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Snowe Says She Opposes Medicare Buy-In Idea — Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) says a Medicare buy-in approach will be a hard sell with her. She told reporters this afternoon that she's not inclined to support the idea, currently being discussed by liberal and conservative Democrats seeking a compromise on the public option.
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Senate tables Nelson's abortion amendment 54-45 — Senators voted Tuesday afternoon to set aside a healthcare amendment that would have curbed federal support for abortion coverage. — Senators voted to table a measure from Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Pa.) …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Power Line, George's Bottom Line, MyDD, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Hill and Gateway Pundit


Nelson: Failure Of My Abortion Amendment Makes It Harder For Me To Support Health Care Bill — After his abortion amendment did not win the day on the Senate floor, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) did not come out swinging. Though he insisted that the failure of his abortion amendment …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog


Medicare Buy-In Proposal Could Begin In 2010 — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — There is “growing enthusiasm” for a proposal that would make Medicare coverage available to more consumers as early as next year, a Democratic source with knowledge of health care negotiations tells the Huffington Post.

Senate rejects Nelson amendment on abortion — The measure, which failed 54-45, addressed the scope of restrictions on coverage of abortion services for people who receive subsidies to buy insurance. The outcome was expected, but could cost the support of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) …

Lieberman Open To Medicare Buy-In, So Long As Public Option Scrapped
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Open Left

Why I'm Not a Liberal Anymore — Maybe the initial illuminating moment came when I learned that Tom Hayden, the anti-Vietnam war activist, had removed the Obama bumper sticker from his car. All I know is that I can hardly stand reading the Huffington Post these days.
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My friend the president — Over the past couple of days, Andrew Sullivan has linked to and published protests from various individuals who are quite angry that people “on the left” are being so mean to President Obama, and several of them are so upset that they have decided they are “leaving the left,” whatever that might mean.

Copenhagen talks in chaos after leak — Developing countries react furiously to leaked draft agreement that would hand more power to rich nations, sideline the UN's negotiating role and abandon the Kyoto protocol — The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today …
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The Politico, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Gateway Pundit, NewsBusters.org, Politics Daily, Grist, American Power, Newsweek Blogs, JustOneMinute, The New Republic, The Greenroom, Donklephant, Taylor Marsh, Watts Up With That?, YID With LID, Confederate Yankee, Green Energy Reporter, EU Referendum, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Samizdata.net, Vox Popoli, Tim Blair and Left Coast Rebel


Massive TSA Security Breach As Agency Gives Away Its Secrets — Online Posting Reveals a “How To” for Terrorists to Get Through Airport Security — In a massive security breach, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) inadvertently posted online its entire airport screening procedures manual …

The President's Job's Initiative Doesn't Measure Up — Barack Obama is trying once again for balance. On the one hand, he wants enough government spending to offset the timid spending of consumers and businesses. Otherwise, the jobs and wage recession could drag on for years.
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Lieberman assailed for role in health-care debate — Mischaracterization of public option alleged — Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) has once again inserted himself into the middle of an inflamed partisan debate, raising questions about his motives, his ego and his fickle allegiance …
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House Liberals Skeptical Of Senate Proposals, Vow Not To Swallow Senate Compromise — With negotiations dragging on in the Senate, a central topic emerging on Capitol Hill is the intense pressure House Dems are likely to feel to adopt the eventual Senate proposal, and how they're likely to react to it.

President Obama told me to stop ‘demeaning’ him, says Rep. Conyers — President Barack Obama recently called Rep. John Conyers Jr. to express his frustrations with the Judiciary Committee chairman's criticism. — In an interview with The Hill, Conyers said his opinions of Obama's policies …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, AMERICAblog News, Left Coast Rebel, Political Byline, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Riehl World View, POWIP, MyDD and Weekly Standard
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Shocker polls: That Sarah Palin-Barack Obama gap melts to 1 point

The Value of Daily Tracking
Discussion:
Political Punch, Weekly Standard, YID With LID, NewsBusters.org, TPMDC, Hot Air and The Huffington Post


Palin: Huck made ‘horrible decision’ — Sarah Palin says former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a “horrible decision” nine years ago in granting clemency to a man suspected of killing four police officers two weeks ago in Washington state. — “It was a bad decision obviously …
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Sarah Palin Is Coming to Town — When I walked into the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan last week, I headed straight for the bright young thing who wore an “Ask Me” button, and asked her to point me to the section of the store where I might find Sarah Palin's memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life.”
Discussion:
Whiskey Fire, TBogg, Hit & Run, NewsBusters.org, Althouse, The Corner on National … and The Reality-Based Community

Most Americans Oppose Second Stimulus and Using Bailout Funds for States — President Obama hopes to use money still unspent from the $787-billion economic stimulus plan to fight the nation's 10% unemployment rate, and one of the ideas on the table is to channel money to states to keep them from laying off public employees.


The Smoking Gun At Darwin Zero — by Willis Eschenbach — People keep saying “Yes, the Climategate scientists behaved badly. But that doesn't mean the data is bad. That doesn't mean the earth is not warming.” — Darwin Airport - by Dominic Perrin via Panoramio — Let me start with the second objection first.

Official Announcement: I'm going to AOL — I'll have more to say on this soon. Check back here. In the mean time, I'll let the official announcement give the who-what-where. — SAUL HANSELL, FORMERLY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES, JOINS AOL AS FIRST EMPLOYEE OF SEED, AOL's NEW CONTENT MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

Cheney: Obama ‘more radical’ than seen — President Barack Obama, bowing to other leaders of the world, fails to understand the concept of “American exceptionalism,” former Vice President Dick Cheney contends. — “There's never been a nation like the United States of America in world history …

Sen. Nelson introduces war bonds bill to finance military in Iraq and Afghanistan — The United States would begin financing its military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan with war bonds under new legislation introduced Tuesday. — Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) unveiled the …


Voters a rare sight at some polling places — With the clock ticking down towards the close of the polls at 8 p.m., some communities reported low voter turnout in the special primary elections for US Senate. — People breezed past community centers, gymnasiums, town halls …

Reid doubles down on slavery analogy — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday defended his remarks from Monday comparing congressional Republican opposition to healthcare to the 19th-century debate over slavery, accusing his GOP critics of “distorting” his intent.


No Slowdown of Global Warming, Agency Says — COPENHAGEN — Despite recent fluctuations in global temperature year to year, which fueled claims of global cooling, a sustained global warming trend shows no signs of ending, according to new analysis by the World Meteorological Organization made public on Tuesday.