Top Items:
CNN:
5 more Dems will vote against health care — Washington (CNN) — Five more House Democrats said Tuesday that they will vote against Senate health care legislation, which puts opponents of reform just 11 votes shy of the 216 needed to prevent President Obama from scoring a major victory on his top domestic priority.
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Wall Street Journal:
Opinions Harden on Health — Nearly half call plan a ‘bad idea’ in latest Journal/NBC poll, but Democrats who oppose it risk alienating base — Democratic lawmakers may be tempted to vote against the health-care overhaul plan pending in Congress because it remains unpopular with a broad swath of the public.
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Hoyer, Eric Cantor Spar Over Health Care Vote Count, Parliamentary Tactics — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today hinted that Democrats may use a controversial parliamentary procedure to pass the health care bill, a tactic that House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor charged would be an attempt to fool the public.
The Note:
Do Pelosi and the Democrats Have the Health Care Votes? Here's the Math — ABC's David Chalian reports: President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have each spent some quality time with Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, in the last 36 hours. They probably have a pretty good idea …
Discussion:
McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Politico, Washington Post, The Hill, The Swamp and Riehl World View
New York Times:
Democrats Consider New Moves for Health Bill — WASHINGTON — As lawmakers clashed fiercely over major health care legislation on the House floor, Democrats struggled Tuesday to defend procedural shortcuts they might use to win approval for their proposals in the next few days.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Washington Post, Plain Dealer, USA Today and The Atlantic Online
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
House Democrats scramble to ensure adequate deficit reduction in health bill
House Democrats scramble to ensure adequate deficit reduction in health bill
Discussion:
The Note, Associated Press, The Politico, Swampland, USA Today, National Review, BluegrassBulletin.com and gopleader.gov
Philip Klein / AmSpecBlog:
Dems Still Don't Have the CBO Score They Want
Dems Still Don't Have the CBO Score They Want
Discussion:
QandO, The Atlantic Online, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Hit & Run, The Politico, Riehl World View, The Corner on National …, The Other McCain and The Hill
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Key Dem: Using ‘deem and pass’ health plan is ‘wrong’
Key Dem: Using ‘deem and pass’ health plan is ‘wrong’
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Politico, The Foundry, The Hill, Hot Air, CNN, Ezra Klein and Open Congress
Norman J. Ornstein / The Enterprise Blog:
Hypocrisy: A Parliamentary Procedure — Any veteran observer of Congress is used to the rampant hypocrisy over the use of parliamentary procedures that shifts totally from one side to the other as a majority moves to minority status, and vice versa. But I can't recall a level …
New York Times:
McConnell Strategy Shuns Bipartisanship — WASHINGTON — Before the health care fight, before the economic stimulus package, before President Obama even took office, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, had a strategy for his party: use his extensive knowledge of Senate procedure …
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Jennifer Bendery / Roll Call:
Pelosi Calls All Female Democratic Members Into Meeting — Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is asking all female Democratic Members to attend a hastily called meeting Wednesday morning but isn't saying what the meeting is about. — Pelosi's office sent an e-mail out Tuesday evening requesting …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, CNN, Another Black Conservative, Riehl World View and QandO
Associated Press:
If bin Laden is found, he'll be killed, Holder says — Holder: If bin Laden found, he'll be killed — Osama bin Laden “will never appear in an American courtroom,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told House members at a hearing Tuesday. — “Let's deal with the reality here,” …
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Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Fineman Reports Kucinich to Vote “Yes” — Dennis Kucinich has called a press conference for tomorrow. Howard Fineman is reporting that Kucinich will vote “yes” on health care. — Kucinich told Obama that he wants a full ERISA waver and a public option in exchange for his vote.
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:
FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama plan — WASHINGTON - Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print. — Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say.
Discussion:
Moonbattery
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Ezra Klein:
Was Medicare popular when it passed? — For some time, I've been trying to find good polling from the passage of Medicare. According to Greg Sargent, though, the Democrats beat me to it: … I wonder how many of the legislators who took the tough vote to move Medicare forward regret doing that today.
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Dem Leaders To Rank And File: Public Was Closely Divided On Medicare, Too!
Dem Leaders To Rank And File: Public Was Closely Divided On Medicare, Too!
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
Allies everywhere feeling snubbed by President Obama — The contretemps between President Obama and Israel needs to be seen in a broader global context. The president who ran against “unilateralism” in the 2008 campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush did in his second term.
Jack Chang / Sacramento Bee:
Field Poll: Meg Whitman trounces Steve Poizner, edges Jerry Brown — Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has built a massive edge over her GOP rival Steve Poizner while taking a narrow lead over likely Democratic nominee Jerry Brown, according to results released today by the nonpartisan Field Poll.
Matt Lewis / Politics Daily:
GE and Ronald Reagan: The Mutual Gift That Keeps On Giving — As part of a one-year celebration to honor the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth, General Electric will run ads honoring the 40th president's legacy — and will donate $10 million to The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library …
Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
Blumenthal holds huge lead in Connecticut UPDATE — Here's some decent news for Dems — the Chris Dodd-Dick Blumenthal trade-in strategy seems to working just fine. Quinnipiac is out today with a poll showing him destroying potential GOP challengers Rob Simmons and Linda McMahon: — The numbers:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Lincoln says Obama never lobbied her on healthcare — President Barack Obama hasn't reached out to lobby Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) on healthcare, the senator said Wednesday. — Lincoln, a key Senate centrist who's facing a tough reelection challenge, said that Obama had barely reached …
Andrew Cohen / The Atlantic Online:
Doubting the Thomases — As couples go, Clarence and Virginia Thomas already have done a great deal more than most family units to define the meaning of the Constitution. After all, Justice Clarence Thomas alone speaks for 35 million or so Americans each time he exercises his 1/9th proxy vote at the United States Supreme Court.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Fernanda Santos / New York Times:
Peralta Wins Election for Seat Monserrate Held in State Senate — Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the State Senate after being convicted of assaulting his companion, was handily defeated on Tuesday by José R. Peralta in a special election in Queens for Mr. Monserrate's former seat.
The Huffington Post:
Rep. King Calls For Velvet Revolution Against The Government — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) urged a smaller-than-expected crowd of Tea Party protesters on Tuesday to launch a Velvet Revolution-style uprising against the federal government, saying the parallels …