Top Items:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
White House official: ‘Organized labor just flushed $10 million down the toilet’ — A senior White House official just called me with a very pointed message for the administration's sometime allies in organized labor, who invested heavily in beating Blanche Lincoln, Obama's candidate, in Arkanas.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Pajamas Media, Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, skippy the bush kangaroo, Politics Daily, Facing South, FiveThirtyEight, Hullabaloo, Gawker, Power Line, Firedoglake, Commentary, The Plum Line, Dennis the Peasant, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Mother Jones, Yahoo! News, Don Surber, Althouse, The Daily Beast, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos, Associated Press, AMERICAblog News, Democracy in America, Weekly Standard, The Politico, Ballot Box, The Atlantic Online, RedState, Washington Wire, Hot Air, The Page, CNN, Raw Story, driftglass, Liberty Pundits Blog and Taylor Marsh
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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Anti-Incumbent Rage Bypasses Arkansas — WASHINGTON — On a primary election night when the heralded anti-incumbency sentiment was expected to again demonstrate its strength, Senator Blanche Lincoln proved there were clear limits to its power. — Virtually written off as a likely victim …
Discussion:
The Politico, Fox News, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Other McCain, Open Congress, DISSENTING JUSTICE, CNN, Big Brass Blog, NRSC and The BLT
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
SEIU officials: Blanche Lincoln should forget about our support in general election — In a move that's likely to ratchet up already-white-hot post-Arkansas tensions between organized labor and the White House, officials with the labor powerhouse SEIU are confirming that they are all but certain …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
How Blanche Lincoln won — 1. Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln's Democratic runoff victory Tuesday night proved that conventional wisdom is often wrong. — Lincoln's political obituary was written in the days after she narrowly bested Lt. Gov. Bill Halter — 44.5 percent to 42.5 percent …
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
The Meaning Of Arkansas, Regardless Of The Winner — It's a funny habit we political pundits have. If, say, 3,000 votes separate a winner from a loser, we forget that a small shift in some part of a state could have swung those votes the other way, and we tend to massively over-interpret the meaning of the tiniest of margins.
Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
The June 8 elections: A verdict on incumbents, unions, and Democrats
The June 8 elections: A verdict on incumbents, unions, and Democrats
Kos / Daily Kos:
AR-Sen: postscript — Jed already has a good take on the race …
AR-Sen: postscript — Jed already has a good take on the race …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Primaries — It's always dangerous to try to sum up a bunch …
Primaries — It's always dangerous to try to sum up a bunch …
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics
Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:
U.N. Security Council Passes New Sanctions Against Iran — UNITED NATIONS — The United States, moving firmly away from the Obama administration's previous emphasis on wooing Iran, pushed through a new round of United Nations sanctions against the nation on Wednesday, taking aim at its military …
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Lee Smith / Tablet Magazine:
Indispensable — Michael Oren, a 55-year-old U.S.-born historian of the modern Middle East and the author of two best-selling books, one on the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and another on the United States' 200-year-old experience in the Middle East, renounced his U.S. citizenship at an emotional ceremony …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Was Israel A Mistake? — So far, no luck on anti-Zionist columnists. And being critical of Israel does not mean you're an anti-Zionist. But a reader did note this 2006 column by Richard Cohen. Money quote: … I was thinking recently how a Burkean could defend the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
Mother Jones:
Who Is Alvin Greene? — An unemployed 32-year-old black Army veteran with no campaign funds, no signs, and no website shocked South Carolina on Tuesday night by winning the Democratic Senate primary to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Alvin Greene, who currently lives in his family's home …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Associated Press, TPMDC, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Gawker and The Eye
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TPMDC:
Reid Opponent Embraces Patriot Group That Warns Of ‘Giant Concentration Camps’ — The peculiar ideology of Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee challenging Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada, is perhaps no better illustrated than by her embrace of the patriot group Oath Keepers …
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Dorothy Rabinowitz / Wall Street Journal:
The Alien in the White House — The distance between the president and the people is beginning to be revealed. — The deepening notes of disenchantment with Barack Obama now issuing from commentators across the political spectrum were predictable. So, too, were the charges …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
This is the Sound of Hope Dying — Yesterday afternoon, Lindsay Graham confirmed that he's bailing from efforts to pass a climate change bill. The odds weren't looking good for this legislation, but now they're hard to distinguish from zero. And the news gets worse after the midterms.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
LINDSEY GRAHAM PULLS AWAY THE FOOTBALL, AGAIN.... For the better part …
LINDSEY GRAHAM PULLS AWAY THE FOOTBALL, AGAIN.... For the better part …
Bradford Plumer / The New Republic:
So Much For Lindsey Graham — Once upon a time, Lindsey Graham …
So Much For Lindsey Graham — Once upon a time, Lindsey Graham …
Discussion:
Grist, Hullabaloo, The Hill, Climate Progress, The Washington Independent, Ezra Klein and The Politico
James Craven / The New Britain Herald:
‘Lying face to face’ — NEW BRITAIN — A member of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's staff, himself a former major and judge advocate in the U.S. Marines, is calling Blumenthal a liar and disgrace to the Marine Corps for representing himself repeatedly as having served in Vietnam.
Ed Barnes / Fox News:
Reuters Admits Cropping Photos of Ship Clash, Denies Political Motive — On the left, the uncropped photo. On the right, Reuters' released photo. (Reuters) — The British-based Reuters news agency has been stung for the second time by charges that it edited politically sensitive photos in a way that casts Israel in a bad light.
Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
CA Voters Nix Baby Step on Public Financing, Pass Game-Changing Primary System — On June 8, California voters turned down campaign-finance reform but embraced an unusual new primary system. The results last night were a mixed bag. The biggest disappointment is that Prop.
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Jon A. Krosnick / New York Times:
The Climate Majority — ON Thursday, the Senate will vote on a resolution proposed by Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, that would scuttle the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to limit emissions of greenhouse gases by American businesses. — Passing the resolution might seem to be exactly what Americans want.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Mother Jones, PostPartisan, Democracy in America, Daniel W. Drezner and Coal Tattoo
Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Looking ahead: Fiorina vs. Boxer — ANAHEIM, Calif. — U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and GOP candidate Carly Fiorina have already started sharply attacking each other and offering a preview of what could become one of the most compelling Senate races in the country this fall.
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The Page
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Nancy Pelosi, the liberal House speaker, is heckled by liberals — For 17 months, anger at President Obama and congressional Democrats has been pooling on the left. On Tuesday morning, it spilled onto the floor of an Omni Shoreham ballroom and splashed all over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Wonkette, news.firedoglake.com, Don Surber, Betsy's Page, Balloon Juice, Naked Politics and The Politico
CNN:
TRENDING: Gore daughter separates from husband — Karenna Gore Schiff, the oldest daughter of former Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore. — (CNN) - Karenna Gore Schiff, the oldest daughter of former Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore, has separated from her husband, Dr. Andrew Schiff …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Rod Nordland / New York Times:
Afghanistan Strategy Focuses on Civilian Effort — KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The prospect of a robust military push in Kandahar Province, which had been widely expected to begin this month, has evolved into a strategy that puts civilian reconstruction efforts first and relegates military action to a supportive role.
Discussion:
Rethink Afghanistan War Blog, RealClearWorld, JustOneMinute and The Washington Independent
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Eli Lake / Washington Times:
American Jewish community ends support of Turkish interests on Hill — In October 2000, the government of Turkey had a problem. — House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert had promised to bring a resolution commemorating the Armenian genocide to the floor for a vote, a move that Ankara said would be a slap in the face to a NATO ally.
kaus.sitebuilder.completecampaigns.com:
Concession Statement — Mickey Kaus claimed a form of victory Tuesday night after he apparently drew more than 5% of the Democratic primary vote against three-term incumbent Barbara Boxer: — STATEMENT OF MICKEY KAUS — I congratulate Senator Boxer on her primary victory.