Top Items:
Robert Draper / New York Times:
This Year's Maverick — Lindsey Graham was sitting in a sedan early one morning and contentedly discussing the various fellow South Carolina conservatives who dislike him — Tea Partiers, Constitutionalists, immigration hardliners — when Van Cato, his upstate regional director …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Politics Daily, Left Coast Rebel, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, Indecision Forever, Wonkette, TPMDC, Pat Dollard, CNN, The Impolitic, New York Magazine, The Corner on National …, Ben Smith's Blog, Riehl World View, The Page and The Other McCain
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People-Press.org:
Voting Intentions Even, Turnout Indicators Favor GOP — Older Americans Eager to Vote... Republican, That Is — With four months to go before Election Day, voting intentions for the House remain closely divided, and neither party has gained or lost much ground over the course of 2010.
Discussion:
Liberty Pundits Blog, Taylor Marsh, Politics Daily, Washington Wire and The Atlantic Online
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Independent Voters Favor GOP in 2010 Election Tracking — Prefer Republican candidate to Democrat by an average of 45% to 35% — PRINCETON, NJ — By an average 10 percentage-point margin since March, 45% to 35%, independent registered voters have consistently preferred the Republican …
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Sen. Graham predicts Tea Party movement will eventually ‘die out’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has earned the ire of Tea Party groups for his penchant for negotiating with Democrats, predicted this week the movement will “die out.” — Graham, who has partnered with Democrats …
Corky Siemaszko / NY Daily News:
Barack Obama is among best presidents ever - George W. Bush not so much, say scholars in Siena poll — George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be. — That's the verdict of 238 of the nation's leading presidential scholars, who - for a fifth time - rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Confederate Yankee, JammieWearingFool, Weasel Zippers and Sister Toldjah
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Fox News:
Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Fastest Way to Create Jobs — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill June 24. (AP Photo) — Unemployment benefits are creating jobs faster than practically any other program, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Sister Toldjah, theblogprof, Republican Ways and Means and The Classless Society
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Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:
1.3 million unemployed won't get benefits restored — WASHINGTON - More than 1.3 million laid-off workers won't get their unemployment benefits reinstated before Congress goes on a weeklong vacation for Independence Day. — And hundreds of thousands more will lose their benefits in the coming weeks.
Vicki Needham / The Hill:
House passes unemployment benefits but it is stalled until after recess
House passes unemployment benefits but it is stalled until after recess
Discussion:
Think Progress
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Boehner doesn't refute the notion that he's drinking at bars every night. — During a press conference earlier today, House Republican leader John Boehner was asked about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough's accusation that “every Republican I talk to says John Boehner, by 5 or 6 o'clock at night, you can see him at bars.”
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Michael Tomasky / Guardian:
The America John Boehner grew up in — In his comments that have attracted wide attention because he said financial reform regulation was like taking a nuclear weapon to an ant, Republican House minority leader John Boehner also noted that today's Democrats “are snuffing out the America that I grew up in.”
Michael Memoli / The Swamp:
Boehner fires back at ‘whining’ White House — House Minority Leader John Boehner today escalated a growing battle with Congressional Democrats and the White House, accusing the latter of “childish partisanship” after President Obama criticized him for remarks about the financial crisis.
Gail Collins / New York Times:
The Most Unhappy Fellow — Our Independence Day weekend winner …
The Most Unhappy Fellow — Our Independence Day weekend winner …
Discussion:
Think Progress, PostPartisan, Ezra Klein, The Daily Dish, The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
First look at Daily Kos's lawsuit: Charges Research 2000 with “fraudulently manufacturing phony results” — I've obtained a copy of the lawsuit that Daily Kos just filed against Research 2000, and this going to get nastier than you thought. — The suit contains striking new details …
Discussion:
The Politico, Polling Matters, FiveThirtyEight, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMMuckraker, New York Magazine and Babalú Blog
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The White House:
Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform American University School of International Service, Washington, D.C. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Everyone please have a seat. Thank you very much.
Discussion:
White House.gov Blog Feed, Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Hot Air, Mother Jones, Cato @ Liberty and Democracy in America
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Urges Congress to Fix ‘Broken’ Immigration System
Obama Urges Congress to Fix ‘Broken’ Immigration System
Discussion:
Truthdig
LoriC / RADAR:
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson's Racist Rant Caught On Tape - Tells Oksana She Would Get ‘Raped By N***ers’ — In one of the most explosive, racist and vile outbursts by a celebrity ever caught on tape, Mel Gibson told the mother of his love child that the way she was dressed would get her …
Tara Siegel Bernard / New York Times:
Google to Add Pay to Cover a Tax for Same-Sex Benefits — Working for a company as rich as Google comes with an incredible number of fringe benefits: the free food, the free laundry, the doctor on duty at company headquarters and the impressive five months of maternity leave with full pay and benefits, to mention a few.
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend, Mashable!, The Official Google Blog, Wonk Room, Pat Dollard, Towleroad News #gay, TaxProf Blog and AMERICAblog Gay
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Scarce / Crooks and Liars:
Mary Landrieu (D-Big Oil) gives thumbs down on Gulf oil spill commission — In a totally unsurprising move, Sen. Landrieu once again stood up for her benefactors by opposing the proposed make-up of a commission consisting of independent scientists rather than her favored officials from the oil industry.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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Yahoo! News:
Study: Newspapers stopped describing waterboarding as ‘torture’ during Bush years — Is waterboarding torture? If you picked up a major U.S. newspaper before 2004, the answer would likely be yes, according to a new Harvard University study. — But in the post-9/11 world …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly, Philly.com, Obsidian Wings, The Plum Line, FAIR Blog, Mediaite and Taylor Marsh, more at Mediagazer »
Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Huckabee Trying Out a Daily Show for News Corp. — Mike Huckabee, the weekend Fox News Channel host and possible 2012 presidential candidate, is getting a six-week tryout as a daily talk show host. — Called “The Huckabee Show,” it will have a preview run on weekdays for six weeks …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page, New York Magazine and Romenesko, more at Mediagazer »
Erick Erickson / RedState:
NRA Now Leans Toward Endorsing Harry Reid — Multiple sources tell me the National Rifle Association is planning to endorse liberal Harry Reid against pro-gun champion Sharron Angle. — Two weeks ago, I told you about the carveout the NRA received in exchange for their support for the DISCLOSE ACT deal.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, National Review, Don Surber, The Atlantic Online, Wonkette, Hot Air, Say Anything, Babalú Blog, FrumForum and Riehl World View
Austin Frakt / The Incidental Economist:
Short-term insurance buyers in Massachusetts — Kay Lazar reports on the increase in part-year insurance buyers described in a new Massachusetts Division of Insurance report in today's Boston Globe. … Part of the problem is that individuals can jump in and out of coverage anytime during the year.
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Breitbart, Sullivan in JournoList spat — Andrew Breitbart's $100,000 offer for the full archives of the now-defunct liberal listserve JournoList has prompted a fight between Breitbart and Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan. — Breitbart has not yet had any takers for the offer …
Washington Post:
Pentagon recommends Medal of Honor for a living soldier — The Pentagon has recommended that the White House consider awarding the Medal of Honor to a living soldier for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to U.S. officials. — The soldier, whose nomination must be reviewed by the White House …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Big Government, BLACKFIVE, The Moderate Voice, Jules Crittenden, Mudville Gazette and Balloon Juice
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
In Which I Describe, But Do Not Knock, The Hustle. — Yesterday I went on The Ed Show, which is being guest hosted this week by The Nation's Chris Hayes (who is doing a really incredible job) opposite the terribly smart Reihan Salam of National Review, discussing financial reform and Social Security.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Ezra Klein:
Don't just sit there. Do nothing. — Due to the nature of the U.S. Senate, doing nothing is always and everywhere easier than doing something. After all, doing nothing takes only 41 votes. Doing something takes 60 votes. So when you hear Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition say that …
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Obama and the Fiscal ‘Road to Hell’ — G-20 leaders don't agree with the president that more spending will revive the economy. Nor do most Americans. — At last week's G-20 meeting, President Barack Obama achieved a two-fer. He suffered a significant international defeat …
Discussion:
HotAirPundit
The Politico:
Gov. Chris Christie calls for Republican Party rebranding — At the heart of Christie's appeal, both within the state and outside its border, is an unfiltered, straightforward approach that is startlingly different from many of his gubernatorial colleagues.