Top Items:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Dem Staffer Apologizes For Shoving Weekly Standard Reporter — As you may have heard, a Dem staffer helping the Martha Coakley campaign was caught on video shoving a Weekly Standard reporter, prompting an explosion of outrage from national Republicans and the right-wing media, who alleged bullying and intimidation.
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Coakley Takes Slap Shot At Fenway Fans — The Massachusetts special election continues to amaze. Democratic candidate Martha Coakley has taken a swipe at Fenway Park fans: … Well yes, politicians go out to meet the voters even if it means standing out in the cold.
Yoon S. Byun / Boston Globe:
Globe endorsement: Martha Coakley for Senate
Globe endorsement: Martha Coakley for Senate
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
DSCC: Shoved reporter tape a GOP ‘dirty trick’
DSCC: Shoved reporter tape a GOP ‘dirty trick’
Discussion:
The TrogloPundit, National Review Online, CNN, Nice Deb, neo-neocon, JustOneMinute, The Lonely Conservative and Townhall.com
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
What Massachusetts can tell us about the midterms
What Massachusetts can tell us about the midterms
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Eye on 2010, SEIU, PostPartisan, NewsBusters.org, Politics Nation and A Certain Enthusiasm
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Robertson: Haiti ‘cursed’ since Satanic pact — The Rev. Pat Robertson, on his CBN broadcast today, offered his own explanation of the earthquake in Haiti: — “Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it,” he said.
Discussion:
Gawker, PERRspectives, Left Coast Rebel, In The Pink, Wonkette, The Gun Toting Liberal, Alas, a blog and Althouse
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Rich Schapiro / NY Daily News:
Rev. Pat Robertson says ancient Haitians' ‘pact with the devil’ caused earthquake — The Rev. Pat Robertson is offering his own absurd explanation for why a quake hit Haiti: Many years ago, the island's people “swore a pact to the the devil.” — “Something happened a long time ago in Haiti …
Discussion:
Boing Boing, Politics Daily, Suburban Guerrilla, JammieWearingFool, Scared Monkeys and Doug Ross
Media Matters for America:
Limbaugh claims Dems' interest in Darfur is securing black “voting bloc” — EXPAND ALL EXPAND 1ST LEVEL COLLAPSE ALL
Carlh / Media Matters for America:
Robertson's “true story“: Haiti “swore a pact to the devil” to get “free from the French” and “ever since they have been cursed” — From the January 13 edition of Christian Broadcasting Networks' The 700 Club: — Please upgrade your flash player. The video for this item requires a newer version of Flash Player.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Did Haiti Form a Pact With the Devil? — My colleague Amanda Terkel observes that Pat Robertson thinks the Haitians have no one but themselves to blame for the earthquake that's afflicting their country. After all, it's only comeuppance for their pact with the devil:
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Think Progress, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Confluence and The Moderate Voice
Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
Why is Haiti so poor? — I'm not interested in talking about Greg Clark or making comparisons to the West; if need be compare it to other black Caribbean nations, such as Jamaica or Barbados. It's much worse and in terms of social indicators it is also worse than many places in Africa. Why?
GottaLaff / The Political Carnival:
VIDEO- Pat Robertson: Haiti disaster due to Haiti's “pact at the Devil.”
VIDEO- Pat Robertson: Haiti disaster due to Haiti's “pact at the Devil.”
The Hill:
Obama seizes reins in daylong House-Senate healthcare talks — President Barack Obama sought to muscle House and Senate Democrats to reach an accord on healthcare reform during a daylong White House meeting Wednesday. — With an eye toward sealing a deal on his signature domestic policy initiative …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Reid: It Was A Waste Of Time Dealing With Olympia Snowe — Hindsight's 20-20, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now thinks he and leading Democrats, at the behest of the White House, flushed months down the toilet courting Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) support for health care reform.
The Politico:
Obama pushes for a deal on health bill — After an unusual day-long negotiating session, President Barack Obama and top Democratic congressional leaders said late Wednesday that they were making “significant progress” towards reconciling the House and Senate health care reform bills.
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
Weiner: Joe can't spell my name — or “back-stab”
Weiner: Joe can't spell my name — or “back-stab”
Discussion:
The Politico
The Politico:
Harold Ford's gilded New York — Harold Ford arrived in New York through one of its finer entry points: Sag Harbor, an exclusive section of pricey East Hampton, where in 2003 his father and predecessor in Congress bought a spacious house for $1.8 million. — The Sag Harbor spot …
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Pareene / Gawker:
New York Times Allows Harold Ford to Destroy Himself — Remember how the New York Times' uncomfortable interview with Caroline Kennedy pretty much sank her Senate campaign? Hello, Harold Ford, welcome to New York! First question: Jets or Giants? … Right.
Discussion:
New York Times
Kos / Daily Kos:
MA-Sen: No longer stealth — As E. J. Dionne notes, this past week, things have gotten tougher for Scott Brown: … Brown has been caught in a vice. His support from teabaggers was critical to becoming competitive — his moneybomb on Monday was the first real moneybomb conservative activists …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, Althouse, A Certain Enthusiasm, The Daily Dish, Ben Smith's Blog and The Other McCain
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Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Prop. 8 trial TV blocked — Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked any television broadcast to the general public of the trial in a San Francisco federal court of the challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage. The stay will remain in effect until the Court rules on a coming appeal challenging the TV order.
CNN:
Haiti capital ‘flattened,’ many feared dead — Watch live reports from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Anderson Cooper is on scene for firsthand accounts of the horror and devastation from the earthquake. — Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — Rescue workers struggled to clear rubble and bodies Wednesday …
Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:
Goldman E-Mail Message Lays Bare Trading Conflicts — For years, Wall Street whispered that Goldman Sachs profited handsomely by trading ahead of — or even against — its own clients. — On Tuesday, a Goldman executive made an unusual admission that, in some cases, the rumors were true.
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John Feehery / Pundits Blog:
Paula Nowakowski — As I drove my wife back to her office after the funeral of my good friend Jeff Becker, a bumper sticker on the car in front of me caught my attention. “What if the hokey-pokey is what it is all about?” — The thought made me laugh, which is nice, because on Friday …
Discussion:
The Politico