Top Items:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Dem group launches ‘F*ck Tea’ campaign — Last summer, Democrats argued that the Tea Party movement was the astroturf creation of corporate groups. Now that the grassroots conservative resurgence has emerged as a clear force on the right, the left is making a different case: That tea parties are simply the enemy.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Left Coast Rebel, Political Byline, Mediaite, RedState, No More Mister Nice Blog, Da Techguy's Blog, Confederate Yankee, Questions and Observations, Another Black Conservative, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Pat Dollard, Riehl World View, The Mahablog, Gawker, JammieWearingFool and Wake up America
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Public favors Tea Party over top Dems — The American public has a more positive view of the Tea Party movement than both leaders of the majority party in Congress, according to a poll released Wednesday. — An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 30 percent view the grassroots conservative groups …
Discussion:
CNN, Left Coast Rebel, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, NRSC, Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Wall Street Journal:
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer — Pessimism Rises on Economy and War; Bad Reviews for Both Democrats and GOP — Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and the war in Afghanistan, and are losing faith that Democrats have better solutions than Republicans, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
GOP plan to extend tax cuts for rich adds $36 billion to deficit, panel finds — A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year — and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires …
RELATED:
Ezra Klein:
The Bush tax plan vs. the Obama tax plan in one chart — Source. — United States - Tax - Democratic Party - Accounting - President
Discussion:
Donklephant
Tim Fernholz / American Prospect:
But It's Awesome Broccoli for the Rich! — Matt Bai writes about the Paul Ryan's budget plan ... without writing about Paul Ryan's budget plan: … Unless, of course, you're wealthy, because the plan cuts upper-income tax brackets by 10 percent, so that “households with incomes …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Weekly Standard
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Matt Bai / New York Times:
Waiting in the Wings to Be Chief G.O.P. Dealmaker
Waiting in the Wings to Be Chief G.O.P. Dealmaker
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Paul Krugman, Balloon Juice, American Spectator, TPMDC and New York Times
Wall Street Journal:
Washington vs. Paul Ryan
Washington vs. Paul Ryan
Discussion:
The New Republic, Betsy's Page and Paul Krugman
Michelle Malkin:
The vulgarity of liberal female “comedians” — Left-wing female comedians are proving that they can be as crude and stupid as their male counterparts. Who knew that striving for gender equality meant pursuing the dream that one day, someday, liberal women would be able to mock …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, The Radio Equalizer, Gateway Pundit and Wonkette
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at Accelerated Pace — In April, 2009, when we last took a survey of gay marriage polls, we found that support for it had converged somewhere into the area of 41 or 42 percent of the country. Now, it appears to have risen by several points …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, The Eye, Raw Story, Open Left, New York Magazine and CNN
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Congressman Rangel's Party a Display of Defiance — It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel's 80th birthday …
RELATED:
Megan Carpentier / TPMMuckraker:
‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam Was A Bush-Era Partner For Mideast Peace — Tuesday, Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) called Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — best known for his work with multicultural Cordoba Initiative to build a mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan …
RELATED:
Clifford D. May / National Review:
The Taboo of the Intellectuals
The Taboo of the Intellectuals
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Commentary and Power Line
Chicago Breaking News:
Durbin has tumor removed; aide says no cancer found — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin underwent surgery today at the University of Chicago Medical Center to have a small mass removed from his stomach, aides said. — His office initially said the tumor was a rare form of stomach cancer.
Discussion:
The Swamp
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Cristina Silva / MiamiHerald.com:
Bill McCollum unveils controversial immigration reform plan — GOP front-runner Rick Scott says his rival can't be trusted to be tough on immigration issues after Bill McCollum proposed a law that goes beyond Arizona's controversial measure. — Florida Attorney General …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, News Press, newsfeed.time.com, TPMDC and The Buzz
RELATED:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Marco Rubio hedges on Fla. immigration bill
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon. — They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them …
Discussion:
The Swamp, Commentary, Michelle Malkin, Political Byline, AMERICAN DIGEST, Power Line, Wizbang and Shakesville
Stan Collender / NiemanWatchdog.org:
Six essential questions about the deficit, Wall Street and Washington — Fiscal expert Stan Collender points out that the bond market is not demanding deficit reduction — in fact, quite the opposite. So where is the Washington establishment's obsession with the deficit coming from?
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Ezra Klein
William Poole / New York Times:
Say Goodbye to Fannie and Freddie — THE Federal National Mortgage Association — known as Fannie Mae — and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation — Freddie Mac — were poorly structured from the time, 40 years ago, when they were set up as so-called government-sponsored enterprises.
Discussion:
The Big Picture and The Washington Independent
RELATED:
John Carney / New York Times:
Too Big Not to Fail — THE Obama administration is set …
Too Big Not to Fail — THE Obama administration is set …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and The Atlantic Online
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Robert Gibbs keeps jabbing the left — “I am going to apologize in advance,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at the start of his briefing Wednesday afternoon. — News alert! Was he going to do a mea culpa for his amateurish decision to vent his frustration at the …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and Firedoglake
RELATED:
Aljazeera:
Iraq army ‘not ready’ until 2020 — Iraq's most senior military officer has said that his security forces will not be able to secure the country until 2020 and that the US should delay its planned withdrawal. — The US government plans to withdraw its combat troops by the end of August, and to remove all troops by the end of 2011.
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily and The Page
RELATED:
Nile Gardiner / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown — The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House.
Discussion:
The Confluence, Stop The ACLU, Nice Deb, Wizbang, Scared Monkeys, Liberty Pundits Blog, Conservatives4Palin.com, NY Daily News and Macsmind
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The First Wave of Weary Aides Heads for the Exits — WASHINGTON — Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House. And the day after that and the day after that. It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner, Outside the Beltway, National Review, Federal Eye and New York Times
KPIX-TV:
CBS 5 Poll: Fiorina Widens Lead Over Boxer — Dead Heats In Governor, Lt. Governor Races; Marijuana Prop. 16 Passing — SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― California Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has increased her lead over Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer …
Discussion:
Freedom's Lighthouse
Christina Hoff Sommers / AMERICAN.COM:
Take Back the Sports Page? — The political wing of the women's sports movement is in trouble. These activists are accustomed to challenging timid bureaucrats and university administrators. But in taking on TV sports coverage, they are challenging the market itself.
Discussion:
protein wisdom
David Streitfeld / New York Times:
Borrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans — PHOENIX — During the great housing boom, homeowners nationwide borrowed a trillion dollars from banks, using the soaring value of their houses as security. Now the money has been spent and struggling borrowers are unable or unwilling to pay it back.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon, Clusterstock and naked capitalism
ABCNEWS:
Civil Unrest: The Death of Decorum in Washington? — Has Civility Reached an Historic Low in Congress? — There was an extraordinary moment during the final senate debate on Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation. While Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered remarks, Senator Al Franken …
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Will its offbeat candidates hurt GOP? — A former professional wrestling executive, a libertarian ophthalmologist and a man who thinks bicycle use could empower the United Nations filed to run in elections. That's not the start of a joke: that's a sampling of the deeply unusual pool of candidates running …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Don Surber, Washington Wire, msnbc.com and New York Times