Top Items:
The World Newser:
Sen. Bunning is Angry: ‘This Is a Senators Only Elevator!’ — ABC's Jonathan Karl and Z. Byron Wolf report from Washington: — An angry Senator Jim Bunning refused to answer questions from ABC News about his decision to block a bill extending unemployment benefits.
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The Huffington Post:
Bunning Objects To Extending Unemployment Insurance AGAIN (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Sen. Jim Bunning continues to object to extending unemployment benefits. On Monday, the Kentucky Republican once again prevented a vote on a bill that would extend eligibility …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Confluence, AMERICAblog News, Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Swampland and Open Left
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Top Democrats look to shame Bunning on unemployment benefits filibuster
Top Democrats look to shame Bunning on unemployment benefits filibuster
Discussion:
The Politico
Major Garrett / Row 2, Seat 4:
Obama to introduce health care bill Wednesday, “much smaller” than House version — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday President Obama will soon propose a health care bill that will be “much smaller” than the House bill but “big enough” to put the country on a “path” toward health care reform.
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The Note:
Pelosi Catches a Break: House Magic Number Set to Drop to 216 — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: Democrats may or may not be advancing the ball on health care reform. But the goal line is set to move a little closer. — Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., announced today that he plans to resign his seat …
The Politico:
Pelosi's brutal reality check — Asked this weekend to grade her performance as speaker, Nancy Pelosi gave herself an “A for effort.” — But Pelosi knows that the real test is still to come. — Pelosi is inarguably one of the strongest speakers in modern history …
Discussion:
New York Times, Hit & Run, Don Surber, Roll Call, Ruby Slippers, Commentary, Wall Street Journal, The Moderate Voice, The Lonely Conservative, The Caucus, The Foundry, Washington Post, Raw Story, Jules Crittenden, The Note, Pundit & Pundette, Riehl World View, The Corner on National … and American Power
Ezra Klein:
A reconciliation primer — It is amazing how few reporters understand what the budget reconciliation process is: Either how it works, or what it's traditionally been used for, or what Democrats are proposing to use it for. That confusion creates comical exchanges like this one …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Open Congress, Politico Live's Blog, PERRspectives and Washington Post
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Ann Althouse / Althouse:
How many beers a day would Obama need to be drinking before his doctor would recommend “moderation of alcohol intake”? — Drudge picks out this bit from Obama's health report: — The link goes to this report — which stresses the advice to “continue smoking cessation efforts” (which means he's still smoking, apparently) — and ends:
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Ewen MacAskill / Guardian:
Doctors tell Barack Obama to quit smoking — The american president has been trying to kick the habit for sometime, apart from the smoking he is in excellent health — Barack Obama is still struggling to kick smoking, according to his first medical examination since becoming president.
Adam Green / The Huffington Post:
Public Option Garners Avalanche of Support in Senate — In the wake of last week's “bipartisan summit” — which proved that no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform — an avalanche of Democratic senators are announcing today that they will vote YES for the public health insurance option …
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Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Gun case presents quandary for Supreme Court justices — As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle …
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New York Times:
Network News at a Crossroads — ABC News is making no secret about what is behind the sweeping staff cuts it now faces: raw survival instinct. — “I just looked out at the next five years and was concerned that we could not sustain doing what we were doing,” said David Westin …
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Outside The Beltway, QandO, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, Michael Calderone's Blog, New York Magazine, Romenesko and EW.com
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Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Halter declares against Lincoln — Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is moving ahead with a primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, he announced Monday. — “Washington is broken,” Halter said in a video on his campaign website. “Bailing out Wall Street with no strings attached …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Crooks and Liars, FiveThirtyEight, ArkansasTimes, TPMDC, RedState, Hot Air, Politics Daily and Daily Kos
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Ross Douthat / New York Times:
A Republican Surprise — Set a group of plugged-in conservatives to talking presidential politics, and you'll get the same complaints about the 2012 field. — Mitt Romney? He couldn't make the voters like him last time ... Sarah Palin? She'd lose 47 states ... Mike Huckabee?
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Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
The Photo That Could Doom the Democrats — Blogs and Stories — Nancy Pelosi is protecting Rep. Charles Rangel, who failed to pay taxes on his Caribbean villa, among other miscues. But the ethically challenged congressional baron is endangering the Democrats' control of Congress.
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Financial Reform Endgame — So here's the situation. We've been through the second-worst financial crisis in the history of the world, and we've barely begun to recover: 29 million Americans either can't find jobs or can't find full-time work. Yet all momentum for serious banking reform has been lost.
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama's Drop — Barack Obama now has a negative approval rating in every state he flipped from the Bush column to his in 2008. In each of those places his level of support is now in the 44-46% range. It's probably a good thing he doesn't have to run for reelection this year.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
New York Times:
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy — WASHINGTON — As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons. But the administration has rejected proposals …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Neptunus Lex, Wonk Room, The Washington Independent, Townhall.com, The Page and New York Magazine
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Buffett would scrap health bill — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett advised President Barack Obama on Monday to scrap the health care bill and start over. — In an interview with CNBC, Buffett said the current bill does not focus on controlling costs, which he sees as the central problem …
Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Hoyer: Raising taxes a realistic option for cutting $12 trillion debt — Tax increases may be necessary to rein in $12 trillion in federal debt, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday. — Hoyer emphasized the need to reform Social Security and Medicare …
John Yoo / Philly.com:
Closing Arguments: Finally, an end to Justice Dept. investigation — I've been under investigation for more than five years for legal advice that I gave in the immediate wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This month, the Justice Department's top career lawyer finally put an end to the farce.
Tom-Jan Meeus / NRC Handelsblad:
Tea Party prominent: Palin not presidential — Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo was the opening speaker at the recent Tea Party conference with Sarah Palin. In an interview with NRC Handelsblad, he spoke his mind about Palin. “I really don't have this feeling about her as being presidential.”
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, The Spot, Raw Story, Ben Smith's Blog, The Corner on National … and The Washington Independent
Pew Internet:
Understanding the Participatory News Consumer — The overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple platforms to get their daily news, according to a new survey conducted jointly by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Discussion:
Politics Daily
Steven R. Hurst / Associated Press:
Analysis: Republicans setting filibuster record — WASHINGTON — The filibuster — tool of obstruction in the U.S. Senate — is alternately blamed and praised for wilting President Barack Obama's ambitious agenda. Some even say it's made the nation ungovernable. — Maybe, maybe not.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, AMERICAblog News, Baltimore Sun, Ezra Klein, Daily Kos, PERRspectives, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Monthly and ACS Blog