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Reid calls Gillibrand the ‘hottest’ member at fundraiser — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had an unusual form of praise for New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, this morning at the fundraiser Mayor Bloomberg hosted for him at his townhouse - referring to her as “the hottest member” …
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CNN, The Note, Politics Daily, Don Surber, Taylor Marsh, Right Pundits, TPMDC, Left Coast Rebel, Salon, American Power, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Confluence, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Runnin' Scared, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Mad Kane's Political Madness, Washington Post, The Political Carnival, New York Magazine, RedState, Weasel Zippers, Pam's House Blend, Shakesville, Mediaite, Pundit & Pundette, Ruby Slippers, Gawker, Betsy's Page, Power Line and Gothamist
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Move to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Stalls in Senate — WASHINGTON — With Congress increasingly paralyzed by the partisan fury of the midterm elections, the Senate on Tuesday voted against taking up a major military bill that includes a provision allowing the repeal of the “don't ask, don't tell policy” regarding gay soldiers.


Why the GOP Should Repeal DADT — Gays in the military: The White House and Congress owe them better. — 'Gay-Pride Parade Sets Mainstream Acceptance of Gays Back 50 Years. " The line is a bit of satire from the Onion. But it came to mind after Lady Gaga released a video …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Commentary, GayPatriot, AMERICAblog Gay, The Daily Dish and Box Turtle Bulletin

Dana Bash: Sen. Collins' not so secret phone call — A couple of sources gave me a heads up that moderate Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins is considered such a crucial vote on the Defense bill, Vice President Joe Biden called her this morning to lobby her.
Discussion:
The Note, Michelle Malkin, The Democratic Daily and Wake up America


Senate Republicans block 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal — An effort to repeal the military's “don't ask don't tell” policy went down to defeat Tuesday afternoon, with Senate Democrats and Republicans squaring off in a procedural vote. — In the face of a promised filibuster by Sen. John McCain …

Effort to Overturn 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Likely to Fall Short
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Comments from Left Field, Indecision Forever and Box Turtle Bulletin

Senate deals blow to “Don't ask, don't tell” repeal in 56-43 vote
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Weasel Zippers

Dems will try again Thursday to pass campaign finance bill through Senate
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The Washington Independent

Collins Equates Senate Debate With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy
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Firedoglake and Wake up America

Senate Blocks DADT Repeal
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TPMDC, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Mock, Paper, Scissors, Wonkette and FrumForum

Senate halts 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal
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The Huffington Post, Wonkette, ChattahBox News Blog, Firedoglake and Shakesville


Christine O'Donnell down 15 points in new poll — In Delaware, the tea is lukewarm. — A new Fox News poll, conducted Sept. 18 and released Tuesday, shows Democratic Senate nominee Chris Coons leading Republican Christine O'Donnell by 15 points, 54 to 39 percent.
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Little Green Footballs, CBS News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh and FrumForum
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Christine O'Donnell is toxic and hurting GOP — Christine O'Donnell's victory provides the clearest sign yet that the Tea Party is damaging GOP prospects, as opposed to acting merely as an energizing and rebranding force, and a new Fox poll in Delaware shows this as clearly as you could want.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, Salon and RADAMISTO

Fox News Polls Track Tea Party Influence in 5 Battleground States
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Public Policy Polling, Hot Air, FoxNews.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taegan Goddard's … and Verum Serum

Tea party group gets $1 million, but won't say from whom
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The Note

For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in August indicates that the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months. Household spending is increasing gradually, but remains constrained by high unemployment …
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Federal Reserve won't help, won't explain why — As expected, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee met today, and decided against doing anything further to stimulate the economy. But it's worth reading their news release explaining — or, more accurately, not explaining — why.
Discussion:
Modeled Behavior and Macro and Other Market Musings

Election 2010: Alaska Senate — Alaska Senate: Miller (R) Holds Double-Digit Lead Over McAdams (D), Murkowski — Republican Joe Miller attracts 42% of the vote in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Alaska Senate race since GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski announced her write-in campaign to try to keep her job.
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Fund-raiser: Jackson behind $6M Senate-seat scheme — Feds had questions about Senate-seat deal and flights for a Jackson acquaintance — Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return …
Discussion:
Ballot Box, The Caucus, The Capitol Fax Blog, Lynn Sweet and Sunlight Foundation
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Rep. Jackson: I did nothing wrong but ‘deeply sorry’ over ‘social acquaintance’ — Chicago congressman vows to remain in office in wake of Sun-Times report regarding fund-raiser — U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said Tuesday he is “deeply sorry” for having “disappointed some supporters” …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Publius Forum

Major health insurers to stop offering new child-only policies — Some of the country's most prominent health insurance companies have decided to stop offering new child-only plans, rather than comply with rules in the new health-care law that will require such plans to start accepting children …
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Health insurers drop coverage for children ahead of new rules
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Verum Serum, AMERICAblog News and American Power


Summers Expected to Leave White House After Election — White House officials expect Lawrence Summers to leave his job as the president's National Economic Council director after November's congressional elections, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Felix Salmon, Political Punch, The Page, Wonkette and The Agonist

Close Race in West Virginia — PPP's first look at the West Virginia Senate contest finds a very tight race with John Raese up 46-43 on Joe Manchin, a result within the poll's margin of error. — The contest provides a fascinating choice for voters in the state who love their Democratic Governor …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Power Line, JOSHUAPUNDIT, National Review, AmSpecBlog and Weekly Standard

The Most Progressive Legislation In 40 Years — One of the arguments forwarded during the health bill debate was that the provisions would get stronger over time, as a constituency for new services developed. I thought it a doubtful assertion at the time (consider that no new government program …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Suburban Guerrilla
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Short of Repeal, G.O.P. Will Chip at Health Law
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Firedoglake, Politics Daily, Sweetness & Light, The Page, Prairie Weather, Washington Wire and Wonk Room


Can I ‘call him an a—hole?’ Andrew Cuomo in tizzy after GOP foe Carl Paladino questions his manhood — ALBANY - Stung by Carl Paladino's below-the-belt attacks, an angry Andrew Cuomo summoned his war council on Monday to figure out how to fight back against his slash-and-burn GOP rival.

GOP and deficit: Death by 1000 cuts — If the federal government collected a dime for every time someone said, “All we have to do to balance the budget is cut spending,” we wouldn't have a deficit problem. Far from true deficit hawks, these “deficit peacocks” all fail to acknowledge …
Discussion:
Hit & Run and National Review
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WI-Sen/WI-Gov: Dems hurting with six weeks to go — Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos. U.S. Senate. 9/18-9/19. Likely Voters. MoE 3.8% (6/27 results) — Ron Johnson (R) 52 (43) — Sen. Russ Feingold (D) 41 (45) — An enormous enthusiasm gap, coupled with a Republican nominee fresh …


Twitter Mouseover Security Flaw Affecting Thousands of Users [WARNING] — Update (10:00 a.m. ET): A spokesperson for Twitter tells us “This should now be fully patched and is no longer exploitable.” — A new Twitter security flaw has been widely exploited on thousands of Twitter accounts …
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The Hill, newsfeed.time.com, Raw Story, All Opinions Are Local, New York Magazine, Geekosystem, msnbc.com, BlogPost, Left Coast Rebel and Michelle Malkin

Republican lawmaker: Reagan would face ‘tough time’ in today's GOP — President Ronald Reagan, a Republican icon, might not be welcome in today's GOP, Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) suggested Tuesday. — Inglis, a Palmetto State Republican who was defeated earlier this year in a conservative primary challenge …
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico, The Plum Line, The Note, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, iOwnTheWorld.com, Liberal Values and FrumForum


Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part — KABUL, Afghanistan — Six-year-old Mehran Rafaat is like many girls her age. She likes to be the center of attention. She is often frustrated when things do not go her way. Like her three older sisters, she is eager to discover …
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The Huffington Post, Jezebel, Matthew Yglesias, newsfeed.time.com, Politerati and Advocate