Top Items:
Politico:
Why Obama isn't attacking ‘the villains’ — President Barack Obama spent years casting insurance companies as the most evil of actors in the health care system. — But with insurance cancellation notices hitting millions of consumers, Obama has launched none of the broadsides …
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Carl Schramm / Wall Street Journal:
How ObamaCare Rips Off the ‘Young Healthies’ — If universal coverage is the goal, inexpensive, simple catastrophic health plans will do. — When ObamaCare is under attack, its defenders retreat to several well-worn claims. Among them is a provision that compels insurance companies …
Discussion:
Power Line
New York Times:
Despite Fumbles, Obama Defends Health Care Law
Despite Fumbles, Obama Defends Health Care Law
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Conservative Intelligence …, Washington Post and Wonkblog
Glenn Kessler / The Fact Checker:
The White House effort to blame insurance companies for lost plans
The White House effort to blame insurance companies for lost plans
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Steven Dennis / The World's Greatest Deliberative Body:
Democrats Up in 2014 Vent Their Obamacare Anger in White House Meeting (Updated)
Democrats Up in 2014 Vent Their Obamacare Anger in White House Meeting (Updated)
Alexander Marlow / BREITBART.COM:
SENATOR RAND PAUL MOVES OPINION COLUMN TO BREITBART NEWS — Breitbart News Network is pleased to announce that it will be the new home of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's editorial column. — Paul, a Tea Party favorite and son of former libertarian Congressman Ron Paul, is widely perceived …
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Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Post-Plagiarism Restructuring, Rand Paul's Opinion Column Moves To Breitbart — Following allegations of plagiarism that caused a shake-up in the senator's office, Rand Paul's (R-KY) opinion column has found a new home at Breitbart News. — “Paul is pleased to partner with Breitbart News …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Arlette Saenz / ABC News:
Rand Paul Takes a Swipe at Chris Christie for Sandy Ads — He didn't name any names, but it's clear Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., still has a bone to pick with N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and his “mug” that was all over TV after superstorm Sandy. — During a Senate committee hearing on post-Sandy recovery efforts …
Discussion:
USA Today, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, Politico, The Caucus, Connecting.the.Dots and American Spectator
Robert Costa / National Review:
Rand Paul Fights the Press
Rand Paul Fights the Press
Discussion:
Ross Douthat, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico and Daily Kos
New York Times:
G.O.P. Weighs Limiting Clout of Right Wing — Leaders of the Republican establishment, alarmed by the emergence of far-right and often unpredictable Tea Party candidates, are pushing their party to rethink how it chooses nominees and advocating changes they say would result in the selection of less extreme contenders.
Discussion:
The Plum Line and Liberaland
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Martha T. Moore / USA Today:
Democrats try to make ‘Tea Party’ a smear — The failure of Tea Party-backed candidates in Tuesday's election shows that Democrats have been successful in making the Tea Party label a negative for Republicans, even if it isn't always clear what being a Tea Party candidate means.
Stuart Rothenberg / Rothenblog:
Victory Is in the Eye of the Beholder in New Jersey, Virginia and Alabama
Victory Is in the Eye of the Beholder in New Jersey, Virginia and Alabama
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Daily Beast, The Reaction and Wall Street Journal
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
At Obamacare hearings, governing by anecdote — It did not sound good for Sen. Pat Toomey. — “I'm a two-time breast cancer survivor and I'm facing the loss of insurance,” the Pennsylvania Republican declared Wednesday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the health-care law.
Discussion:
American Spectator and Conservatives4Palin
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Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Jason Carter to challenge Gov. Deal next year — Democratic state Sen. Jason Carter will challenge Gov. Nathan Deal next year in a move that catapults the gubernatorial contest into the national spotlight and tests whether Georgia's changing demographics can loosen the Republican Party's 12-year grip on the state's highest office.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Associated Press, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard and The Hinterland Gazette
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Report: Cuccinelli Has No Plans To Call McAuliffe — Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) had not called Democrat Terry McAuliffe after losing the Virginia gubernatorial race and had no plans to do so as of late Wednesday morning, according to a report in The Washington Post.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Towleroad News #gay and City Desk
RELATED:
Washington Post:
In Richmond, Gov.-elect McAuliffe announces bipartisan transition team
In Richmond, Gov.-elect McAuliffe announces bipartisan transition team
Discussion:
The Monkey Cage, The Daily Caller, The Fix and PostPartisan
Jonathan Strong / National Review:
RNC Allies Ward Off Cuccinelli Attack
RNC Allies Ward Off Cuccinelli Attack
Discussion:
American Thinker, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Politico
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Clunker progressivism — Barack Obama's presidency has become a feast of failures whose proliferation protects their author from close scrutiny of any one of them. Now, however, we can revisit one of the first and see it as a harbinger of progressivism's downward stumble to HealthCare.gov.
Discussion:
Power Line
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
C.I.A. Is Said to Pay AT&T for Call Data — WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. is paying AT&T more than $10 million a year to assist with overseas counterterrorism investigations by exploiting the company's vast database of phone records, which includes Americans' international calls, according to government officials.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Liberaland, Gawker, emptywheel, The Verge, The Switch and Prairie Weather
Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed:
Pope Francis Kisses Severely Disfigured Man And Prays With Him — Pope Francis blessed a man with facial deformities during today's general audience at the Vatican. — Pope Francis was departing St. Peter's Square after Wednesday's general audience when he saw a severely disfigured man amidst the crowd of worshippers.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Daily Banter, The Dish and Balloon Juice
Patrick Gavin / Politico:
Obamacare mocked at music awards — Obamacare took it on the chin at Wednesday night's Country Music Awards, in a skit with music stars and co-hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. — Paisley pretended to have hurt his back, prompting Underwood to say, “Hey, do you have that Obamacare?
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
Matthieu Aikins / Rolling Stone:
Last spring, the remains of 10 missing Afghan villagers were dug up outside a U.S. Special Forces base - was it a war crime or just another episode in a very dirty war? — In the fall of 2012, a team of American Special Forces arrived in Nerkh, a district of Wardak province, Afghanistan …
Discussion:
emptywheel and CBS DC
E.J. Dionne Jr. / Washington Post:
The U.S. shifts left — The center of gravity in American politics moved left in Tuesday's off-year elections. — Republicans took a big step back from the tea party. An ebullient progressive was elected mayor of New York City. And a Democrat was elected governor of Virginia …
Discussion:
Liberaland, Salon, Real Clear Politics and The Fix