Top Items:
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Big Questions Still Linger on Eve of Health Care Meeting — Three years ago this month, a presidential candidate — John Edwards, as a matter of fact — started a debate on health reform by announcing a plan to cover the uninsured. Since then, we've had an election, town hall meetings …
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Senate Dems warm to reconciliation — An idea that seemed toxic only weeks ago — using a parliamentary tactic to ram health reform through the Senate — is gaining acceptance among moderate Democrats who have resisted the strategy but now say GOP opposition may force their hands.
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Health care: Dems just don't have the votes
Health care: Dems just don't have the votes
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Power Line, Pundit & Pundette, Commentary, Cato @ Liberty and Riehl World View
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
Hoyer: Comprehensive health bill may be no go
Hoyer: Comprehensive health bill may be no go
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Associated Press, Hot Air, NO QUARTER, About.com US Liberal Politics, Commentary, Dennis the Peasant, Bloomberg and The Hill
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Harry Reid Says GOP Should “Stop Crying” About Reconciliation
Harry Reid Says GOP Should “Stop Crying” About Reconciliation
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Slate, Canadian Press, Washington Monthly, The Page, Truthdig, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and race42008.com
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Exclusive: W.H. privately plots 2012 campaign run — President Barack Obama's top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politics Daily, CentristNet, Left Coast Rebel, The Hill, The Page, Pundit & Pundette and CNN
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Rahm Emanuel takes heat over Dana Milbank column — The key paragraph contained high praise for Emanuel - at the expense of his boss: “Obama's first year fell apart in large part because he didn't follow his chief of staff's advice on crucial matters. Arguably, Emanuel is the only person keeping Obama from becoming Jimmy Carter.”
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Robert Gibbs: Public Option Via Reconciliation Can't Pass Congress — Hmm. At the press briefing just now, Robert Gibbs made the White House's most expansive comments yet about the push for a reconciliation vote on the public option — and, to put it mildly, supporters won't find them encouraging.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ezra Klein, The Strata-Sphere, FiveThirtyEight, The TrogloPundit, The Reaction, Firedoglake, Democratic Strategist, Liberal Values, CentristNet, Riehl World View, SpeakEasy, TPM LiveWire, Washington Monthly, The Page, New York Times, Daily Kos, The New Republic and The Huffington Post
Washington Post:
Wall Street shifting political contributions to Republicans — Commercial banks and high-flying investment firms have shifted their political contributions toward Republicans in recent months amid harsh rhetoric from Democrats about fat bank profits, generous bonuses and stingy lending policies on Wall Street.
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Steven Pearlstein / Washington Post:
Senators, finally, near an attractive deal on financial regulation
Senators, finally, near an attractive deal on financial regulation
Discussion:
Sadly, No!
Molly Hooper / The Hill:
Boehner: GOP will ‘crash’ WH ‘infomercial’ on healthcare reform
Boehner: GOP will ‘crash’ WH ‘infomercial’ on healthcare reform
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Politico, Think Progress, Rumproast, Firedoglake, The Political Carnival, The Hill, Newsweek Blogs and Hot Air
RushLimbaugh.com:
Thoughts on Mitt Romney, Scott Brown and the State of the GOP — BEGIN TRANSCRIPT — RUSH: To the phones. We go to Chicago. This is Ed. Nice to have you with us, sir, hello. — CALLER: Hi how you doing, Rush? — RUSH: Very well thank you. — CALLER: I just called to make a quick comment about Glenn Beck.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
‘Suicide Tuesday’: Limbaugh blasts Romney — Rush Limbaugh today opened up on Scott Brown for his deviation from the party line and on Mitt Romney for the former Governor's endorsement of John McCain. — Limbaugh attacked Romney at some length, returning to the subject through his show. One riff:
R. H. Potfry / The Nose On Your Face:
Harry Reid Launches New “Vote For Me Or The Wife Gets It” Campaign — Just hours after revealing that unemployed men in Nevada “tend to be abusive” toward their wives and facing the prospect of joblessness himself with an election this fall, Harry Reid has launched a bold new …
Michelle Malkin:
The old “coconut” smear: Another white liberal bigmouth with race issues — A few readers asked me why I hadn't commented on MSNBC's latest attack on the Tea Party as RAAAAACIST. Been there, done that. Over and over and over again. (The Dallas Tea Party posted an excellent rejoinder video here.)
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Matt Pressman / Vanity Fair:
Hate Sells: Why Liberal Magazines Are Suffering Under Obama — The George W. Bush years were good for more than just oilfield-services companies and waterboard manufacturers. They were also a boon for liberal political magazines, whose circulation soared on the wings of the Bush hatred that swept much of the country.
Discussion:
QandO, Outside The Beltway, Silicon Alley Insider, Betsy's Page, Politics Daily and Romenesko
John Yoo / Wall Street Journal:
My Gift to the Obama Presidency — Though the White House won't want to admit it, Bush lawyers were protecting the executive's power to fight a vigorous war on terror. — Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency. How?
Jonathan Darman / Newsweek:
The Quiet Dignity of Rielle Hunter — John Edwards's mistress has been surprisingly silent in public. — A small sampling of some of the things other people have said about Rielle Hunter in the two years since allegations first emerged that she was sleeping with married presidential candidate John Edwards.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Andy Sullivan / Reuters:
US stimulus added up to 2.1 mln jobs in Q4 2009-CBO — * It lowered jobless rate by up to 2.1 pct (Adds detail, background) — The massive stimulus package passed last year to blunt the impact of the worst U.S. recession in 70 years created up to 2.1 million jobs in the last three months of 2009 …
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Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act …
Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act …
Reuters:
Home purchase loan demand at lowest since 1997 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell for a third straight week, with demand for home purchase loans sinking to the lowest level in 13 years as inclement weather weighed, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Ian Urbina / New York Times:
Fearing Obama Agenda, States Push to Loosen Gun Laws — When President Obama took office, gun rights advocates sounded the alarm, warning that he intended to strip them of their arms and ammunition. — And yet the opposite is happening. Mr. Obama has been largely silent on the issue …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Kelley Shannon / Raleigh News & Observer:
Hutchison: Perry's tactics tough on her campaign — JUSTIN, Texas — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison acknowledged Tuesday that Republican Gov. Rick Perry has succeeded at casting her as a Washington insider, hindering her effort to kick him out of the Texas governor's mansion.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
KING FEELS HEAT FOR SUICIDE BOMBER SYMPATHIZES.... There was no shortage of over-the-top rhetoric at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend, but there was something about Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) comments that stood out. — Commenting on Joe Stack …
CNN:
Poll: Americans place blame for partisanship — Washington (CNN) — Two-thirds of Americans think that the Republicans in Congress are not doing enough to cooperate with President Obama, according to a new national poll. — But a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, released Wednesday …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Catherine Philp / Times of London:
US diplomats add a moat to their expenses at $1bn London embassy — The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London — the most expensive it has ever built. — The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy's Mayfair neighbours …
Robert B. Reich / New York Times:
Bust the Health Care Trusts — MY health insurer here in California is Anthem Blue Cross. So far, my group policy hasn't been affected by Anthem's planned rate increase of as much as 39 percent for its customers with individual policies — but the trend worries me, as it should everyone.