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.
New York Times:
G.O.P. Expects Little From Obama's Health Forum — WASHINGTON — Republican Congressional leaders on Tuesday rejected President Obama's challenge to come up with a single comprehensive proposal to achieve his goal of guaranteeing health insurance for nearly all Americans.
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, Canadian Press, Slate, Washington Monthly, The Page, Truthdig, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and race42008.com
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
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, The Hill, The Page, Pundit & Pundette and CNN
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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.
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 — It's been a year and a half since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and you have to wonder how big a financial crisis we have to go through before we get the new regulatory apparatus in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Discussion:
Sadly, No!
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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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
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 …
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 …
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
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.
William Booth / Washington Post:
U.S. to embed agents in Mexican law enforcement units battling cartels in Juarez — CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO — For the first time, U.S. officials plan to embed American intelligence agents in Mexican law enforcement units to help pursue drug cartel leaders and their hit men operating …
Thomas E. Ricks / Foreign Policy:
Nir Rosen: Stop the Iraq madness! — This blog knows all too well that no one is right all the time, and that it is important to listen to people who know their stuff and disagree with you. So when I saw Nir Rosen, a fellow at the NYU Center on Law and Security, make some comments …
Wall Street Journal:
Citi in Talks to Sell Hedge-Fund Business — Citigroup Inc. is in talks to sell a hedge-fund business with about $4 billion in assets as the bank company continues to whittle down a $547 billion pool of assets marked for sale, according to people familiar with the sale talks.
Avi Issacharoff / Haaretz:
Haaretz exclusive: Hamas founder's son worked for Shin Bet for years — The son of a leading Hamas figure, who famously converted to Christianity, served for over a decade as the Shin Bet security service's most valuable source in the militant organization's leadership, Haaretz has learned.
Discussion:
Power Line
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 …