memeorandum: Pope Offers Apology, Not Penalty, for Sex Abuse Scandal (New York Times)

11:00 AM ET, March 20, 2010

Top Items:

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Stupak Abortion Language to Be Substituted for Senate Language in Deal to Secure Health Care Votes — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak in order to secure his vote and that of other anti-choice Democrats for the health care bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this Sunday.

Discussion: The Mahablog, TPMDC, The Corner on National …, culturekitchen, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gateway Pundit, Another Black Conservative, Hot Air, Townhall.com, Riehl World View, Michelle Malkin and The Hill

The Hill:

Pro-Choice Caucus livid at talk of deal with Stupak on abortion — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday evening met with a visibly angry Pro-Choice Caucus amid rumors from Democratic aides that the Speaker was working on a last-minute deal with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to give his abortion language a separate vote.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, DownWithTyranny!, Taegan Goddard's …, Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo and The Note

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Stupak is Back: What's an Enrollment Corrections Bill? — Jane has gone over this, but what Bart Stupak hinted at today has apparently come true. Stupak's four-page “enrollment corrections” bill will get some sort of vote in the House as part of the overall health care bill.

Discussion: The Confluence, The New Republic, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Mother Jones, The Hill, MyDD, Open Left, Congress Matters, Winds of Change.NET, Wonk Room and Daily Kos

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

GOP: Dems are bluffing, don't have the votes — House GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor has sent out a brief memo outlining the health care vote count from the Republican perspective. The best way to look at it is not to ask whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gotten the 216 votes needed to pass …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Hot Air and Gateway Pundit

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Teague a “No,” Pelosi Would Have to Run the Table Without Stupak Bloc — We'll certainly know in the morning, but Nancy Pelosi is fast running out of options without members of the ubiquitous Stupak bloc. — Harry Teague, one of the few remaining undecided votes, will vote No again as he did in November, blaming cost controls.

Discussion: New Mexico Independent and The Moderate Voice

Jeffrey T. Kuhner / Washington Times:

Impeach the president? — The ‘Slaughter Solution’ would violate the Constitution — The Democrats are assaulting the very pillars of our democracy. As the debate on Obamacare reaches the long, painful end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confronting a political nightmare.

Discussion: Sadly, No!, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Other McCain

CNN:

Abortion standoff as health care vote nears — Washington (CNN) - The divisive issue of abortion is once again causing eleventh hour problems for House Democrats as they plan to move forward on health care reform. — Anti-abortion Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan is asking for a vote …

Discussion: Hot Air and Firedoglake

New York Times:
Democrats Woo Abortion Foes in Push for Health Bill

Discussion: The Politico, New York Times, Riehl World View and Guardian

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

Here I Will Discuss The Memo I Posted — Early this afternoon, House Republican communications guru Michael Steel e-mailed numerous reporters with a copy of a memorandum purporting to be from Democrats about what points Democratic members ought to avoid when discussing health care reform with reporters.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC and The Reality-Based Community

Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Dems: Memo On Medicare Changes Isn't Ours — It's A GOP ‘Hoax’

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo, Big Government, The Atlantic Online, The Caucus, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Power Line, ama-assn.org, The Hill and The Corner on National …

The Politico:
Obamacare threatens U.S. future

Discussion: Salon and Riehl World View

Mark Matthews / Orlando Sentinel:
Kosmas to back healthcare reform

Discussion: TPMDC, The Page, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Washington Post and TPM LiveWire

Chris Frates / The Politico:
Democrats challenge authenticity of ‘doc fix’ memo

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, The Corner on National …, The Plum Line, skippy the bush kangaroo, Newsweek Blogs, The Washington Independent, The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, Conservatives4Palin.com, Daily Kos, Riehl World View, Questions and Observations and Weekly Standard

Jennifer A. Dlouhy / New York on the Potomac:
Updated: Murphy to vote for health care overhaul

Discussion: Capitol Confidential, Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny!, The Moderate Voice, Salon, Indecision Forever and Open Left

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Reid to release letter — without signatories — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will release the contents - but not the signatories - of a letter Saturday aimed at reassuring House members that the Senate will act on the reconciliation bill. — The letter has caused …

Discussion: The Page and Hot Air

The Huffington Post:
Reid Promises Separate Public Option Vote In Next Few Months

Discussion: The Caucus, Hot Air, The Reaction, National Review Online, Questions and Observations, The Hill, The Washington Independent, The Corner on National …, TPMDC and Riehl World View

Emily Pierce / Roll Call:
Senate Won't Release Letter to Calm Nervous House Members on Reconciliation

Discussion: Riehl World View

Richard Grenell / CBS News:

Crossing a Line in the Health Care Debate? — Richard Grenell: Is the White House Sending Healthcare Propaganda to Federal Employees? — (CBS) Richard Grenell served as the spokesman for the last four U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations: Zalmay Khalilzad, John Bolton, John Danforth and John Negroponte.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Another Black Conservative, Stop The ACLU and Hot Air

Roxana Tiron / The Hill:

Obama turns eye to financial reform in weekly address — President Barack Obama on Saturday slammed “the army of lobbyists” working against congressional reforms to the financial rules governing Wall Street. — In his weekly address, Obama focused solely on the need for financial reform …

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Healthcare vote (maneuver?) nears — President Barack Obama, summoning the House's Democrats to the White House midday for one more push before expected action on the healthcare legislation Sunday, is turning the focus of his weekly address to next week's start of action on financial regulatory reform in the Senate.

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

KDKA-TV:

U.S. Rep. Altmire To Vote Against Health Care Bill — PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Congressman Jason Altmire will vote against the latest version of health care reform when the U.S. House of Representatives votes on the bill this weekend. — Altmire confirmed that he has decided to vote …

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Page, Hot Air, National Review Online, AmSpecBlog and The Corner on National …

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Allen Boyd to Vote “Yes,” …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel and Washington Monthly

Michael W. McConnell / Wall Street Journal:

The Health Vote and the Constitution—II — The House can't approve the Senate bill in the same legislation by which it approves changes to the Senate bill. — In just a few days the House of Representatives is expected to act on two different pieces of legislation: the Senate version …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Balkinization, Hot Air, Riehl World View and The New Republic

New York Times:

Pope Offers Apology, Not Penalty, for Sex Abuse Scandal — VATICAN CITY — Confronting a sex abuse scandal spreading across Europe, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologized directly to victims and their families in Ireland, expressing “shame and remorse” and saying “your trust had been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly and European Tribune

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Dems waste time in House as vote search goes on — House Democrats say they will hold a vote on their national health care plan Sunday afternoon. But what are they actually doing between now and then? Behind the scenes, they're begging, offering bribes, threatening punishments, etc.

Lara Friedman / Americans for Peace Now:

More on AIPAC message - New Talking Points Memo, Text of Senate Sign-On Letter — As noted in today's Round-Up, AIPAC will be on the Hill next week lobbying members of Congress to pass “crippling” Iran sanctions and to sign on to letters to the Administration regarding US-Israel relations and the peace process.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, New York Times, TPMCafe and Haaretz

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Breaking: Ellsworth To Vote Yes — Another big get for Dems: Rep Brad Ellsworth, a former Yes vote who shared the concerns of the Stupak dozen and was intensely wooed by both sides, will vote Yes on the Senate bill, his spokesman confirms to me. — “He's a Yes,” Jonathan Kott …

Discussion: TPMDC, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and Power Line

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Brad Ellsworth Abandons Stupak, Will Vote Yes (UPDATED)

Discussion: Townhall.com

Peter Sanders / Wall Street Journal:

Russian Firm to Bid on Tanker Program — In another twist to the ongoing saga to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers, United Aircraft Corp. of Russia is planning to bid on the $40 billion contract, according to a person familiar with its plans.

Discussion: The Politico and Lawyers, Guns & Money