Top Items:
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus:
On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders — Um, Senators, ever heard of the mute button? — Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York …
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Another Black Conservative, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, American Glob, Weasel Zippers, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Politico, RedState, Outside the Beltway, New York Times, Salon, The Hill, The Impolitic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, YID With LID, Booman Tribune, National Review, Indecision Forever, Power Line, Grim's Hall, Pajamas Media, The Lonely Conservative, Ben Smith's Blog, Donklephant, The Atlantic Online, Wake up America, FrumForum and msnbc.com, more at Mediagazer »
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Washington Post:
House Republican leaders turn to moderate Democrats for budget deal — Having difficulty finding consensus within their own ranks, House Republican leaders have begun courting moderate Democrats on several key fiscal issues, including a deal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of next week.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Politico, Guardian, Don Surber, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Prairie Weather, Wall Street Journal and RedState
The Hill:
Cantor says ‘time is up’ to reach a spending deal for fiscal year 2011
Cantor says ‘time is up’ to reach a spending deal for fiscal year 2011
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill and FrumForum
Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Schumer coordinates Dem budget attack on GOP
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Schumer coordinates Dem budget attack on GOP
Discussion:
American Spectator, Wizbang, protein wisdom, Doug Ross and Pajamas Media
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?.... At face value …
CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?.... At face value …
Discussion:
New York Times
Alex Roarty / NationalJournal.com:
Howard Dean: Democrats Should Be ‘Quietly Rooting’ for Shutdown
Howard Dean: Democrats Should Be ‘Quietly Rooting’ for Shutdown
Discussion:
The Politico, Betsy's Page, The Hill, Don Surber, TPMDC, Hot Air and AmSpecBlog
JSOnline:
Judge again blocks GOP collective-bargaining plan — But Van Hollen assistant says law is in effect — By Patrick Marley, Bill Glauber and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - For the second time in less than two weeks, a Dane County judge Tuesday issued an order blocking …
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Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Judge Blocks Wisconsin Anti-Union Law (Again) — Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi has just blocked — again — Gov. Scott Walker's (R-WI) new law curtailing public employee unions, after the state Republican leadership moved last Friday to circumvent her previous order that blocked the law on procedural grounds.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Nation, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Marco Rubio / Wall Street Journal:
Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit — Everyone in Washington knows how to cut spending. The time to start is now. — Americans have built the single greatest nation in all of human history. But America's exceptionalism was not preordained. Every generation has had to confront …
Discussion:
The Politico, Another Black Conservative, Hotline On Call, CNN, National Review, FrumForum, Cold Fury and ABCNEWS
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Maher on Palin and Bachmann: I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, but no, I wasn't wrong — This may be the first time that this particular permutation of “apology” has been offered for dropping a C-bomb on someone. A forthright apology would be one thing, a “sorry if you were offended” …
Discussion:
American Glob, theblogprof, iOwnTheWorld.com, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, The Underground Conservative and Moe Lane
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New York Times:
Washington in Fierce Debate on Arming Libyan Rebels — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is engaged in a fierce debate over whether to supply weapons to the rebels in Libya, senior officials said on Tuesday, with some fearful that providing arms would deepen American involvement …
Discussion:
Danger Room, The Daily Dish, FrumForum and CBS News
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Bloomberg:
Obama Says ‘Days Are Numbered’ for Qaddafi's Regime to Keep Power in Libya
Obama Says ‘Days Are Numbered’ for Qaddafi's Regime to Keep Power in Libya
Discussion:
Truthdig
Ross Douthat:
Not All Choices Are False — One of President Obama's recurrent …
Not All Choices Are False — One of President Obama's recurrent …
Discussion:
FrumForum, Democracy in America and The Caucus
Andy Thibault / Washington Times:
Anti-genocide advocate credits Obama for Libyan uprising
Anti-genocide advocate credits Obama for Libyan uprising
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, TPMCafe, Pajamas Media and LewRockwell.com Blog
Erica Hill / CBS News:
Obama: Qaddafi regime's “days are numbered”
Obama: Qaddafi regime's “days are numbered”
Discussion:
Hot Air, Sky Dancing, msnbc.com, The Other McCain and Weasel Zippers
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Coburn spars with Norquist over tax breaks for ethanol — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) ripped conservative activist Grover Norquist on Tuesday for defending tax breaks that benefit special interest groups. — In a letter to Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform …
Discussion:
The Politico and Washington Post
Charlie Savage / The Caucus:
Justice Lawyers Cleared in Voting Case — The Justice Department's internal ethics watchdog on Tuesday told Congress that it had cleared all department lawyers of wrongdoing in relation to a much-disputed voter-intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, a black-nationalist fringe group.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Left Coast Rebel and JammieWearingFool
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Clifton B / Another Black Conservative:
Trump releases his official birth certificate — Yesterday I told you that Trump may have deliberately released an unofficial copy of his birth certificate so that he could quickly turn around and release the original. The idea behind this is twofold. First, to weaken the argument …
Discussion:
Proof Positive
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans Less Likely to View Obama as a Strong Leader — Six in 10 believe he is honest and trustworthy — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have grown increasingly less likely to view President Obama as a strong and decisive leader since he took office. Roughly half now believe this aptly describes …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Politico and Hot Air
Quinnipiac University:
Obama Gets Lowest Approval, Reelect Score Ever, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Voters Oppose U.S. Involvement In Libya — American voters disapprove 48 - 42 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing and say 50 - 41 percent he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012 …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call and The Politico
Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:
Media Ignores Calls For Socialist Revolution at ‘Anti-War’ Rally in Chicago — Chicago media reported on a recent march in Chicago as being an “Anti-War” march organized by students and “faith based groups” who “hope to spark change in our democracy.” What they left out was the clear fact …
Discussion:
Another Black Conservative, Left Coast Rebel, The Blast and Weasel Zippers
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
As Economy Sputters, a Timid Fed — Whenever officials at the Federal Reserve confront a big decision, they have to weigh two competing risks. Are they doing too much to speed up economic growth and touching off inflation? Or are they doing too little and allowing unemployment to stay high?
Discussion:
The New Republic, Economix and Calculated Risk
Washington Post:
Drop in home prices in January raises fear of double dip — Home prices dropped in nearly all major housing markets in the country in January, according to price index numbers released Tuesday. Analysts said the decrease might be a harbinger of a double-dip recession in the housing market.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Lonely Conservative and HotAirPundit
Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Senate vote on proposal to block EPA climate rules slated for Wednesday — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to hold a vote Wednesday on an amendment to small business legislation that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency's climate rules.
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Daily Caller
Marc Lynch / Foreign Policy:
Why Obama had to act in Libya — “We knew that if we waited one more day, Benghazi - a city nearly the size of Charlotte - could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world. It was not in our national interest to let that happen.
Discussion:
Eunomia, democracyarsenal.org and The Daily Dish
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
CNN Poll: Unfavorable view of tea party on the rise — Washington (CNN) - Nearly half of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the tea party movement, putting it in the same company as the Democratic and Republican parties, according to a new national poll.
Discussion:
The Page
Meredith Shiner / The Politico:
House votes to end HAMP — The House Tuesday voted to eliminate the last of four Obama administration housing programs, in an effectively symbolic vote to end the controversial Home Affordable Modification Program 218 to 109. — The loan program launched at the beginning …
Mark Bittman / Opinionator:
Why We're Fasting — I stopped eating on Monday and joined around 4,000 other people in a fast to call attention to Congressional budget proposals that would make huge cuts in programs for the poor and hungry. — By doing so, I surprised myself; after all, I eat for a living.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Laura Meckler / Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Speak on Energy Policy — WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, under pressure to respond to rising gas prices, will outline Wednesday a series of initiatives to cut the nation's reliance on foreign oil, including new initiatives to expand oil production, increase the use of natural gas …