Top Items:
New York Times:
Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions — As labor battles erupt in state capitals around the nation, a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits …
Discussion:
Yglesias, Hit & Run, Firedoglake, TPMDC, Guardian, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Swampland, American Power, JSOnline, CBS News, AlterNet, The Maddow Blog, Pajamas Media, Los Angeles Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Confederate Yankee, Taylor Marsh, Federal Eye, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, National Review, Sky Dancing, The Future of Capitalism, The Huffington Post, The Lonely Conservative, FrumForum, Politicususa, Paul Krugman, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taegan Goddard's …, The Political Carnival, WisPolitics Budget Blog, The Caucus and The Mahablog
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
A peek under the hood of the NYT/CBS poll — Allahpundit did a great job last night of dissecting the latest NYT/CBS poll based on its results from CBS' reporting. The survey found that a large majority of their respondents support keeping current collective bargaining rights in the public sector …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, National Review, The Raw Story, TPMDC, Da Techguy's Blog, Philly.com and Pajamas Media
People-Press.org:
More Side with Wisconsin Unions than Governor — Obama, GOP Leaders Would Share Blame in Gov't Shutdown — By a modest margin, more say they back Wisconsin's public employee unions rather than the state's governor in their continuing dispute over collective bargaining rights.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, AmSpecBlog, Don Surber, The Fix, Online NewsHour, CNN, Taegan Goddard's …, JSOnline and The Page
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Wisconsin closely divided, but against Walker
Wisconsin closely divided, but against Walker
Discussion:
The Plum Line, WisPolitics Budget Blog and The Political Carnival
The Politico:
Darrell Issa fires press secretary Kurt Bardella in NYT e-mail flap — The House Oversight and Government Reform committee is firing spokesman Kurt Bardella for sharing correspondence with reporters with a New York Times journalist. — The move comes a day after POLITICO reported that Bardella …
Discussion:
Weigel
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The Politico:
Darrell Issa probes staff; spokesman Kurt Bardella at center of controversy — Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has launched an inquiry into whether spokesman Kurt Bardella improperly shared e-mails from other reporters …
David Di Martino / Pundits Blog:
Issa-Leaks — Disturbing news out of Capitol Hill for those who work with and in media.
Issa-Leaks — Disturbing news out of Capitol Hill for those who work with and in media.
Discussion:
The Politico
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Rep. Rangel: Abolishing unions' collective bargaining ‘close to slavery’ — State governments taking steps to “abolish” collective bargaining rights for workers is similar to slavery, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) contends. — Speaking Monday at a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) …
Discussion:
The Hill, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool
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Bob Woodward / Foreign Policy:
How Rumsfeld misleads and ducks responsibility in his new book — Few people know the ins and outs of the Bush Administration as well as the Washington Post's Bob Woodward, who is flat-out disgusted with the evasions and elisions in Donald Rumsfeld's new book. Here he explains why: — By Bob Woodward
Discussion:
The Politico, The Daily Dish, Ben Smith's Blog, Liberal Values, Emptywheel and Oliver Willis
Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Rep. Holt beats Watson the super-computer at ‘Jeopardy!’ — There are a lot of smart people on Capitol Hill. But none of them can claim quite the same brainy bragging rights as Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.). — On Monday, Holt beat IBM's super-computer, known as Watson, at a round of “Jeopardy! …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, CNN and Shakesville
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Dem senator: Senate has accepted House GOP spending plan — As House and Senate leaders haggle over ways to avoid a government shutdown, a Democratic senator said the Republicans' short-term spending bill - including billions of dollars in cuts - has been largely accepted by upper-chamber Democrats.
Discussion:
The Note
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Pelosi needles GOP over return of styrofoam cups
Pelosi needles GOP over return of styrofoam cups
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Wonkette
David Brody / The Brody File:
Speaker Boehner to Brody File: Preparing For “one giant fight over the future for our country.” — Speaker John Boehner tells The Brody File that when it comes to issue over the budget and raising the debt ceiling he is preparing for “one giant fight over the future for our country.”
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Wake up America, Salon and FrumForum
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Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:
John Boehner: Unions Have A ‘Machine Gun’ Pointed At ‘The Heads Of Local Officials’
John Boehner: Unions Have A ‘Machine Gun’ Pointed At ‘The Heads Of Local Officials’
Discussion:
The Politico and Confederate Yankee
George Zornick / ThinkProgress:
Boehner Says Public Employee Unions Have ‘A Machine Gun’ Pointed ‘At The Heads Of The Local Officials’
Boehner Says Public Employee Unions Have ‘A Machine Gun’ Pointed ‘At The Heads Of The Local Officials’
Discussion:
The Political Carnival and NewsMax.com
Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Gingrich Jumps In: First 2012 GOP Nominee — Sources: Former House Speaker Will form 2012 Exploratory Comm. — The 2012 presidential campaign is about to get its first big-name Republican. — ABC News has learned that Newt Gingrich will make the leap this week.
Discussion:
CNN, NationalJournal.com, Wonkette, Hot Air, National Review, Mediaite, Des Moines Register, FrumForum, The Politico, TPMDC and New York Magazine
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Toss up in Virginia — The Virginia Senate race is about as much of a toss up as it could be: Tim Kaine and George Allen tie at 47% in our first poll since Jim Webb announced his retirement. — Kaine is slightly more popular than Allen, sporting a 46/38 favorability spread to Allen's 39/40.
Discussion:
Ballot Box and Virginia Politics Blog
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Cathy Horyn / New York Times:
Natalie Portman Condemns Galliano — The actress Natalie Portman, who has an endorsement contract with Dior for its Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, has strongly condemned its chief designer, John Galliano, for anti-Semitic remarks after a video surfaced of Mr. Galliano appearing to deliver a tirade in a Paris bar.
Discussion:
BlogPost, The Other McCain, AOL News, The New Republic, Politics Daily and PopEater
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David Brooks / New York Times:
The New Normal — We're going to be doing a lot of deficit cutting over the next several years. The country's future greatness will be shaped by whether we cut wisely or stupidly. So we should probably come up with a few sensible principles to guide us as we cut.
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, driftglass, The Future of Capitalism, Eschaton and Sadly, No!
Patrick Gavin / The Politico:
ANSWER THIS: ANDREW SULLIVAN — Andrew Sullivan has achieved the hat trick of Washington journalism: author, editor, blogger. And he's adding another item to his long and diverse résumé, announcing this week that he's leaving The Atlantic and taking his blog to the new Daily Beast/Newsweek venture in April.
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:
Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway — The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development. — These are a few of the findings in a massive study of overlapping …
Discussion:
Federal Eye, Right Turn, AmSpecBlog, The Note, Liberty Pundits Blog, Big Government, Washington Wire and New York Magazine
Brobinson / Fox Nation:
Exclusive: AWOL Democrats Experiencing ‘Dissension in the Ranks’ — Fox Nation has learned exclusively from a highly placed source within Wisconsin state politics that the fourteen AWOL Democrats are experiencing “dissension in the ranks.” State Sen. Julie Lassa (D) is pregnant and “extremely unhappy” about being on the run.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air and Moe Lane
Kim Severson / New York Times:
Edwards Lies Low, but That Won't Last — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Over the past few weeks, people in this tight-knit university community have not seen much of John Edwards. — They used to. He would hang out on a metal stool at Bowbarr, a short walk from the environmentally friendly condominium complex …
Discussion:
The BLT
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Chatter grows over possible John Edwards indictment
Chatter grows over possible John Edwards indictment
Discussion:
WBTV-TV and Sister Toldjah
James Harrison / legacy.com:
Visit Guest Book — James “Jim” Harrison, beloved husband of Ginger Rundlof, died Sunday, February 27, 2011, in The Woodlands, Texas, after a brief, courageous battle against lung and bone cancer. Jim was 68 years old, born December 5, 1942. He was preceded in death by his father W.C. Jack Harrison, and mother Bonnie Harrison.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
New York Magazine:
Frank Rich Joins New York Magazine — Frank Rich is joining New York Magazine, beginning in June. Rich will be an essayist for the magazine, writing monthly on politics and culture, and will serve as an editor-at-large, editing a special monthly section anchored by his essay.
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gawker, CBS New York, Mediaite and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
Michelle Hunter / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Southern Decadence protest leader booked with masturbating at Metairie park — The Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon.
Discussion:
WDSU-TV, Little Green Footballs, Wonkette, Towleroad News #gay, AOL News, nancynall.com and The Political Carnival
Charles G. Koch / Wall Street Journal:
Why Koch Industries Is Speaking Out — Crony capitalism and bloated government prevent entrepreneurs from producing the products and services that make people's lives better. — Years of tremendous overspending by federal, state and local governments have brought us face-to-face with an economic crisis.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Barbour: ‘RomneyCare’ bad for states — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) on Tuesday piled on the Massachusetts healthcare program critics have dubbed “RomneyCare.” — Barbour, a possible Republican candidate for president, said in congressional testimony that while it was the right …
Discussion:
The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page and FrumForum
Myglesias / Yglesias:
“All Of Us” — Pretty much everything about a NIMBY group complaining that a five-story building is a “mammoth” structure that will “block light and air” is ridiculous. But the most ridiculous part is this rhetorical slippage at the end: … There's an enormous contrast here.