memeorandum: Rockefeller pushes to rein in EPA (Juliet Eilperin/Washington Post)

4:50 PM ET, March 4, 2010

Top Items:

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Gregg suggests Obama may renege on fixing Senate health bill — The White House may renege on passing fixes to the Senate's healthcare bill once the House has passed it, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) claimed Thursday. — Gregg, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee …

Discussion: The Politico, The New Republic, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Lonely Conservative, Commentary, Another Black Conservative and The Political Carnival

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Another House Dem A “No” On Senate Bill; A Previous “Yes” Now Undecided — Okay, a bit more bad news for the prospects of passing the Senate bill out of the House. — Rep Frank Kratovil of Maryland, a previous No vote who was now said to be undecided, will vote No on the Senate health reform proposal, his spokesman confirms.

Discussion: Jeff Mapes on Politics, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, TalkLeft, TPMDC, Riehl World View, Political Punch and Crooks and Liars

Jennifer Bendery / Roll Call:

Obama Summons Waffling Members to White House to Talk Health Care — A day after giving his final major push to Congress to get the job done on health care, President Barack Obama is already ramping up his campaigning on the Hill by summoning to the White House a motley group of Democrats who are wavering on his proposal.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Confluence, The New Republic, About.com US Liberal Politics, The Political Carnival and AMERICAblog News

Chris Frates / The Politico:
Some Republicans criticize judge pick

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Weekly Standard, The White House, Wonk Room, Main Justice and Right Wing Watch

The Atlantic Online:
Perfect Storm Nearly Killed Health Reform; Another Storm May Save It

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Taegan Goddard's …

The Politico:
W.H. warns Dems: Don't flip-flop

Discussion: CNN, The Note, Los Angeles Times, The Fix, The Foundry, Time, Roll Call, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Sister Toldjah, Associated Press, Taylor Marsh, Wake up America, Ezra Klein and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
White House sets March 18 goal for House vote on Senate health bill

Discussion: The Plum Line, Commentary, The Politico, Open Left, Open Congress, Washington Monthly, The Lonely Conservative and Salon

RADAR:

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Considering Stepping Down — Update: RadarOnline.com has obtained new information that Justice Roberts will NOT resign. The justice will be staying on the bench. — John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court …

Discussion: Above the Law, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, Wonkette, Another Black Conservative, The Daily Caller, The Lonely Conservative, The Political Carnival and Dependable Renegade

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Breaking: Is John Roberts about to resign from the Supreme Court? Update: Drudge source: “News to me”; Update: Radar retracts — Update II: Radar retracted the story a few minutes ago: … Nice work, Radar. Original post follows ... According to Radar Online, the next Supreme Court justice …

Pareene / Gawker:
Chief Justice John Roberts Resigning, According to Internet's …

Discussion: MediaMemo, Media Decoder and Lawyers, Guns and Money

CBS13/CW31:

Anti-Gay Lawmaker At Gay Club Before DUI Arrest — SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Sources tell CBS13 a state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento, early Wednesday morning.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPMMuckraker, Talking Points Memo, CBS News, LA Daily, Advocate, Breitbart.tv, The Moderate Voice, The Awl, Wonkette, Wake up America, The Political Carnival, At-Largely and Gawker

Christine Bedell / Bakersfield Californian:
Sen. Roy Ashburn “deeply sorry” after DUI arrest

Discussion: TPMMuckraker and The Other McCain

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Entering the Larry Craig Pantheon

Discussion: KMPH-TV, pandagon.net and Indecision Forever

Jay Heflin / The Hill:

Second Ways and Means boss ousted; Levin replaces Stark — Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) will be the acting chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced to her caucus on Thursday. — The startling announcement comes a day after Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) …

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, MyDD, Hot Air and YID With LID

The Politico:

Stark hands off gavel — Rep. Sander Levin will take over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee after Rep. Pete Stark, who held the gavel for a day, stepped aside. — The dominoes fell after Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) resigned the chairmanship of the powerful tax-writing panel Wednesday …

Discussion: Washington Times, Wizbang, Left Coast Rebel, Another Black Conservative, theblogprof, The Note, CNN and Pajamas Media

Tory Newmyer / Roll Call:
Levin to Succeed Rangel as Ways and Means Chairman

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Gawker, Real Clear Politics, Hot Air and Politics Nation

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:

Left rallies against Lincoln — Organized labor and liberals have committed more than $5 million to Sen. Blanche Lincoln's primary election opponent, Bill Halter, signaling that the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary is shaping up, for the left, as a hill to die on.

Discussion: CNN, Open Left and Arkansas News

Ellen R. Malcolm / The EMILY's List Blog:
Surprised about Blanche Lincoln's fight for survival? I'm not.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, TPMDC, Politics Nation and DownWithTyranny!

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Blanche Lincoln begins television ad campaign

Discussion: Pajamas Media and Raw Story

Ezra Klein:

‘I will take our troops out of the war zone and put them into space’ — Introduction Video from Kesha for Congress on Vimeo. — Kesha Rogers is a Larouchie who just won the Democratic nomination in Texas's 22nd district. Her triumphant statement is pretty sweet:

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Adam / Kesha Rogers for Congress:
The Ides of March are coming: Pro-Impeachment Democrat wins nomination in Texas

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Democracy in America, Houston Press and Wonkette

Art Beast / The Daily Beast:

Does Anybody Still Like Karl Rove? — Home - Cheat sheet - Buzz board - Big Fat Story - Blogs & stories - Videos - Galleries - Crossword — Blogs and Stories — As the “Turd Blossom” peddles his new book, even name-brand conservatives are taking shots at him. Plus, Rove's secret stint as Harold Ford's guru.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic and Taegan Goddard's …

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Ultimate Bush Insider Lifts Veil on Presidency

Discussion: msnbc.com, Reliable Source, Washington Post, Mudville Gazette, The Page, Politics Daily and PERRspectives

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Dick Durbin: Let GOP filibuster — Senate Democrats may be ready to actually make Republicans carry out filibusters. — Basking in their political victory over Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-Ky.) blockade of an extension of unemployment insurance, Democrats say that they may force Republicans …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Michael O'Brien / The Hill: Howard Dean: Health bill hangs Dem incumbents and Obama out to dry in elections

Adam J. Rose First / The Huffington Post:

Palin At Oscar Gift Suite: Sarah Palin And Entourage ‘Like Locusts’ — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Sarah Palin aligns her public image with the heartland, but it appears the former Alaska Governor has gone Hollywood. And when she leaves, she may be taking some of it with her.

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin.com, Ministry of Gossip, Top of the Ticket, In The Pink, Raw Story, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Gawker and JammieWearingFool

CNN:
Palin pitching TV show

Discussion: The Note, Hollywood Insider, The Politico, PoliBlog and The Political Carnival

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Who are the actual “crazy” people in American politics? — My Salon colleague, Mark Benjamin, writes about last night's Larry King Show — featuring a debate between Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson and GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann — and does so by repeatedly branding Grayson as being every bit as “crazy” as Bachmann.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Peterhamby / CNN:

Steele: Leaked RNC presentation ‘unfortunate’ — Congressional GOP aides expressed their frustration over their perception that Michael Steele is using his book tour to undermine the party's political message. — Washington (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele …

Discussion: The Politico

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Republicans sign on to bill targeting RNC mailers

Discussion: Federal Eye and The Moderate Voice

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:

Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets — Critics of the teaching of evolution in the nation's classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both scientific subjects should be taught in public schools.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Moderate Voice, Pharyngula, Dot Earth, Politics Daily, Liberal Values, Achenblog and The Reality-Based Community

Ezra Klein:

Exclusive: ‘Wellpoint would be a primary beneficiary’ if reform fails, investment firm says — “Of course, healthcare reform is a double-edged sword for Wellpoint shares. Should reform fail, Wellpoint would be a primary beneficiary.” — That comes from the first page of the Cowen and Co.'s assessment …

Discussion: TPMDC and The New Republic

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:

Pigs Flying Moment on Hannity: “Moderate islam Does Not Exist” — Someone pinch me. Hannity actually let Mosab Hassan Yousef, brave heroic apostate out of Islam, speak uninterrupted on his show about Islam. This subject matter is never spoken of honestly on Fox, let alone on Hannity. They fear it.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Jihad Watch, American Conservative …, Weasel Zippers and Israel Matzav

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Rockefeller pushes to rein in EPA — Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WVa.) will introduce legislation Thursday to impose a two-year moratorium on the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and other stationary emitters, a move that could undermine …

Discussion: Open Congress, Politics Daily and PostPartisan

The Huffington Post:

American Family Association: Stone To Death Killer Whale Who Killed Trainer — What's Your Reaction: … The American Family Association, a religious right group, is urging that Tillikum (Tilly), the killer whale that killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, be put down, preferably by stoning.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Reaction, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dish, Raw Story and Alan Colmes' Liberaland