Top Items:
CNN:
Christie's choice: Be seen as a crook or a schnook? — Scandal is unfolding around New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta to punish a local mayor who wouldn't support him at the polls.
Discussion:
PostPartisan, Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Caller, Democratic Strategist, ThinkProgress and The Daily Beast
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Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Chris Christie's damage control — Chris Christie did about as well as he could, given the circumstances. All he can do now is wait, and hope it passes without many more revelations. — That was the sentiment coming from people who wanted to offer support to the Republican governor of New Jersey …
Discussion:
Guardian
John Dickerson / Slate:
His press conference was bold, but if anything he said turns out to be false, he could be finished.
His press conference was bold, but if anything he said turns out to be false, he could be finished.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Hot Air, American Spectator and The Daily Caller
The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:
Chris Christie bridge scandal: Humbled gov still has explaining to do (Editorial)
Chris Christie bridge scandal: Humbled gov still has explaining to do (Editorial)
Discussion:
Firedoglake, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, CNN and The Rude Pundit
Dan Merica / CNN:
U.S. attorney probing Christie has opened wallet to Democrats
U.S. attorney probing Christie has opened wallet to Democrats
Discussion:
Politico, NewsBusters blogs, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and NewsBusters
Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:
Conservatives on Chris Christie: Diva Getting What He Deserves
Conservatives on Chris Christie: Diva Getting What He Deserves
Discussion:
First Read, Forbes, The Political Carnival, ThinkProgress, Politico and New York Times
Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Chris Christie ally David Wildstein pleads Fifth to panel
Chris Christie ally David Wildstein pleads Fifth to panel
Discussion:
CNN, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon
New York Times:
‘Very Sad’ Chris Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal
‘Very Sad’ Chris Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal
Discussion:
The Hugh Hewitt Show, NorthJersey.com, The Reaction, Scared Monkeys, The Week, Towleroad News #gay, TIME, New Jersey Online, Ross Douthat, The Fix, National Review, The Lede, Taking Note, Outside the Beltway, Mashable, AMERICAblog News, The Star-Ledger Editorial Page, his vorpal sword, The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, The Democratic Daily, The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Four Uncomfortable Questions From Chris Christie's Bridgegate Press Conference
Four Uncomfortable Questions From Chris Christie's Bridgegate Press Conference
Discussion:
The Dish, The Daily Beast, Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo
David Voreacos / Bloomberg:
Christie Ally Seeks to Block Testimony on Bridge Scandal
Christie Ally Seeks to Block Testimony on Bridge Scandal
Discussion:
The Reaction
msnbc.com:
An alternate theory of the Christie scandal — Rachel Maddow presents a new possibility of what the induced Ft. Lee traffic jam was retribution for if it wasn't over the mayor's gubernatorial endorsement.
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics
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Steve Benen / msnbc.com:
At the heart of the scandal — It's no longer in dispute that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration crippled the community of Fort Lee last September on purpose. It's also no longer in dispute that the governor's team did so as an act of political retaliation.
Discussion:
Shakesville and Talking Points Memo
Nate Schweber / New York Times:
Woman Says Lane Closings Were Not to Blame for Her Mother's Death
Woman Says Lane Closings Were Not to Blame for Her Mother's Death
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Sean Hannity Show, Fox News, Power Line, The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers, Rush Limbaugh, The Daily Caller, USA Today, CNN, The Huffington Post, News Desk, CBS New York, The Week, CBS Philly, National Review, Liberaland, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Hot Air and alicublog
Michael Falcone / ABC News:
So, Christie Says He Couldn't Pick Fort Lee Mayor ‘Out of a Lineup’...
So, Christie Says He Couldn't Pick Fort Lee Mayor ‘Out of a Lineup’...
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Jersey Online, TheBlaze.com, ABC News and Politico
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Liberal Self-Identification Edges Up to New High in 2013 — Fifteen-percentage-point conservative advantage ties as smallest to date — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans continue to be more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%). But the conservative advantage …
Discussion:
Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Real Clear Politics, CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Dish
Josh Hicks / Washington Post:
Obama donor leading Justice Department's IRS investigation — Two Republican lawmakers and a conservative legal group are questioning the Justice Department's selection of a Democratic donor to lead the agency's probe into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of certain advocacy groups during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Da Tech Guy On DaRadio Blog, The Other McCain and Washington Times
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Diane Sweet / crooksandliars.com/user/33:
300,000 Without Water After Coal Industry Chemical Spill In W. Virginia — West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declares a state of emergency after spill contaminates Elk River, “Only safe use is to flush or put out fire.” — A chemical spill into West Virginia's Elk River has led …
Discussion:
Liberaland, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and CNN
RELATED:
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Reid's Uncompromising Power Play in Senate Rankles Republicans — WASHINGTON — With his strong-armed change to the filibuster rule and an iron-fisted control of the Senate floor, Senator Harry Reid has engaged in the greatest consolidation of congressional power since Newt Gingrich ruled the House …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Liberaland, CNN and Washington Examiner
Communications / OpenSecrets.org:
Millionaires' Club: For First Time, Most Lawmakers are Worth $1 Million-Plus — For the first time in history, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Discussion:
Shakesville, TIME, The Verge, Political Capital, DCist, Politico, CNN and First Read
RELATED:
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Half of Congress Members Are Millionaires, Report Says
Half of Congress Members Are Millionaires, Report Says
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:
U.S. job growth weakest in three years — (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired the fewest workers in almost three years in December, but the setback was likely to be temporary amid signs that cold weather conditions might have had an impact. — Nonfarm payrolls rose only 74,000 last month …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hot Air and The Hinterland Gazette
John P / Pew Research Center:
Who is this man? Many Americans don't recognize top news anchor — Nightly News is now the nightly White House propaganda , it's talking points , personal attacks and lies. They don't even give reeivent news. I stopped watching the communist run media when I got my first computer.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, NewsBusters blogs, Poynter, Mediaite, TVNewser and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »
Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Begich misses jobless vote for speech in Hawaii — Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) missed a procedural vote on extending unemployment benefits to deliver a speech to a lobby group in Hawaii, The Hill has learned. — Begich delivered a keynote speech Wednesday morning to the American Aviation Issues conference …
Discussion:
Roll Call
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
The Kids Are Alright: Another Obamacare Lesson from Massachusetts — Last month, everybody wanted to know how many people were signing up for Obamacare. This month, everybody wants to know how many healthy people are signing up for Obamacare. — It's a reasonable question.
Steven Russolillo / MoneyBeat:
Live From New York! It's Jobs Friday! … Yes, it's that time again, folks. The time when for one ever-so-brief moment the interests of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street are all aligned on one thing: Jobs. — The Labor Department said U.S. payrolls rose by 74,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 7%.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
How to fight academic bigotry — For decades, the American Studies Association labored in well-deserved obscurity. No longer. It has now made a name for itself by voting to boycott Israeli universities, accusing them of denying academic and human rights to Palestinians.