Top Items:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Rand Paul won't answer Civil Rights Act question — Moving from the Republican Primary to the general election means, for Rand Paul, addressing a broader set of issues than the anti-tax, anti-spending focus of his campaign. — And while he's answered this question before …
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Ian M. / Think Progress:
Rand Paul: ‘The Hard Part Of Believing In Freedom’ Is Opposing Ban On Whites-Only Lunch Counters — The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century, banning whites-only lunch counters and similar discrimination in hiring, promotions, hotels and restaurants.
David Weigel / Right Now:
Rand Paul, telling the truth — If we use “gaffe” in its proper, Kinsleyan form, that's what U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul issued to NPR yesterday, and that's what he defended on Rachel Maddow's show last night. He told the truth about his stance on the Civil Rights Act.
Discussion:
Newsweek Blogs, Outside The Beltway, Raw Story, National Review, Wonkette, Hit & Run, Below The Beltway and Barefoot and Progressive
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Freedom as White Supremacy — It seems that yesterday US Senate candidate Rand Paul let the cat out of the bag and admitted that under his brand of libertarian conservatism he can't support the 1964 Civil Rights Act or other non-discrimination legislation as applied to private businesses.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Joan Walsh / Salon:
Rachel Maddow demolishes Rand Paul — The Tea Party favorite says he'd have marched with Martin Luther King Jr., but he opposes the law that forced businesses to serve him — Kentucky GOP Senate nominee Rand Paul is squirming under the bright lights of national media attention since …
Discussion:
Guardian, Crooks and Liars, Moonbattery, Pam's House Blend, TPMDC and Barefoot and Progressive
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Paul blames ‘loony left’ for civil rights focus — Rand Paul lashed out at the “loony left” for pressing him on his view of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in an interview with Laura Ingraham this morning. — “I've never eally favored any change in the Civil Rights Act,” he said.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Rand Paul's America — The attack on Rand Paul's principled libertarianism — which appears to hold that private businesses should be allowed to discriminate on race — writes itself, and it's hard to see how he makes it to the Senate if he can't give a better explanation than he gave Rachel Maddow last night:
The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul On ‘Maddow’ Defends Criticism Of Civil Rights Act, Says He Would Have Worked To Change Bill (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul believes that the federal government blurred the lines between public and private property when it passed …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
In Defense Of Rand Paul (Kinda)
In Defense Of Rand Paul (Kinda)
Discussion:
Barefoot and Progressive
Taylor Marsh / The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul on Civil Rights: Private Restaurants Wouldn't Have To …
Rand Paul on Civil Rights: Private Restaurants Wouldn't Have To …
Neil Vigdor / Stamford Advocate:
Critics weigh Blumenthal's words — “I wore the uniform in Vietnam and many came back & to all kinds of disrespect. Whatever we think of war, we owe the men and women of the armed forces our unconditional support.” — The occasion was the Stamford Veterans Days parade: Nov. 9, 2008.
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Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
A Bad Day for the Obama Agenda — The primary election results show rising intensity among Republican voters. — The temptation for politicians and political analysts is to draw broad, sweeping conclusions from election results. But most election outcomes defy being reduced to a single cause.
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Zombie / Pajamas Media:
The New Free Speech Movement — Today is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, a completely made-up satirical “holiday” dedicated to the concept of drawing Mohammed cartoons, as a way of making a statement about freedom of speech. — Not everyone agrees with this idea, however.
Discussion:
Big Hollywood, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report, Big Government, Telegraph, Confederate Yankee and TigerHawk
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Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: South Carolina Republican Primary for Governor — South Carolina GOP Primary for Governor: Haley Jumps Ahead — With South Carolina's Republican Primary for Governor less than three weeks away, State Representative Nikki Haley, coming off a fresh endorsement by Sarah Palin, now leads the GOP pack.
Ezra Klein:
Senate should keep debating financial regulation — As Senate majority leader, Harry Reid has to juggle a lot of bills, and he has to carefully, jealously, guard the Senate's limited floor time. Republicans use the filibuster process to stretch the votes on non-controversial legislation …
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Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
Salahis Stopped by Secret Service Near White House Last Night — The Salahis were stopped by the U.S. Secret Service last night at around 8 p.m. ET during the State Dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon as their stretch limousine ran a red light and seemed to be trying to turn …
PPIC:
Stunning Drop in Whitman's Support Transforms GOP Race for Governor — Fiorina, Campbell in Dead Heat While DeVore's Support Doubles — Support for Meg Whitman has plummeted 23 points since March, and she is now in a far closer race with Steve Poizner to become the Republican nominee for governor.
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The Hill:
Bring it on: Nancy Pelosi predicts ‘for sure’ that Dems will win House — Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a message for Republicans this fall: Bring it on. — A buoyant Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday basked in the Democrats' special-election triumph while bashing Republicans and expressing confidence …
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Justin Gillis / New York Times:
Scientists Fault Lack of Studies Over Gulf Oil Spill — Tensions between the Obama administration and the scientific community over the gulf oil spill are escalating, with prominent oceanographers accusing the government of failing to conduct an adequate scientific analysis of the damage …
Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
EPA demands less toxic dispersant — The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to government sources familiar with the decision …
Discussion:
Emptywheel, Climate Progress, New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Washington Independent and The Agonist