Top Items:
The Politico:
Hoyer knew of Massa allegations — First-term Rep. Eric Massa announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection, saying his doctors have told him that he can't continue to “run at 100 miles an hour.” — But several House aides told POLITICO that the House ethics committee has been informed …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Roll Call, The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, Politics Daily, Washington Monthly, The Fix, The Note, TPMDC, The Daily Politics, Moonbattery, The Jawa Report, Talking Points Memo, RHRealityCheck.org, Raw Story, Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Another Black Conservative, GayPatriot, AmSpecBlog, Gawker, Advocate and Hotline On Call
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Elizabeth Benjamin / The Daily Politics:
Dem Source: Massa Won't Run (Updatedx2) — Rep. Eric Massa is poised to announce this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in the 29th Congressional District this fall as planned, a Democratic source confirms. — The freshman congressman is going to make his announcement at 3 p.m., according to the source.
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Firedoglake, RedState, Swing State Project, Political Punch, TPMDC and Glenn Thrush's Blog
Roll Call:
Massa Has Cancer, Won't Run for Re-Election — Freshman Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) is expected to announce on a 3:30 p.m. conference call that he will not run for a second term in November. — A source who has spoken to Massa said the Congressman will announce he is leaving because of a recurrence of cancer.
Chris Frates / The Politico:
Harkin: Reconciliation is a go — Sen. Tom Harkin told POLITICO that Senate Democratic leaders have decided to go the reconciliation route. The House, he said, will first pass the Senate bill after Senate leaders demonstrate to House leaders that they have the votes to pass reconciliation in the Senate.
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Mike Madden / Salon:
Key House liberal may vote against healthcare bill — Rep. Raúl Grijalva, co-chairman of a progressive caucus, says he's “leaning toward” opposing the legislation — WASHINGTON — An influential House progressive says he's less likely to vote for the final healthcare reform bill …
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
For It Before He Was Against It: Arcuri Will Likely Vote No On Health Care — Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY) voted for House health care legislation in November. But he says he's almost certain to vote no on the Senate bill when it comes up for a vote in the House later this month, according to a report in the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
Mike Madden / Salon:
Rep. Brian Baird still not sold on healthcare reform
Rep. Brian Baird still not sold on healthcare reform
Discussion:
Political Punch
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on ‘fear’ — The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”
Mike Levine / Liveshots:
Exclusive: Unknown DOJ Lawyers Identified — A day after a conservative group released a video condemning the Justice Department for refusing to identify seven lawyers who previously represented or advocated for terror suspects, Fox News has uncovered the identities of the seven lawyers.
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John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes? — Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court. — Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes.
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, Hot Air, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Another Black Conservative and The Lonely Conservative
Tom Watson / My Dirty Life & Times:
A Death in the Blogging Family — The great Jon Swift has died. That's the “blogging” angle to a personal tragedy. In reality, the voice of Jon Swift - the hilarious faux conservative blogger whose talent and passion were evident in every post - belonged to Al Weisel …
The Hill:
Pelosi picks fellow Californian to take gavel after Rangel bows out — Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee, according to a House leadership aide. — The decision was made during …
Discussion:
The Hill, Sister Toldjah, RedState, NPR Blogs, Open Left, CNN, YID With LID, Firedoglake, Moonbattery and Washington Post
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The Huffington Post:
Palin Does Stand-Up On Leno's “Tonight Show” (VIDEO) — AP / Huffington Post — What's Your Reaction: — BURBANK, Calif. — Sarah Palin says she's going to play Tina Fey in an upcoming Las Vegas show. — Just kidding. — The former Republican vice presidential nominee turned …
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National Enquirer:
GRAND JURY TO INDICT EDWARDS — The ultimate fall from grace, a Federal grand jury is about to indict John Edwards, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. — In another shocker, close sources say Edwards' estranged wife Elizabeth could help send the former presidential candidate to jail!
Dr. Melissa Clouthier:
Crazytown Watch: Charles Johnson Conflates Some Fringe Group With Rick Perry — Now why would he do that? A little preventative, cyber guerrilla warfare, I'd say. — Here's the things about moderates, independents, or leftists in moderate name only (LIMNO-hey, it's better than FCINO) …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
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Ezra Klein:
Did Republicans use reconciliation for significantly bipartisan bills? — Among the odder arguments Republicans are making against the reconciliation process is that the process should only be used for bipartisan bills, and since they refuse to vote for health-care reform, Democrats can't give their package of fixes an up-or-down vote.
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Manu Raju / The Politico:
GOP casts doubt on parliamentarian
GOP casts doubt on parliamentarian
Discussion:
Time, Bloomberg, PostPartisan, CNN, The Swamp, Slate, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Hill and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
CBS News:
Fee to Overthrow the Government: Five Dollars — Posted by Brian Montopoli Leave Comment - Share - - - Share - E-mail - Print - Font Since 1951, South Carolina has had a law on its books requiring anyone looking to overthrow the government to, well, register with the government.
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
The Chief — You think it's so great being Rahm Emanuel? — One of the enduring mysteries about White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is why he took the job in the first place. At the time he accepted it, he was the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, a position he'd attained with considerable effort.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Matthew Yglesias, Swampland, The Politico, Associated Press, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Ezra Klein and Ben Smith's Blog
McHenry:
Rep. McHenry Announces Legislation to Put President Reagan on the $50 Bill — “Every Generation Needs Its Own Heroes” — Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) announced new legislation today, H.R. 4705, that would redesign the face of the $50 bill to include the likeness of our 40th President, Ronald Reagan.
Discussion:
The Awl, Ezra Klein, Politics Daily, The Washington Independent, WataugaWatch and American Conservative …
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CBS News:
Military to Review Sodomy Ban — As Part of Examination of Repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” Plans to Review Prohibition on Sodomy and Oral Sex — (CBS/ AP) The Pentagon's chief legal counsel said a nine-month study on gays in the military will likely review rules for troops on sodomy and oral sex.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
A Word From the Wise — I was traveling via Los Angeles International Airport — LAX — last week. Walking through its faded, cramped domestic terminal, I got the feeling of a place that once thought of itself as modern but has had one too many face-lifts and simply can't hide the wrinkles anymore.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Huffington Post, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Corner on National … and Power Line
New York Times:
Paterson Broke Ethics Law on Receiving Gifts, Panel Charges — Gov. David A. Paterson violated state ethics laws when he secured free tickets to the opening game of the World Series from the Yankees last fall for himself and others, the New York State Commission on Public Integrity charged on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Quinnipiac University, HardballTalk, Swing State Project, RHRealityCheck.org, CNN, Prairie Weather, TPMMuckraker, The Awl and The Page
Los Angeles Times:
Toyota's fix is a bust, owners claim — New complaints allege sudden acceleration and other problems after recall work. — Erick Garcia inspects his work at Toyota of Hollywood while perfecting the fix for shortening the gas pedal of recalled Toyota vehicles. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times / February 3, 2010)
Associated Press:
Palin working on book about virtues and strengths — NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Palin is ready for the next chapter of her publishing career. — Publisher HarperCollins announced Wednesday that the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate is working on a “celebration of American virtues and strengths.”
Paul Krugman:
Fantasies of the Chicago Boys — Ah, Chile. Remember how, during the Social Security debate, Chile's retirement system was held up as an ideal — except it turned out that it actually yielded very poor results for many people, and the Chileans themselves hated it?
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
Health Insurance Industry Looks Forward to $300 Billion Victory Over the Public Option — When Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and the entire Republican Senate caucus stepped up to kill the public option in the Senate …