Top Items:
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Dems force GOP to vote down RSC budget — Democrats voted present to force more Republicans to vote against the Republican Study Committee's (RSC) budget. Democrats hoped that by getting their members to vote present instead of against the budget, it might be approved by the House.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Reuters and Politico
RELATED:
Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:
Unified House Republicans poised to pass Ryan budget blueprint — Republican leaders are poised to pass Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget on Thursday, having convinced centrists and conservatives to back the blueprint that Democrats believe is their road map back to the House majority.
Discussion:
msnbc.com
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House rejects budget from Senate Democrats — The House on Wednesday rejected the Senate Democratic budget in a 154-261 vote, with 35 Democrats voting against the blueprint from their upper chamber colleagues. — The Senate Democratic budget was one of three budgets cast aside in a series …
Discussion:
Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
New York Times:
Senate Approves Spending; House Debates Next Budget — WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a spending measure on Wednesday to keep the government financed through the end of September, resolving one contentious budget fight as Congress moved quickly to the next.
Discussion:
The Caucus
Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Vulnerable House Democrats vote against Senate budget proposal
Vulnerable House Democrats vote against Senate budget proposal
Discussion:
Politico and National Republican …
Manu Raju / Politico:
Saxby Chambliss: 'I'm not gay. So I'm not going to marry one' — Support for gay marriage is picking up steam all over the country — except on Capitol Hill. — Take Sen. Saxby Chambliss. When asked if his views had changed on gay marriage, the Georgia Republican quipped: “I'm not gay.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Ajc Blogs: &lsquo, First Read, Towleroad News #gay and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Politico:
Politicians and gay marriage: Profiles in calculation — When historians write the story of America's cultural revolution on gay marriage, March of 2013 may well get its own chapter — the month when the political balance on this issue shifted unmistakably from risky to safe.
Discussion:
msnbc.com and TheBlaze.com
Catherine Saint Louis / New York Times:
Pediatrics Group Backs Gay Marriage, Saying It Helps Children — The American Academy of Pediatrics declared its support for same-sex marriage for the first time on Thursday, saying that allowing gay and lesbian parents to marry if they so choose is in the best interests of their children.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Politico:
Netanyahu on Obama: This guy, I need — JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu has never been Barack Obama's biggest fan — and for four years, he's eagerly scored political points picking fights with the president. — But two paradigm-shifting elections — one in the U.S., one in Israel …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, CNN, The Dish and The Week
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Rockets hit Israel as Obama meets Palestinians — RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — U.S. President Barack Obama is meeting Palestinian officials on the second day of his Mideast tour to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, a message underscored Thursday …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Gateway Pundit
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Boehner on Obama quip: ‘So much for the charm offensive’
Boehner on Obama quip: ‘So much for the charm offensive’
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Maddow Blog, CNN, White House Dossier and Politico
Quinnipiac News + Events:
Release Detail — March 21, 2013 - Clinton Tops Florida Favorite Sons In 2016 Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; 91% Back Universal Gun Background Checks — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has double-digit leads over either of Florida's favorite sons, former Gov. Jeb Bush …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Ballot Box, Naked Politics and First Read
David Weigel / Slate:
The Tea Party Caucus is Dead and That's Okay — Two-odd months ago, I asked a Republican Hill staffer what had happened to the Tea Party Caucus. Launched with great fanfare in 2011, it was often cited in Michele Bachmann's introductions on the presidential campaign trail — “she's the founder of the Tea Party Caucus!”
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog and Outside the Beltway
RELATED:
Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:
Michele Bachmann runs away from reporter
Michele Bachmann runs away from reporter
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice and Comedy Central's Indecision
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite:
Rep. Michele Bachmann ‘Goes Rogue,’ Literally Races Away From CNN Reporter
Rep. Michele Bachmann ‘Goes Rogue,’ Literally Races Away From CNN Reporter
Discussion:
msnbc.com and The Moderate Voice
Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:
Justice Safety Valve Act Would Give Flexibility On Mandatory Minimum Sentences — Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a bill Wednesday designed to give relief to the nation's bloated prison system by offering judges leeway to consider sentences below the mandatory minimum for all federal crimes.
Discussion:
Patrick Leahy, TalkLeft and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Emmanuel Touhey / Judicial:
Paul-Leahy sentencing bill will ensure time fits the crime
Paul-Leahy sentencing bill will ensure time fits the crime
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Hullabaloo
Matt Sledge / The Huffington Post:
CIA's Gus Hunt On Big Data: We ‘Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever’ — NEW YORK — The CIA's chief technology officer outlined the agency's endless appetite for data in a far-ranging speech on Wednesday. — Speaking before a crowd of tech geeks at GigaOM's Structure:Data conference …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Via Meadia, Gizmodo and Outside the Beltway
Greg Miller / Washington Post:
Secret report raises alarms on intelligence blind spots because of AQ focus — A panel of White House advisers warned President Obama in a secret report that U.S. spy agencies were paying inadequate attention to China, the Middle East and other national security flash points because they had become …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and emptywheel
Ezra Klein / Bloomberg:
Mistakes, Excuses and Painful Lessons From the Iraq War — I supported the Iraq War, and I'm sorry. — I have my excuses, of course. I was a college student, young and dumb. I thought that if U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell and former President Bill Clinton …
RELATED:
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Document Shows Abbas's Desire to Resume Israeli Talks — CAIRO — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is so eager to return to peace talks with the Israelis that he may soften his demand that Israel's president publicly pledge to halt construction of new settlements …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Reuters, The Week, The Times of Israel, BBC and Guardian
Tessa Stuart / BuzzFeed:
Michelle Shocked Responds To Anti-Gay Rant Reports — The singer pens an open letter to fans. “I'm very sorry: I don't always express myself as clearly as I should.” — Michelle Shocked performs on April 25, 2011, in Byron Bay, Australia. Image by Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
Discussion:
Guardian, MEOW, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker
Washington Times:
Senate votes to keep White House tours closed — Senators voted Wednesday to keep the White House closed to public tours, turning back a GOP-led effort to free up money to open the building back up after the sequesters. — The vote was just one of a series of high-profile votes the Senate …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, americanthinker.com, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers
David Rogers / Politico:
Senate reaches deal on continuing resolution — Breaking the Senate logjam, Majority Leader Harry Reid won agreement Wednesday on a series of votes which all but assure final passage by Congress this week of a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through the last six months of this fiscal year.
Discussion:
Wonkblog
RELATED:
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Reid Again Hints At Changing Rules Amid GOP Filibuster
Reid Again Hints At Changing Rules Amid GOP Filibuster
Discussion:
The Maddow Blog, The Week, Washington Monthly and The Plum Line
Ashley Parker / New York Times:
Young Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage Undaunted — WASHINGTON — They hear that their cause is lost, that demographics and the march of history have doomed their campaign to keep marriage only between a man and a woman. But the young conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage — unlike most of their generation — remain undaunted.
Discussion:
Good As You, NOM Blog, Opinionator, The Heritage Foundation and Business Insider
Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:
Visas for high-skilled workers could double under bipartisan Senate plan — A Senate immigration plan would dramatically increase the number of high-skilled foreign workers allowed into the country and give permanent legal status to an unlimited number of students who earn graduate degrees …
Discussion:
The Hill
Hingeapp / rate friends of friends:
Hingesights: Hottest Workforces in DC — Why does everyone in DC always ask where you work when they meet you? Depending on your place of business, there's a good chance it's to scope out dates with your coworkers. Hinge users have accumulated more than one million ratings …
Kathryn Haake / Talking Points Memo:
Montana Looks at Allowing Roadkill for Dinner — HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Elk, deer, antelope and moose: If Montana residents can scrape it up, they can eat it. — State lawmakers are poised to say just that after the Senate gave its initial backing Wednesday to a bill that would allow people to salvage roadkill for food.
FBI:
Alleged al Qaeda Operative Charged in New York for Terrorism Offenses Against Americans Overseas … BROOKLYN—A six-count indictment was unsealed today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Ibrahim Suleiman Adnan Adam Harun, also known as “Spin Ghul …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and emptywheel