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Reporter Accosted After Bachmann Comments on Migraines — It's not easy to get to Michele Bachmann. Her appearance at a rally on Tuesday in Aiken, South Carolina, attended by perhaps 150 people, featured three uniformed police officers and two body guards in plain clothes.
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Michele Bachmann's handlers get rough with reporter — This morning, the Daily Caller published a story I was inclined to leave to others: Michele Bachmann suffers from severe migraines. — But now the Bachmann camp has suddenly invited a whole lot more scrutiny to the story.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, A plain blog about politics, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

Bachmann migraines would be a gamechanger, make Perry run inevitable — Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at “Focal Point” — A sensational Daily Caller story this morning by Jonathan Strong quotes three anonymous sources to the effect that Michele Bachmann suffers routinely …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, The Note and Politics


Bachmann Says Migraines Won't Be a Problem if She's Elected President
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and msnbc.com

Stress-related condition ‘incapacitates’ Bachmann; heavy pill use alleged
Discussion:
Dana Goldstein, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Politico, The Atlantic Wire, AMERICAblog Elections, ABCNEWS, Minnesota Independent, AmSpecBlog, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Swampland, The Atlantic Online, The Reality-Based Community, Indecision Forever, Liberal Values, New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, Big Hollywood, National Review, The Note, FishbowlDC, americanthinker.com, Sky Dancing, Confederate Yankee, TPMDC, USA Today, Little Green Footballs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gawker, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Caucus, Wonkette, Politics, Outside the Beltway, Riehl World View, The Raw Story, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Towleroad News #gay, GOP 12, Pajamas Media, The Mahablog, msnbc.com, Sister Toldjah, Don Surber, Connecting.the.Dots, ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Allen West tirade: Wasserman Schultz ‘vile...despicable...not a Lady’ — Florida GOP Congressman Allen West this afternoon dispatched a scathing personal email to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, calling her “vile, unprofessional ,and despicable,” “a coward …
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Rep. Allen West Unloads On ‘Vile, Unprofessional, and Despicable’ Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz — ABC News' John R. Parkinson (@JRPabcDC) reports: — Rep. Allen West unleashed an scathing email to House leadership to raise his objections to “unprofessional and inappropriate sophomoric behavior” …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog

Coburn rejoins Gang of Six, backs $3.7T deficit-reduction plan — Democratic and Republican senators are rallying behind a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan announced Tuesday morning by the five remaining members of the Gang of Six. — Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who pulled out of the Gang …
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Gang of Six plan punts on key details
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and Firedoglake

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Gang of six plan raises taxes by $3 trillion

‘Gang of Six’ Plan: Tax Increase or Tax Cut?
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Note, Marginal Revolution and New York Magazine


Obama praises ‘Gang of Six’ plan
Discussion:
FT Alphaville, The Note, Outside the Beltway and The Hill

DOCUMENT: Gang of Six Deficit Plan Executive Summary
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Daily Kos

New Senate Debt Plan Emerges
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Truthdig, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Washington Post and The Caucus

Two House lawmakers call for vote on Gang of Six plan — A House Republican and a member of the New Democrat coalition are jointly calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to bring the Senate's “Gang of Six” deficit-reduction proposal to a House vote alongside an increase in the debt ceiling.
Discussion:
RedState and The Politico
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ABC News/Washington Post Poll: Dissatisfaction With Washington Hits 19-Year High — Analysis by ABC News' Pollster Gary Langer (@LangerResearch): — Discontent with Washington's budget battles has spurred public dissatisfaction with the federal government to its highest level in nearly 20 years …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller and Taegan Goddard's …


Bipartisan Plan for Budget Deal Buoys President
Discussion:
The Politico, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, New York Times, Swampland, New York Magazine and The Atlantic Online

House pursues balanced-budget bill; need for backup plan acknowledged
Discussion:
Economist's View, Balkinization and The Gateway Pundit

Obama hails deficit-reduction plan gaining momentum in Senate
Discussion:
The Hill, Opinion L.A., Pundit & Pundette and Booman Tribune

Obama Endorses Feinstein's Bill To Repeal The Defense Of Marriage Act — A day before the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to hold hearing on the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration has endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) legislation to repeal it.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, CNN, Gawker, Towleroad News #gay and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Obama to Back Repeal of Law Restricting Marriage — WASHINGTON — President Obama will endorse a bill to repeal the law that limits the legal definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman, the White House said Tuesday, taking another step in support of gay rights.

BREAKING: President Obama endorses the Respect for Marriage Act
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Good As You and Poliglot


BREAKING: Obama Endorses DOMA Repeal Bill, Respect for Marriage Act, Spokesman Says
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay and Don Surber

Obama backs Respect For Marriage Act
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Balloon Juice and Shakesville


Is Obama Against Romney a Toss-Up? — Looking at head-to-head polls can be treacherous so far in advance of a presidential election. Instead, I'd suggest that you devote most of your attention to President Obama's approval ratings and perhaps the favorability ratings of the Republican candidates …
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Bachmann continues to surge
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, Washington Wire, The New Republic, Ben Smith's Blog, The Daily Dish and TPMDC


WSJ/NBC Poll: Bachmann Surges to Second Place
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway

NBC/WSJ poll: Bachmann surges to 2nd place in GOP '12 field
Discussion:
TPMDC, National Review and Taegan Goddard's …

Birth control coverage proposed for most health insurance plans — Virtually all health insurance plans could soon be required to offer female patients free coverage of prescription birth control, breast-pump rentals, counseling for domestic violence, and annual wellness exams and HIV tests …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and AMERICAblog News
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Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
Discussion:
Dana Goldstein, Daily Kos, The Washington Independent, Healthwatch and ThinkProgress

Perry signs Medicaid block grant, PP defunding …
Discussion:
Center for American Progress and The Daily Caller

Feds: Harvard fellow hacked millions of papers … BOSTON (AP) — A Harvard University fellow who was studying ethics was charged with hacking into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer network to steal nearly 5 million academic articles. — Aaron Swartz, 24, of Cambridge …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and RedState
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Internet Activist Charged in M.I.T. Data Theft — Updated Added links to documents and comment from United States Attorney's office in Boston. — Updated Changed headline and post to remove reference to Mr. Swartz being a co-founder of Reddit, as this is disputed. Added comment from Demand Progress.
Discussion:
Boing Boing, emptywheel, Balloon Juice, Gawker, The Raw Story, Crooked Timber and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »


At this Point, Anyone with an Obama 2012 Bumper Sticker is a Threat to the Gene Pool — Greetings to our constituents, fellow Floridians, and all Americans, here we are for another weekly update. There is only one word that describes the past week: appalling.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

Ninth Circuit Panel Reverses Conviction for Allegedly Threatening to Kill Then-Candidate Obama — The case is this morning's United States v. Bagdasarian (decided by a 2-to-1 vote). … Bagdasarian was convicted, but the panel majority reversed the conviction. — To understand the legal question, we need a bit of background.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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Urging Obama's Assassination Is Lawful Online Speech, Divided Appeals Court Says
Discussion:
Law Blog

Jay Carney: ‘Leadership Is Not Proposing a Plan.’ — White House Press Secretary Jay Carney argues, with a straight face, that leadership means waiting for House and Senate negotiators to come up with a plan:
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and nation.foxnews.com
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When Would You Announce Support for the Gang of Six Plan? …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Note and Pajamas Media


Only 19 Percent of Republicans Think Obama Would Be Raptured — Behold: The best poll questions of the day, from PPP's survey of 574 GOP primary voters nationwide. — They've either found a new way of asking whether people think Obama is a Christian, or they've discovered that some number …
Discussion:
First Draft