Top Items:
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Jeb Bush On Sarah Palin: If She Only Had A Brain... (VIDEO) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some advice for Sarah Palin: You'd be a great, if you only had a brain. — In a recent interview with Newsmax, Bush was asked whether he thought Palin was a viable candidate for president.
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Buford T Justice / Breitbart.tv:
OBAMA & DEMS IN ‘05: 51 VOTE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ IS ‘ARROGANT’ POWER GRAB AGAINST THE FOUNDERS’ INTENT — Biden: “I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don't make the kind of naked power grab you are doing.”
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Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:
“Nuclear Option” stupidity comes full circle — Want to see a neat trick? — As we've documented extensively over the past year, conservatives have waged an ongoing campaign to re-brand the process of reconciliation as the “nuclear option.” Feel free to read any of the hundred or so examples …
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Top Palin aide resigns — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's senior adviser and spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton has resigned, POLITICO has learned. — Stapleton has been a Palin confidant since December 2006 and one of the governor's most trusted aides since she was vaulted onto …
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David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Weiner: The Republican Party Is a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Insurance Industry — Anthony Weiner just made a fiery speech in the middle of the House debate on repealing the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption [Update: Measure passed, 406-19)]. Angered by a motion to recommit …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Conrad: Reform “dead” unless House passes Senate bill first — If congressional Democrats decide to pass fixes to the Senate health care bill through reconciliation, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is one of the most important people to bring on board with the plan.
Discussion:
The Note, CNN, USA Today, Washington Wire, Political Punch, Hot Air, Commentary and msnbc.com
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Conrad: Health Care ‘Dead’ Unless House Passes Senate Bill First
Conrad: Health Care ‘Dead’ Unless House Passes Senate Bill First
Discussion:
The Hill, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Open Congress, Swampland, AmSpecBlog, TalkLeft and The Reality-Based Community
New York Times:
Questions of Influence in Abuse Case of Paterson Aide — Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man. — In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice …
Ezra Klein:
Don't get Rep. Anthony Weiner angry — You wouldn't like him when he's angry. — Watch this through to at least the third minute, by which time a Republican has pulled a parliamentary maneuver to stop Weiner and give him a chance to take back his words, and Weiner substitutes his words for, uh, other words.
Maggie Mertens / Kaiser Health News:
Chart: Comparing Health Reform Bills: Democrats and Republicans 2009, Republicans 1993 — The proposal President Barack Obama unveiled on Monday is based largely on the bill passed by the Democratic Senate on Dec. 24, 2009, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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Erik Wemple / City Desk:
Breaking: Could “The Party” Be Over? — Update 2:28: Newsroom rumors are running fierce right now. But it's tough to nail any sort of confirmation on where the column stands. Will keep pounding. — Update 1:45: Have made several calls to the very top crust of Post newsroom management.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Orlando Sentinel:
SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in whale attack — An experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, Dawn Brancheau, was fatally injured by one of the whales. — A SeaWorld employee died this afternoon during an incident at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed.
Zaid Jilani / Think Progress:
Miss Beverly Hills tries to one-up Carrie Prejean, says it's divine law that gays be put to death. — Last year, Miss California Carrie Prejean endeared herself to the right wing when she answered a question about same-sex marriage by saying that she believes marriage “should be between a man and a woman.”
Discussion:
Lean Left
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Hollie McKay / Fox News:
Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley Opposes Same Sex Marriage
Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley Opposes Same Sex Marriage
Discussion:
Opinion L.A., The Bilerico Project, TMZ.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Towleroad News #gay and Feministing
David Harsanyi / Reason:
The Ron Paul Delusion — Why the Texas congressman does not represent the future of conservatism — What are we to make of the Republican Party's future now that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the well-attended Conservative Political Action Conference last week?
James Hider / Times of London:
Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decade — The son of one of Hamas's founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today.
Nick Bunkley / New York Times:
G.M. to Close Hummer After Sale Collapses — DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday that it would shut down Hummer, the brand of big sport-utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler,” after a deal to sell it to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Jon Taplin's Blog, The Consumerist, SpeakEasy, The Political Carnival and Grist
Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Pledge of Allegiance dispute results in Md. teacher having to apologize — The mother of a 13-year-old Montgomery County middle school student is demanding an apology from a teacher who had school police escort the youngster from a classroom for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jennifer D. Jordan / Associated Press:
Every Central Falls teacher fired, labor outraged … CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — The full force of organized labor showed up in Central Falls Tuesday, with several hundred union members rallying in support of the city's teachers and bringing plenty of harsh words for the education officials …
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Democrats, Republicans try to agree on summit seat assignments — An intense argument has been raging ahead of Thursday's health-care summit: Will President Obama and members of Congress sit around a U-shaped table or a round one? — Seat assignments are no small matter.
Discussion:
Politics Daily
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Daniel Schulman / Mother Jones:
Did Blackwater Rescue Alan Grayson in Niger? — Before joining Congress, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) was the scourge of military contractors, filing dozens of whistleblower lawsuits against companies who defrauded the government in connection with their work in Iraq.
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?
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, SpeakEasy, Raw Story, Main Justice, TBogg, The Moderate Voice, Commentary, Gateway Pundit, BLACKFIVE, The Political Carnival, Truthdig and Boing Boing
The Frisky:
“I'm Live-Tweeting My Abortion” — “I'm doing this to de-mystify abortion,” she says. “I'm doing this so other women know, 'Hey, it's not nearly as terrifying as I had myself worked up thinking it was.' It's just not that bad.” — These are the words of Angie Jackson, a blogger and mother of a 4-year-old son.
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 …
Wall Street Journal:
What's the Matter With Democrats? — The party embraced globalization while its union allies were cut down. — It's no secret that the tea party faithful regard the Obama administration as a Constitution-shredding tyranny. But in a profile of the movement published last week …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
McCain's ‘birther’ attack — priceless, where was this mccain in 2008? — Posted By: priceless, where was this mccain in 2008? America...yet another lie and spin...from a moderate ‘fence sitter’! I do not believe that Bilderberg Bush-0bama is a legal citizen and qualified to be President either and I …
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Looking at the swing voters — Our national poll last week found that 37% of voters were definitely planning to go Republican this year and 34% were definitely planning to support Democrats- that leaves 29% of the electorate up for grabs- who are those swing voters?
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Crist sounding more and more ... independent — Either Charlie Crist realizes he can't escape the stimulus, or he's leaning toward an independent run for Senate. — Crist is saying some curious things for a man in the midst of a conservative primary challenge. — Here's a few, just from the last couple days:
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Have Gays Found Their Place in the GOP? — Dramatic Moment at Conservative Confab Could Be a Sign of Change Within Republican Party When It Comes to Gay Rights — (CBS) This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter Brian Montopoli. — A memorable moment at last week's …
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch
Zachary Roth / TPMDC:
McCain: Obama Suspended His Campaign Too! — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), under fire in a GOP primary for his support for the bailout, is now claiming, inaccurately, that Barack Obama joined him in suspending his presidential campaign to address the 2008 financial crisis.
Matt Sucherman / The Official Google Blog:
Serious threat to the web in Italy — In late 2006, students at a school in Turin, Italy filmed and then uploaded a video to Google Video that showed them bullying an autistic schoolmate. The video was totally reprehensible and we took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police.
Discussion:
Guardian, ReadWriteWeb, NewTeeVee, BuzzMachine, Cato @ Liberty, Silicon Alley Insider, Engadget, Mashable!, TechCrunch, Gawker, BBC and Althouse
John Sides / Salon:
On spending, conservatives are quite conflicted — The government spends too much! Except when it comes to schools and infrastructure and Social Security and ... Conservatives agree that the government spends too much. But ask them what to cut ... At last week's Conservative Political …