press — It looks like the revolution will not be televised, after all. — At least not the Tea Party's revolution. — Word from Nashville on Monday was that the First National Tea Party Convention next month will be closed to the press …
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The Politico:
Tea partiers shell out big bucks for Palin — Sarah Palin's appearance early next month at the first tea party movement's convention in Nashville, Tenn., has stirred controversy in conservative circles over her reported decision to charge a substantial fee.
The Politico:
Obama to address House GOP — President Barack Obama will address House Republicans next week at their annual retreat in Baltimore, deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton said Tuesday afternoon. — It's a show of bi-partisanship after a year rife with tumult in the relationship between …
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Wall Street Journal:
Tax on Investment Income Is Weighed — Health-Bill Negotiators Consider Extending Medicare Levy as They Face Pressure to Ease Proposed Hit on Generous Insurance Plans — WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators are considering applying for the first time the Medicare payroll tax …
CNN:
CNN Poll: Americans split on success of Obama presidency — Washington (CNN) - Americans are giving Barack Obama a split decision on his first year in office, according to a new national poll. — Forty-eight percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hot Air, The Swamp, The Plum Line, Moonbattery, The Page and Commentary
The Official Google Blog:
A new approach to China — Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Telegraph, Clusterstock, ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch
Harold Ford Jr / New York Post:
Ford: I'm gearing up for Senate race — It's true: I am strongly considering running for the United States Senate. — I do so because our best as a nation has always come when we test our ideas and ourselves, and when we trust competition to refine the steel of our convictions and the truth of our arguments.
Discussion:
JoeTrippi.com, The Fix, Gawker, Glenn Thrush's Blog, PostPartisan, New York Times, The Caucus, Open Left, The Daily Beast, Politics Daily, Ben Smith's Blog, Taylor Marsh, Hotline On Call, The Hill, Commentary, ATTACKERMAN, The Corner on National …, Top of the Ticket, The Page, Clusterstock, SENATUS and The Note
Los Angeles Times:
Iranian officials blame West for bombing that killed top scientist — Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, one of the country's leading nuclear scientists, is killed outside his home on his way to work. Reformists said he had become vocal in his opposition to the government.
Discussion:
New York Times, Agence France Presse, Guardian, Swampland, niacINsight and Unqualified Offerings
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Peter H. Stone / Under The Influence:
Health Insurers Funded Chamber Attack Ads — Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Tel Aviv Cluster — Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates. — Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population …
Denver Post:
Sources: Hickenlooper intends to enter guv's race — Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has told top Democrats he intends to run for governor, sources tell The Denver Post. — Hickenlooper has been meeting with key advisers since Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter last week unexpectedly announced he was dropping his re-election bid.
Peter Hamby / CNN:
Palin to address alcohol industry event in Las Vegas — Washington (CNN) - Las Vegas and alcohol probably aren't the first two things that come to mind at the mention of Sarah Palin, but the former vice presidential candidate is about to change that. — At least that's according to Craig Wolf …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Gavin Lee / BBC:
Strange reunion — Why would a former Guantanamo Bay prison guard track down two of his former captives - two British men - and agree to fly to London to meet them? — “You look different without a cap.” — “You look different without the jump suits.” — With those words, an extraordinary reunion gets under way.
Richard M. Benjamin / The Huffington Post:
The Real Harold Ford: Why I Support the White Woman Over the Black Dude — Harold Ford presents a formidable challenge to New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic primary. — Why? The former Tennessee congressman is a light-skinned African American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
CQ Study Shows Obama's Legislative Strategy is Working — Congressional Quarterly concludes that whether or not Obama's relatively low-key approach is antagonizing his core supporters, it seems to be working: … In part we're seeing that an administration staffed, from the White House on down …
CNN:
7.0 earthquake hits Haiti — (CNN) — A major earthquake struck just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, sparking a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. — The Associated Press reported that a hospital had collapsed.
The Huffington Post:
DADT Repeal: Dems Move Forward With Plans — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Congressional negotiators and White House officials are moving forward with plans to add the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell to the upcoming defense authorization bill, Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post.
Warren Richey / Christian Science Monitor:
Supreme Court looks at constitutionality of sex offender law — The Supreme Court Tuesday considers a law that allows the federal government to detain offenders it considers “sexually dangerous,” even after completion of their sentences. Critics say the sex offender law intrudes on states' authority.
Neil Irwin / Washington Post:
Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009 — Wall Street firms aren't the only banks that had a banner year. The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government. — The Fed will return about $45 billion …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Open Left, Newsweek Blogs, Wonk Room, Felix Salmon, Ezra Klein, The BLT, Gawker, Free exchange, The Big Picture, Think Progress, The Hill and The Impolitic