memeorandum: U.S. Ambassador Calls China's Currency Stance ‘a Real Concern’ (Michael Wines/New York Times)

7:00 PM ET, March 18, 2010

Top Items:

GOP plots Senate health roadblock — Democrats might like to think that health care reform is all but a done deal if it clears the House, but the Senate is where Republicans have been plotting for months to sentence it to a painful procedural death. — Republican aides have been mining …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Ruby Slippers, Don Surber, Washington Post, The Note, Taylor Marsh, Roll Call, USA Today, The Foundry, iOwnTheWorld.com, Townhall.com, Seattle Times, Riehl World View and The Page

Ezra Klein:

CBO: Health-care reform bill cuts deficit by $1.3 trillion over 20 years, covers 95% — Washington has spent the past week or so waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to release its preliminary estimate of the Senate bill with the reconciliation fixes.

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Mediaite, The Plum Line, Newsweek Blogs, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Cato Institute, PERRspectives and Daily Kos

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

CBO numbers — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) just released the first set of Congressional Budget Office numbers to reporters this morning. — The bill would cost $940 billion, and reduce the deficit by $130 billion over the first 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The New Republic, CNN, TPMDC, Hot Air, The TrogloPundit, Hit & Run, ABCNEWS, About.com US Liberal Politics, The Swamp, The Note, National Review, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ezra Klein:

Democrats get the bill, and the score, they needed — The question people generally ask about the final health-care reform vote is, “Won't it be politically difficult for many House Democrats to vote yes?” But with the release of the CBO report (pdf), I'd flip that question a bit …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, A plain blog about politics, The New Republic, The Moderate Voice, The Corner on National …, The Plum Line, TigerHawk, Donklephant and Matthew Yglesias

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Breaking: CBO releases the actual report; Update: Almost all $940 billion incurred in just six years; Update: Preliminary — It's much as advertised. Thanks to its spending provisions mainly starting in 2014, the reconciliation bill combined with the Senate version has a total cost of $940 billion …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, Fox News, The Corner on National …, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The New Editor, Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and IMAO

Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:

Rep. Steve King and Glenn Beck agree: Voting for health reform on Sunday is ‘an affront to God.’ — With this morning's release of the Congressional Budget Office's reconciliation package score, the House appears ready to vote on health care reform this Sunday.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Swamp, Wonk Room and Liberal Values

Coloradoan Online:
(2 of 2) — She also said state insurance exchanges included …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, TPMDC and Political Punch

Igor / Wonk Room:
Comparing The CBO Scores For Different Health Care Bills

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, The Foundry, Alas, a blog and The Moderate Voice

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
BREAKING: Health Care Reform's Finished Draft

Discussion: Firedoglake

The Hill:
CBO: Health package costs $940 billion; Hoyer says vote will come on Sunday

Discussion: Think Progress, The Politico, Sister Toldjah, ABCNEWS, Ruby Slippers, Washington Monthly, Gothamist, Crooks and Liars, Open Congress, Ben Smith's Blog, The Note, Michelle Malkin, Another Black Conservative and Firedoglake

Erin McPike / Hotline On Call:

Rules Panel Dem To Vote Against Bill — A key House Dem has begun informing party leaders he plans to vote against health care legislation both on the House floor and in the rules committee, on which he sits. — Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY), a sophomore Dem who had a tougher …

Discussion: Swing State Project, Hot Air, Weekly Standard and TPMDC

Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:

Lynch mobbed — Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) is a firm “no” on health care reform — in large measure because he opposes the idea of any kind of excise tax on Cadillac plans, even one that's delayed for years and years. — That's put Lynch a former ironworkers union official in Boston …

Discussion: Hot Air, Hotline On Call, Ben Smith's Blog, Open Left, Another Black Conservative and TPMDC

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

New Health Care Whip Count: 192 Yes, 208 No (205-210 with Leaners) — We're getting to an end game here, and so the counts will come fast and furious at this point. I think that it's good to look at the count right when the CBO numbers have been released as a good baseline for the future.

Discussion: Fox News, KSL-TV, Orlando Sentinel, Althouse, Open Left and NMPolitics.net

Domenico Montanaro / msnbc.com:
FIRST THOUGHTS: START THE CLOCK

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Page

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
Health Care Pollyanna Update

Discussion: Ezra Klein and The Daily Dish

Michelle Malkin:

The House vote on the Slaughter Solution: Update: Constitution-butchers prevail, 222-203; Roll call vote added; Calling out Dems Altmire, Lynch; Barone's analysis added — Photoshop credit: Big Fur Hat at iowntheworld.com and Applecross Media — You'll recall that House Republicans unveiled …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Boston Herald, Moonbattery, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Maggie's Notebook, Hot Air, QandO, The Other McCain, Ace of Spades HQ and Sense of Events

Jim Geraghty / National Review Online:
Punish These Fools. — By: Jim Geraghty

Discussion: Townhall.com and AmSpecBlog

Emily Pierce / Roll Call:
Conrad Predicts Senate Changes to Reconciliation Bill

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Dems defeat GOP effort to force separate vote on Senate health bill

Discussion: Another Black Conservative and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Ben Pershing / Washington Post:
House sidesteps 2 anti-'deem and pass' resolutions

Discussion: TPMDC

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Obama's Approval Rating Lowest Yet, Congress' Declines — Slightly more disapprove than approve of Obama — PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's job approval is the worst of his presidency to date, with 46% of Americans approving and 48% disapproving of the job he is doing as president …

Discussion: Politics Daily, Top of the Ticket and The Swamp

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

Obama's pitch: Fate of presidency on the line — President Barack Obama had exhausted most of his health care reform arguments with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during a White House meeting last Thursday when he made a more personal pitch that resonated with many skeptics in the room.

Discussion: Laura Rozen's Blog, Washington Post, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Hot Air, Time, Bloomberg, The Confluence, Sense of Events, The Swamp, Political Byline and Commentary

Jonathan Tilove / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Health care overhaul to get fresh look from Rep. Anh ‘Joseph’ …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill and Hot Air

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama disapproval exceeds approval

Discussion: Pew Research Center, D.C. Now and Weekly Standard

Advocate:

Choi Arrested at White House Gates — In an act of civil disobedience, Lt. Dan Choi and Jim Pietrangelo have been arrested at the White House gates on Thursday while protesting the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy. — Following a Human Rights Campaign rally for DADT repeal …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Joe. My. God., Pam's House Blend, The Bilerico Project and The Daily Dish

Andy Towle / Towleroad News #gay:
Video, Photos, Report: Lt. Dan Choi and Cpt. …

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay, Political Punch, Mediaite, Joe. My. God., AMERICAblog News, Ben Smith's Blog, The Stranger …, Good As You, Pam's House Blend, Wonkette and Shakesville

Joe Sudbay / AMERICAblog Gay:
Breaking: Dan Choi and Jim Pietrangelo handcuffed to fence …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, RaceWire and The Washington Independent

Kos / Daily Kos:

FL-Sen: Crist is broken — Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 3/15-17. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5% for primary samples). (11/16-18/2009 results) — GOP Senate Primary — Charlie Crist (R) 30 (47) — Marco Rubio (R) 58 (37) — Other polling has shown Rubio blowing past Crist, so that's not so much news.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC, Real Clear Politics and The Buzz

The Hill:

Stupak: Health fight has been ‘living hell’ — Leading a revolt against President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation over abortion has been a “living hell” for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). — The telephone lines in his Washington and district offices have been “jammed” …

Las Vegas Now:

I-Team: DOJ Serves Subpoenas in Senator Ensign Investigation — LAS VEGAS — Nevada Senator John Ensign is in the crosshairs of a Department of Justice criminal investigation. — The criminal probe stems from a romantic affair Ensign had with the wife of his key staffer and close friend …

Discussion: Associated Press, Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, TPMMuckraker, Washington Monthly, Main Justice, The Hill, Raw Story and CNN

The Politico:
NRSC subpoenaed in Ensign probe

Discussion: TPMMuckraker and MyDD

Michiko Kakutani / New York Times:

Texts Without Context — In his deliberately provocative — and deeply nihilistic — new book, “Reality Hunger,” the onetime novelist David Shields asserts that fiction “has never seemed less central to the culture's sense of itself.” He says he's “bored by out-and-out fabrication …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Mashed Up — Michico Kakutani has a somewhat curious piece …

Discussion: Eschaton

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

‘Holder-in-Chief’ Coburn issues far-fetched threat against Democrats who switch votes in favor of health reform. — During a GOP press conference today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) issued a far-fetched threat against those Democrats who are considering switching their votes to support health reform.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and USA Today

Kathy Kiely / USA Today:
Sen. Coburn: No patronage jobs for health care casualties

Discussion: RedState and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Has Rahm's assumption about progressives been vindicated? — President Barack Obama, Paul Krugman, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga — Politico's Ben Smith yesterday suggested that one important aspect of Rahm Emanuel's health care strategy …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Open Left, Pollster.com All Content, TalkLeft, FiveThirtyEight and Ben Smith's Blog

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake: Yes, Rahm is Totally Vindicated

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Canceling the trip — The cancellation of President Obama's trip to Asia marks the full reversal of the strategy his presidency began with: Flooding the zone with policy, keeping the President out of the weeds. — The decision to cancel his trip may look like a sign of urgency but it's also …

Discussion: Washington Post and Newsweek Blogs

The Note:

GOP Doc Asks Pelosi: ‘Are you so arrogant ... ignorant ... incompetent?’ — ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: Democrats might have themselves a health reform bill, but Republicans have doctors - way more doctors in Congress, anyway, than Democrats. And they're steamed.