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 …
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Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Dear Nervous & Frustrated House Democrat... Dear Nervous and Frustrated House Democrat, — It's up to you. — A few days ago, after a year of debate, you were on the verge of achieving a goal that's eluded progressives for nearly a century: Creating a national health insurance program.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, TalkLeft, The Politico, The Hill, Ross Douthat and The Corner on National …
The Huffington Post:
A Path Forward: It's Time to Pass Health Insurance Reform — What's Your Reaction: … The question on everyone's mind today is what went wrong in Massachusetts? The tea leaf-reading and hand wringing will no doubt monopolize much of Washington's time over the coming days and weeks.
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.
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 …
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Obama: Seat Scott Brown and Health Care Next Steps — Here is a section from my exclusive interview today with President Obama: — GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: So how do you do it now? This strategy that a lot of people have talked about getting the House to pass the Senate bill.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Talking Points Memo, TPM LiveWire, YID With LID, Hot Air, CANNONFIRE and The Page
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 …
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.
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Stupak: Senate bill wouldn't get 100 votes in the House
Stupak: Senate bill wouldn't get 100 votes in the House
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The Politico
Associated Press:
GOP's Brown wins Mass. Senate seat in epic upset
GOP's Brown wins Mass. Senate seat in epic upset
Discussion:
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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.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, The Fix, Washington Post, naked capitalism and Brendan Nyhan
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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.
Ezra Klein:
What Ted Kennedy would tell the Democrats
What Ted Kennedy would tell the Democrats
Discussion:
The Politico, The New Republic, Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Riehl World View and Raw Story
Mark Knoller / CBS News:
Obama's First Year: By the Numbers — “Nothing special,” said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs when asked what President Obama is doing today to mark the end of his 1st year in office and the start of his 2nd. — To hear Gibbs tell it, no one at the White House is much interested in noting the one year milestone.
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The Politico:
Forces of change now target Obama
Forces of change now target Obama
Discussion:
The Swamp, New York Times, PERRspectives, The Caucus, The Washington Independent and The Moderate Voice
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:
Media Decoder, Felix Salmon, The Atlantic Business Channel, Silicon Alley Insider, Newsbroke, TechCrunch and Gothamist
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Jim Romenesko / Romenesko:
Read NYT execs' memo to staff about plans to charge for NYTimes.com
Read NYT execs' memo to staff about plans to charge for NYTimes.com
Discussion:
Felix Salmon
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, FP Passport, RedState, Gateway Pundit, Infidel Bloggers Alliance and Indecision Forever
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Ezra Klein:
The difference between Democrats and Republicans — Imagine that after 9/11, a liberal Senate Democrat had quietly placed a hold on George W. Bush's nominee to lead the Transportation Security Agency. The problem in this case wasn't qualifications. The nominee was a former airport security chief …
Discussion:
Megan McArdle
Billy Byler / The Augusta Chronicle:
Basketball league for white Americans targets Augusta — A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn't receiving a warm welcome. — The All-American Basketball Alliance announced …
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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.
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Conrad opens door to reconciliation for healthcare — The Senate Budget Committee Chairman said Wednesday he's willing to use special rules to force a final healthcare bill through with a simple majority vote. — Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) made clear his openness to applying budget reconciliation …
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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.
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
After Massachusetts, a Warning: If Dems Run on GOP Obstructionism, They Will Lose — Caution: falling poll numbers (photo: Quasimondo) — Let me put this as simply as possible. Democrats control everything in Washington right now. They control the White House. They have a huge margins in the House and in the Senate.
Discussion:
First Draft, Washington Post, Mudville Gazette, Indecision Forever, Sadly, No! and pandagon.net