Top Items:
Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
IT'S DEAD: Brewer Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) announced Wednesday night that she has vetoed the anti-gay bill that has been sitting on her desk since last week. — The bill “does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona,” she said in explaining her decision.
Discussion:
CNN, Democratic Strategist, Hinterland Gazette, Firedoglake and The Reaction
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Don Banks / Sports Illustrated:
Source: NFL begins exploring Super Bowl XLIX relocation options — The NFL previously stripped Arizona of a Super Bowl in 1993, relocating the game to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. — Even as momentum continues to build against Arizona's controversial bill that would allow businesses …
Discussion:
Guardian, ProFootballTalk, The Raw Story, CBS Detroit, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Business Insider and NFL.com
Fernanda Santos / New York Times:
Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill on Refusal of Service to Gays — PHOENIX — Ending a day that cast a glaring national spotlight on Arizona, the state's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, decided late Wednesday to veto a bill that would have given business owners the right to refuse service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds.
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Rick Scott Now Says He Would Veto Arizona Anti-Gay Bill
Rick Scott Now Says He Would Veto Arizona Anti-Gay Bill
Discussion:
Cato Institute, The Reaction, The Dish, Naked Politics and The Huffington Post
Bob Christie / Associated Press:
AZ Gov Brewer In Emergency Meetings Over Anti-Gay Bill
AZ Gov Brewer In Emergency Meetings Over Anti-Gay Bill
Discussion:
Business Insider, Arizona Republic, Liberaland and Daily Kos
Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Insurers become O-Care foot soldiers — Insurance companies are serving as foot soldiers for ObamaCare with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign intended to push customers into the insurance exchanges. — Though the companies are reluctant to publicize their role in the unpopular law …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
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Dan Merica / CNN:
Clinton endorses looking at Obamacare fixes, but defends law
Clinton endorses looking at Obamacare fixes, but defends law
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and Washington Post
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Republicans too focused on health-care law, some in GOP warn
Republicans too focused on health-care law, some in GOP warn
Discussion:
addictinginfo.org, Talking Points Memo and The Fix
New York Times:
G.O.P., Though Deeply Split, Has Election Edge, Poll Shows — Republicans are in a stronger position than Democrats for this year's midterm elections, benefiting from the support of self-described independents, even though the party itself is deeply divided and most Americans agree …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico and ABC News
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CBS News:
Most Americans disappointed in Obama's presidency, poll says — Shares - — Amid continued pessimism about the economy and direction of the country, 59 percent of Americans say they are disappointed in Mr. Obama's presidency (including 37 percent who are very disappointed); 40 percent are satisfied.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Texas' Ban on Same-Sex Marriage — HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, ruling that the laws restricting marriage to a man and a woman violated the United States Constitution and handing gay-rights advocates …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Daily Kos and Vox Popoli
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Robert T. Garrett / Trail Blazers Blog:
Federal judge voids Texas' gay marriage ban, though he delays order from taking effect immediately
Federal judge voids Texas' gay marriage ban, though he delays order from taking effect immediately
Guillermo Contreras / MySanAntonio.com:
Texas' ban on gay marriage ruled unconstitutional
Texas' ban on gay marriage ruled unconstitutional
Discussion:
Texas Attorney General, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, CNN, PoliticusUSA, Americans Against the …, National Review, Gawker and The PJ Tatler
Bradley A. Smith / Wall Street Journal:
Bradley A. Smith: Connecting the Dots in the IRS Scandal — The ‘smoking gun’ in the targeting of conservative groups has been hiding in plain sight. — The mainstream press has justified its lack of coverage over the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups because there's been no …
Discussion:
Power Line, Betsy's Page and Jammie Wearing Fools
Brent Budowsky / The Hill:
Bill Clinton's rescue ride — Springtime is coming, baseball teams have reassembled for training, Robert Redford is back on cable playing Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” and Bill Clinton has begun his ride to rescue Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections. — In politics, the trick …
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE
Denver Post:
U.S. REP. CORY GARDNER TO ENTER U.S. SENATE RACE AGAINST MARK UDALL — Republican Congressman Cory Gardner is planning to drop his re-election bid and run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Mark Udall, a political bombshell that is expected to alter Colorado's political landscape.
Discussion:
Roll Call, Weekly Standard, New York Times, RedState, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Fix and OnPolitics
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Raúl M. Grijalva / New York Times:
Obama's Pipeline — WASHINGTON — WHEN I was elected to Congress in 2002, George W. Bush was president and big business wrote environmental policy. We all remember Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force — a who's who of mining and oil interests — and the administration's constant questioning of climate science.
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Matthew O'Brien / The Atlantic Online:
How the Fed Let the World Blow Up in 2008 — High oil prices blinded the Fed to the growing danger before the crash — It was the day after Lehman failed, and the Federal Reserve was trying to decide what to do. — It had been fighting a credit crunch for over a year, and now the worst-case scenario was playing out.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Republicans flip-flop on ‘judicial activism’ — There was a time not too long ago when Republicans decried “activist judges.” Now they're lamenting that judges are not being activist enough. — “Unfortunately, the courts have been reluctant to exercise their constitutionally conferred power …
Discussion:
JONATHAN TURLEY, The Moderate Voice and Balloon Juice
Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
Was Bush Really a Champion of Democracy? — For five years now, it's happened again and again. A dictatorship somewhere wobbles, protesters crowd the streets, and the Obama administration strikes a careful tone, urging respect for human rights while trying to safeguard various American interests.
USA Today:
De Blasio's school fight: Column — New York disagreement over charter schools spotlights Democrat vs. Democrat battle. — Most non-New Yorkers know only two things about Bill de Blasio, the city's new progressive mayor: He eats pizza with a knife and fork, and Al Roker attacked him for sending students to school in a snowstorm.
Discussion:
Eduwonk
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
New F.D.A. Nutrition Labels Would Make ‘Serving Sizes’ Reflect Actual Servings — WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration for the first time in two decades will propose major changes to nutrition labels on food packages, putting calorie counts in large type and adjusting portion sizes to reflect how much Americans actually eat.
Discussion:
CNN, The Verge, Business Insider, Politico and Gizmodo
Glenn Thrush / Politico:
Joe Biden in winter — “The only thing I know is I ain't changing my brand. I know what I believe. I'm confident in what I know. And I'm gonna say it. And if folks like it, wonderful. If they don't like it, I understand.” — Vice President Joe Biden and I were riding the Amtrak to Philly on a frigid February day.
Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Generic Ballot Model Shows Senate Control at Tipping Point — Look for more partisan conflict and polarization in new Senate — Crystal Ball Senior Columnist Alan Abramowitz's discussion of his Senate elections model not only confirms how close we expect the 2014 Senate campaign will be …
Discussion:
The Plum Line
Alan Fram / Associated Press:
Top Senate Dem: Koch Brothers Are Un-American — The Senate's top Democrat criticized a pair of billionaire brothers in unusually harsh terms Wednesday, accusing the conservative duo of being “un-American,” spreading lies about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and lacking a conscience.
Discussion:
CNN