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.
RELATED:
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.
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, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, NRSC, Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
CNN:
TRENDING: CNN Poll shows big similarities between 2010, 1994 — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led House Republicans to a stunning victory in 1994 with his ‘Contract with America.’ — (CNN) - When it comes to the political landscape three months before the midterm elections take place, is everything that's old new again?
Discussion:
The Hill and Ballot Box
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:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Rangel attacks press over ethics woes, pledges silence on case
Discussion:
Ballot Box and NY Daily News
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 …
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Washington Monthly, Guardian, AMERICAblog News and Beat the Press
RELATED:
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, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Hot Air and CNN
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
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Commentary and Power Line
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
RELATED:
Timothy Egan / Opinionator:
The Mirthless Senate — Senator Al Franken at the hearing …
Discussion:
Althouse
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:
The Radio Equalizer, Gateway Pundit and Wonkette
Paul Krugman:
In The Matter Of Robert L. Gibbs — There he goes again. What gets me is how unprofessional the whole thing is. — Look, if you're a public figure of any kind, you're going to face a lot of criticism. Much of it will seem unfair to you; some of the unfair criticism will come from people …
RELATED:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Robert Gibbs keeps jabbing the left
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and Firedoglake
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, Michelle Malkin, AMERICAN DIGEST, Political Byline, Power Line, Wizbang and Shakesville
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Senate passes $600M border bill — The Senate gave its final approval to a $600 million border security bill Thursday. AP — The Senate briefly suspended its monthlong summer recess to give final approval to a $600 million border security bill Thursday, fulfilling President Barack Obama's request …
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Senate approves $600M border security bill
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Note, Facing South and FrumForum
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:
Ezra Klein and Hullabaloo
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
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:
Nice Deb, Scared Monkeys, Wizbang, Liberty Pundits Blog, NY Daily News, Macsmind and Conservatives4Palin.com
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
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Durbin undergoes surgery to remove stomach tumor — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) underwent surgery on Thursday to remove a small mass from his stomach, his office announced. — Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, underwent surgery in Chicago to remove …
Discussion:
Chicago Breaking News, CNN and The Swamp
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Marco Rubio hedges on Fla. immigration bill — Marco Rubio declined to take a firm stance on a bill that would require immigrants to carry ID. AP — Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio on Thursday declined to take a firm stance on a newly proposed bill in the state that would require immigrants …
Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
New claims for unemployment aid reach 484K — New applications for jobless benefits rise to highest since February as layoffs continue — Companies: — Related Quotes — SymbolPriceChange — CFN — 22.70 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The employment picture is looking bleaker …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, protein wisdom, Weasel Zippers, Another Black Conservative and Scared Monkeys
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, New York Times and Ballot Box
Jonathan Martin / Seattle Times:
Senate hopeful Dino Rossi sticks to economic message — SPOKANE — Dino Rossi has been a star of the state Republican Party for nearly a decade, but when his campaign for U.S. Senate stopped in Spokane last week, he got little star treatment. — At a breakfast hosted by the Spokane GOP …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Political Carnival and Daily Kos
Brett Michael Dykes / Yahoo! News:
Cringe-inducing typo outside N.C. school — Well, here's something to make your old English teacher gasp in horror: A road contractor hired to paint the word “school” on a freshly paved stretch of road near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina rendered the traffic area in question a “shcool” zone.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, theblogprof, The TrogloPundit and Pajamas Media
Jonathan Schwarz / A Tiny Revolution:
Jeffrey Goldberg Still America's Preeminent Propagandist — I'M GOING TO KEEP YELLING AT EVERYONE COMING HERE UNTIL $2000 HAS BEEN DONATED BY YOU ALL TO CONSORTIUM NEWS, THE WEBSITE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, ROBERT PARRY. MANY THANKS TO THOSE WHO'VE GIVEN ALREADY—ABOUT $1,400 HAS BEEN DONATED SO FAR.
Discussion:
Salon, Democratic Strategist, Pajamas Media and Real Clear Politics
Sarah Ostman / The Blago Blog:
Jury unanimous on only two counts; has not yet deliberated on 11 wire fraud counts — Reporting with Natasha Korecki, Dave McKinney and Abdon Pallash — The Blagojevich jury has reached a unanimous decision on only two of counts before them — and they have not yet started deliberating on what could be a big chunk of work for them.
Discussion:
TalkLeft and TPMMuckraker
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
