Top Items:
Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retiring — WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, says he is retiring. President Barack Obama now has his second high court opening to fill.
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Outside the Box SCOTUS Idea — As a connoisseur of American conservatism's problematic relationship with race, I had a lot of fun during the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation fight. Thus in that sense, I'm a bit saddened that the leading names being bandied about to fill the vacancy left by John Paul Stevens are all white people.
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Justice Stevens to Retire After 34 Years — WASHINGTON — Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, the leader of the liberals on the Supreme Court, announced on Friday that he will retire at the end of this term, setting up a confirmation battle over his replacement that could dominate the political scene this summer.
Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:
Obama pick for Justice post withdraws — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation, after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration's terrorist interrogation policies.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Justice Stevens' retirement and Elena Kagan — Justice John Paul Stevens, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gerald Ford in 1975 and then became the leader of its “liberal” wing, told the White House today that he was retiring in the Summer. I had been planning to write …
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Justice John Paul Stevens to retire from court in June — Justice John Paul Stevens, the longest-serving member of the current Supreme Court and the leader of its liberal wing, announced his retirement today, giving President Obama his second chance to make a mark on the nation's highest court.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Breaking: Stupak Will Retire — Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) plans to announce his retirement today, Democrats briefed on his decision said. Stupak, the leader of a pro-life faction within his party, had received death threats and was under intense political pressure after he agreed to support …
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Michelle Malkin:
Dear Bart Stupak: DLTDHYOTWO; Update: Farewell letter added; Silence on abortion
Dear Bart Stupak: DLTDHYOTWO; Update: Farewell letter added; Silence on abortion
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Ruby Slippers, Doug Ross, Balloon Juice, The Other McCain, Temple of Mut, The Eye and Open Left
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Bart Stupak to retire
Bart Stupak to retire
Discussion:
The Note, Right Now, AmSpecBlog, Washington Monthly, Politics Daily, BuzzFlash.org and American Power
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Gingrich Pledges Government Shutdown If GOP Wins Back House And Senate — On Wednesday night, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Sean Hannity that he's been tasked by the House Republican leadership to “to organize an effort over the next four or five months to develop a [new] compact or contract [with America].”
Discussion:
Salon, The Hill, Right Now, Zandar Versus The Stupid, CNN, Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, Daily Kos, TPMDC, Below The Beltway and AMERICAblog News
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Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Jindal: ‘It Hurts Our Feelings’ To Be Called The ‘Party of No’ — Today in his speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) complained that characterizations of the GOP as the “Party of No” are hurtful: … Yet in the very next breath …
The Huffington Post:
Stephanopoulos Defends Asking Obama About Palin Critique — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is defending his decision to ask President Barack Obama to respond to Sarah Palin's criticism of his nuclear non-proliferation policy, after several observers questioned …
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Taylor Marsh / The Huffington Post:
Where's the Left's Sarah Palin? — While Democrats and the Obama White House continue to take jabs at Sarah Palin, the fact remains they can't resist rising to her bait, with the media loving to pit Palin against Obama whenever the chance arises. Even when Pres. Obama says he's not going to respond …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WRONG QUESTION, RIGHT ANSWER.... President Obama sat …
WRONG QUESTION, RIGHT ANSWER.... President Obama sat …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Hill, Washington Wire, TPM LiveWire, Taylor Marsh, Commentary, INSTAPUTZ, Daily Kos and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Generic Ballot Points Toward Possible 50+ Seat Loss for Democrats — A couple of weeks ago, we examined the potential upside case for Democrats in November's midterms. If the party were able to limit their losses to about 20 House seats and 3-4 Senate seats, it might not have as deleterious …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Strata-Sphere, Weekly Standard and The Corner on National …
Jason / Tea Party Patriots Live:
VIDEO: Alan Grayson Interrupts Republican District Meeting — On Thursday, April 8th, 2010, Congressman Alan Grayson, Democrat in Florida's 8th district, interrupted a district meeting of the local Orange County Republican Executive Committee. The meeting was being held at Perkins, a family restaurant.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Left Coast Rebel, YID With LID, NewsReal Blog, JammieWearingFool and Pajamas Media
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Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Liz Cheney: Maybe We Should Be Nice to Our Allies — Liz Cheney at the Republican Southern Leadership Conference issued a searing indictment of Obama's treatment of our allies: … Although Cheney is undeniably one of the most popular conservatives and the Left's second-favorite bogeywoman …
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Matthew Continetti / Weekly Standard:
Sarah Palin on the Obama Doctrine: Advance Copy
Sarah Palin on the Obama Doctrine: Advance Copy
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, Mediaite, American Power, Wonkette, Right Now, Conservatives4Palin.com, Sister Toldjah and Hot Air
Tim Reid / Times of London:
George W. Bush ‘knew Guantánamo prisoners were innocent’ — George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq …
Jonathan Rauch / National Journal Online:
David Frum, A Buckley For Our Time — FRUM IS ON A MISSION TO PENETRATE FOX WORLD WITH A MESSAGE FROM REALITY. — In October 1965, William F. Buckley made it possible for American conservatives to come in from the wilderness and govern. In his magazine, National Review, he published a 12-page …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
A New Buckley? — Jon Rauch gushes over David Frum.
A New Buckley? — Jon Rauch gushes over David Frum.
Discussion:
Change of Subject
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... I appreciate the role a nuclear arsenal can play in serving as a deterrent against adversaries. But Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota may not appreciate the notion of a proportionate response. … There are obviously a lot of errors of fact and judgment in that quote …
WCBS-TV:
Union Memo Hints At N.J. Gov.'s Death — Bergen County Teachers Union's Memo The Latest Salvo In War Of Words With Gov. Christie; Swift Apology Issued — TEANECK, N.J. (CBS) ― New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's take-no-prisoners demand for education cuts got him a whole lot more than he bargained for — a death wish.
Discussion:
Another Black Conservative, Hot Air, RedState, The Lonely Conservative and Left Coast Rebel
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Learning From Greece — The debt crisis in Greece is approaching the point of no return. As prospects for a rescue plan seem to be fading, largely thanks to German obduracy, nervous investors have driven interest rates on Greek government bonds sky-high, sharply raising the country's borrowing costs.
Discussion:
EconLog, Weekly Standard, Sweetness & Light, Felix Salmon, JustOneMinute, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Hit & Run