Top Items:

The Conway Rorschach — I'm fascinated by the divide among Democrats in reaction to Jack Conway's fusillade over the weekend against Rand Paul. I first saw the ‘Aqua Buddha’ ad late Saturday afternoon in an email blast from Conway campaign. And my jaw dropped.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Fix, Sister Toldjah, Democracy in America, Ezra Klein, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Riehl World View and Booman Tribune
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Sympathy For Rand Paul — The ugliest, most illiberal political ad of the year may be this one, from Kentucky Democrat Jack Conway: — I actually don't doubt the implication of the ad, namely that Rand Paul harbors a private contempt for Christianity. He's a devotee of Ayn Rand, who is a fundamentally anti-Christian thinker.


The Nastiest Debate Of 2010 In 2:44 (VIDEO) — Last night's Kentucky Senate debate was one of the most brutal of the year, hands down. Though the forum included talk of the health care bill, illegal immigration, the economy and energy legislation, most of the talk was about Republican nominee Rand Paul's days in college.
Discussion:
Rough Sketch, Firedoglake, Mediaite, Guardian, The Plum Line, MyDD, The Atlantic Online and msnbc.com

Why The Fuss About Jack Conway? — I'm a little taken aback by how taken aback some people are over Jack Conway's hit on Rand Paul: — This ad has the virtue—not that common in politics—of being accurate. It also has the virtue of raising actual policy issues about the consequences of Paul's position on tax reform.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and The New Republic

KY-Sen: What's wrong with the ad?
Discussion:
The Note, The New Republic, The Reality-Based Community, Washington Monthly and Talking Points Memo


Claire McCaskill: Jack Conway ad ‘very dangerous’
Discussion:
Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, National Review, Wake up America, Moe Lane and RedState

Paul blasts Conway attack ad
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, National Review and Ballot Box


Miller security guards handcuff editor — The editor of the Alaska Dispatch website was arrested by U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's private security guards Sunday as the editor attempted to interview Miller on camera at the end of a public event in an Anchorage school.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Alaska Dispatch, Riehl World View, Salon, Mother Jones, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TBogg, Red County, alicublog, The Hill, Corrente, New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, Politics Daily, National Review, Gateway Pundit, AMERICAblog News, Right Klik, KTUU-TV, FrumForum, The Politico, Conservatives4Palin.com, The BRAD BLOG, Ben Smith's Blog, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, skippy the bush kangaroo, BAGnewsNotes and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »
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Joe Miller: “If East Germany could, we could.”
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Anchorage Daily News and Outside the Beltway

Joe Miller On Securing The Border: ‘If East Germany Could, We Could’ (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Harry's Place

Alaska Politics Blog
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, New York Magazine and Salon

Alaska Race May Make for Long Election Night
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Progressive Alaska, Anchorage Daily News, Prairie Weather and FrumForum

Tony Hopfinger, Reporter Detained By Joe Miller's Security Guards …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars and RHRealityCheck.org

Alaska Dispatch editor detained at Miller event [updated]
Discussion:
Joe Miller for Senate, ThinkProgress, Anchorage Daily News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Front Row Washington, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, TPMDC, Speakeasy, The Note, The Mudflats, Climate Progress, Riehl World View, The Moderate Voice and Progressive Alaska

Angle to Hispanic children: “Some of you look a little more Asian to me” — As more of the video surfaces from GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle's meeting last week with Rancho High School's Hispanic kids, the more bizarre it gets. Elsewhere on this blog, I have posted the video of her claiming …
Discussion:
The Note, RHRealityCheck.org, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPMDC, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, USA Today, Hullabaloo, Salon, The Politico, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, The Washington Independent, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Colorlines, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and msnbc.com
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ABC News Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip the Scales in Reid's Favor — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for U.S. Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, TPMDC and YID With LID

Palin fires up Tea Partiers to launch bus tour
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, Weasel Zippers and Anchorage Daily News

Sharron Angle: My ads aren't referring to Mexico, except when they clearly are
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Reaction, Zandar Versus The Stupid and msnbc.com


Guy gets revenge on ex-girlfriend on CSPAN2 — When the audience gathered for a Book TV discussion of Jonah Goldberg's new book, “Proud to be Right,” they got more than your average CSPAN fare. — It turns out panelists Todd Seavey and Helen Rittelmeyer, both contributors to Goldberg's collection …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Salon, Wonkette, Mediaite, FishbowlDC, The Other McCain, The New Republic, TPM LiveWire and Swampland

URGENT: VFW DISSOLVES PAC BOARD! — This, from last week, is just now making it to my in-box. THIS IS WHAT WAS NEEDED ALL ALONG- Download Memo to council - new ballot Oct 10 … This, after the Ladies Auxilery withdrew all funding support for the PAC (which, I'm told, is a good chunk of it) …
Discussion:
Big Peace, Gateway Pundit and Weigel
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The Ludicrous Lies of Robert Spencer — If you've read anything by Robert Spencer, you already know that he will blatantly lie when cornered. — Today he responds to my piece for the Guardian, with a ridiculous article that calls Pamela Geller a defamed freedom fighter.
Discussion:
Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Dennis the Peasant
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Obama: 15 Senate seats ‘up for grabs’ — President Obama implored supporters on Monday for donations to help Democrats in the 15 Senate seats he said were “up for grabs” on Nov. 2. — The president painted a picture of an expansive map of competitive Senate races in a fundraising e-mail …
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, Washington Wire, Gateway Pundit and JammieWearingFool
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GOP Holds Solid Leads in Voter Preferences for Another Week — Gallup trends from prior midterm years suggest shifts are still possible — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's tracking of the generic ballot for Congress finds Republicans leading Democrats by 5 percentage points among registered voters …
Discussion:
The Hill, Top of the Ticket, The Other McCain, Taegan Goddard's …, JammieWearingFool and Wake up America

Obama to Appear on “Mythbusters” — For a president under siege, maybe this could help. — In an episode of “Mythbusters” on the Discovery Channel to be shown on Dec. 8, President Obama will help determine whether the Greek scientist Archimedes really set fire to an invading Roman fleet using …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Zandar Versus The Stupid, HillBuzz, Wonkette, Mediaite, Hot Air, Dot Earth, The Powers That Be and Althouse


Dennis Menaced? — Is Kucinich in trouble? — THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained the results of a private poll conducted last night in Ohio-10, the Cleveland-area district held for seven terms by Democrat Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich has been widely viewed as safe—even though he fell short …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Ben Smith's Blog, HillBuzz, Real Clear Politics and Gateway Pundit

Epitaph For An Administration … Surely this can serve as a generic statement: … Stimulus, bank rescue, China, foreclosure; it applies all along. At each point there were arguments for not acting; but the cumulative effect has been drift, and a looming catastrophe in the midterms.
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant


Judge Skeptical of Govt. Arguments — If a Monday afternoon federal court hearing in Riverside, Calif., was any indication, a recent judicial ruling barring any enforcement of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy will remain in effect unless a higher court intervenes.
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend and Towleroad News #gay


Former surgeon general calls for marijuana legalization — (CNN) — Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told CNN Sunday she supports legalizing marijuana. — The trend-setting state of California is voting next month on a ballot initiative to legalize pot, also known as Proposition 19.
Discussion:
Liberty Pundits Blog

In Climate Denial, Again — Former Vice President Dick Cheney has to be smiling. With one exception, none of the Republicans running for the Senate — including the 20 or so with a serious chance of winning — accept the scientific consensus that humans are largely responsible for global warming.


How Obama sabotaged Middle East peace talks — For 15 years and more, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conducted peace talks with Israel in the absence of a freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Now, it appears as likely as not that his newborn negotiations …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog and Commentary

Many Chamber ads attacking House Dems contain debunked falsehoods, distortions — UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: The Chamber has responded to all these fact checks with a detailed rebuttal, which you can read right here. — ORIGINAL POST: — Last week I noted that the ads that have been bankrolled …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, iOwnTheWorld.com, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Hullabaloo

John McCain: Sarah Palin Similar To Ronald Reagan — McCain Gives an Exclusive Interview to 'Nightline's' Terry Moran on Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Obama Administration and Sarah Palin — Sen. John McCain is not afraid to use fighting words. — After lashing out at Sen. Barbara Boxer …