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Chris Christie's Entire Career Reeks — It's not just the bridge — Has there ever been a political reversal of fortune as rapid and as absolute as the one just experienced by Chris Christie? At warp speed, the governor of New Jersey has gone from the most popular politician in the country …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Guardian, TheBlaze.com, The Dish and Balloon Juice


Before O-Care debacle, Sebelius made many trips to White House — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was in frequent contact with President Obama and senior White House aides before the disastrous launch of the federal ObamaCare exchange last year.
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Latest Obamacare Delay Is Probably Illegal — The Barack Obama administration recently announced that it is going to delay the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's employer mandate for medium-size companies and reduce the requirements for larger businesses. Again? What does it all mean?!
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon

‘Vote No, Hope Yes’ Defines Dysfunction in Congress — WASHINGTON — After the shutdown, the filibusters and years of stalled bills, it was the actual passage of legislation this week that revealed the true depth of congressional dysfunction. — The House vote to raise the debt limit …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Washington Post, Connecting.the.Dots, Booman Tribune and Fusion
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2014 House Forecast Update: No Wave in Sight — The results of a simple but extremely accurate midterm election forecasting model indicate that the 2014 U.S. House elections are likely to result in minimal change in the party balance of power. The forecasting model uses three predictors …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Washington Post

Hypocrite's Corner
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and National Review

The Minority Maker — Ted Cruz hurts his party by forcing a meaningless debt-ceiling vote.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Daily Kos
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Dramatic debt vote stirs Senate
Discussion:
The Other McCain, CNN, WFPL, Ted Cruz, The Daily Caller, Politico and National Review


How Comcast Buying Time Warner Cable Could Impact You — And The Entire Entertainment Industry — Comcast Cable President and CEO Neil Smit. — CREDIT: AP Images/Evan Agostini — Today, Comcast, already the country's largest provider of cable television, announced that it would spend $45 billion …
Discussion:
Gigaom, MarketWatch, DealBook and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »
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Is opposing gay marriage the same as being a racist? — Conservative opposition to same sex marriage is deeply rooted in religious belief — W — riting at The New Republic, Isaac Chotiner doesn't much appreciate my argument about the growing cockiness of secular liberals.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Mahablog, Hinterland Gazette, National Review and Washington Monthly
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Yep, The Supreme Court Lit A Fuse To End Gay Marriage Bans Across USA
Discussion:
Off the Kuff and Associated Press


President Obama to raise money for House Democrats — CAMBRIDGE, Md. — President Barack Obama will headline at least six fundraisers for House Democrats this year, with “the potential for more,” according to Democratic sources. — Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic …
Discussion:
CNN
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Some snow is on the ground at the highest elevations of the Big Island of Hawaii. — Snow is on the ground in 49 out of the 50 states — only the Sunshine State of Florida is completely snow-free, according to a map produced Thursday morning by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Release Detail — February 13, 2014 - Cuomo Thumps Trump, Astorino In New York Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Clinton Runs Better Against Christie In 2016 Race — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a 63 - 28 percent job approval rating, higher than the current scores for any governor …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, PoliticusUSA, Real Clear Politics, CNN, Politico and Capitol Confidential
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Trump Stops Short of Entering the Race for Governor
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Capitol Confidential, Politicker, Taegan Goddard's … and Liberaland


Wednesday Was Full of Good News for Obamacare. Here Are the Charts That Prove It. — More Americans enrolled in Obamacare plans in January than expected, according to data released Wednesday by the Obama administration. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had expected to sign up 1,059,900 people last month.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Forbes, Booman Tribune, The Week, The Dish and The New Republic

Gay Republican Candidate's Ad Poses Test for Party — Carl DeMaio is one of three openly gay Republicans running for Congress this year, and he would be at least the third to serve in the House if he wins. But Mr. DeMaio on Thursday will take a step that none of them has …
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For First Time, Gay GOP House Candidate Features Partner In Ad
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Hit & Run

Kuttner, Galston, and the Debate Over the Social Safety Net — Robert Kuttner and William Galston round out our forum on the future of entitlement programs. — Kuttner — I take exception to most of the assumptions and conclusions in William Galston's piece.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Exclusive: Snowden Swiped Password From NSA Coworker - NBC News — A civilian NSA employee recently resigned after being stripped of his security clearance for allowing former agency contractor Edward Snowden to use his pers...
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Post, Little Green Footballs, Liberaland and Re/code

Rand Paul and Ken Cuccinelli accused of stealing NSA lawsuit — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been caught using purloined passages in several of his speeches. Now the aspiring presidential candidate stands accused of filing a lawsuit stolen from its author. — Since December …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, OnPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Yahoo! News, PoliticusUSA, Shakesville and New York Times


Maddow Defends Bridge Coverage Following ‘Morning Joe’ Criticism (VIDEO) — Rachel Maddow kicked off her show Wednesday evening with what seemed like a repudiation to what was said on her own network several hours earlier. — “It has been a big day today in the biggest political story …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and The PJ Tatler

Ninth Circuit holds Second Amendment secures a right to carry a gun — So holds today's Peruta v. County of San Diego (9th Cir. Feb. 13, 2014) (2-1 vote). The court concludes that California's broad limits on both open and concealed carry of loaded guns — with no “shall-issue” …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah and National Review

Thomas Speaks ... Blindly About Race — Associate Justice Clarence Thomas doesn't often speak during oral arguments before the Supreme Court. — But often what he says outside the chamber is eyebrow-raising. Such was the case Tuesday when Thomas told an audience at Palm Beach Atlantic University:
Discussion:
TheBlaze.com, CNN, Clash Daily and Mediaite


When did faith start to fade? — In Tom Stoppard's 1970 play “Jumpers,” the philosopher hero broods unhappily on the inexorable rise of the atheist: “The tide is running his way, and it is a tide which has turned only once in human history. . . . There is presumably a calendar date—a moment …
Discussion:
Ross Douthat


Why The Senate STILL Isn't Able To Get Anything Done Even After The ‘Nuclear Option’ — It wasn't supposed to be this way. — In 2013, the Senate adopted two of the most significant changes to its rules in nearly 40 years. The first significantly reduced the amount of time senators …
Discussion:
Senate Democrats