Top Items:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Do the Right Thing — A message to House Democrats: This is your moment of truth. You can do the right thing and pass the Senate health care bill. Or you can look for an easy way out, make excuses and fail the test of history. — Tuesday's Republican victory in the Massachusetts special election means …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Politico, TPMDC, The New Republic, TalkLeft, The Greenroom, Kausfiles, USA Today, Mother Jones, TPM LiveWire, EconLog, Daily Kos and The Reaction
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
In U.S., Majority Favors Suspending Work on Healthcare Bill — Seven in 10 say Massachusetts election result reflects frustrations shared by Americans — PRINCETON, NJ — In the wake of Republican Scott Brown's victory in Tuesday's U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, the majority of Americans …
Political Punch:
Senate Dems Not Sure They Can Get Enough Votes to Reconfirm Bernanke — Amidst the voter anger at Wall Street and Washington, D.C., ABC News has learned that the Senate Democratic leadership isn't sure there are enough votes to re-confirm Ben Bernanke for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
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The Politico:
Dem health care talks collapsing — Health care reform teetered on the brink of collapse Thursday as House and Senate leaders struggled to coalesce around a strategy to rescue the plan, in the face of growing pessimism among lawmakers that the president's top priority can survive.
The Huffington Post:
New Dem Worry: GOP Taking Credit For Health Care Reform — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Health care reform advocates are concerned that passing a scaled-back version of reform legislation — an option being considered by President Obama and Democratic Party leaders — could end up playing into the hands of Republican electoral politics.
New York Times:
A New Search for Consensus on Health Care Bill — WASHINGTON — Even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi affirmed her commitment to pass far-reaching health care legislation this year, members of Congress and health policy experts began Thursday to deal with the reality that a smaller bill would have a better chance.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:WHAT A SCALED-BACK BILL MIGHT LOOK LIKE.... The entire health …
Discussion:
The New Republic
New York Times:
The Court's Blow to Democracy — With a single, disastrous 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century. Disingenuously waving the flag of the First Amendment, the court's conservative majority has paved the way for corporations …
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The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Room for Debate, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Hit & Run, SCOTUSblog, SEIU, Althouse, Los Angeles Times, Neptunus Lex, CNN, Firedoglake, How Appealing, The Politico, Mediaite, QandO, Outside The Beltway, PoliBlog, Maggie's Farm, No More Mister Nice Blog, The BLT, Big Journalism, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, USA Today, New Deal 2.0 and The White House
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Keith Olbermann / msnbc.com:
U.S. government for sale — With no limits on campaign financing, corporations will take over the government — SPECIAL COMMENT — Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on the Supreme Court's ruling today in the case titled “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:Lobbyists Get Potent Weapon in Campaign Finance Ruling
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Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFlash.org, The Politico, Boston Globe, The Caucus, Philly.com, AmSpecBlog and AMERICAblog News
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Detainees Will Still Be Held, but Not Tried, Official Says — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to continue to imprison without trials nearly 50 detainees at the Guantánamo Bay military prison in Cuba because a high-level task force has concluded that they are too difficult …
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Ezra Klein:
Don't forget to blame the Senate — A lot of the onus for health care's sudden derailing has been placed on the House, which is bafflingly opposed to passing the Senate bill. But the Senate isn't making life any easier, refusing to do the one thing that would make the House comfortable with the Senate bill.
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Melanie Trottman / Wall Street Journal:
Union Households Gave Boost to GOP's Brown — WASHINGTON—Republican Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts Senate race was lifted by strong support from union households, in a sign of trouble for President Barack Obama and Democrats who are counting on union support in the 2010 midterm elections.
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James Taranto / Wall Street Journal: W II — Obama's first term is looking a lot like Bush's second term.
RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Jon Stewart Mocks Keith Olbermann Over Scott Brown Attacks — Jon Stewart mocks Keith Olbermann for his attacks on Scott Brown and other conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin. — To comment on this video or click the “Comments” link below.
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Scott Baio Receives Death Threats For Posting Unflattering Photo of Michelle O on Twitter — They want to kill Chaci. — Conservative Scott Baio is being threatened on twitter. — Scott Baio, who supported Scott Brown in Massachusetts, received death threats this week after he posted …
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
McCain Runs Ad Slamming Hayworth — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is running a new radio ad slamming an opponent who hasn't even gotten in the race. — The unusual ad suggests McCain is truly worried about a challenge from ex-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R), who is taking steps toward running to McCain's right.
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Filibuster reform bill headed for Senate floor facing uphill battle — Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) intends to introduce legislation that would take away the minority's power to filibuster legislation. — Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) intends in the next few weeks to introduce legislation …
TMZ.com:
Bristol Palin to Levi Johnston — Pay Up Deadbeat — Bristol Palin has gone to court, demanding that Levi Johnston step up as a dad and pay her some of the money he's raked in from his naked media blitz. — Court documents were filed by Bristol's lawyer late Thursday afternoon in Alaska …
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
On bombing suspect, tough questions for Eric Holder — It seems like a pretty simple question. Who made the decision to charge Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused terrorist arrested for trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day, as an everyday criminal, as opposed to an enemy combatant?
The Huffington Post:
Scott Brown's Wife Music VIDEO: Gail Huff's RACY ‘Girl With The Curious Hand’ (PHOTOS) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — On Tuesday night, Scott Brown's wife pleaded with her husband to stop advertising his “available” daughters, but a video we've dug up reveals that Gail Huff wasn't always so prim and proper.
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Will Ben Bernanke Become the First Casualty of the Brown Election? — Dead man sitting? Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke (photo: talkradionews) — No, health care was the first casualty. But Roll Call has an incredible article up, reporting from the Senate that Ben Bernanke's nomination …
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
RNC Cash Falls Farther — The RNC has spent more money than it has taken in during every month since July, even as the party brags about an expanded donor base that set off-year records. — The lead GOP committee announced Friday it had raised $6.6M in Dec. But the party spent more than it raised …
Washington Post:
Obama's ‘Volcker Rule’ shifts power away from Geithner — For much of last year, Paul Volcker wandered the country arguing for tougher restraints on big banks while the Obama administration pursued a more moderate regulatory agenda driven by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Reuters, Political Punch, Time, New York Times, Concurring Opinions, TPMCafe, Taibblog and The Washington Independent
Jerry Sanders / The Huffington Post:
Proud to Testify for Marriage Equality — I was proud to testify this week in what I believe will soon be seen as one of the defining civil rights cases of our time, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. I did so as a Republican mayor, a father, and a former police chief with over 26 years of experience on the force.
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Towleroad News #gay
Lisa de Moraes / Moraes on TV:
Jay Leno to keynote White House Correspondents Dinner — White House Correspondents Association has picked this week's most unpopular stand-up comic Jay Leno be the keynote speaker at this year's White House Correspondents DInner. — An NBC rep confirmed the invitation to The TV Column.
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Reliable Source, Think Progress, Top of the Ticket, Washington Wire, Politics Daily, PopEater, Wonkette and The Page
Jon Ward / The Daily Caller:
Senator John Thune: Obama seeks to spark ‘class warfare’ with populist rhetoric — A prominent Republican senator said Thursday that President Obama is seeking to spark “class warfare” with increasingly populist rhetoric and a series of regulatory measures aimed at Wall Street.
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RedState
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