Top Items:
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Why Republicans May Be Skipping 2012 Presidential Run — Haley Barbour's decision to forego a run for the presidency in 2012 puts him in the company of a half dozen top Republicans who have considered — and rejected — a challenge to President Obama next year. — The question is: why?
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, New York Times, Prairie Weather, Washington Post and The Moderate Voice
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James Pethokoukis:
Why Paul Ryan could enter the 2012 presidential race — It's not just Bill Kristol, gang. There's desire at the highest ranks of the Republican Party, according to my reporting and sources, to see House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan seek the 2012 presidential nomination. Here's why:
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, A plain blog about politics and Gawker
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Knowledge Counts Pt. 3 — I've noted several times that when it comes to issues like Medicare and Social Security, establishment journalism is most focused on whether political rhetoric is inflammatory than on whether it might be true. Or put a different way, the details …
Jennifer Haberkorn / The Politico:
Overflow crowds for Paul Ryan town halls — KENOSHA, Wis. — Record crowds of supporters and opponents flooded town hall meetings throughout southeastern Wisconsin on Tuesday to hear Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan defend his plan to trim government savings — including controversial changes to the Medicare program.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:
Scare Tactics Dim Hopes of Medicare Compromise: ‘World News’ Political Insights — The “adult conversation” around Medicare reform has taken a detour in the land of adult diapers. — President Obama warned at the start of the great debate over spending and the role of government …
Discussion:
CNN, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
FACTS VS FEELINGS.... Democrats are, not surprisingly …
FACTS VS FEELINGS.... Democrats are, not surprisingly …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Gary Tuchman / CNN:
CNN investigation: Obama born in U.S. — Editor's note: Tune in to “AC360°” on Tuesday beginning at 10 p.m. ET to see the remainder of Gary Tuchman's investigation into President Barack Obama's birthplace. — (CNN) — Was Barack Obama really born in America?
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Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Fact-Checking's Got Nothing To Do With It — Again, via Gawker, (hey, when you're hot...) CNN launches yet another investigation of Obama's birth-certificate, revealing—again— that Obama was born in Hawaii. Expect this investigation to convince about four people, total.
Susan Page / USA Today:
Poll: What kind of president would Donald Trump make? — WASHINGTON — Republicans may be ready for a fling with Donald Trump, but a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows they have reservations about installing him in the White House. — The real estate developer and reality TV star …
Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Arizona governor: ‘Birther’ sentiment ‘leading our country down a path of destruction’
Arizona governor: ‘Birther’ sentiment ‘leading our country down a path of destruction’
Discussion:
The Hill, Right Wing Nut House and Weasel Zippers
Mark Schlueb / Orlando Sentinel:
Dan Webster confronted by angry town hall crowd — (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel / April 26, 2011) — A town hall meeting held in Orlando by U.S. Rep. Dan Webster degenerated into bedlam Tuesday, with members of the crowd shouting down the freshman Republican congressman and yelling at one another.
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Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, Weigel, Hullabaloo, Ballot Box, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Suburban Guerrilla, Naked Politics and The Gateway Pundit
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Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
VIDEO: Bedlam Erupts At Town Hall In Orlando As GOP Rep. Defends Ending Medicare, Tax Breaks For Rich — ThinkProgress filed this report from a town hall in Orlando, FL. — During a town hall in Orlando earlier today, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) faced a barrage of questions from outraged constituents about the Republican budget.
Discussion:
DCCC, DownWithTyranny!, The Maddow Blog, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Left In Alabama
Tdickens / WISGOP:
Dems Committing Fraud, Harassment in Green Bay — [Madison] - The Democrat Party of Wisconsin is using a fraudulent tactic to harass and intimidate constituents who favor recalling Democrat Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay. — The Democratic Party has targeted for harassment people …
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The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Right Wing News and NetRight Daily
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Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Obama revealed: A moderate Republican — America is mired in three wars. The past decade was the hottest on record. Unemployment remains stuck near 9 percent, and there's a small, albeit real, possibility that the U.S. government will default on its debt. So what's dominating the news?
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Balloon Juice, Swampland, Booman Tribune, Climate Progress, AMERICAblog News, Grist, Weasel Zippers, JammieWearingFool and National Review
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Andrew Samwick / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
Moderates? Republicans?
Moderates? Republicans?
Discussion:
Yglesias, Sky Dancing and Economist's View
Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
President Obama Urges Congress to Eliminate Oil Company Subsidies — President Obama sent a letter to Congressional leaders today, saying he was “heartened” by House Speaker John Boehner's statement that he was willing to consider cutting multi-billion dollar subsidies to oil companies, and urging lawmakers to act.
Discussion:
The Politico, Sunlight Foundation Blog and Washington Wire
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Jesse Lee / White House.gov Blog:
President Obama to Congress: “I Hope We Can All Agree That, Instead of Continuing to Subsidize …
President Obama to Congress: “I Hope We Can All Agree That, Instead of Continuing to Subsidize …
Discussion:
The Hill, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Caucus, Washington Post, TPMDC, Jack & Jill Politics, Daily Kos, Swampland, The Agonist, Washington Wire and ABCNEWS
Michelle Malkin:
Paul Krugman: For entitlement reform before he was against it — Not that you needed any more evidence that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is a flip-flopping charlatan, but here's the latest. — Today, he assails GOP proposals to raise the Medicare age and, by extension, the Social Security retirement age.
Discussion:
NetRight Daily
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Signorile / The Gist:
Conversation with a Birther — This call to the show from Winston in Alabama confirms why the birther conspiracy will never go away, a fascinating look at why crazy beliefs endure. Even after all the facts were explained to Winston, and after he appeared to agree that the facts were right …
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend and Left In Alabama
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Eric Holder rejects attacks on Paul Clement over DOMA defense — Attorney General Eric Holder is coming to the defense of former Solicitor General Paul Clement, after gay rights advocates criticized his decision to take on the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Law Blog, National Review and Above the Law
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WCAX-TV:
Vt. Senate approves single-payer plan — The Vermont Senate gave final approval to health care reform legislation Tuesday. — The vote came after lengthy debate on amendments— many of them aimed at making the bill more palatable for businesses. Republicans introduced several amendments …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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Alicia Dennis / People.com:
Katie Couric: I Am Leaving CBS Evening News — After weeks of widespread speculation about her future, Katie Couric is finally ready to go on the record. — “I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News,” Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I'm really proud of the talented team …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, TVNewser, MyFox Philadelphia, Hot Air, Gothamist, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, PopEater and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Foreign Policy:
More Than 1 Billion People Are Hungry in the World — But what if the experts are wrong? — For many in the West, poverty is almost synonymous with hunger. Indeed, the announcement by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2009 that more than 1 billion people are suffering …
Discussion:
EconLog
Alex Pareene / Salon:
Donald Trump's personal experience with questionable Ivy League admittance standards — Donald Trump added a blatantly race-baiting component to his already racially charged campaign against Barack Obama's Americanness this week when he claimed — based on things he's “heard” — that Obama was a …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, The Politico, The Moderate Voice and Wonkette
Byron Tau / Ben Smith's Blog:
Jackson: Trump birth talk is race “code” — Rev. Jesse Jackson told POLITICO today that the birther movement is part of a larger pattern of rollbacks against civil rights and and an attack on the legitimacy of the nation's first African-American president — reserving special ire …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Wayne Allyn Root / Washington Times:
The Marxist in the mirror — Obama publicly declares war on capitalism — It's official. President Obama has declared war on capitalism, which is funny because he never officially declared war on Libya. But our fearless Marxist-in-chief reserves a special brand of hatred for capitalism, entrepreneurship and rich people.
Sarah Palin / Facebook:
America Deserves Libya Explanation — Please make up your mind, Mr. President. You can't vacillate when spending America's human and fiscal resources in yet another foreign country without good reason. You said that Libyan leader Gaddafi has got to go. Many of us heard that as your call to action and agreed, “Okay, you're right.
Discussion:
Cubachi, Mediaite, Top of the Ticket and Sister Toldjah
Patrick Seybold / PlayStation Blog:
Update on PlayStation Network and Qriocity — Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services. We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding …
Discussion:
Guardian, msnbc.com, Techland and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
MANCHIN KNOWS NOT OF WHAT HE SPEAKS.... Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), after about six months on the job, has struggled at times, occasionally badly. But on fiscal issues, the center-right Democrat appears to be getting worse. — Today, Machin will formally endorse a Republican proposal …
Lisa M. Krieger / Mercury News:
SETI Institute to shut down alien-seeking radio dishes — If E.T. phones Earth, he'll get a “disconnect” signal. — Lacking the money to pay its operating expenses, Mountain View's SETI Institute has pulled the plug on the renowned Allen Telescope Array, a field of radio dishes that scan …
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Associated Press, The Raw Story and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
Alicia Mundy / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Effort to Remove Drug CEO Jolts Firms — A government attempt to oust a longtime drug-company chief executive over his company's marketing violations is raising alarms in that industry and beyond about a potential expansion of federal involvement in the business world.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Law Blog and The Lonely Conservative
Wall Street Journal:
Financiers Switch to GOP — Hedge-Fund Titans Who Backed Democrats Open Their Wallets for Republicans — Hedge-fund managers made a big bet on Barack Obama and other Democrats in 2008. Now, with the 2012 contest gearing up, some prominent fund managers have turned their backs on the party and are actively supporting Republicans.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Don Surber, Weigel, The New Republic, Wonk Room, The Note, The Lonely Conservative, Money & Company, ThinkProgress and National Review