Top Items:
Domenico Montanaro / msnbc.com:
Reversal of fortune in Wisconsin — Domenico Montanaro writes:Over the weekend, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said the fight in Wisconsin has “aroused a sleeping giant” for union rights across the country. — But the fight may have aroused a different “sleeping giant” …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Dish, Ben Smith's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …
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CNN:
Walker: Border meeting with Dems ‘ridiculous’ — (CNN) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Monday dismissed as “ridiculous” a letter from a Democratic state Senate leader who suggested a meeting “near the Wisconsin-Illinois border” to discuss the state's budget impasse.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, US News, Cubachi, JSOnline, theblogprof, Associated Press, Da Techguy's Blog, RedState, Moe Lane and Truthdig
Natasha Vargas-Cooper / The Atlantic Online:
At a Wisconsin Town Hall, the Mood Turns Against Compromise — REEDSBURG, Wisc. — At a town hall meeting held in this rural community on Sunday afternoon, Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz faced loud opposition to a proposed compromise he said could end the legislative stalemate …
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
The Note:
Wisconsin Standoff Intensifies: Governor Scott Walker Will Not Relent on Collective Bargaining Rights, Senate Democrats Will Not Return — ABC's Chris Bury reports: — Today Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, in a news conference, ratcheted up pressure on the 14 absent Senate Democrats to return to Madison.
Discussion:
TPMDC and Zandar Versus The Stupid
Judicial Watch:
Rep. Alcee Hastings Sued by Employee for Sexual Harassment: “Unwelcome Sexual Advances” and “Unwelcome Touching” — Hastings Allegedly Retaliated Against Victim for Complaining About Conduct — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …
Discussion:
The Fix, The Politico, Left Coast Rebel, The Lonely Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, Hotline On Call, USA Today, 2chambers, The Raw Story and POWIP
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Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Conservative group files suit against Hastings, alleging sexual harassment — A conservative public-interest group filed a lawsuit on Monday against Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) alleging that he sexually harassed a former female staff member. — For two years, while Hastings served …
Discussion:
The Note
David M. Drucker / Roll Call:
Ensign to Announce Retirement — Sen. John Ensign is expected to announce at an afternoon news conference in Las Vegas that he will retire rather than face a brutal 2012 re-election campaign, according to knowledgeable sources. — The Nevada Republican, who has been embattled since revealing …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, TPMDC, SENATUS, msnbc.com and Gawker
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Karoun Demirjian / Las Vegas Sun:
John Ensign expected to announce he won't seek re-election in 2012
John Ensign expected to announce he won't seek re-election in 2012
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Politics Daily, Daily Kos, Swampland, Hotline On Call, AOL News, Hot Air and The Caucus
Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Plagued by scandal, Sen. Ensign announces he will retire in 2012
Plagued by scandal, Sen. Ensign announces he will retire in 2012
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, The Note and Prairie Weather
Jackie Long / BBC:
Will Sarah Palin run for president and can she win? — Ms Palin outlines factors that will influence whether she enters the running — Sarah Palin, one of the best known and most controversial figures in American politics, told BBC Newsnight she was weighing up whether the US was ready for an …
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Jonathan Turley / Los Angeles Times:
Clarence Thomas' dangerous conceit — The Supreme Court justice argues that criticism of him is an attack on the court itself. But a single justice doesn't define the institution. — Louis XIV of France was infamous for his view that there was no distinction between himself and the state …
Discussion:
National Review, SCOTUSblog, The BRAD BLOG, The Huffington Post, A Conservative Teacher and The Democratic Daily
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Kevinliptak / CNN:
High court turns aside another lawsuit questioning Obama citizenship
High court turns aside another lawsuit questioning Obama citizenship
Discussion:
Liberal Values and Indecision Forever
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
The liberal campaign against SCOTUS conservatives
The liberal campaign against SCOTUS conservatives
Discussion:
Hot Air and AmSpecBlog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
The frontrunner-less Republican presidential field — For months now, it's been clear that the 2012 Republican presidential field lacks a strong frontrunner. — A case can be made for how either former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) or Mike Huckabee (Ark.) — or even former Gov. Sarah Palin …
Discussion:
Yglesias, Eunomia and Politics Daily
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Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Lack of GOP Front-Runner for 2012 Is Atypical
Lack of GOP Front-Runner for 2012 Is Atypical
Discussion:
Politics Daily, TPMDC, The Hill, AmSpecBlog, Hot Air, The Daily Dish, Ballot Box and National Review
Michelle Malkin:
Missing: Marizela Perez — I just got off the phone with my family. — This is my beautiful cousin, Marizela Perez: — She is a University of Washington undergrad and she has been missing since Saturday afternoon, when she left the Rainier Beach neighborhood headed to the UW Seattle campus.
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline.com:
FIRED! Charlie Sheen Axed From ‘Two And A Half Men’, He Vows To Sue — UPDATED: It's over for Charlie Sheen on the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men. The series producer Warner Bros. TV just released the following statement: “After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television …
Discussion:
Inside TV, TMZ.com, Big Hollywood, Weasel Zippers, AmSpecBlog and PopEater
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Dara Kam / Palm Beach Post:
Gov. Rick Scott's proposed education budget: $1.75 billion in cuts — TALLAHASSEE — Is a $2,335-a-year pay cut for the average teacher worth a $44.72 property tax savings for the average Florida homeowner with a homestead exemption? — That's a key question behind the math …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama's hard line on leaks — The Obama administration, which famously pledged to be the most transparent in American history, is pursuing an unexpectedly aggressive legal offensive against federal workers who leak secret information to expose wrongdoing, highlight national security threats or pursue a personal agenda.
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, BizzyBlog, The Volokh Conspiracy, The BLT and TigerHawk
David J. Lynch / Bloomberg:
Bonds Show Why Boehner Saying We're Broke Is Figure of Speech — House Speaker John Boehner routinely offers this diagnosis of the U.S.'s fiscal condition: “We're broke; Broke going on bankrupt,” he said in a Feb. 28 speech in Nashville. — Boehner's assessment dominates a debate …
Discussion:
American Prospect, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Sky Dancing, Oliver Willis and The Impolitic
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Trump trip financing in question — A lawyer for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, told reporters in Iowa today that his trip — on the Trump corporate jet — had been financed by a business supporter and booster of Trump's, Stewart Rahr. — The trip poses a serious campaign finance issue for Trump …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, CNN and Taegan Goddard's …
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
Obama restarts Guantanamo trials — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama approved Monday the resumption of military trials for detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ending a two-year ban. — It was the latest acknowledgement that the detention facility Obama had vowed …
Discussion:
The Hill, News Desk, Washington Post, Pajamas Media and Liberty Pundits Blog
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Government posts biggest monthly deficit ever — Glen Perkins delivers copies of the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to the Senate Budget Committee hearing room in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Feb. 14, 2011. President Barack Obama will send Congress a $3.7 trillion budget that would reduce deficits …
Art Robinson / WorldNetDaily:
Democrats attack Republican candidate's children — In an effort to do my part in rescuing our country from the out-of-control Obama administration, last year I ran for Congress in Oregon's 4th District against 12-term incumbent, far-left Democrat Peter DeFazio, co-founder of the House Progressive Caucus.
Discussion:
Watts Up With That?, The American Culture and The Gateway Pundit
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Why Monogamy Matters — Social conservatives can seem like the perennial pessimists of American politics — more comfortable with resignation than with hope, perpetually touting evidence of family breakdown, social disintegration and civilizational decline. — But even doomsayers get the occasional dose of good news.
Discussion:
ECHIDNE of the snakes, Dana Goldstein, RHRealityCheck.org, The Awl, The Daily Dish, TBogg and Sadly, No!
New York Times:
Holding Firm on the Budget — After letting a highly destructive budget fight fester far too long, the White House finally stepped in late last week to negotiate with the House, which wants to eviscerate nondefense spending. Senate leaders still seem shell-shocked by that breathtaking ruthlessness …
Discussion:
Reuters, Hot Air, National Review, Fox News, Doug Ross, Congress.org, Fox Nation, Boehner, Pajamas Media and The Lonely Conservative
David Brooks:
Hello — Tom Wolfe was once asked, What is the most important change of your lifetime? He is purported to have answered, “Oh, that's easy. Co-ed dorms.” — My own gloss on that answer is that we spend a lot of our time debating political events and the choices leaders make.
Tom Beaumont / Des Moines Register:
Newt Gingrich admits ‘unfortunate confusion’ in news about exploration plans — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged in a Des Moines Register interview Monday that his team bobbled the news last week before the announcement Thursday that he planned to begin raising money to explore seeking the 2012 GOP presidential nod.
Scott Lemieux / American Prospect:
Supreme Court Overrules Kafkaesque DNA Decision — If any principle seems to guide the Texas legal system, it seems to be “establish a Catch-22 wherever possible.” The latest example can be seen in Skinner v. Switzer, a case in which Texas refused an individual convicted of a capital crime access …
Discussion:
ACS Blog, Politics Daily and Threat Level
Catherine Rampell / New York Times:
Discovered: The Happiest Man in America — For the last three years, Gallup has called 1,000 randomly selected American adults each day and asked them about their emotional status, work satisfaction, eating habits, illnesses, stress levels and other indicators of their quality of life.
Discussion:
Economix, The Blaze, Runnin' Scared and New York Magazine
Brad Johnson / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Scott Brown Begs David Koch For Money — At the public dedication of MIT's David H. Koch Integrative Cancer Institute last Friday, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) effusively thanked conservative billionaire David Koch for supporting his election in 2010 and made a plea for help in his re-election campaign next year.
Discussion:
Politicususa, Wonk Room and Gawker