Top Items:
Jessica Van Sack / Boston Herald:
Poll shocker: Scott Brown surges ahead in Senate race — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio — Riding a wave of opposition to Democratic health-care reform, GOP upstart Scott Brown is leading in the U.S. Senate race, raising the odds of a historic upset that would reverberate …
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The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
MA Senate moved to Toss-Up — Democratic desperation and other compelling evidence strongly suggest that Democrats may well lose the late Senator Edward Kennedy's Senate seat in Tuesday's special election. Because of this, we are moving our rating of the race from Narrow Advantage for the Incumbent Party to Toss-Up.
Discussion:
Capitol Watch, The Other McCain, The TrogloPundit, Scorecard's Blog, GayPatriot, American Power, The Lonely Conservative, Boston Herald, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Political Punch, Left Coast Rebel, TPMDC, Hot Air, Commentary, DaTechguy's Blog, Michelle Malkin, National Review Online, Don Surber, Riehl World View and Weasel Zippers
Red Mass Group:
Coakley: “You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn't work in the emergency room” — Last evening, while on Broadside with Jim Braude, I told Jim that Scott Brown was trying to prevent Nuns like the Sisters of Charity that taught me from performing medical procedures contrary to their religious beliefs.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, The Natural Truth, RedState, Big Government, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and The Anchoress
Steve Kornacki:
On Massachusetts.... I wrote a column last week in which I dismissed the chances of Republican Scott Brown actually winning next Tuesday's Senate special election in Massachusetts. The race would be close, I figured — 53-47 for Coakley, or something like that — but the state's blue tint would be just enough to save the Democrats.
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review Online, Ben Smith's Blog, Weasel Zippers, The Natural Truth and The Awl
Sabutai / Blue Mass. Group:
Yes it sucks. Yes you have to vote Coakley. — Let's get this out of the way. You might not want to vote for Martha Coakley. You might think she deserves what's she's getting after an absentee, self-satisfied campaign (why should I bail her out?). You likely want to send a message …
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, DaTechguy's Blog, Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain, Don Surber, Red Mass Group, neo-neocon and The Natural Truth
Curt Schilling / 38pitches.weei.com:
Want ANOTHER reason to NOT vote for Martha Coakley??? — Picked this up from here... [1] — If she hasn't done it yet, Martha Coakley may have just killed her campaign. — She's apparently been trying to win the title of Worst Political Campaign Ever, and she might have just clinched …
Discussion:
sisu, Boston Globe, HillBuzz, Power Line, Ruby Slippers, Gateway Pundit, race42008.com, TD Blog, Scorecard's Blog, Erick's blog and RedState
David / Blue Mass. Group:
Exclusive BMG/Research 2000 poll: Coakley leads 49-41 — The results are in from BMG's exclusive statewide poll in next week's special Senate election. Research 2000 interviewed 500 likely voters on Tuesday and Wednesday (and we do mean “interviewed” — Research 2000 does live interviews, unlike robo-pollsters Rasmussen and PPP).
Discussion:
TPMDC, Swing State Project, Real Clear Politics, The Jury Box, The Fix, Open Left, Washington Wire, MyDD, Daily Kos, The Strata-Sphere, The Hill and Scorecard's Blog
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Ad Wars: Obama Cuts Spot for Coakley, Can Barely Contain Himself — Passion. — On the ol' Inspiro-meter, I'd say the president has hit that rarely reached sweet spot right between Droopy the Dog and Eyeore. Note, in particular, the deadness in his eyes as he closes out his appeal:
Jessica Taylor / The Politico:
Suffolk U. poll: Brown up by 4 — A Suffolk University poll released Thursday evening shows Republican Scott Brown four points ahead of Democrat Martha Coakley as he continues his improbable surge in the Massachusetts Senate special election. — The poll reports Brown is leading Coakley …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Gary Hewson / Big Journalism:
Martha's Greatest Hits: The Things the Democrats Would Like You …
Martha's Greatest Hits: The Things the Democrats Would Like You …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Boston Globe, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
CNN:
Obama makes plea for Coakley in Massachusetts
Obama makes plea for Coakley in Massachusetts
Discussion:
Hot Air, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, The Political Carnival and Riehl World View
CNN:
Democrats, labor unions reach tentative deal on ‘Cadillac’ plans — Washington (CNN) - Congressional Democratic health care negotiators, working with the White House, have reached a tentative deal with labor unions on restructuring a tax on high-end insurance plans, a key proposal to pay …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Sundries Shack, Daily Kos, Ben Smith's Blog, Taylor Marsh, Open Left, The Note, The Page and TPMDC
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Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Obama tells Dems that economy, healthcare will help in midterms
Obama tells Dems that economy, healthcare will help in midterms
Discussion:
The Politico
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Limbaugh stands by his Haiti remarks, tells critical caller she's a ‘bigot’ with ‘tampons in her ears.’ — Yesterday, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh controversially said that President Obama was going to try to use the devastating Haitian earthquake to boost his credibility with the …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
What's the Journal doing on this list? — The Tea Party Convention put out a press release today announcing that they were packed and had space for just five news outlets: — Everyone from a small town newspaper in Iowa to Fox News has asked for press credentials.
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Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Will Fox, WSJ accept tea party press selection?
Will Fox, WSJ accept tea party press selection?
Discussion:
The Caucus
Microsoft:
Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) — Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution — Version: 1.0 — General Information — Executive Summary — Microsoft is investigating a report of a publicly exploited vulnerability in Internet Explorer.
Andrew Scott / Pocono Record:
Sex sting in Poconos nets former chief U.N. weapons inspector … A former chief United Nations weapons inspector is accused of contacting what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in an Internet chat room, engaging in a sexual conversation and showing himself masturbating on a Web camera.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, The Jawa Report, The Corner on National …, Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs and Sweetness & Light
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
Poll: Americans think standing for principle is more important than bipartisan compromise. — On Christmas Eve, Washington Post columnist David Broder published a “pox-on-both-their-houses” column, lamenting that the health care reform package that was about to pass the Senate didn't have any “signs” of “bipartisan support.”
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Majority Would Vote Against Obama
Majority Would Vote Against Obama
Discussion:
The Confluence, MyDD, Ruby Slippers, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Hot Air, RedState and Flopping Aces
Amie Parnes / The Politico:
EX-ADVISER: ‘WE WERE NEVER READY’ — Nicolle Wallace, former senior adviser to the McCain presidential campaign, did little to defend Sarah Palin at a panel discussion for Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut's new book “Notes from the Cracked Ceiling” on Tuesday night.
Tim Blair:
PACT WITH GAIA — Actor Danny Glover believes that the Haitian earthquake was caused by climate change and global warming: — Says Glover: “When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens, you know what I'm sayin'?”
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
Matt Welch / Hit & Run:
Mine Eyes Have Seen a Different France Than Paul Krugman — In a column a few days back making the argument that Europe's economy “bears little resemblance” to U.S. caricatures of “a stagnant economy in which high taxes and generous social benefits have undermined incentives …
Discussion:
Megan McArdle
Dorothy Rabinowitz / Wall Street Journal:
Martha Coakley's Convictions — The role played by the U.S. Senate candidate in a notorious sex case raises questions about her judgment. — The story of the Amiraults of Massachusetts, and of the prosecution that had turned the lives of this thriving American family to dust, was well known to the world by the year 2001.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Pentagon Steps Up Talks on Ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama's campaign pledge …
Discussion:
Box Turtle Bulletin
Linda Greenhouse / Opinionator:
Into the Closet — Has anyone noticed that now that lesbians and gay men have left the closet to assert their equal rights as citizens, their adversaries seem to be running for a closet of their own? — My observation is, of course, prompted by the success that opponents of same-sex marriage …
Christopher Hayes / The Nation:
System Failure — There is a widespread consensus that the decade we've just brought to a close was singularly disastrous for the country: the list of scandals, crises and crimes is so long that events that in another context would stand out as genuine lowlights—Enron and Arthur Andersen's collapse …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
The Huffington Post:
As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take A Big Cut — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti, relief organizations are soliciting credit-card donations through their hotlines and websites. About 97 percent of these donations will actually …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Liberal Groups Gunning for Ford — Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. has yet to make official a primary bid against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York. But by raising his hand and expressing interest, he has unleashed a torrent of opposition among liberal Democrats, bloggers and activists who are mining his every quote.
Discussion:
City Room, About.com US Liberal Politics, Making Light, Ben Smith's Blog, Moe Lane and Alarming News
Jennifer Sullivan / Seattle Times:
Haq apologizes, receives life sentence for Jewish Federation shooting — Naveed Haq was sentenced to life in prison this morning for barging into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle 3 ½ years ago, killing one woman and wounding five others amid an anti-Israel tirade.