Top Items:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
A Trade Center image in DSCC spot — A new ad from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee uses an unlikely symbol of Wall Street greed: the World Trade Center. — The image in the attack on Scott Brown for his alleged closeness to Wall Street pictures the Trade Center and the destroyed Marriott Hotel on its western side.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, RealClearPolitics Video Log, The Hill, The Jawa Report, American Power, The DC Trawler, Swampland, Taylor Marsh, theblogprof, Pajamas Media, Another Black Conservative, AmSpecBlog, Wonkette, Left Coast Rebel, Power Line, National Review Online, TPMDC, The Daily Caller, The Lonely Conservative and Hot Air
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Bshor / Boris Shor, PhD:
Scott Brown is a more liberal Republican than Dede Scozzafava — A special Senate election is being held next Tuesday in Massachusetts to finish Edward Kennedy's term. The candidates are Martha Coakley (D), and State Senator Scott P. Brown (R). — The election is particularly noteworthy for a number of reasons.
Discussion:
Power Line, FiveThirtyEight, The Lonely Conservative, Brendan Nyhan, Riehl World View, FrumForum and race42008.com
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Massachusetts: ‘Bottom has fallen out’ of Coakley's polls; Dems prepare to explain defeat, protect Obama — Here in Massachusetts, as well as in Washington, a growing sense of gloom is setting in among Democrats about the fortunes of Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley.
Discussion:
Boston Herald, The Daily Caller, The Plum Line, The Moderate Voice, The Politico, Moonbattery, Washington Post, Ruby Slippers, Clusterstock, Wall Street Journal, Gateway Pundit, sisu, race42008.com, Commentary, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Althouse, The TrogloPundit, Jules Crittenden, Viking Pundit, JammieWearingFool and Weasel Zippers
The Note:
Bill Buckner Curse Haunts Health Care? — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: As Democrats rush to get a deal on health care, they are doing so with a an eye on the Massachusetts Senate race. — If Democratic nominee Martha Coakley loses, Democrats in Washington want to be in a position …
Discussion:
The Politico, Political Punch, Hot Air, Betsy's Page, PoliPundit.com, ABCNEWS and Democratic Strategist
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Scott Brown Voted Against Giving Help To 9/11 Recovery Workers — One month after the September 11th attacks, Scott Brown was one of only three Massachusetts State Representatives to vote against a bill to provide financial assistance to Red Cross workers who had volunteered with 9/11 recovery efforts, we've learned.
Steve Kornacki:
Coakley Internal: Brown +3 — I've been told reliably that Martha Coakley's internal poll for Thursday night showed her trailing Scott Brown by three points — 47 to 44 percent. — As I wrote yesterday, her internal poll on Wednesday night had her barely ahead, 46 to 44 percent.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, msnbc.com, Hot Air, The Jury Box, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit and Commentary
Jonathan D. Salant / Bloomberg:
Senate Can Pass Health With 51 Votes, Van Hollen Says — Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — Even if Democrats lose the special election to pick a new Massachusetts senator Tuesday, Congress may still pass health-care overhaul through a process called reconciliation, a top House Democrat said.
David Frum / FrumForum:
Miracle in Massachusetts — Byron York is reporting that the bottom is dropping out of Martha Coakley's support in the Mass Senate race. It's not just the Democratic scare of a lifetime: Scott Brown might actually win. — If so, this is an earthquake in American politics …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Erick's blog, msnbc.com, National Review Online, Hot Air and The Corner on National …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHO VOTES AGAINST HELP FOR 9/11 RECOVERY WORKERS?.... It's a little late in the game to introduce a game-changing issue into the Senate special election in Massachusetts — the election is Tuesday, after all — but this revelation nevertheless tells voters something pretty important about Republican Scott Brown.
Hank Investigates / WHDH-TV:
The Hiller Instinct: Suffolk University Poll — Scott Brown is riding a wave. It could break before it hits shore, or, it could crash through the Democratic seawall of state politics and send him all the way to the U.S. Senate. — Our exclusive 7NEWS/Suffolk University Poll shows Brown, with 50%, in front of Coakley with 46%.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
What To Do If Coakley Loses — As the likelihood grows that Republicans could win the special election in Massachusetts, it's worth thinking again about alternatives for health care reform in case that happens. I see three, in descending order of preference:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
OK, It's a Toss-Up — Earlier today I tweeted about how there wasn't enough evidence to describe the Massachusetts special election as a “toss-up”, as some other forecasters have done, based on the information available to us at that time. — Well, now there's some new evidence.
Brian McGrory / Boston Globe:
Race is in a spinout — Martha Coakley made a jaw-dropping …
Race is in a spinout — Martha Coakley made a jaw-dropping …
Discussion:
Boston Herald, Power Line, Hot Air, The Greenroom, Clusterstock and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
ArkansasTimes:
Vic Snyder not seeking re-election — U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder of Little Rock distributed an e-mail shortly after 4 p.m. Friday saying that he is not running for re-election this year. He cited family demands. His family grew to four children a year ago with the addition of triplets.
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Charlie Cook / National Journal Online:
Colossal Miscalculation On Health Care — OBAMA AND HILL DEMOCRATS SHOULD HAVE FOCUSED MUCH MORE ON THE ECONOMY. — Honorable and intelligent people can disagree over the substance and details of what President Obama and congressional Democrats are trying to do on health care reform and climate change.
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Anill / Wonk Room:
Steve King: Undocumented Haitians Should Be Deported, Haiti In ‘Great Need Of Relief Workers’ — Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti this week, many activists and politicians have heightened the cry for granting undocumented Haitians in the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
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China Real Time Report:
Clearing Up Confusion on Google and China — From Silicon Valley to Zhongguancun, Google's surprise announcement that it may pull out of China has fueled an enormous amount of discussion in recent days, not all of it 100% accurate. Below are some misstatements and misunderstandings we've seen:
Discussion:
James Fallows, New York Times, The Peking Duck, Silicon Alley Insider and The China Beat
RELATED:
Kim Hart / The Hill:
Rep. Smith: Google makes ‘180-degree turn’ on bill backing Internet freedom
Rep. Smith: Google makes ‘180-degree turn’ on bill backing Internet freedom
Discussion:
The Politico
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Obama confidant's spine-chilling proposal — Cass Sunstein has long been one of Barack Obama's closest confidants. Often mentioned as a likely Obama nominee to the Supreme Court, Sunstein is currently Obama's head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs where, among other things …
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Beck: Obama is ‘dividing the nation’ by reacting ‘so rapidly to Haiti.’ — Right wing radio talker Rush Limbaugh has received considerable criticism for politicizing the earthquake in Haiti this week with a series of inflammatory remarks attacking President Obama.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Plan B? — If Scott Brown wins on Tuesday, you can bet he'll arrive in DC the next morning waiting to be sworn in. And there's just not much precedent for any real delay of swearing in the winner of a special election, as long as the election result is not in dispute.
The Hill:
Payments to states emerges as major obstacle to health reform — Some House Democrats believe their states would get shortchanged in the overhaul of the nation's healthcare system and the funding issue is fast becoming a major hurdle to getting a bill signed into law.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
RELATED:
New York Times:
Pentagon Report on Fort Hood Shooting Details Failures — WASHINGTON — The military's defenses against threats from inside its own ranks are outdated and ineffective, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Monday as he described the findings of an Army review of the Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas.
Discussion:
Neptunus Lex, No Sheeples Here, Outside The Beltway, Online NewsHour, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Main Justice and Truthdig
RELATED:
Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times:
Handling of Ft. Hood shooting suspect could bring discipline
Handling of Ft. Hood shooting suspect could bring discipline
Discussion:
Politics Daily