Top Items:
New York Times:
Spitzer Redux — There will always be candidates for public office who are ethically compromised, temperamentally unsuitable and politically incompetent, but if they insist on running anyway, who has the right to tell them not to? Campaigns sort out the good public servants from the bad.
Discussion:
New York Post, Business Insider, Politicker, Weekly Standard, Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and Jezebel
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Margot Sanger-Katz / NationalJournal.com:
White House Has Known For Months Obamacare Implementation Wouldn't Work — Last week, it scaled back several required provisions. They aren't the first. And probably won't be the last. — If you've been reading all the Obamacare stories lately, you might get the impression …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and Jammie Wearing Fools
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Jon Terbush / The Week:
The Koch brothers' $1 million campaign to kill ObamaCare
The Koch brothers' $1 million campaign to kill ObamaCare
Discussion:
Truthdig, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, msnbc.com, Taegan Goddard's …, skippy the bush kangaroo and First Read
New York Times:
U.S. Considers Faster Pullout In Afghanistan — WASHINGTON — Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a “zero option” …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather, Mediaite, Business Insider, Telegraph, First Read, Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice, The Dish and Booman Tribune
Michael W. McConnell / Wall Street Journal:
Michael McConnell: Obama Suspends the Law — Like King James II, the president decides not to enforce laws he doesn't like. That's an abuse of power. — President Obama's decision last week to suspend the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act may be welcome relief to businesses affected …
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove, Betsy's Page, The Volokh Conspiracy and VA Viper
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Scott Johnson / Power Line:
A royal prerogative — Last week the Obama administration disclosed a big story in a small way. The big story: the administration is delaying the enforcement of the Obamacare employer mandate for one year. The small way: a post by Treasury Asssistant Secretary Mark Mazur.
Discussion:
National Review and CNN
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Santorum to jump into Texas abortion ban battle — (CNN) - Rick Santorum's heading to Texas to put his support behind a controversial bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. — According to a press release obtained by CNN that will be sent later Tuesday …
Discussion:
ABC News
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Mike Allen / Politico:
Eric Cantor plans anti-IRS push — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday will tell House Republicans that he plans floor votes before the August recess on a slew of bills in response to the IRS controversies. — The most intriguing: a bill to allow Americans …
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Tal Kopan / Politico:
Rush Limbaugh tells caller not to watch Fox — Rush Limbaugh had a message for one of his callers: Stop watching Fox News. — “Tony from Tampa” called into Limbaugh's radio show on Monday to complain about the lack of outrage from the right over President Barack Obama's policies …
Discussion:
Rush Limbaugh and The Huffington Post
Weekly Standard:
Kill the Bill — We are conservatives who have differed in the past on immigration reform, with Kristol favorably disposed toward it and Lowry skeptical. But the Gang of Eight has brought us into full agreement: Their bill, passed out of the Senate, is a comprehensive mistake.
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times, Power Line and Ricochet Conversations Feed
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Ginger Gibson / Politico:
John Boehner: No House vote on Senate immigration bill
John Boehner: No House vote on Senate immigration bill
Discussion:
The Hill
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Obama is faulted on leadership — Supporters and critics of President Obama are looking for leadership on many pressing issues from the White House, but many believe they are not getting it. — On Monday, Obama held a Cabinet meeting and spoke about his effort to modernize government databases.
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Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Right Realizes It Can't Kill Immigration Reform Without An Excuse
Right Realizes It Can't Kill Immigration Reform Without An Excuse
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Daily Caller, Hawkings Here and The Hill
Amanda McCorquodale / The Huffington Post:
Florida Accidentally Banned All Computers, Smart Phones In The State Through Internet Cafe Ban: Lawsuit — When Florida lawmakers recently voted to ban all Internet cafes, they worded the bill so poorly that they effectively outlawed every computer in the state, according to a recent lawsuit.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Gizmodo
Asad Hashim / Al Jazeera English:
Leaked report shows Bin Laden's ‘hidden life’ — Government report obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera reveals results of investigation into AQ chief's life on the run. — Former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was able to hide in Pakistan for nine years due to the “collective failure” …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Week, Yahoo! News, Business Insider, Via Meadia, The PJ Tatler, The Jawa Report and Althouse
Jay Rosen / Pressthink:
Criticizing CNN: Goodbye to that — I used to say: I criticize because I care. But I no longer do. … As of today, I have retired from criticism of CNN for falling short of some sort of journalistic standard that news providers should maintain. That activity no longer makes sense.
Discussion:
The Reaction, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
David Dykes / The State:
SC Gov. Nikki Haley says she was abused as a child — GREENVILLE, SC — SC Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday said she was physically abused as a girl by a child-care provider, offering a rare, personal disclosure that she said was meant to underscore the challenge any community faces in protecting its children.
Discussion:
Politico
Kathy Gill / The Moderate Voice:
What The Texas GOP Hopes No One Will Say Out Loud: Proposed Bills Weaken Inspections and Requirements Currently Kick In At 16-weeks — Austin has become center stage for the religious conservative effort to reverse Roe v Wade. Many Texans, like Rep. Greg Bonnen (R), insist that they support …
Discussion:
Shakesville, Yahoo! News and Reuters
Marti Maguire / Reuters:
North Carolina protest against abortion bill ends with 64 arrests — (Reuters) - North Carolina's “Moral Monday” protesters, now in their tenth week, objected to a bill that could limit abortion access - the latest move to counter a conservative shift by the state's first Republican-led government in more than a century.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Dependable Renegade
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Crucial nuclear option decision arrives for Majority Leader Reid — The Nevada Democrat must decide whether to trigger a controversial tactic known as the nuclear option to strip from Republicans the power to endlessly debate presidential nominees. — The maneuver entails changing …
Discussion:
E2-Wire and Prairie Weather
Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:
Rebel Yell — A close aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) who co-wrote the senator's 2011 book spent years working as a pro-secessionist radio pundit and neo-Confederate activist, raising questions about whether Paul will be able to transcend the same fringe-figure associations that dogged his father's political career.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner, Washington Monthly and Hit & Run
Gov. Terry Branstad / Des Moines Register:
Branstad campaign hires staffers for 2014 election — Gov. Terry Branstad's campaign committee on Monday announced it has hired four campaign staffers to strategize for his re-election in 2014. — “Over the coming weeks and months,” Branstad said in a mass email to supporters from his campaign account …
Wbastone / The Smoking Gun:
In Reversal, Florida Judge Okays Testimony About Trayvon Martin's Marijuana Usage — Jurors in the George Zimmerman murder trial will be able to hear defense testimony that Trayvon Martin had small amounts of marijuana in his system at the time he was shot to death in February 2012.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Scared Monkeys and The Raw Story
Patrick Howley / The Daily Caller:
IRS supporters 0-for-3 on putting scandal to rest — Since it was revealed in May that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly targeted the tax-exempt nonprofit status of conservative groups between 2010 and 2012, defenders of the beleaguered agency have offered three broad attempts …