Top Items:
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 …
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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.
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Desperate Dems try to Palinize Massachusetts Senate race — Frantic over the possibility that a Democrat might lose the race to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts, the Democratic National Committee has sent its top spinner, Hari Sevugan, to the aid of Democratic candidate Martha Coakley …
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
DSCC Launches First MA Ad Buy — The DSCC will launch ads on behalf of AG Martha Coakley (D) as she battles to preserve Dems' 60-seat majority in the Senate. — The DSCC has purchased $567K in ads in the Boston and Springfield markets, a source tells Hotline OnCall.
Erik Gallant / The Fray:
New Martha Coakley ad attacking Scott Brown misspells ‘Massachusetts’ … On the heels of last night's final debate between Martha Coakley, Scott Brown and Joseph L. Kennedy, Coakley released a new ad attacking Scott Brown — an aggressive turn that many observers have thought was long overdue.
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:Nice Work... New Coakley Attack Ad Misspells Massachusetts
Discussion:
Martha Coakley, The Other McCain, No More Mister Nice Blog, TPMDC, American Thinker and The Corner on National …
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:Brown and Coakley Debate in Massachusetts
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
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.
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Richard M. Benjamin / The Huffington Post:The Real Harold Ford: Why I Support the White Woman Over the Black Dude
Discussion:
NY Daily News
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 …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Little Green Footballs, The Hill, The Washington Independent, The Daily Caller, Erick's blog and GOP 12
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Reporters (Mostly) Barred From Tea Party Convention — For a while, I've been calling and emailing the organizers of the National Tea Party Convention with some basic logistical questions, to no avail. Kevin Diaz explains why: the convention, held in Nashville next month, will be closed to all but “selected” members of the press.
Peter Hamby / CNN:
Ensign: Lay off Reid — Washington (CNN) - Sen. John Ensign, himself no stranger to controversy, is breaking with other Republicans to defend his fellow Nevada Sen. Harry Reid for describing President Obama as “light skinned” and “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
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Ann Gerhart / Washington Post:
Sen. Reid and son Rory each considered a burden for the other's campaign in Nevada — LAS VEGAS — As if Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) didn't have enough problems, say hello to Rory Reid, his eldest son. Looks just like him. He's running for governor of Nevada.
John Stanton / Roll Call:Feingold Criticizes Reid, Declines to Endorse Him as Leader
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, TPMDC, Think Progress, The Daily Caller, Wake up America, The Hill and TPM LiveWire
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.
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, The Swamp, Commentary, Hot Air, The Plum Line, The Page and Flopping Aces
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 …
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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 …
Chris Good / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
McCain: “I Wouldn't Know” About Palin Vetting Process — John McCain does not want to talk about the 2008 presidential election, or any of the intrigue that's followed—a fact he made clear in an interview with Matt Lauer this morning on “Today,” in which he said he “wouldn't know” …
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Bloomberg:
Iran Says U.S., Israel May Be Behind Killing of Nuclear Expert — Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Iran said U.S. and Israeli spy agencies may have conspired with dissident Iranians to kill a nuclear scientist in a bomb attack today in Tehran. — Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a professor of nuclear physics …
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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.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Latest Word, Scorecard's Blog, Swing State Project, Hotline On Call, TPMDC, The Page and Daily Kos
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 …
Patrick Courrielche / Big Journalism:
Peer-to-Peer Review (Part III): How ‘Climategate’ Marks the Maturing of a New Science Movement — PART III - A global warming skeptic receives the leaked files from an anonymous “Deep-Climate” insider. Release of files exposes gatekeeping and leads to the maturing of a new science movement - that of peer-to-peer review.
Teddy Partridge / Firedoglake:
Prop 8: Liveblogging Perry v. Schwarzenegger - Day Two (part 2) — [Ed. note: You can find today's earlier thread, day one's liveblog, and the rest of FDL's extensive team coverage at our dedicated Prop 8 trial hub.] — Defendant-intervenors counsel Thompson resumes cross examination of Professor Cott …
Discussion:
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