Top Items:
Philip Klein / AmSpecBlog:
Barney Frank Deals Potential Death Blow to Obamacare — Rep. Barney Frank is not a wobbly moderate in a marginal district, but a liberal Democrat who has been supportive of the health care push. And that's why this statement below, which essentially rules out all of the options being discussed …
RELATED:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Let's Play the Blame Game! — When a Democrat loses a federal race in Massachusetts, the default assumption ought to be that several factors are to blame. — Clearly the national environment has gotten worse for the Democrats since Barack Obama's inauguration one year ago.
The Note:
Bayh Warns “Catastrophe” If Dems Ignore Massachusetts Senate Race Lessons — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — Even before the votes are counted, Senator Evan Bayh is warning fellow Democrats that ignoring the lessons of the Massachusetts Senate race will “lead to even further catastrophe” for their party.
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Claire McCaskill: No forced Senate health care bill — Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has joined Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) in warning leaders not to try to push a revised health care reform bill through the Senate before newly elected Republican Scott Brown arrives.
The Politico:
Fallout: Dems rethinking health bill — Republican Scott Brown's upset win in Massachusetts Tuesday threatened to derail any hopes of passing a health reform bill this year, as the White House and Democratic leaders faced growing resistance from rank-and-file members to pressing ahead with a bill following the Bay State backlash.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Newsweek Blogs, Gateway Pundit, JustOneMinute, Boston Herald, Left Coast Rebel, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Time, The Huffington Post, The Note, Washington Wire, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Virginia Politics Blog, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Guardian, Boston Globe, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Washington Times and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Just Shut Up! — Message of the day to all Dems, Coakley, Rahm, Celinda Lake, national Dem committees, Axelrod, whoever, whatever: Shut the *$%& Up! I don't know how else to say it. I'm watching MSNBC and hearing all the key players dumping on each other. As I've said, the Coakley campaign seems to have been run just terribly.
Rasmussen Reports:
First Look At Massachusetts Election Night Poll Data — Rasmussen Reports has conducted an Election Night survey of 1,000 voters in the Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate. Data will be released on this page throughout the evening. — Polls closed in Massachusetts …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Fix, Newsbroke, Boston Globe, James Pethokoukis, Swing State Project, MyDD, The Politico, NewsBusters.org, TPMDC and Real Clear Politics
Lanny J. Davis / Wall Street Journal:
Blame the Left for Massachusetts — Democrats should be willing to seek common-ground reforms. — Liberal Democrats might attempt to spin the shocking victory of Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts by claiming that the loss was a result of a poor campaign by Martha Coakley. Would that it were so.
Roy Edroso / Runnin' Scared:
Scott Brown Wins Mass. Race, Giving GOP 41-59 Majority in the Senate — The election of Republican Scott Brown to replace the deceased Ted Kennedy in the Senate from Massachusetts yesterday destroys the Democrats' 60-vote supermajority, widely presumed to be needed for passage of a health care bill …
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Frank: Health Care Compromise “Dead” — Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said any hope for a compromise between House and Senate health care reform legislation is dead following his state's election of a GOP senator last night. — “I think the measure that would have passed, that is …
Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Health Care Comes To Screeching Halt - Sen. Webb: No HCR Votes Until Brown Seated — Less than 15 minutes after the race was called for Republican Scott Brown, the first of what could be many conservative Democrats asks for leadership to put the brakes on health care reform.
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
After Massachusetts, a Warning: If Dems Run on GOP Obstructionism, They Will Lose
After Massachusetts, a Warning: If Dems Run on GOP Obstructionism, They Will Lose
Associated Press:
GOP's Brown wins Mass. Senate seat in epic upset
GOP's Brown wins Mass. Senate seat in epic upset
Discussion:
Boston Globe, NewsBusters.org, Weekly Standard, protein wisdom, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Public Policy Polling, Daily Pundit, The Politico, Full Comment, Pajamas Media, Martha Coakley, American Thinker, Wizbang, Achenblog, Real Clear Politics, No Sheeples Here, Wonkette, Wall Street Journal, The Anchoress and Fausta's Blog
The Huffington Post:
White House Warns Against Dropping Health Care As Party Grows Skittish
White House Warns Against Dropping Health Care As Party Grows Skittish
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, New York Times, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo
Ben Frumin / TPM LiveWire:
Frank: I Hope Some GOP Senators Will Support Health Care Reform …
Frank: I Hope Some GOP Senators Will Support Health Care Reform …
Discussion:
On Politics, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, The Media Consortium and Obsidian Wings
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
On to Plan C — Sen. Jim Webb puts out a statement that puts …
On to Plan C — Sen. Jim Webb puts out a statement that puts …
Discussion:
The Hill
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Determined or Delusional? House Leadership Sounds Optimistic on HCR
Determined or Delusional? House Leadership Sounds Optimistic on HCR
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Think Progress, Townhall.com, American Spectator, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Senate's Underpants Gnome Problem — If you think about legislation in a second-order sense, then I think it's clear that a “bill to increase the number of people who have jobs” would be a very good bill to pass, both substantively and politically. And Brian Beutler reports …
RELATED:
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Senior Senate Dems: Healthcare fate lies with House
Senior Senate Dems: Healthcare fate lies with House
Discussion:
Washington Post
Julie Pace / Associated Press:
TSA Nominee Withdraws Amid ‘Political Agenda’ — Obama administration's TSA nominee withdraws amid ‘political agenda’ — The Obama administration's choice to lead the Transportation Security Administration withdrew his name Wednesday. — In a statement, Erroll Southers said he was pulling …
RELATED:
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
White House: Mass. ‘messages heard’ — The White House faces questions today, on the anniversary of President Barack Obama's inauguration, about the Senate election in Massachusetts that cost the president's party its short-lived super-majority control of the Senate.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
RELATED:
Art Beast / The Daily Beast:
He's Done Everything Wrong — Home - Cheat sheet - Buzz board - Big Fat Story - Blogs & stories - Videos - Galleries - Crossword — Blogs and Stories — Obama punted on the economy and reversed the fortunes of the Democrats in 365 days. — He's misjudged the character of the country in his whole approach.
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web Site — The New York Times announced Wednesday that it intended to charge frequent readers for access to its Web site, a step being debated across the industry that nearly every major newspaper has so far feared to take.
Discussion:
Romenesko, Media Decoder, The Atlantic Business Channel, Newsbroke, Silicon Alley Insider, TechCrunch, Gothamist and Felix Salmon
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Pence To Meet With NRSC — In the wake of winning MA, GOPers are looking to put 1 more state in play if they can convince House GOP Conference chair Mike Pence to run against Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN). — Pence and his aides will meet with top staffers at the NRSC tomorrow …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
RELATED:
Peter Daou / The Huffington Post:
Liberal Bloggers to Obama and Dems: We Told You So — It took more than half a decade, countless American and Iraqi deaths in a war based on lies, a sinking economy and the drowning of an American city to finally kill Bush-Cheney-Rove's dream of a conservative realignment.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Palin to hit 2010 trail — Former Gov. Sarah Palin will announce today that she's hitting the campaign trail for Republicans — including her former running mate John McCain. — Palin, who did not campaign in last year's governor's races or in yesterday's Senate race in Massachusetts …
RELATED:
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
The Trials of Gavin Newsom — Gavin Newsom still looks glossy, like someone who'd play J.F.K. in a Lifetime original movie. — But the 42-year-old mayor of San Francisco sees his once glowing political future in less glamorous terms. — “I mean, oh, God,” he said, sipping green tea in his elegant office.