Top Items:
The Note:
Bill Clinton to Paul Ryan on Medicare Election: ‘Give me a Call’ — ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) reports: — The day after the stunning upset in the special congressional election in upstate New York, Rep. Paul Ryan is a man under fire. — But ABC News was behind the scenes …
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate rejects Ryan budget — The Senate on Wednesday resoundingly rejected a budget sponsored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) that calls for significant cuts to future Medicare benefits. — Five Republican senators voted against the ambitious budget plan …
Discussion:
Healthwatch, The Nation, AmSpecBlog, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story, Barefoot and Progressive and Ballot Box
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Five GOP senators jump ship in Ryan budget vote — Five Republican senators jumped ship and voted against House Republicans' 2012 budget on Wednesday. — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined four other Republican senators who'd previously announced their opposition to the budget …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers and FrumForum
David Frum / FrumForum:
Paul Ryan: 2012's Goldwater? — I used to worry that Sarah Palin would be the Barry Goldwater of 2012. My bad. Paul Ryan is the Barry Goldwater of 2012. — The Goldwater effect continues on this morning after the NY-26 debacle. Henry Olsen of AEI, as smart a political numbers guy …
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Newt Gingrich now defending Paul Ryan — Newt Gingrich is resurfacing in the battle over Medicare, but this time on Rep. Paul Ryan's side. — The former House speaker sent a letter to members of Congress Wednesday morning claiming that “Democrats and their allies in the elite media …
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, The Note, Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb, The Mahablog, The Gateway Pundit, newsfeed.time.com, TPMDC, FrumForum and The Maddow Blog
David Rogers / The Politico:
Senate rejects Ryan budget — With five Republicans joining Democrats in opposition, the Senate easily rejected a House-passed budget plan Wednesday calling for deep cuts in domestic appropriations and major restructuring of Medicare, the government-backed healthcare program for the elderly.
Discussion:
CNN, Outside the Beltway and The Note
Peter Orszag / Bloomberg:
About Peter R Orszag — Peter R. Orszag, vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was President Obama's director of the Office of Management and Budget. — Sharing Costs Is No Way to Fix Medicare — Chart by Jarrod Barretto.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Yglesias, Mother Jones and Wall Street Journal
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Six Months After Midterm Disaster, Hopeful Signs for Democrats
Six Months After Midterm Disaster, Hopeful Signs for Democrats
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Emptywheel, Public Policy Polling, Michelle Malkin, Right Wing Nut House, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Booman Tribune, Hit & Run, Opinionator, The Monkey Cage, AMERICAblog News, GayPatriot, Feministing, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, The Mahablog, Examiner, Libertarian Leanings, No More Mister Nice Blog, Questions and Observations, Washington Monthly and The Other McCain
Henry Olsen / National Review:
A Blue-Collar Warning Sign
A Blue-Collar Warning Sign
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Erick's blog, The New Republic, FrumForum and The Reality-Based Community
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Ryan blames NY-26 on Dem ‘scare tactics’
Ryan blames NY-26 on Dem ‘scare tactics’
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, National Review, FrumForum and Indecision Forever
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Have Democrats cracked the code for 2012?
Have Democrats cracked the code for 2012?
Discussion:
Hot Air, Power Line, National Review and Taylor Marsh
Budget Committee:
The Facts on Medicare and How to Save It
The Facts on Medicare and How to Save It
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, RedState, The Foundry and TPMDC
E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
NY 26: Democrats should thank Paul Ryan
NY 26: Democrats should thank Paul Ryan
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Democratic Daily, JSOnline, Washington Monthly, The Politico, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, sisu and Daily Kos
Jerry Zremski / The New Republic:
Buffalo Wild Win
Buffalo Wild Win
Discussion:
The Politico, Hotline On Call and Guardian
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Democrats Put G.O.P. on Spot as Medicare Plan Fails
Democrats Put G.O.P. on Spot as Medicare Plan Fails
Discussion:
CNN, The Note, Washington Post, Crooks and Liars, The Politico, Ross Douthat, The Caucus, Minnesota Independent, Hullabaloo, Capital Tonight, Hit & Run and The Reaction
Lauren Skowronski / nbcuniversal.presscentre.com:
STATEMENT FROM MSNBC REGARDING ED SCHULTZ — STATEMENT FROM MSNBC REGARDING ED SCHULTZ: — MSNBC management met with Ed Schultz this afternoon and accepted his offer to take one week of unpaid leave for the remarks he made yesterday on his radio program.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hot Air, The Jawa Report, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, HotAirPundit, Raw Replay and TPMDC
RELATED:
Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:
UPDATED: MSNBC's Ed Schultz Calls Radio Host Laura Ingraham A ‘Right Wing Slut’ — Late Update [7:08 pm ET]: MSNBC has suspended Schultz for one week. — MSNBC host Ed Schultz is known for his hyperbolic attacks on Republicans but it looks like he may have crossed the line on his show yesterday …
Laura Ingraham / Facebook:
Response to Ed Schultz — Re. the crude comments made about me by Ed Schultz on his radio program: First, I was surprised to learn that Ed Schultz actually hosted a radio show. Is it only available online? Second, I have to get back to recording the audio edition of my new book “Of Thee I Zing.”
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Weasel Zippers
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
CNBC Anchor Mark Haines Dies Unexpectedly at Age 65 — Veteran journalist Mark Haines, a fixture on CNBC for 22 years, died unexpectedly Tuesday evening. He was 65 years old. — Haines, founding anchor of CNBC's morning show “Squawk Box,” was co-anchor of the network's “Squawk on the Street” …
Discussion:
Mediaite, MarketBeat, The Daily Caller, DealBook and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »
Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
Libtalker Ed Schultz Uses Vulgarity To Attack Conservative Host — DEPRAV-ED — MSNBC'S Schultz: Laura Ingraham's ‘A Slut’ — *** RIP: CNBC'S MARK HAINES, ONE OF THE LAST HONEST BUSINESS JOURNALISTS *** — *** EVENING UPDATE: MSNBC SUSPENDS SCHULTZ FOR ONE WEEK *** — Bye-bye, Ed Schultz.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, Mediaite, Wake up America, The Gateway Pundit, theblogprof and The Other McCain
Marc Lacey / New York Times:
Suspect in Shooting of Giffords Ruled Unfit for Trial — TUCSON, Ariz. — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Jared L. Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial on charges of opening fire at a constituent event for an Arizona congresswoman in January, killing 6 and injuring 13.
Discussion:
Arizona Republic and Law Blog
RELATED:
Arizona Daily Star:
Loughner found incompetent to stand trial
Loughner found incompetent to stand trial
Discussion:
USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Page
Jacques Billeaud / Associated Press:
Judge: Ariz. shooting suspect mentally incompetent
Judge: Ariz. shooting suspect mentally incompetent
Discussion:
TalkLeft and Pajamas Media
Alana Goodman / Commentary Magazine:
Key Jewish Donor Breaks With Obama — One of the most important Democratic donors in the past two decades, whose generous contributions helped pay for the DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., has indicated that he will not contribute to President Obama's reelection campaign in 2012, because of the administration's stance on Israel.
Discussion:
Wonk Room, Ben Smith's Blog, Doug Ross and Capital J | JTA
RELATED:
Jeffrey Goldberg / Bloomberg:
About Jeffrey Goldberg — Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent …
About Jeffrey Goldberg — Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mondoweiss and Unqualified Offerings
SpyTalk:
Gingrich wife worked for committee heavily lobbied by Tiffany — At the same time Tiffany & Co. was extending Callista (Bisek) Gingrich a virtual interest-free loan of tens of thousands of dollars, the diamond and silverware firm was spending big bucks to influence mining policy in Congress …
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Ben Smith's Blog, Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Examiner, Roger Ailes, FrumForum and Washington Post
RELATED:
Edward Wyatt / New York Times:
Decorum Breaks Down at House Hearing — WASHINGTON — A House committee hearing into the structure of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disintegrated into heated accusations of lying to Congress on Tuesday, with the panel's chairman accusing Elizabeth Warren of giving misleading testimony …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Raw Replay, Swampland, AlterNet, naked capitalism, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Wire and Blue Mass Group
RELATED:
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Edwards to Face Criminal Charges — The Justice Department plans to move ahead with criminal charges against the former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, contending that he misused campaign funds to cover up an affair with his mistress, a person close to Mr. Edwards said Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
Law Blog, Balloon Juice, Above the Law, TigerHawk, Indecision Forever, Sister Toldjah, Prairie Weather, New York Magazine, Mediaite and iOwnTheWorld.com
RELATED:
Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
Herman Cain Says All Americans Deserve Due Process, Opposes Assassinating U.S. Citizens — One of the most controversial national security policies of the Obama administration revolves around the case of radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen living in Yemen.
Discussion:
A Spork in the Drawer
RELATED:
J. Bradford DeLong / Grasping Reality …:
Time to PANIC!!: Second-Quarter Real GDP Growth Looks Slow Enough to Put No Upward Pressure at All on the Employment-to-Population Ratio — Time to push the panic button. — Macroeconomic Advisers is revising their tracking forecast of real GDP growth in the second quarter.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, MarketBeat, PERRspectives, The Other McCain and Hullabaloo
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Walker's numbers continue to get worse — Scott Walker's popularity has continued to decline over the last three months and Wisconsin voters now say they would vote to recall him if there was an election today. They also say they would pick either Russ Feingold or Tom Barrett over Walker in a head to head match up.
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Daily Kos
Spencer Ackerman / Danger Room:
There's a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says — You may think you understand how the Patriot Act allows the government to spy on its citizens. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says it's worse than you've heard. — Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Cato @ Liberty and Emptywheel
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Senate Republicans Vote Overwhelmingly To End Medicare — The GOP continued its bloody walk into the Medicare buzzsaw Wednesday, when 40 out of 47 Senate Republicans voted in support of the House GOP budget, and its plan to phase out and privatize the popular entitlement program.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland