Top Items:
Beau Friedlander / The Huffington Post:
$100,000 For Glenn Beck's Sex Tape — What's Your Reaction: — Rupert Murdoch and the Koch brothers are happy to throw money at the rising tide of right wing lunacy. Breitbart offered $100,000 for JournoList, the email listserve that brought down WaPo blogger Dave Weigel this June.
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Ross douthat / New York Times:
Mr. Beck Goes to Washington — Entering this weekend, I was convinced that Glenn Beck's star was about to go into eclipse. — Just as Michael Moore, amid Democratic disarray, became the unlikely face of liberal opposition to George W. Bush, the mercurial, weepy, demagogic Beck has spent …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, The Plum Line, NewsReal Blog, TBogg, First Draft, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite
Adam Serwer / The Plum Line:
Was the Glenn Beck rally turnout really that impressive? — Adam Serwer of the American Prospect is guest blogging on The Plum Line this week, while Greg Sargent takes a short vacation. — While the official Tea Party estimates of Saturday's rally attendance may range between a gajillion …
Discussion:
Fox News, Indecision Forever, Runnin' Scared, News Hounds and Washington Post
Mike Opelka / Big Journalism:
Just How Large Was the Attendance At Beck's ‘Restoring Honor’ Rally? — In an era when satellite imagery allows one to count cars from space, and in a country fascinated with numbers (weekly box office take, home runs, calorie counting, etc) the MSM is having a difficult time with the math …
Discussion:
Cubachi, The Daily Caller, The Powers That Be, Right Wing News and CBS News
CNN:
My Take: Beck's rally was about restoring virtue and God's place
My Take: Beck's rally was about restoring virtue and God's place
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Left Coast Rebel and Townhall.com
John Fund / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Builds a Big Tent . . . for Conservatives
Obama Builds a Big Tent . . . for Conservatives
Discussion:
Chicago Boyz
Eric Dondero / Libertarian Republican:
BREAKING!! Alaska Libertarian Party votes to deny Lisa Murkowski ballot line — From Eric Dondero: — The Executive Committee of the Alaska Libertarian Party held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the contested primary results in the Republican Senate primary.
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Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:
Alaska Libertarians: No ballot switch — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was dealt another major setback Monday when the Alaska Libertarian Party announced it would not swap its chosen candidate for the Republican senator if she loses her party's nomination. — “We have decided that we will not offer …
Discussion:
CNN, Ballot Box, Red Dog Report and Swing State Project
CNN:
More than 25,000 ballots uncounted in Alaska GOP Senate race — (CNN) - One day before vote counting resumes in Alaska's Republican Senate primary, election officials say more than 25,000 ballots remain uncounted. — According to unofficial results from last Tuesday's primary …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Hill, Weekly Standard, Sister Toldjah, HotAirPundit and CBS News
Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Tea Party Express ready to spend on Rep. Castle challenger
Tea Party Express ready to spend on Rep. Castle challenger
Discussion:
Public Policy Polling, TPMDC, Daily Kos, Swing State Project, Weigel and The Politico
Randy Krehbiel / Tulsa World:
Coburn rips the left and right alike — He pulls no punches during a town hall meeting in Wagoner. — WAGONER - U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn called out Democrats, Republicans, Newt Gingrich, the military-industrial complex, teachers unions and Medicare - to name a few - at a town hall meeting Friday.
Discussion:
Think Progress, CNN, Salon, Left Coast Rebel, msnbc.com, Gawker, Taegan Goddard's …, AMERICAblog Gay and Pam's House Blend
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Andy Barr / The Politico:
Sen. Tom Coburn: Newt Gingrich 'last person I'd vote for' — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is pouring cold water on the idea of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich running for president. — “He's the last person I'd vote for for president of the United States,” Coburn said during a town hall event in Wagoner …
Discussion:
The Page, The Political Carnival and New York Magazine
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Israel group targets Holt, J Street — The Emergency Committee for Israel's latest ad targets Rep. Rush Holt, but its real target, again, seems to be the left-leaning Jewish group J Street. — The ad, which started airing Saturday in a modest but real buy, an aide to the group said …
Discussion:
Commentary and Israel Matzav
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Secret showdown set for Islamic charity
Secret showdown set for Islamic charity
Discussion:
Power Line, Law Blog and Israel Matzav
Frank Newport / Gallup:
GOP Takes Unprecedented 10-Point Lead on Generic Ballot — Republicans also maintain wide gap in enthusiasm about voting — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans lead by 51% to 41% among registered voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional voting preferences.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politics Daily and National Review
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama may call Bush before Iraq speech — President Obama will likely phone his predecessor, President George W. Bush, before delivering his speech on the Iraq war Tuesday. — Obama will visit troops in Fort Bliss, Texas, which is in Bush's home state, before returning to Washington …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Page
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Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Report: Warnings about e-mails went unheeded in Bush White House
Report: Warnings about e-mails went unheeded in Bush White House
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, Crooks and Liars and Raw Story
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Thinner Time magazine still manages to stand out — Rick Stengel may have his shoulder in a sling, but when it comes to the newsmagazine wars, he's the last man standing. — The reason, says Time's managing editor, is that “we saw what was coming. We wanted to fix the roof when the sun was shining.”
Discussion:
Salon, Hullabaloo, Gawker, Pajamas Media, Wonkette, The Wire, New York Magazine and Romenesko, more at Mediagazer »
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
It's Witch-Hunt Season — The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress …
CNN:
Crist walks back same-sex marriage remarks — (CNN) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appeared to backtrack from statements he made regarding same-sex marriage during a CNN interview Sunday, saying in a statement that he does not support a Constitutional ban on the practice.
Discussion:
The Fix, Riptide 2.0, Weekly Standard, Wonkette, Naked Politics and Ballot Box
Rosalind Helderman / Virginia Politics Blog:
Judge quashes Cuccinelli subpoena of U-Va. records — An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has set aside a subpoena issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia seeking documents related to the work of climate scientist and former university professor Michael Mann.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMMuckraker and Climate Progress
Robert Barro / Wall Street Journal:
The Folly of Subsidizing Unemployment — My calculations suggest the jobless rate could be as low as 6.8%, instead of 9.5%, if jobless benefits hadn't been extended to 99 weeks. — Congressman John Boehner recently suggested that President Obama replace his top economic advisers.
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Modeled Behavior, Marginal Revolution, msnbc.com and The Future of Capitalism
Justin Elliott / Salon:
Bigot starts ground zero church: Where's the outrage? — A bigoted pastor who has assailed gays and Muslims is launching the “9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero” a mere two blocks from the World Trade Center site this Sunday, but so far the project hasn't drawn a peep of protest …
Discussion:
The Onion, Washington Monthly and Little Green Footballs
David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Environmental groups face their future in climate-change debate — On Thursday, some of the country's most respected environmental groups - in the midst of their biggest political fight in two decades - sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message. — We're losing.
Discussion:
Liberty Pundits Blog, Right Wing News and Peter Daou
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ron Paul questions whether there's gold at Fort Knox, NY Fed — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said he plans to introduce legislation next year to force an audit of U.S. holdings of gold. — Paul, a longtime critic of the Federal Reserve and U.S. monetary policy, said he believes it's “a possibility” …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Red Dog Report
Ezra Klein:
Charlie Crist: A puzzle wrapped in an enigma shrouded in mystery — In a bid to pick up Democratic votes without losing every last Republican vote, Charlie Crist is refusing to say who he'll caucus with if he's elected to the Senate in November. The fact that that's smart politics suggests …
Discussion:
CQ Politics, Salon and Advocate
The Numbers:
This I Believe — It's quickly mushroomed into the summer's hottest data point: A boatload of Americans believe Barack Obama's a Muslim. — Except that, maybe, they don't. Consider this instead: They're just willing to say it. — This not-so-subtle difference is useful in understanding public opinion and its measurement.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
Tennessean.com:
‘Call Me’ Campaign Ad — The book also deals directly with the 2006 Senate campaign, where Ford nearly became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Tennessee. — Some of Ford's characterizations of his opponent, now U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, are less than flattering.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Random Density Facts — A couple of facts about population density that I came across while my girlfriend was behind the wheel on some long drives up and down the east coast. First if Texas (268,820 square miles) were as densely populated as New Jersey (1,134 per square mile) …
Discussion:
Paul Krugman
Dave McKinney / Chicago Sun Times:
Being broke costs state $550 million — SPRINGFIELD — The state's miserable bond rating has driven up borrowing costs for state government by more than $500 million since last year, a government watchdog group says. — The nonpartisan, Chicago-based Civic Federation analyzed …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Remainders: Beckfest — Time to catch up on some issues I would have blogged about last week had I not been on vacation. First up—the Glenn Beck Extravaganza. I've watched a fair amount of Beck over the past two years, and it's clear that the man is a charlatan.
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
A Note to the President — When you speak to the troops tomorrow at Fort Bliss, and to the nation tomorrow night from the Oval Office, you speak, of course, as the president. As our president. — You won't be speaking—not in these settings—as a once (and perhaps future) candidate for president.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, msnbc.com, Commentary and Washington Post
Salon:
Lawsuit challenges Obama's power to kill citizens without due process — (update below) — Three weeks ago, I wrote about a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights, based on the Treasury Department's failure to grant a “license” to those groups …
Booman Tribune:
Wrong Answer — This is not good enough: Asked if the stimulus bill was too small, [White House press secretary Robert] Gibbs says: “I think it makes sense to step back just for a second. ... Nobody had, in January of 2009, a sufficient grasp of ... what we were facing.”
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Folly of Needless Alcohol Laws — In Orange County, California, as in many American communities, the approach planners take to bars is as follows: they're generally located in close proximity to one another, so that on a weekend night, bar goers congregate around Main Street in Huntington Beach …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama to appear at Labor Day rally with AFL-CIO president — President Obama will spend Labor Day alongside AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, the union announced Monday. — Obama, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Trumka will all participate in a Labor Day “celebration and rally” …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
How Sharron Angle can (still) win — Can Nevada Senate nominee Sharron Angle win? Yes, and here's how. Getty Images — There's little doubt that former Nevada Assemblywoman Sharron Angle has stumbled — badly and repeatedly — since winning the GOP nomination on June 8.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather