Top Items:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Reid: Dems will use 50-vote tactic to finish healthcare in 60 days — Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. — Reid said that congressional Democrats …
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Fox News:
Ron Paul Wins Presidential Straw Poll at CPAC — Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas known for his libertarian views, ran for president in 2008 but was never a serious contender for the GOP nomination.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Power Line, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces and AmSpecBlog
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The Politico:
Boos as Paul wins CPAC straw poll — Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican who ran a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, was the top vote-getter in the Conservative Political Action Conference's straw poll, capturing the support of 31 percent of those who participated in the contest.
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Obama Scornfest: Conservatives Gun for Prez — Republicans who may want Obama's job descend on Washington; early tryout of sorts — Republicans who may want President Barack Obama's job flocked to the town they love to hate this weekend and repeatedly ripped into the Democrat, an early tryout of sorts for the GOP nomination.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Ron Paul wins CPAC straw poll — Texas Rep. Ron Paul won the 2010 CPAC straw poll tonight, a victory that will further energize his already enthusiastic supporters but will have little effect on the coming presidential contest. — Paul, who ran for president in 2008, took 31 percent of the vote.
Larry O'Connor / Big Journalism:
Breitbart Takes Down Blumenthal at CPAC — A funny thing happened on the last day of CPAC. Max Blumenthal, recently corrected and embarrassed “journalist” from Salon.com paraded through the convention with a camera crew. Like last year, he was looking for a confrontation of some kind.
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Andrew Breitbart Meets Daryle Jenkins of the One People's Project — Max Blumenthal's appearance at CPAC ended, apparently, with a confrontation between him and Andrew Breitbart. The subject of the argument: the Salon.com story that I've written about here in which Blumenthal claimed …
Bruce Bartlett / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
Another Dumb Right-Wing Idea: Default on the Debt — Over the years I have heard a number of conservatives suggest that defaulting on the national debt wouldn't be such a bad thing. Today Prof. Glenn Reynolds of the University of Tennessee Law School (better known as “Instapundit") suggests the idea once again.
Sarah Kliff / Newsweek:
The Polling Contradiction — In the latest NEWSWEEK Poll, the majority of Americans are opposed to President Obama's health-care reform plan—until they learn the details. Plus, a look at very unhappy mood of the electorate.
Tim Weiner / New York Times:
Alexander M. Haig Jr. Dies at 85, Commanding White House Aide — Alexander M. Haig Jr., the four-star general who served as a confrontational secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan and a commanding White House chief of staff as the Nixon administration crumbled …
Discussion:
Guardian, The Talking Dog, The Moderate Voice, Swampland, Jules Crittenden, CNN, New York Magazine and BBC
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James Hohmann / Washington Post:
Alexander Haig, 85; soldier-statesman managed Nixon resignation
Alexander Haig, 85; soldier-statesman managed Nixon resignation
Discussion:
No Sheeples Here, BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Newsbroke, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politics Daily, American Power, Truthdig and AmSpecBlog
Ronen Bergman / Wall Street Journal:
Israel and the Dubai Murder Mystery — The circumstantial evidence all points to the Mossad, and the result is a diplomatic nightmare for the Jewish state. — Israelis woke up Wednesday morning to pictures of 11 individuals plastered on the front page of every newspaper.
Evan Bayh / New York Times:
Why I'm Leaving the Senate — BASEBALL may be our national pastime, but the age-old tradition of taking a swing at Congress is a sport with even deeper historical roots in the American experience. Since the founding of our country, citizens from Ben Franklin to David Letterman have made fun of their elected officials.
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Islam envoy retreats on terror talk — President Barack Obama's new Islamic envoy, Rashad Hussain, changed course Friday — admitting that he made sharply critical statements about a U.S. terror prosecution against a Muslim professor after initially saying he had no recollection of making such comments.
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New York Times:
Up Next! On Live TV! A Battle Over ... Health Care? — WASHINGTON — When he jousts with Congressional Republicans over health care policy during a televised meeting on Thursday, President Obama will seek to portray his adversaries as sharing many of the broad goals of his legislation …
Heather / Crooks and Liars:
Newt Gingrich Greeted Like Rock Star at CPAC — Good grief. Newt Gingrich was treated like a rock star at the CPAC 2010 Convention. He entered the auditorium with “Eye of the Tiger” playing and the audience gave him a standing ovation and pats on the back as he made his way to the stage.
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
SHOCK VIDEO— Obama Caught in a Major ACORN Lie — The brazen dishonesty of this president is a bit concerning to say the least. — A newly discovered video shows Obama lying to the American people about his relationship with ACORN: — Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) …
Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Yoo and Bybee Cleared, Justice Department's Shoddy Investigation Exposed — The Justice Department has finally closed a sorry chapter in its history — the attempt to criminalize the work of Department lawyers who rendered legal judgment on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques …
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Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:
Top DOJer Overruled Finding Of Misconduct For Torture Memo Authors
Top DOJer Overruled Finding Of Misconduct For Torture Memo Authors
Discussion:
Newsweek Blogs, The Democratic Daily, Open Left, Emptywheel, Mother Jones, The Reality-Based Community, Raw Story, Firedoglake and The Reaction