memeorandum: Medical malpractice back on the table? (Joseph Morton/Omaha World-Herald)

8:25 AM ET, February 25, 2010

Top Items:

Obama Readies a Fallback Proposal — Scaled-Down Plan Would Expand Insurance to About Half as Many People as Pending Bill Envisions — President Barack Obama will use a bipartisan summit Thursday to push for sweeping health-care legislation, but if that fails to generate enough support …

Discussion: The Note, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Politico, The Caucus, The Huffington Post, Clusterstock, JustOneMinute, Los Angeles Times, DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Hill, Pundit & Pundette, CentristNet, AMERICAblog News and New York Times

Washington Post:

Obama may compromise on consumer agency to pass financial regulation — The Obama administration is no longer insisting on the creation of a stand-alone consumer protection agency as a central element of the plan to remake regulation of the financial system.

Discussion: MyDD and The Page

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Conrad: Reform “dead” unless House passes Senate bill first

Discussion: RedState, Fox News, Washington Wire, The Note, CNN, Hot Air, Commentary and msnbc.com

Ezra Klein:
There's no plan B for health-care reform

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, New York Times, Political Punch and DISSENTING JUSTICE

Amy Sullivan / Time:
Obama Health Care Forum: Will Abortion Sink Reform Bill?

Discussion: Swampland, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, The New Republic and Majikthise

Susan Page / USA Today:
Poll: Expectations low on health summit

Discussion: Politics Daily, ABCNEWS, delawareonline, CentristNet, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Marathon Pundit and Moonbattery

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Stupak: 15-20 Dems withholding support for White House health plan

Discussion: The Politico, Commentary, Swampland and TPMDC

New York Times:

Questions of Influence in Abuse Case of Paterson Aide — Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man. — In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice …

Discussion: Politics Daily, The Politico, Clusterstock, Gawker, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Politics, New York Magazine, The Page, The Lonely Conservative, Daily Kos, Gothamist and Taegan Goddard's …

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Weiner: The Republican Party Is a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Insurance Industry — Anthony Weiner just made a fiery speech in the middle of the House debate on repealing the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption [Update: Measure passed, 406-19)]. Angered by a motion to recommit …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Reaction

Ezra Klein:

Don't get Rep. Anthony Weiner angry — You wouldn't like him when he's angry. — Watch this through to at least the third minute, by which time a Republican has pulled a parliamentary maneuver to stop Weiner and give him a chance to take back his words, and Weiner substitutes his words for, uh, other words.

Discussion: The Corner on National …

Ben Frumin / TPM LiveWire:

Weiner: Every GOPer I Know Is A ‘Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Of The Insurance Industry’ (VIDEO) — A must-watch performance on the House floor today from Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). — “You gotta love these Republicans,” Weiner said. “I mean, you guys have chutzpah.

Discussion: Mediaite, Rumproast and Dennis the Peasant

Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:

“Nuclear Option” stupidity comes full circle — Want to see a neat trick? — As we've documented extensively over the past year, conservatives have waged an ongoing campaign to re-brand the process of reconciliation as the “nuclear option.” Feel free to read any of the hundred or so examples …

Discussion: Breitbart.tv, Human Events, The Mahablog, Think Progress, Hullabaloo, Matthew Yglesias, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Eschaton

Washington Post:
Democrats looking beyond health-care summit to final talks within party

Discussion: New York Times, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Political Punch and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Katie Connolly / Newsweek Blogs:
The Health-Care Summit Isn't a Negotiation, It's a Math Problem

Discussion: msnbc.com, Alas, a blog, Ezra Klein, Taegan Goddard's … and NOW! Blog

Orlando Sentinel:

SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in whale attack — An experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, Dawn Brancheau, was fatally injured by one of the whales. — A SeaWorld employee died this afternoon during an incident at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed.

Discussion: theblogprof, Clusterstock, New York Magazine, Dealbreaker, Truthdig and Silicon Alley Insider

Orlando Sentinel:
SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau dies in killer-whale attack

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Left Coast Rebel and American Power

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

Jeb Bush On Sarah Palin: If She Only Had A Brain... (VIDEO) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some advice for Sarah Palin: You'd be a great, if you only had a brain. — In a recent interview with Newsmax, Bush was asked whether he thought Palin was a viable candidate for president.

Discussion: NewsMax.com, Ben Smith's Blog, Left Coast Rebel, Think Progress, The Lonely Conservative, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, American Conservative …, Washington Monthly, Indecision Forever, Dennis the Peasant and Riehl World View

Erik Wemple / City Desk:

Breaking: Could “The Party” Be Over? — Update 2:28: Newsroom rumors are running fierce right now. But it's tough to nail any sort of confirmation on where the column stands. Will keep pounding. — Update 1:45: Have made several calls to the very top crust of Post newsroom management.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog, Hullabaloo and Gawker

Erik Wemple / City Desk:
Brauchli Confirms Print Death of “The Party” by Sally Quinn

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog, Mediaite and Politics Daily

Nick Bunkley / New York Times:

G.M. to Close Hummer After Sale Collapses — DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday that it would shut down Hummer, the brand of big sport-utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler,” after a deal to sell it to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Jon Taplin's Blog, The Consumerist, SpeakEasy and The Political Carnival

Frank Gaffney / Big Government:

Can This Possibly Be True? New Obama Missile Defense Logo Includes A Crescent — The Obama administration's determined effort to reduce America's missile defense capabilities initially seemed to be just standard Leftist fare — of a piece with the Democratic base's visceral hostility …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, TBogg, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Rumproast

Karina / The Gavel:

House Passes Bill To Repeal Antitrust Exemption For Health Insurance Companies — By a vote of 406-19, the House passed the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act (HR 4626), introduced by Reps. Tom Perriello (D-VA) and Betsy Markey (D-CO). This bill is designed to restore competition …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Crooks and Liars, USA Today, Daily Kos, Firedoglake, The Political Carnival and White House.gov Blog Feed

Zaid Jilani / Think Progress:
Weiner Offends The GOP On House Floor: You're All ‘Owned’ …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Blue Virginia

Elijah Cummings / Examiner:

Thirty-one House Dems quizzing Toyota execs got UAW campaign cash — Two committees in the U.S. House of Representatives are holding hearings this week concerning allegations of sudden acceleration problems in Toyota cars and trucks sold in this country. — Among the witnesses appearing today …

Discussion: PointOfLaw Forum

Daniel Schulman / Mother Jones:

Did Blackwater Rescue Alan Grayson in Niger? — Before joining Congress, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) was the scourge of military contractors, filing dozens of whistleblower lawsuits against companies who defrauded the government in connection with their work in Iraq.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, CentristNet, TPMMuckraker and Wonkette

Daily Mail:

Up to 1,200 needless deaths, patients abused, staff bullied to meet targets... yet a secret inquiry into failing hospital says no one's to blame — Up to 1,200 patients died unnecessarily because of appalling care — Labour's obsession with targets and box ticking blamed for scandal

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere and Weasel Zippers

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:

Greek rescue in danger as deputy prime minister attacks ‘Nazi’ Germany — Greece has greatly damaged its chances of an EU bail-out by lashing out at Germany over war-time atrocities and accusing Italy of cooking its books to hide public debt. — The escalating dispute came as a general strike …

Discussion: The Market Ticker and Power Line

David Harsanyi / Reason:

The Ron Paul Delusion — Why the Texas congressman does not represent the future of conservatism — What are we to make of the Republican Party's future now that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the well-attended Conservative Political Action Conference last week?

Discussion: The Spot, LewRockwell.com Blog, Hot Air and distributedrepublic …

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Happy Hour Roundup — * I've repeatedly noted here that the pressure is on Obama to pull off a decisive win tomorrow, because if there's no clear victor — and the public perceives the summit as more Beltway white noise — Republicans will walk away satisfied.

Joseph Morton / Omaha World-Herald:

Medical malpractice back on the table? — WASHINGTON — As lawmakers prepare for Thursday's bipartisan health care summit and look for ways to control costs, medical malpractice could be back in the spotlight. — Studies have found that capping malpractice damage awards and making …

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Millerdj / Media Matters for America:

Myths and falsehoods on Don't Ask, Don't Tell — In the wake of President Barack Obama's call for the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy in favor of allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, Media Matters for America reviews the myths …

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay, Pam's House Blend, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay

Associated Press:

Patriot Act Elements Extended — The Senate on Wednesday extended for a year key provisions of the nation's counterterrorism surveillance law that are scheduled to expire at the end of the month. One provision authorizes court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones.

Discussion: TalkLeft

The Corner on National Review Online:

CBO Report Was Pre-Ordained to Show the Stimulus Succeeded — By: NRO Staff — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has produced a new report estimating that the $862 billion stimulus has thus far saved or created 1.5 million jobs. Yet the CBO's calculations are not based on actually observing the economy's recent performance.

Discussion: Moonbattery, The Foundry, Commentary and Vox Popoli

The Hill:

Sen. McCain 'doesn't understand' Sen. Reid's repeated attacks on him — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday he is confused about his relationship with Harry Reid (D-Nev.), noting that the majority leader has a habit of lambasting him one day and praising him the next.

Aaron Blake / The Hill:

Crist sounding more and more ... independent — Either Charlie Crist realizes he can't escape the stimulus, or he's leaning toward an independent run for Senate. — Crist is saying some curious things for a man in the midst of a conservative primary challenge. — Here's a few, just from the last couple days:

Discussion: The Buzz