Top Items:
Manu Raju / The Politico:
McConnell to Franken: This isn't ‘SNL’ — When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out his opposition to Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination, someone in the chamber appeared to be moving around in his chair, gasping and rolling his eyes. — It was Sen. Al Franken.
Discussion:
The Note, New York Magazine and Don Surber
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell scolds Franken for making faces from dais during his speech — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) scolded Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on the Senate floor Thursday for allegedly mocking him while he delivered a solemn speech on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
Discussion:
Power Line, WHAS, The Caucus, Hot Air, Nice Deb and Weasel Zippers
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Senate Votes to Confirm Elena Kagan for U.S. Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to a seat on the Supreme Court on Thursday, giving President Obama his second appointment to the high court in a year, and a political victory as the Senate neared the end of its business for the summer.
Discussion:
The TrogloPundit, ACS Blog, Indecision Forever, The Impolitic, MyDD and GOOD
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HEADS THEY WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE.... Time will tell what the Senate will look like next year, but chances are reasonably good that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will not be Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. — That said, it seems very likely that the Senate Republican caucus …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Plum Line and The New Republic
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Scott Brown will vote against confirming Kagan
Sen. Scott Brown will vote against confirming Kagan
Discussion:
The Politico, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
Jill Lawrence / Politics Daily:
GOP's McConnell on Birthright Citizenship: No One Wants to Alter 14th Amendment
GOP's McConnell on Birthright Citizenship: No One Wants to Alter 14th Amendment
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, GRITtv, TPMDC, The Washington Independent and Indecision Forever
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Senate confirms Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court
Senate confirms Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court
Discussion:
RHRealityCheck.org, Firedoglake, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Hit & Run
Kirk Victor / Hotline On Call:
Romer To Leave White House — Christina Romer, chairwoman of Pres. Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, has decided to resign, according to a source familiar with her plans. — Romer, an economics professor at the University of California (Berkeley) before taking the key admin post, did not respond to repeated calls to her office.
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Axelrod: President remains opposed to same-sex marriage — President Obama remains opposed to same-sex marriage despite a federal judge's decision to strike down a ban on such marriages, a top White House adviser said Thursday. — Senior adviser David Axelrod said the president supports …
RELATED:
Jesse McKinley / New York Times:
Gay Marriage Ruling a Challenge for Both Parties
Gay Marriage Ruling a Challenge for Both Parties
Discussion:
KRLD-AM
Gerard Bradley / Fox News:
Why Has Media Ignored Judge's Possible Bias In California's Gay Marriage Case?
Why Has Media Ignored Judge's Possible Bias In California's Gay Marriage Case?
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Daily Hurricane, Washington Monthly, Opinion L.A., DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Huffington Post, Whiskey Fire, The Political Carnival, The Reality-Based Community, The Democratic Daily, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, ProfessorBainbridge.com, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, L.A. NOW, National Review, News Hounds, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Slate
Igor / Wonk Room:
Conservatives Blame Loss In Prop 8 Case On Judge's Homosexuality
Conservatives Blame Loss In Prop 8 Case On Judge's Homosexuality
Discussion:
Open Left, Obsidian Wings, Alas, a blog, Guardian, The Daily Dish, Calitics and Mercury News
Igor / Think Progress:
Pat Buchanan suggests Judge Walker struck down Proposition 8 because he is gay.
Pat Buchanan suggests Judge Walker struck down Proposition 8 because he is gay.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Democracy in America, Balloon Juice, Law Blog and skippy the bush kangaroo
Media Matters for America:
Ben Dimiero & Eric Hananoki: Meet Breitbart's Sherrod writer: Racist sexual “expert” and inventor (who cured cancer) — In two posts on Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment website, Dr. Kevin Pezzi smears Shirley Sherrod as a racist, claiming that “if someone deserves to be put on a pedestal for overcoming racism, it isn't Sherrod.”
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, The Poor Man Institute and The Impolitic
Oleoleolson / AlterNet Blogs:
Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered — A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Gawker, Newshoggers.com, ReadWriteWeb and The BRAD BLOG, more at Techmeme »
Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Rep. Wamp loses gov. primary to Mayor Haslam — Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) defeated Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R) to claim the GOP gubernatorial nod Thursday. — Boosted by his support during early voting, Haslam was declared the winner by the Associated Press close …
Discussion:
The Politico and Hotline On Call
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Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Bill Haslam wins GOP nomination for governor in Tennessee
Bill Haslam wins GOP nomination for governor in Tennessee
Discussion:
CNN, Scared Monkeys and The Page
Timothy F. Geithner / ssa.gov:
A MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC: — Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. This message summarizes our 2010 Annual Reports. — The outlook for Medicare has improved substantially …
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The Huffington Post:
Medicare Gets New Lease On Life; Social Security Remains Healthy
Medicare Gets New Lease On Life; Social Security Remains Healthy
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, Grasping Reality … and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
Health-care law strengthens Medicare, report finds
Health-care law strengthens Medicare, report finds
Discussion:
NPR, Hit & Run, Politics Daily and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Source: Debt Commission Fights Over Freezing Military Pay, Slashing Benefits — Republicans would like you to think that Democrats have sinister plans for the post-election lame duck session of Congress, and Democrats are at pains to insist otherwise. But the one winter initiative progressives fear …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Firedoglake, The New Republic and Daily Kos
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obama admin skewers GOP attack on stimulus cocaine monkeys — Are your stimulus dollars really being wasted on getting monkeys high on crack and cocaine? — In recent days, select Republicans and conservatives have taken to bashing the Obama administration over this claim.
Discussion:
RedState, Wonkette, Washington Monthly and The Other McCain
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Flimflam Man — One depressing aspect of American politics is the susceptibility of the political and media establishment to charlatans. You might have thought, given past experience, that D.C. insiders would be on their guard against conservatives with grandiose plans.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Balloon Juice
NY Daily News:
Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation — Sacrifice is something that many Americans are becoming all too familiar with during this economic downturn. It was a key theme in President Obama's inaugural address to the nation …
Annie Lowrey / The Washington Independent:
The Return of the $1,000 Down Mortgage — In Wisconsin and other states, home buyers might be eligible for 100 percent financing on mortgages. (Creative Commons.) — “Buy new with $1,000 down,” the advertisement says, the words resting atop a trim green clapboard house offset by a bright blue sky.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Balloon Juice, TBogg, Matthew Yglesias and Free exchange
RELATED:
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
Sharia vs. The New Deal.
Sharia vs. The New Deal.
Discussion:
Guardian, The Daily Caller and The Atlantic Online
The Hill:
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) believes the November elections will likely weed out some of the “most difficult Democrats” that leadership lawmakers have dealt with this Congress. — In an interview with The Hill, the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman expressed confidence that Democrats …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Flopping Aces, MyDD, Weasel Zippers and Prairie Weather
Helen Jung / Oregonian:
Portland lemonade stand runs into health inspectors, needs $120 license to operate — It's hardly unusual to hear small-business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red. — So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise …
Pat G. / Think Progress:
Boehner derides police officers and teachers as ‘special interests.’ — Yesterday, the Senate finally overcame a Republican filibuster to approve $26 billion in funding to bolster state budgets, including $10 billion to prevent massive teacher layoffs. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi …
E.D. Kain / Balloon Juice:
International Beer Day — Today is International Beer Day (the site was down last I checked so here's the wiki article). My favorite beer is Fat Tire. I like New Belgium both as a company and because they make lots of good brews. I also enjoy all the local breweries here, and going to local breweries when I'm on the road.
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Outside the Beltway, The New Republic and The Impolitic
Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:
Dems accused of tea party tampering — The charges of dirty tricks are being leveled in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and Florida. AP Photo — Nationally, Democrats say they intend to campaign against the tea party movement. But locally, Democratic officials and activists …
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel and Riehl World View
Larry J. Sabato / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The Record-Setting Midterm of 2010 — Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics — Everyone already knows the 2010 elections are significant and competitive. Let's add record-setting to that description. Why? — 2010 features the most U.S. Senate seats on the November ballot (37) since 1962.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
The Huffington Post:
Kristol's Hawkish Pro-Israel Group Launches New Ad Against Endangered Dem (VIDEO) — What's Your Reaction: … A hawkish, pro-Israel group that includes some of the most prominent neo-conservative and evangelical voices in the country is launching the second salvo in an ad campaign targeting primarily congressional Democrats.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Israel Matzav and American Power