Top Items:
Politico:
Chuck Hagel blocked: Harry Reid says he doesn't have the votes — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Thursday that Republicans have told him that they plan to block Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the next secretary of Defense over demands for more information from the White House.
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Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
McCain Satisfied With WH Benghazi Response, Ready To Press On With Hagel Vote — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Thursday that the White House's response to his and other Republican senators' questions on the September attack in Benghazi, Libya was satisfactory.
David Weigel / Slate:
“Friends of Hamas”: The Scary-Sounding Pro-Hagel Group That Doesn't Actually Exist — Palestinian high school students show off their skills during a graduation ceremony from a military school course organized by the Hamas security forces and the Hamas Minister of Education on January 24, 2013 in Gaza City.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Little Green Footballs, The Week, The Dish, The Maddow Blog, A plain blog about politics and Daily Kos
Steve Kornacki / Salon:
When Republicans play with fire — Just how unprecedented is their filibuster of Chuck Hagel? In a word: Very — Whether they'll cop to it or not, Republicans are currently engaged in a filibuster of Chuck Hagel's nomination to be Defense secretary. — Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma's conservative …
Discussion:
Slate, The Maddow Blog, The Plum Line, JustOneMinute, The Dish, The Hill, ABCNEWS and Post Politics
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Republicans Mounting Filibuster Against Chuck Hagel: Harry Reid [UPDATE]
Republicans Mounting Filibuster Against Chuck Hagel: Harry Reid [UPDATE]
Discussion:
Fox News, American Prospect, The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Why Republicans Can No Longer Be Trusted on National Security
Discussion:
American Prospect
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Friday showdown on Hagel
Friday showdown on Hagel
Discussion:
The Reaction, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Associated Press, The Agonist and CNN
Kevin Baron / Foreign Policy:
Reid sets Hagel showdown for Friday morning; DOD rejects claim U.S. left without a defense secretary today
Reid sets Hagel showdown for Friday morning; DOD rejects claim U.S. left without a defense secretary today
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Post Politics and Washington Free Beacon
Ramsey Cox / The Hill:
Dems lack 60 votes in Senate to confirm Hagel as Defense secretary
Dems lack 60 votes in Senate to confirm Hagel as Defense secretary
Discussion:
NPR, Weasel Zippers and Michelle Malkin
Robert Draper / New York Times:
Can the Republicans be Saved From Obsolescence? — One afternoon last month, I paid a visit to two young Republicans named Bret Jacobson and Ian Spencer, who work in a small office in Arlington, Va., situated above an antique store and adjacent to a Japanese auto shop.
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Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
The Cool Kids of the GOP Show the Christian Right the Door — Today's Big Read for those who are bored with the regular news (or lack thereof) is Robert Draper's very long piece in the New York Times Magazine about the difficulty the Republican Party is experiencing in keeping up with the Obamas.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and The Mahablog
Mike Allen / Politico:
VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION - EPIC 36 HOURS AHEAD: GOP TRIES FOR HAGEL DELAY - …
VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION - EPIC 36 HOURS AHEAD: GOP TRIES FOR HAGEL DELAY - …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Week, Israel Matzav and National Review
Andrew Stiles / National Review:
GOP to Filibuster Hagel Nomination
GOP to Filibuster Hagel Nomination
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico, The PJ Tatler and Israel Matzav
David Corn / Mother Jones:
FreedomWorks Made Video of Fake Giant Panda Having Sex With Fake Hillary Clinton — The investigation at the influential tea party group could get weird. — An internal investigation of FreedomWorks—the prominent conservative advocacy group and super-PAC—has focused on president Matt Kibbe's management …
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Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Report: FreedomWorks made fake Hillary Clinton sex video
Report: FreedomWorks made fake Hillary Clinton sex video
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly and The Other McCain
Matt Friedman / New Jersey Online:
Lautenberg will not seek re-election next year — Photos: Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey — TRENTON — U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a pugnacious and plain-spoken Democrat who has represented New Jersey for three decades, will not seek re-election to a sixth term next year.
Discussion:
Roll Call, Firedoglake, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, Mediaite and Post Politics
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Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Lautenberg to retire from Senate, opening a path for Cory Booker
Lautenberg to retire from Senate, opening a path for Cory Booker
Discussion:
CNN
Wayne LaPierre / The Daily Caller:
Stand and Fight — Before I tell you how the NRA and our members are going to Stand And Fight politically and in the courts, let's acknowledge that all over this country, tens of millions of Americans are already preparing to Stand And Fight to protect their families and homes.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Little Green Footballs, Hot Air, Business Insider, msnbc.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, AMERICAblog, The Week, Twitchy, CNN, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, TheBlaze.com, Talking Points Memo and Althouse
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ThinkProgress:
The Nine Most Insane Quotes From The NRA's New Apocalyptic Op-Ed — Wednesday afternoon, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre published a bizarre, paranoid screed on the Daily Caller outlining a series of wildly implausible scenarios in which (among other things) …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, msnbc.com, Booman Tribune and Prairie Weather
Martin Peretz / Wall Street Journal:
The New New Republic — I don't recognize the magazine I used to own. We were liberal but not narrowly partisan. — Like many readers of the New Republic, I didn't at first recognize the most recent issue of the magazine. The stark white cover was unlike anything the New Republic ran during my 35 years as the owner.
Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:
Report: Hagel Said State Department Controlled by Israel — Fox News Channel on Tuesday reported that secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel failed to disclose to the United States Senate speeches delivered to controversial groups such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee …
Discussion:
Power Line, First Read, Politico, Roll Call, Right Turn, BREITBART.COM, Taegan Goddard's …, Weasel Zippers, Prairie Weather, Israel Matzav and National Review
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Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Hagel Spoke Of Cooperation With Iran In 2007 Speech
Hagel Spoke Of Cooperation With Iran In 2007 Speech
Discussion:
American Spectator, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler
Joshua Miller / Roll Call:
Kentucky Democrats Fear Judd May Drag Down Ticket — Actress Ashley Judd's movement toward a Senate run against Minority Leader Mitch McConnell makes Democrats in Washington, D.C., happy. — But back in Kentucky, for many Bluegrass State Democrats, a potential Judd run brings a different feeling: heartburn.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and WHAS
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Russell Berman / The Hill:
Boehner challenges Senate Dems to take lead, pass Obama second-term agenda
Boehner challenges Senate Dems to take lead, pass Obama second-term agenda
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Post Politics, BuzzFeed, Speaker Mobile and National Review
Godfrey Hodgson / Guardian:
Ronald Dworkin obituary — Brilliant philosopher of law who put human dignity at the centre of his moral system — Ronald Dworkin, who has died aged 81, was widely respected as the most original and powerful philosopher of law in the English-speaking world.
Discussion:
Crooked Timber and Althouse
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Elon Musk / Tesla Motors:
A Most Peculiar Test Drive — You may have heard recently about an article written by John Broder from The New York Times that makes numerous claims about the performance of the Model S. We are upset by this article because it does not factually represent Tesla technology …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Wired, New York Times, Gawker, Wonkblog, Guardian, TechCrunch, Mashable!, Brad DeLong, Balloon Juice and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Pistorius Charged With Murder in Shooting of Woman — The development stunned a nation that had elevated Mr. Pistorius to iconic status as a national sporting hero, an emblem of the ability to overcome acute adversity and a symbol of South Africa's ability to project achievements onto the world stage.
Discussion:
Deadspin, Telegraph, Reuters, NBCNews.com, News Desk, Mashable!, Taylor Marsh, The Week, Gawker, alan.com and Outside the Beltway
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Michael Tabb / Student Life:
Nate Silver talks politics to filled Graham Chapel — New York Times writer and statistician Nate Silver told a full Graham Chapel audience that he might stop writing his renowned blog should his analyses ever start affecting election results. — Silver spent an hour minimizing his achievements …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Politico and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »