Rush Job: Inside Dems' Limbaugh plan  —  Top Democrats believe they have struck political gold by depicting Rush Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party, a full-scale effort first hatched by some of the most familiar names in politics and now being guided in part from inside the White House.

The Growing Republican Unhappiness With Michael Steele  —  (AP File Photo) It's not just the TV appearances that have some Republicans worried.  —  Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele's dust-up with Rush Limbaugh has brought to the fore so-far unspoken concerns …

Bayh: Why Spending Bill Should Fail  —  A Democratic senator says no to a huge federal spending bill.  —  This week, the United States Senate will vote on a spending package to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year.  The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 is a sprawling …

Cap-and-trade plan will sink Michigan  —  President Barack Obama's proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation's heartland — particularly Michigan.  It is a multibillion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.

Stage of Fools  —  If only Shakespeare had known how to Twitter.  —  There was a bit of King Lear in the scene on the Senate floor, a stormy, solitary John McCain on “this great stage of fools,” as the Bard wrote, railing against both parties and the president in fiery speeches and rapid-fire tweets.

Miami abortion clinic owner threw live baby away, prosecutors say  —  MIAMI - An abortion clinic owner is accused of delivering a live baby during a botched procedure and then throwing the infant away.  —  Belkis Gonzalez, 42, was arrested Tuesday and charged with practicing medicine without …

Ted Kennedy to be knighted  —  Comment Central: (Sir) Teddy...and Alan...and Bill...  Ted Kennedy, one of the leading members of the family dynasty that dominated American politics in the final decades of the last century, is to receive an honorary knighthood.

Merrill's $10 Million Men  —  Top 10 Earners Made $209 Million in 2008 as Firm Foundered  —  As bad as 2008 was for Merrill Lynch & Co., it was very good for Andrea Orcel, the firm's top investment banker.  Although Merrill's net loss ballooned to $27.6 billion last year, Mr. Orcel …

Union official: Franken 60th vote on card-check  —  Al Franken could be the missing piece of the puzzle for passage of the labor movement's No. 1 legislative priority this Congress, a senior union official said Wednesday.  —  Once seated, the Democratic Minnesota Senate candidate …

$5 BILLION IN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS BOUGHT WALL STREET FREEDOM FROM REGULATION, RESTRAINT, REPORT FINDS  —  Steps to Financial Cataclysm Paved with Industry Dollars  —  The financial sector invested more than $5 billion in political influence purchasing in Washington over the past decade …

KRAUTHAMMER THEN AND NOW  —  At least one reader of my last post, in thanking me for drawing her attention to Charles Krauthammer's characterization of Obama's joint-session speech ("the boldest social democratic manifesto ever issued by a U.S. president"), assumes that Charles is as fervent a supporter of the President as she is.

Instructed to curtail crushing red tape, guards watched girl die in her cell  —  Court transcripts obtained by The Globe reveal staff instructed not to stop frequent self-asphyxiation attempts if 19-year-old was still breathing  —  As Ashley Smith slowly choked herself to death at dawn in her Kitchener …

Marriage rally draws 1,000  —  Aim is to stir support for an amendment that would ban same-sex marriage  —  RALEIGH — More than 1,000 people, many from Baptist churches across the state, stood on the ice-covered lawn outside the Legislative Building on Tuesday to demand that state legislators give …

Russian Scholar Says U.S. Will Collapse Next Year  —  MOSCOW — If you're inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn't mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the U.S. will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.

Remember The “Gang Of 14?”  —  You remember those 14 Senators who agreed: … (Emphasis supplied.)  Among the Senators who agreed to this were John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.  The other day, these 4 Republican Senators reneged on this agreement.

If You're a Defense Lobbyist, It Might Be Time to Panic  —  It's really, really, really difficult to be optimistic about cutting Pentagon waste.  There is a massive amount of entrenched interests — in the services, on the Hill, among the hordes of defense firms just across the Potomac …

Congressman Ed Markey - Video Interview on Energy and Climate  —  Here is our interview with Congressman Ed Markey on energy, climate change and the upcoming bills in Congress.  —  Congressman Markey serves as the Chairman of the Select Commitee on Global Warming and Energy Security …

Polls spell trouble for Corzine re-election bid  —  (CNN) — A new poll spells trouble for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's bid for re-election this year.  —  Forty percent of New Jersey registered voters questioned in a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey released Wednesday approve …

Wanna bet some of that Nobel money?  —  Paul Krugman suggests that my skepticism about the administration's growth forecast over the next few years is somehow “evil.”  Well, Paul, if you are so confident in this forecast, would you like to place a wager on it and take advantage of my wickedness?

Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout  —  The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007.  At the height of a four-year bull market, it didn't have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent.

FIRST THOUGHTS: A TALE OF TWO PARTIES  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** A tale of two parties: To paraphrase Dickens, the last six weeks have been the best of times for Obama and the Democrats, and the worst of times for the Republicans.