Top Items:
The Politico:
The GOP's special failure — All the evidence pointing to monster Republican House gains this fall—the Scott Brown upset win in Massachusetts, the scary polling numbers in once-safely Democratic districts, the ever-rising number of Democratic seats thought to be in jeopardy—was contradicted Tuesday.
Discussion:
PostPartisan, Townhall.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Balloon Juice, The Hill, Hot Air, Think Progress, First Draft, Jules Crittenden, Conservatives4Palin.com, Riehl World View, Sister Toldjah, Taylor Marsh, Ballot Box, Maggie's Farm, The Corner on National …, AMERICAblog News and Real Clear Politics
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
What Tuesday Really Meant — There were five races that we were tracking closely over the course of the evening — and I've already seen analysts drawing flimsy conclusions from each of them. — Pennsylvania — Democratic Senate primary — The results: Joe Sestak defeats Arlen Specter, 54-46.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
‘WHERE IS THE WAVE?’.... Arguably the most important election yesterday wasn't a primary race, but rather, the congressional special election in Pennsylvania's 12th — a contest to fill the vacancy left by the late Rep. Jack Murtha (D). — Observers in both parties considered the race something of a bellwether.
New York Times:
Specter Defeat Signals a Wave Against Incumbents — WASHINGTON — Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who left the Republican Party a year ago in hopes of salvaging a 30-year career, was rejected on Tuesday by Democratic primary voters, with Representative Joe Sestak winning the party's nomination …
Discussion:
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Resultsblogging II: PA-12 — Former John Murtha staffer Mark Critz's win in the PA-12 House election is just straight-up embarrassing for Republicans. The Democratic strategy was straight out of the 2006/2008 playbook. Find a moderately conservative House district and run a somewhat heterodox Democrat.
Reuters:
Activists seize control of politics — For any politician with the usual instincts for self-protection, the lessons of Tuesday's primaries could not be more clear: This could happen to you. — Arlen Specter lost in Pennsylvania even though the party-switching Democrat was recruited and backed by a sitting president.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Swamp, Washington Post, Guardian, The Politico, Commentary and Confederate Yankee
Daniel Larison / Eunomia:
PA-12 and The Single Greatest Pushback in American History … There are many things about the PA-12 special election that are unique to that race and district, but one thing that ties it to many of the other Republican special election losses over the last three years is the party's obsession …
Charles Babington / Associated Press:
Obama endorsements don't seem to help Democrats — WASHINGTON - Voters rejected one of President Barack Obama's hand-picked candidates and forced another into a runoff, the latest sign that his political capital is slipping beneath a wave of anti-establishment anger.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Pajamas Media, NY Daily News, NewsBusters.org, Sweetness & Light and Associated Press
Michael Barone / Beltway Confidential:
Republican lesson from Pennsylvania 12 special
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
More on Rand Paul — So is Rand Paul, on a personal level, just a deeply unlikeable guy? One of the weird things about his acceptance speech last night was that he held it at the local country club — to what looked uncannily like a members only crowd. This morning he defended the venue …
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Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Is Rand Ron's Son? Or the Most Powerful Republican in the Woooorld?
New York Times:
Blumenthal's Vietnam Claims Grew in Time, Colleague Says — Former Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut found it puzzling: over time, his friend Attorney General Richard Blumenthal kept revising how he talked about his military service during the Vietnam War. At first, in the 1980s, he was humble.
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Glen Bolger / Public Opinion Strategies:
The Death Of Independence — Analysts are pointing toward last night's primary results (the defeat of Arlen Specter, Trey Grayson, and the run-off for Blanche Lincoln) as - when combined with Bob Bennett and Alan Mollohan's defeats - proof of anti-incumbency and anti-Washington establishment.
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George F. Will / Washington Post:
Slow learners at the 9th Circuit — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a stimulus package for the Supreme Court, which would rather not have one. The 9th Circuit, often in error but never in doubt, provides the Supreme Court with steady work: Over the past half-century …
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Breitbart.tv:
MEXICAN PRESIDENT KNOCKS ARIZONA LAW FROM WHITE HOUSE LAWN — ABC News: Mexican President Felipe Calderon took the unusual step Wednesday morning of criticizing an American law while visiting the White House, saying cooperation is needed to fix the US-Mexican immigration issue but …
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Simon McGregor-Wood / ABCNEWS:
Rahm's Son's Bar Mitzvah Irks Some in Israel — Israeli Activists Say They Will ‘Blow Up,’ Figuratively, Zach Emanuel's Bar Mitzvah — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's plan to take his son, Zach, to Jerusalem's famous Western Wall for his Jewish coming-of-age ritual appeared to have run into serious trouble.
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Meredith Shiner / The Politico:
Reid to call financial regulation vote — With time running out for Democrats and Republicans to reach agreement on the final details of a Wall Street reform bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on the floor Wednesday morning that he will call for a vote to end debate on the legislation at 2 p.m.
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David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Senate Republicans Call Reform Bill a ‘Takeover’ of Banking Industry
Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:
Key senator says hold off on 'Don't Ask' repeal — A key U.S. senator has told the Blade that he opposes repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” at this time. — In a brief exchange on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Tuesday he would vote against an effort next week to overturn the law.
Jane Horwitz / Washington Post:
Theater J pulls Madoff play after objections from activist Elie Wiesel — Bowing to objections from Elie Wiesel, the author, human rights activist and Holocaust survivor, Theater J has canceled its first production of the coming season — a play in which Wiesel is a character.
Patrick Gavin / The Politico:
HOUSE PASSES BEER RESOLUTION — While most of Washington was focused on Tuesday's election results, the House was busy doing something else: Passing a resolution about beer. — House Resolution 1297, sponsored by Rep. Betsy Markey, supports “the goals and ideals of American Craft Beer Week.”
Bloomberg:
Conspiracy of Banks Rigging States Came With Crash — A telephone call between a financial adviser in Beverly Hills and a trader in New York was all it took to fleece taxpayers on a water-and-sewer financing deal in West Virginia. The secret conversation was part of a conspiracy stretching across …
Discussion:
naked capitalism, Booman Tribune, Balloon Juice, Clusterstock, The Glittering Eye, Suburban Guerrilla and DealBook
Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:
Why We're Having an Everybody Draw Mohammed Contest on Thursday May 20 — Author's Note: This article includes three images that clearly denigrate Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. So there is absolutely no question about the provenance of these images, I would like to direct all readers …
Washington Examiner:
Campbell Brown scurries out, Eliot Spitzer jumps in — It's official: Campbell Brown's prime-time show on CNN is toast, sources say. — The ratings are down 6 percent from last year, at 159,000 viewers in the coveted 25-to-54 demographic, CNN says. Mediaite took Brown's spin and reported …
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