Top Items:
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.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Lonely Conservative, American Conservative …, Ruby Slippers, Hot Air, PostPartisan, The New Republic and AmSpecBlog
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
Here comes the reconciliation “nobody” is talking about; Update: Oba-kabuki lab coat props reappear; “Make your voice heard” — Scroll for updates... Photoshop: Leo Alberti — It's official. After months of threatening to push the button on the so-called nuclear option, reconciliation …
Discussion:
The Substratum, Riehl World View, LifeNews.com Pro-Life …, The Hill and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
Manu Raju / The Politico:
GOP casts doubt on parliamentarian — Senate Republicans are waging a pre-emptive strike against the Senate's parliamentarian — a hitherto little-known official who could determine the fate of the Democrats' health care reform efforts. — In interviews with POLITICO …
Wall Street Journal:
Abuse of Power — 'An undemocratic disservice to our people and to the Senate's institutional role.' — A string of electoral defeats and the great unpopularity of ObamaCare can't stop Democrats from their self-appointed rendezvous with liberal destiny—ramming a bill through Congress on a narrow partisan vote.
Discussion:
The Politico, Gateway Pundit, Betsy's Page, RedState, Wizbang and And So it Goes in Shreveport
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Obama: Finishing health reform is a test of leadership
Obama: Finishing health reform is a test of leadership
Discussion:
The Politico
Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
President Obama to Say Democrats Will Use Reconciliation to Pass …
President Obama to Say Democrats Will Use Reconciliation to Pass …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, The Politico, Washington Post, Bloomberg, New York Times, Slate, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Hotline On Call, Wonk Room, Row 2, Seat 4, GayPatriot, Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit, CNN, StoryBalloon.Org, The Hill, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, Wizbang, AMERICAblog News, The Lonely Conservative and Conservatives4Palin.com
New York Times:
Rangel Steps Aside From Post During Ethics Inquiry — WASHINGTON — Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York announced on Wednesday that he would temporarily step down from his powerful post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in an attempt to avert a politically bruising fight …
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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 …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Californians now control six House committees with Stark appointment
Californians now control six House committees with Stark appointment
Discussion:
The Politico
Washington Post:
Rep. Charles Rangel to temporarily quit key tax post
Rep. Charles Rangel to temporarily quit key tax post
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, Wake up America, The Page, Left Coast Rebel and NBC New York
Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:
Palin: ‘I joined Fox’ because there's too much ‘opinion interjected in hard news’ in the mainstream media. — In January, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) joined paid contributer. Last night, she appeared on Jay Leno's show and decried the state of the mainstream media as “quite broken …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
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Dave Itzkoff / ArtsBeat:
With Leno, Palin Pushes Back Against ‘Family Guy’ — In an interview Tuesday night on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” Sarah Palin once again criticized “Family Guy,” the Fox animated series, for a joke she believed was directed at her family, and rebuked the news media for not giving …
Discussion:
Wilshire & Washington, The Daily Dish, The Huffington Post, The Washington Independent and TBogg
Jason / StoryBalloon.Org:
Sarah Palin Does Stand Up Comedy On Jay Leno's Show. … I think one of her best lines was obviously off the cuff. When Jay Leno was pushing her about her having a talk show, Mrs. Palin responded: I hear once in a while this [pats desk] comes open. — The second video has the stand up routine.
Discussion:
TVbytheNumbers, Gateway Pundit, NewsBusters.org, American Conservative … and Weasel Zippers
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!
Elizabeth Benjamin / The Daily Politics:
Dem Source: Massa Won't Run (Updated) — 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.
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:
Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias, The Atlantic Online, Associated Press, DISSENTING JUSTICE and Ben Smith's Blog
RELATED:
David Catanese / The Politico:
Perry trounces Hutchison in Texas — Gov. Rick Perry won a decisive victory over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas GOP primary for governor Tuesday night, bringing a bruising fight between two of the state's most popular Republicans to an anticlimactic conclusion.
Discussion:
The Fix, Democratic Strategist, Outside The Beltway, Ben Smith's Blog, Gateway Pundit, GOP 12 and Scared Monkeys
RELATED:
Michael Shedlock / Mish's Global Economic …:
Governor Christie: “Time to Hold Hands and Jump Off the Cliff” - Chris Christie For President? — In an amazingly candid appraisal of the sorry state of affairs in New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie laid it on the line in a speech to about 200 mayors at the New Jersey League of Municipalities.
Jonathan Bernstein / The Daily Dish:
For Tuesday I Walk to the Village — Yesterday was election day in Texas, and I voted. And I voted. And then I voted some more. If my count was correct, I voted fifty-two times. I voted for Governor, and I voted for U.S. House and Texas House and Texas Senate...OK …
Sahil Kapur / The Raw Story:
Michael Moore: 'Democrats are a bunch of wusses...It's disgusting... I'm sick of them' — America's top documentary filmmaker talks “Capitalism,” politics and Oscars with Raw Story — Just over a year ago, Michael Moore vigorously campaigned for President Obama and the Democratic Party.
Little Green Footballs:
The Texas Taliban — There's been talk lately in Texas about seceding from the US. Even Republican Governor Rick Perry has broadly hinted that Texas should exercise its “tenth amendment” rights. — Well, here's a website that makes me think it might be a good idea to let them do it: Repent Amarillo.
Times of London:
Argentina celebrates diplomatic coup as Hillary Clinton calls for talks over Falklands — Giles Whittell, Hannah Strange, Catherine Philp and Martin Fletcher in Stanley — Argentina was celebrating a diplomatic coup yesterday in its attempt to force Britain to accept talks on the future …
Discussion:
Power Line, Pajamas Media, Fausta's Blog, QandO, Neptunus Lex, Sister Toldjah, Don Surber, Wake up America and US Department of State
Ezra Klein:
A minority of 59 — Who sounds like the majority party in this exchange, and who sounds like the minority party? … And keep in mind, it's not the Republicans offering a deal here. It's one Republican. Bob Corker of Tennessee. Give him his deal, and it's still Democrats voting …
Sindya N. Bhanoo / Dot Earth:
Fuel Taxes Must Rise, Harvard Researchers Say — To meet the Obama administration's targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, some researchers say, Americans may have to experience a sobering reality: gas at $7 a gallon. — To reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector 14 percent …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, The Foundry, QandO, Townhall.com, The Lonely Conservative, RedState and Weasel Zippers
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 …
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Dem will push for public option in separate bill if not included in existing package — If a public health insurance option is not added to existing healthcare reform legislation, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Wednesday that he would push for one using a separate bill.
Discussion:
TPMDC
Washington Post:
Same-sex couples line up as D.C. gay marriage law takes effect — Sitting at a desk in the marriage bureau of the D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday morning, Angelisa Young's eyes filled with so many tears, she eventually buried her face in her fiancee's chest.