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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.
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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.


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.

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.

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.

Obama heading to Massachusetts for Coakley — President Barack Obama will be heading to Massachusetts to campaign for Martha Coakley this Sunday, according to two senior sources informed of the president's decision, a last-minute effort to give the Democrat a needed boost in the Senate race.

Obama to campaign for Coakley — BOSTON — President Barack Obama will campaign for Massachusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley on Sunday, POLITICO has learned, a sign that Democrats believe the seat remains winnable enough that it's worth risking the president's prestige.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Times, The Note, The Daily Dish, The Strata-Sphere, Hotline On Call and Dennis the Peasant

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:

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.

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

How Health Care Reform Could Crash — Poll watcher Sean Trende (if that really is his name) thinks Massachusetts GOP challenger Scott Brown may have peaked too soon. Hmm. Doesn't necessarily look like it. .... Mark Blumenthal has some guidance for reading and reconciling all the Mass. polls …


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.

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.

Poll shocker: Scott Brown surges ahead in Senate race
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Ezra Klein, msnbc.com, Boston Globe, The Politico, The Fix, Gateway Pundit, wbur.org, Bloomberg, Washington Post, sisu, PERRspectives, PostPartisan, Fox News, NewsBusters.org, Commentary, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Political Byline, Crooks and Liars, Outside The Beltway, Another Black Conservative, Taylor Marsh, RedState, The Note, Red Mass Group, The Strata-Sphere and Daily Kos

Miracle in Massachusetts — Byron York is reporting that the bottom …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, RedState, National Review Online, Moonbattery, The Corner on National … and AMERICAblog News

Massachusetts shocker: Brown Up 15% in Pajamas Media/CrossTarget Poll

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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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.
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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:
No Sheeples Here, Outside The Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Online NewsHour and Main Justice
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A GOP Pickup? Rep. Snyder of Arkansas Announces Retirement — House Republicans' chances for gaining seats this November got a little bit better today with the retirement announcement of Arkansas Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder. — In a statement, Snyder said his seven terms in Congress were the …
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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 …

The Underlying Tragedy — On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Discussion:
Atlantic Correspondents, BBC, Clive Crook, Achenblog, FP Passport, Matthew Yglesias, The Awl, The Foundry, The Anchoress, TPMCafe, EconLog, The Moderate Voice and Cafe Hayek

Bill Clinton: Haiti's rebirth, an opportunity — In the sobering controversy that has arisen this week - say it isn't so - over the contribution of humanitarian and U.S. aid to Haiti, some question what will become of all the money. — They're suggesting, basically, that some or much of the money …
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Obama to meet with Bush, Clinton on Haitian relief
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog

Skelton opposes repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell' — The leading House Democrat on military policy said Friday that he opposes repealing the law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. — Seventeen years ago, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) played a major role in crafting …
Discussion:
Advocate, Think Progress, AMERICAblog Gay, New York Times and The Washington Independent

Ethics committee probing Visclosky, Tiahrt for ties to PMA lobbying firm — The House ethics committee is examining Reps. Peter Visclosky's (D-Ind.) and Todd Tiahrt's (R-Kansas) ties to PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that was raided by the FBI last year.
Discussion:
The Politico

Testing the Waters: Santorum Makes It Official — By: Kathryn Jean Lopez — In a letter that went in the mail yesterday to his PAC, the America's Foundation, Rick Santorum talks about his concerns about Barack Obama's first year of “Change we can't afford.”