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’ … 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.
Discussion:
Lone Republican, Yahoo! News, Hot Air, Wake up America, Media Nation, Politics Daily, The Lonely Conservative and TPMDC
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:Nice Work... New Coakley Attack Ad Misspells Massachusetts
Discussion:
Martha Coakley, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Corner on National …, The Other McCain and TPMDC
Bill Carter / Media Decoder:
Conan O'Brien Says He Won't Host ‘Tonight Show’ Following Leno — Conan O'Brien released a statement Tuesday saying that he no longer wants to host NBC's “Tonight Show” and intends to seek a way to end his contract with the network. — The host, who saw his brief run at host of “Tonight” …
Discussion:
Mashable!, Mediaite, Liberal Values, New York Times, The Faster Times, Taylor Marsh and The Business Insider
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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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.
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.
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 …
Discussion:
The Swamp, Big Journalism, Democratic Strategist, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Indecision Forever
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
After Withholding Endorsement, Specter To Support Key Obama DOJ Nominee — Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) says he's revisited his initial concerns over Obama Justice Department nominee Dawn Johnsen, and has decided to support her confirmation. — “After voting ‘pass’ (which means no position) …
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The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report: NV Sen Moved to Lean Takeover, Dems Still have Edge in MA Sen
David Ingram / The BLT:Pennsylvania Candidate Makes Issue of DOJ Nominee
Discussion:
Think Progress, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, MyDD, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, ACS Blog and Main Justice
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, Glenn Thrush's Blog, PostPartisan, Gawker, Open Left, New York Times, Ben Smith's Blog, The Caucus, The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh, Politics Daily, Commentary, Hotline On Call, The Corner on National …, The Hill, ATTACKERMAN, Top of the Ticket, The Page, SENATUS and Clusterstock
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, Moonbattery, The Swamp, Hot Air, The Plum Line, The Page and Commentary
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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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.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Politico, Roll Call, Gawker, Left Coast Rebel, skippy the bush kangaroo, TPMDC and Riehl World View
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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 …
Attaturk / Eschaton:
Field of (my) Screams! — What's a worse crime than trumping up evidence to stage an illegal war that kills tens of thousands, if not more than a million, and costs $2 trillion and counting? — Why not immediately admitting the taking of steroids in baseball, that's what!
RELATED:
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 …
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.
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 …
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, Ezra Klein, Felix Salmon, Open Left, Newsweek Blogs, Wonk Room, Gawker, The BLT, The Big Picture, Think Progress, Free exchange, The Hill and The Impolitic
Ian Swanson / The Hill:
U.S. Chamber warns of ‘double-dip’ recession because of Dem policies — U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue warned the U.S. faces a double-dip recession because of the taxes and regulations under consideration by the Democratic Congress and President Barack Obama.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Nelson ‘not 100 percent certain’ he'll support health bill's final passage — Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said he's not yet “100 percent certain” he can vote for health reform legislation. — Nelson, who gave Democrats a crucial 60th vote to end debate on its healthcare bill and pass it …
Discussion:
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