Top Items:
Ben White / Politico:
Soak the rich? Americans say go for it — The prospect of 70 percent tax rates for multimillionaires and special levies on the super-rich draw howls about creeping socialism and warnings of economic disaster in much of Washington. — But polling suggests that when it comes to soaking the rich …
RELATED:
Aída Chávez / The Intercept:
Ana Maria Archila, Queens Woman Who Confronted Jeff Flake, Will Be Ocasio-Cortez's SOTU Guest — Ana Maria Archila, the Queens woman who famously confronted Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake in a Capitol Hill elevator, will be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's State of the Union guest on Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Week and Hullabaloo
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Site Behind Northam Revelations Is Backed by GOP Operatives — The website that broke the story of the racist yearbook photo that is imperiling Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is a scrappy, pro-Trump outfit backed by Republican operatives.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, Splinter and Political Wire
RELATED:
Vann R. Newkirk II / The Atlantic:
Ralph Northam's Mistake — On Friday, faced with a photo on his medical-school yearbook page featuring one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam apologized. By Saturday, he said he'd never taken the photo, never seen the yearbook …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New York Times and The Resurgent
Washington Post:
Northam meets with senior staff and considers options, including resignation — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) called an unscheduled senior staff meeting Sunday night just before the start of the Super Bowl, as the governor considered resigning after two days of defiance amid a controversy …
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, One America News Network, Daily Kos, Rewire.News, WTKR-TV, Splinter, CNN and The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’ — When we go off to war. When we exercise our rights. When we soar to our greatest heights. — When we mourn and pray. When our neighbors are at risk. When our nation is threatened. There's someone to gather the facts. — To bring you the story. No matter the cost.
Discussion:
USA Today, The Guardian, HuffPost, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Townhall, Instapundit and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
WWBT-TV:
Lt. Gov. Fairfax slams ‘defamatory and false’ sexual assault allegation — RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax issued a statement early Monday after an online article hinted at sexual assault allegations against him in 2004. — The site “Big League Politics” …
RELATED:
Patrick Howley / Big League Politics:
Stanford Fellow Hints At Possible Justin Fairfax Sex Assault
Stanford Fellow Hints At Possible Justin Fairfax Sex Assault
Discussion:
WVEC, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and WTKR-TV
Anita Kumar / Politico:
Dems hope to draw blood from potential Trump SCOTUS pick — When the conservative lawyer Neomi Rao appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, she'll be interviewing for a job on the country's second most powerful court. — But both her allies and enemies will be watching …
Discussion:
The Intercept
RELATED:
Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:
Two years in, Trump's appeals court confirmations at a historic high point — President Trump has installed a historic number of federal appeals court judges for this point of a presidency. — But the immediate effect on the composition of the courts across the country is modest …
New York Times:
Trump Calls for Keeping Troops in Iraq to Watch Iran, Possibly Upending ISIS Fight — WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to keep United States troops in Iraq to monitor and maintain pressure on neighboring Iran, committing to an American military presence in the region's war zones …
Discussion:
MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The American Conservative, Informed Comment, Mediaite and CNBC
RELATED:
Axios:
Scoop: Leaked private schedules show Trump spent 60% of last 3 months in “Executive Time” — A White House source has leaked nearly every day of President Trump's private schedule for the past three months. — Why it matters: This unusually voluminous leak gives us unprecedented visibility into how this president spends his days.
Discussion:
Vox, Raw Story, Mediaite, CNBC, The National Memo, The Week, Washington Press, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly and Washington Post
RELATED:
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Democrats have reason to fret Schultz — Democrats have broken into a panic over Howard Schultz's talk of an independent bid for president. A new poll suggests they have reason to be worried. — The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows anti-Trump and Democratic voters are more open …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire
RELATED:
CNN:
CNN Poll: 4 in 10 call this the worst governing of their lifetimes — State of the Union: Paralyzed over border wall fight — (CNN)With a looming February 15 deadline to fund parts of the US government, few are optimistic the President and Congress will be able to reach agreement …
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump campaign takes steps to prevent a challenge within GOP — WASHINGTON (AP) — Worried about a potential Republican primary challenge, President Donald Trump's campaign has launched a state-by-state effort to prevent an intraparty fight that could spill over into the general-election campaign.
Discussion:
Political Wire
USA Today:
Watergate's lesson? If Democrats want to heal America, Trump must be held accountable — Accountability is essential to the long-term health of our democracy, more important than even healing the nation's partisan divisions. — CONNECT — Democrats are wrestling with how aggressively …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
Biden Is Close to Saying Yes — Joe Biden reliably blows through every public and private deadline for making a decision about running for president. But he's giving everyone he's seen in recent weeks the feeling that he's very close to saying yes. — The urgency of Biden's planning …
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Attacking a Pay Wall That Hides Public Court Filings — WASHINGTON — The federal judiciary has built an imposing pay wall around its court filings, charging a preposterous 10 cents a page for electronic access to what are meant to be public records. A pending lawsuit could help tear that wall down.
Washington Post:
'It's way too many': As vacancies pile up in Trump administration, senators grow concerned — From the Justice Department to Veterans Affairs, vast swaths of the government have top positions filled by officials serving in an acting capacity — or no one at all.
Discussion:
The Week
Steven L. Hall / Washington Post:
I was in the CIA. Trump's petty fights and insults will make us all less safe. — The nation's top intelligence officials told Congress last week that President Trump is wrong about the success of his diplomacy with North Korea, that Iran is not attemptingF to manufacture a nuclear bomb …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and The American Conservative
New York Times:
Schumer and Sanders: Limit Corporate Stock Buybacks — Corporate self-indulgence has become an enormous problem for workers and for the long-term strength of the economy. — Mr. Schumer and Mr. Sanders are U.S. senators. — From the mid-20th century until the 1970s …