Top Items:
Dennis Romero / LA Daily:
CORRECTED: Mickey Kaus Takes Out Papers For U.S. Senate Run — Pioneering political blogger Mickey Kaus took out papers [filed] to run for U.S. Senate in California, he told LA Weekly. The Venice resident said he'll run this year against Barbara Boxer for her seat.
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Harold Ford Jr / New York Times:
Why I'm Not Running for the Senate — WHEN it was reported two months ago that I was thinking seriously about running for the United States Senate from New York, Democratic Party insiders started their own campaign to bully me out of the race — just as they had done with Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Steve Israel and others.
Michael Barbaro / City Room:
Ford Decides Not to Run — Under intense pressure from Democratic Party officials, Harold E. Ford Jr., the former Tennessee congressman, has decided not to challenge Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand in the primary this fall, according to two people told of his plans.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Ford bolts; Zuckerman rises — Harold Ford gave many reasons for his decision not to launch a primary challenge against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, but he didn't mention a decisive one: The emergence of a richer, stronger center-right challenger whom many of Ford's potential supporters …
Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:
Hotheaded Emanuel may be White House voice of reason — Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature. He's the town's resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target for the failings of the Obama administration.
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New York Times:
Obama to Highlight Cost in New Health Bill Push — WASHINGTON — President Obama this week will begin a climactic push to rally restive Congressional Democrats to pass major health care legislation by hammering the argument that the costs of failure will be higher insurance premiums and lost coverage for individuals and businesses.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, JustOneMinute, The Hill, Connecting.the.Dots, Washington Post, Agence France Presse and Dennis the Peasant
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Health care by Easter? — With AP suggesting that nine “no” Democrats in the House could switch to “yes,” Inside Health Policy has a timeline: — According to [a] Democratic memo, the timeline may be: Step one: The House passes the Senate's health reform bill by March 19.
Discussion:
The Politico
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
Obama looks to undecided Dems for health backing
Obama looks to undecided Dems for health backing
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Monthly, Washington Times, The Politico, Right Pundits, The Page and The Note
Charles Babington / Associated Press:
Some House foes eye switch to ‘yes’ on health care
Some House foes eye switch to ‘yes’ on health care
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Who really gets hurt when GOP's Bunning blocks this bill? — WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation furloughed nearly 2,000 employees without pay Monday as the government began to feel the impact of Republican Sen. Jim Bunning's one-man blockage of legislation that would keep a host of federal programs operating.
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The Huffington Post:
GOP Sen. Kyl: Unemployment Benefits Make People Not Want To Get A Job — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — A debate on the Senate floor Monday over unemployment compensation crystallized, at least for a moment, the divide between the two parties in Washington. — Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, PoliBlog, Swampland, Economist's View, Raw Story, DISSENTING JUSTICE and Hullabaloo
The World Newser:
Sen. Bunning is Angry: ‘This Is a Senators Only Elevator!’
Sen. Bunning is Angry: ‘This Is a Senators Only Elevator!’
Discussion:
Roll Call, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, MiamiHerald.com, Mediaite, In The Pink, CNN, Top Stories from CQ, Crooks and Liars, CBS News, Wonk Room, Courier-Journal, Taylor Marsh, Another Black Conservative, The Huffington Post, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, The Swamp, The Confluence, Taegan Goddard's …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Think Progress, Wizbang, The Atlantic Online and Gawker
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Bunning Blockade Leads To 21 Percent Fee Cut For Doctors
Bunning Blockade Leads To 21 Percent Fee Cut For Doctors
Discussion:
Washington Post, PERRspectives, SpeakEasy, democracyarsenal.org, Liberal Values, Guardian, Open Left, CNN, The Moderate Voice and Top of the Ticket
Orrin Hatch / Washington Post:
Reconciliation on health care would be an assault to the democratic process — America's Founders gave us a system of governance designed to limit government power and maximize liberty. The legislative branch is different from the executive, and the Senate is different from the House.
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Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Postal Service expected to announce ‘significant changes’ — The U.S. Postal Service will release projections Tuesday that confirm for the first time the suspicion that mail volume will never return to pre-recession levels. In response, the agency is pushing anew for a dramatic reshaping …
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Scott Collins / Los Angeles Times:
Roger Ebert takes to Twitter to give tea party followers a thumb's down — The film reviewer is aiming barbs at Sarah Palin and other conservatives. — Who's the biggest scourge of the tea party movement these days? It might be film critic Roger Ebert, who lately has been tossing brickbats …
Gerard Couzens / Daily Mail:
Baby girl survives after being shot in the chest in parents' ‘global warming suicide pact’ — A seven-month-old baby girl survived three days alone with a bullet in her chest beside the bodies of her parents and toddler brother. — Argentines Francisco Lotero, 56, and Miriam Coletti, 23 …
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Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Coffee Party, With a Taste for Civic Participation, Is Added to the Political Menu — Fed up with government gridlock, but put off by the flavor of the Tea Party, people in cities across the country are offering an alternative: the Coffee Party. — Growing through a Facebook page …
New York Times:
Paterson Said to Direct Aides to Influence Abuse Case — ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state officials to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor's actions.
Bernie Quigley / Pundits Blog:
The Vichy Republicans: Striving for mediocrity ... The New York Times's venomous and possibly deranged Frank Rich, who associated Sarah Palin with terrorism in his Sunday column this week, borrows from his previous archrival George Will in the claim that the White She Devil is a critter from hell and anyway, she will never be elected.
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Teddy Davis / ABCNEWS:
Texas Titans Battle for GOP Nod in Governor's Race
Texas Titans Battle for GOP Nod in Governor's Race
Discussion:
The Note, Austin American-Statesman, CNN, Dallas Morning News, PoliBlog and New York Times
Scott Shifrel / NY Daily News:
B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution — Brooklyn prosecutors on Monday cleared ACORN of criminal wrongdoing after a four-month probe that began when undercover conservative activists filmed workers giving what appeared to be illegal advice on how to hide money.
William Wan / Washington Post:
Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits — Employees at Catholic Charities were told Monday that the social services organization is changing its health coverage to avoid offering benefits to same-sex partners of its workers — the latest fallout from a bitter debate …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Top Republican expects final healthcare vote before end-of-month recess — Republicans expect a final vote on healthcare around the easter holiday this year, the Senate's second-ranking Republican said Monday night. — Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said he expected Democratic leaders …
New York Times:
The Second Amendment's Reach — Two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control law. On Tuesday, the court will consider whether that decision should apply everywhere in the country, not just in the federal territory of the nation's capital.
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
Moderation, please — From NBC's Mark Murray, Chuck Todd and Domenico MontanaroThe Drudge Report has a provocative photo and link to a story on President Obama's recent physical exam. It shows Obama drinking a beer at a basketball game with this headline: “PAPER: Obama doctors recommend 'moderation …
Sasha Issenberg / Boston Globe:
D.C. journalist provided 'writer's advice' — A prominent Washington journalist and former Globe reporter is among the many advisers and political experts who helped Mitt Romney write “No Apology,” according to the book's acknowledgments. — “Nina Easton, the noted journalist and commentator …
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog