Top Items:
The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
MA Senate moved to Toss-Up — Democratic desperation and other compelling evidence strongly suggest that Democrats may well lose the late Senator Edward Kennedy's Senate seat in Tuesday's special election. Because of this, we are moving our rating of the race from Narrow Advantage for the Incumbent Party to Toss-Up.
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Steve Kornacki:
On Massachusetts.... I wrote a column last week in which I dismissed the chances of Republican Scott Brown actually winning next Tuesday's Senate special election in Massachusetts. The race would be close, I figured — 53-47 for Coakley, or something like that — but the state's blue tint would be just enough to save the Democrats.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Fix, Boston Globe, National Review Online, Hot Air and The Natural Truth
David / Blue Mass. Group:
Exclusive BMG/Research 2000 poll: Coakley leads 49-41 — The results are in from BMG's exclusive statewide poll in next week's special Senate election. Research 2000 interviewed 500 likely voters on Tuesday and Wednesday (and we do mean “interviewed” — Research 2000 does live interviews, unlike robo-pollsters Rasmussen and PPP).
Discussion:
Washington Wire, TPMDC, Real Clear Politics, MyDD, Swing State Project, Open Left, The Hill, Scorecard's Blog and Daily Kos
Curt Schilling / 38pitches.weei.com:
Want ANOTHER reason to NOT vote for Martha Coakley??? — Picked this up from here... [1] — If she hasn't done it yet, Martha Coakley may have just killed her campaign. — She's apparently been trying to win the title of Worst Political Campaign Ever, and she might have just clinched …
Gary Hewson / Big Journalism:
Martha's Greatest Hits: The Things the Democrats Would Like You to Forget About Candidate Coakley — In researching the ever-intensifying Massachusetts Senate race between Democrat Martha Coakley and her Republican challenger Scott Brown, it only takes a few keystrokes to unearth her ongoing history …
Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Scott Brown has raised at least one million dollars every day this week — Knowledgeable sources in Massachusetts tell The Daily Caller that Republican candidate for Senate, Scott Brown, has raised at least $1 million dollars every day this week, most of it online.
Josh Marshall / TPMDC:CORRECTED: Brown Says He's Unfamiliar with Tea Partiers; Campaign Pix Say Otherwise
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, Boston Globe, Salon, Blue Mass. Group, Washington Monthly, Philly.com and Daily Kos
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:Ad Wars: Obama Cuts Spot for Coakley, Can Barely Contain Himself
Discussion:
Power Line
CNN:
Democrats, labor unions reach tentative deal on ‘Cadillac’ plans — Washington (CNN) - Congressional Democratic health care negotiators, working with the White House, have reached a tentative deal with labor unions on restructuring a tax on high-end insurance plans, a key proposal to pay …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, The Note, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Open Left, The Page and TPMDC
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Megan McArdle:
Special Deal for Labor Unions in Health Care Bill — The labor unions have been fighting the Senate health care bill for some time now—specifically, the provision that levies high taxes on “Cadillac” plans that exceed certain maximums. That was expected to be a sticking point …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Michael Whitney / Firedoglake:Two Bad Ideas Don't Make a Good One: Unions Reportedly Seek Exemption …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, TPMDC, Wonk Room, No More Mister Nice Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and neo-neocon
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
What's the Journal doing on this list? — The Tea Party Convention put out a press release today announcing that they were packed and had space for just five news outlets: — Everyone from a small town newspaper in Iowa to Fox News has asked for press credentials.
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PR Newswire:
Tea Party Nation Would Like to Announce the Following Efforts and Status of the Nationwide TEA Party Convention — NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Media — First, we are pleased to announce that the convention has sold out and we now have a waiting list …
Andrew Scott / Pocono Record:
Sex sting in Poconos nets former chief U.N. weapons inspector … A former chief United Nations weapons inspector is accused of contacting what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in an Internet chat room, engaging in a sexual conversation and showing himself masturbating on a Web camera.
Discussion:
Sweetness & Light, The Jawa Report, Gateway Pundit, The Corner on National … and Little Green Footballs
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Morning Joe crew rips Limbaugh: ‘Deplorable,’ ‘insensitive,’ ‘mean-spirited.’ — Yesterday, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh attempted to attack President Obama for responding to the devastation in Haiti. “This will play right into Obama's hands — humanitarian, compassionate,” Limbaugh argued.
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Nicholas Graham First / The Huffington Post:Limbaugh: 'We've Already Donated To Haiti, It's Called US Income Tax' (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Think Progress, Washington Monthly, Guardian, National Review Online and AMERICAblog News
CBN.com:
Statement Regarding Pat Robertson's Comments on Haiti — On today's The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti's history. His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led …
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Amie Parnes / The Politico:
EX-ADVISER: ‘WE WERE NEVER READY’ — Nicolle Wallace, former senior adviser to the McCain presidential campaign, did little to defend Sarah Palin at a panel discussion for Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut's new book “Notes from the Cracked Ceiling” on Tuesday night.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Rep. Shadegg to retire — Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who briefly announced his retirement last cycle but then opted to seek another term, will not run for reelection in 2010, a GOP source confirms. — Shadegg becomes the third Republican to announce his retirement in recent weeks.
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Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama wins more cuts in spending than Bush — Congress accepts 60% of proposals — President Obama notched substantial successes in spending cuts last year, winning 60 percent of his proposed cuts and managing to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years.
The Huffington Post:
As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take A Big Cut — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti, relief organizations are soliciting credit-card donations through their hotlines and websites. About 97 percent of these donations will actually …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
What Do Sarah Palin and Jesus Christ Have In Common? — Having survived the day and in a relatively good mood, with a devil may care attitude, comments are now allowed. — I don't know what it is about Sarah Palin that sets people off, but there is very little in between.
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Reid, Lieberman clash over letter — For the second time in a week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) finds himself at the center of a political imbroglio stemming from something that he said in private that was subsequently broadcast to the outside world by unnamed sources.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Watching Beck And Palin: “God Played An Essential Role In The Founding Of This Nation” — Just listen to the beginning of their restaurant chat, appropriating both the WTC site and the Statue of Liberty. More to the point, listen to the framework of their discussion. The core concept is a “re-founding” of America.
Quinnipiac University:
U.S. Voters Say Sacrifice Modesty, Rights For Security, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Health Reform At 34 Percent — American voters say 63 - 25 percent that the government's anti-terror policies lean too far toward protecting civil rights rather than national security and by 84 …
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Majority Would Vote Against Obama — A year into his tenure, a majority of Americans would already vote against Pres. Obama if the '12 elections were held today, according to a new survey. — The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll shows 50% say they would probably or definitely vote for someone else.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Hot Air, Think Progress, Ruby Slippers, MyDD, RedState and Flopping Aces
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Obama: ‘The outcome of these fights will probably rest on one vote in the U.S. Senate’ — Organizing for America is blasting this video out to its Massachusetts list, recorded by the president on Martha Coakley's behalf. — Obama frames it with a recognition of the incredibly high national stakes …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Nelson tries to repair damage at home — Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and his wife were leaving dinner at a new pizza joint near their home in Omaha one night last week when a patron began complaining about Nelson's decisive vote in favor of the Senate's health care bill. — Other customers started booing.
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, The Hill, CNN, Left Coast Rebel, RedState, Wake up America and The Lonely Conservative
George F. Will / Washington Post:
That rock in the health-care road? It's called the Constitution. — Although Democrats think their health-care legislation faces smooth sailing to implementation, there is a rock dead ahead — a constitutional challenge to the legislation's core. Democrats who assume it is constitutional …
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