White House Confirms Efforts to Entice Sestak Out of Senate Race, Denies Impropriety

The White House responds to the Joe Sestak non-scandal, confirming that it worked to dissuade the Pennsylvania congressman from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the Democratic Senate primary but dismissing all charges of impropriety. “We have concluded that allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law,” the [...]

White House Confirms Efforts to Entice Sestak Out of Senate Race, Denies Impropriety

The White House responds to the Joe Sestak non-scandal, confirming that it worked to dissuade the Pennsylvania congressman from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the Democratic Senate primary but dismissing all charges of impropriety. “We have concluded that allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law,” the [...]

Fun While It Lasted

That “Top Kill” maneuver that appeared so successful at blocking the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico earlier today? Not so successful anymore: BP had to halt its ambitious effort to plug its stricken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday afternoon when engineers saw that too much of the drilling [...]

Obama on Oil Spill: The Government’s in Charge

Facing criticism that the administration has given BP too much control over the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama asserted that the government is in charge and is taking all necessary action to end the crisis. “The American people should know that from the moment this disaster began, the [...]

A Month After Oil Spill Began, Heads Start to Roll

Not long after oil began pouring into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig — a disaster that may be approaching its conclusion — people around the country started assigning blame. BP, which was doing the drilling, was an obvious target. Some environmental activists called for the resignation of Interior Secretary Ken [...]

Lowrey and Konczal Talk Money on Bloggingheads

TWI’s Annie Lowrey makes another appearance on Bloggingheads.tv today, discussing all things financial with Rortybomb’s Mike Konczal: regulatory reform, Blanche Lincoln’s derivatives proposal, Fannie and Freddie and the economic impact of the oil spill. Check out the video after the jump:

EPA: BP Has 24 Hours to Find a Less Toxic Chemical Dispersant

Thought the massive quantities of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico were the only major threat to the country’s southeast coastal waters right now? Think again: The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersants to break up its [...]

Reid Calls Graham’s Bluff on Climate/Immigration

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has given Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) an ultimatum: Stop trying to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year, or you’ll lose my support for climate legislation. Now, Reid has called Graham’s bluff. “I don’t know how my friend Lindsey Graham can say this kills energy [legislation],” Reid said last night, [...]

Crist Makes It Official

In a short speech to supporters, Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) just announced his run for the U.S. Senate as an independent candidate. Crist, once the overwhelming favorite to win the GOP nomination, has fallen far behind Marco Rubio in recent polls. While his path to the Senate may be easier as an independent, he acknowledged [...]

Colorado Gubernatorial Candidate Promises Arizona-Like Immigration Law

When Arizona passed its highly controversial immigration bill — which among other provisions requires police to ask people about their legal status if they have reason to believe they might be illegal immigrants — into law last week, national Democrats hoped to turn the issue into a wedge for Republicans. And things seemed to be [...]

After a Decade of Debate, Cape Wind Is a Go

At noon, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce the fate of a proposed offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound, near Cape Cod — and The Boston Globe is reporting that Salazar will be giving the project a green light. Cape Wind will be the country’s first offshore wind farm, and its approval marks a huge [...]

Kerry: We’re Sending Climate Bill to EPA for Analysis

Despite Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) recent withdrawal from the climate legislation process, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is telling reporters that the Environmental Protection Agency will soon begin analyzing the economic impact of the climate bill he and Graham helped craft. “We are sending the bill to be modeled now with Lindsey Graham’s consent,” the Democratic [...]

Will Lindsey Graham Listen to His GOP Colleagues on Immigration?

To recap: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the three senators working on a comprehensive climate bill, withdrew from the process over the weekend to protest Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) plan to act on immigration reform before climate legislation. Reid has since offered signs that he’s willing to first focus on climate, but it [...]

Lieberman: Reid Will Likely Move Climate Bill Ahead of Immigration Reform

Appearing on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports just now, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) sounded an optimistic note about the prospects for comprehensive climate legislation this year and expressed dismay at Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) indication that immigration reform would be a higher priority — a move that led Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to call off [...]

Lunchtime Links

Immigration reform is a no-win issue. Lindsey Graham is right to be upset. As Dems scramble to bring Graham back into the climate fold, will the White House step in? Mark Halperin argues that Obama’s presidency has been a success thus far. The GOP political strategy on FinReg makes no sense — provided Dems don’t [...]

Lunchtime Links

Immigration reform is a no-win issue. Lindsey Graham is right to be upset. As Dems scramble to bring Graham back into the climate fold, will the White House step in? Mark Halperin argues that Obama’s presidency has been a success thus far. The GOP political strategy on FinReg makes no sense — provided Dems don’t [...]

Lunchtime Links

Immigration reform is a no-win issue. Lindsey Graham is right to be upset. As Dems scramble to bring Graham back into the climate fold, will the White House step in? Mark Halperin argues that Obama’s presidency has been a success thus far. The GOP political strategy on FinReg makes no sense — provided Dems don’t [...]

Graham Withdraws From Climate Trio

And just like that, the bill that Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) were planning to unveil on Monday gets put on indefinite hold. The New York Times has the story.

Greenpeace Will Not Support Senate Climate Bill

Earlier this afternoon, I speculated on what the concessions to industry in the Senate climate bill would mean for environmental groups’ support. “Is this enough for some liberal groups to withhold their support?” I asked. “Probably — although the mainstream of the environmental movement is likely to bite the bullet and throw its weight behind [...]

Loaded With Concessions, Climate Bill Wins Backing of Oil Companies

Kate Sheppard has some big news on the Senate climate bill, expected to drop Monday, following a conference call with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), one of three senators working on the bill. The good news for environmentalists: Three of the country’s big five oil companies have agreed to support the bill, as has the Edison [...]

Voinovich and Lugar Ditch KGL to Work on Competing Energy Bill

Given that the prospects for passage of the climate legislation being drafted by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) rest on the shoulders of a few moderate Republican senators, this news from CQ (subs. req’d) isn’t good for environmental advocates: Two moderate Republicans long courted by authors of a Senate [...]

Lillis Heads to West Virginia for On-the-Ground Mining Coverage

Since an explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 workers on April 5, Mike Lillis has been covering every angle of the story: the dozens of other mines owned by Massey Energy that pose safety risks, the failed 2008 bill that could have prevented the disaster, the president’s strategy [...]

McCaskill: Climate Bill Hinges on Financial Regulatory Reform

The Hill reports on the battle brewing between liberal and conservative Democrats over whether to move forward with a clean energy bill that does not address carbon emissions or to roll some of that bill’s provisions into a larger energy and climate bill. Ultimately, that question could be answered by a very different debate: the [...]

Iowa Anti-Gay Marriage Group Pulls in Over $3 Million in Federal Funding

Last month, The Iowa Independent reported on an anti-gay marriage Christian group that called homosexual activity “more dangerous for individuals who engage in it than is smoking.” Today, they report that this same group, the Iowa Family Policy Center, has received over $3 million in federal funding. Between 2004 and 2009 the politically influential Christian [...]

A Radical Climate Solution Goes Mainstream

visibleearth.nasa.gov The scientific consensus on geoengineering — a manipulation of the environment to counteract climate change — has come a long way in the past few years. As recently as 2006, it was unthinkable to many climate scientists that leaders in their field would seriously consider the idea of shooting reflective particles into the atmosphere [...]

Senators Will Unveil Climate Bill on April 26

The tripartisan group of senators crafting climate legislation — John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — plan to release their much-anticipated bill on April 26. The original idea was to roll it out on April 22, the symbolic 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Why the change? Graham explains: “We’re not going [...]

One Massey Mine Has Been Cited for 206 Safety Violations in the Past Ten Days

Every day, we’ve been updating our chart of safety violations at coal mines owned by Massey Energy, whose Upper Big Branch Mine suffered an explosion on April 5, killing 29 workers. And the numbers have been climbing at a pretty astounding rate. At Freedom Mine #1, across the Kentucky border from Upper Big Branch, there [...]

Kerilkowske Signals ‘A New Direction in Drug Policy’

Mike’s reported on the White House’s shift away from a “war on drugs” mentality toward an increased focus on prevention and treatment. Today, National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske emphasized that shift in testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s subpanel on domestic policy. From a press release sent along by the [...]

What Stevens’ Retirement Means for the Environment

Rachel Hartman has a great roundup of what conservatives are saying about the upcoming Supreme Court battle. But it’s not just on the right that Justice John Paul Stevens’ retirement is causing intense speculation. Environmentalists are also fretting about the implications of Stevens’ exit for the country’s climate struggles. Over at Grist, Jonathan Hiskes points [...]

Video: Mike Lillis and Ed Schultz Discuss Massey Energy’s Safety Record

Mike Lillis appeared on MSNBC’s The Ed Show last night, discussing the hundreds of safety violations racked up by Massey Energy, the company whose coal mine in West Virginia exploded on Monday, killing at least 25 workers. Watch the video clip after the jump: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the [...]

Lillis to Discuss Massey Mine Safety Risks on The Ed Show

In the wake of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine earlier this week, Mike Lillis dug through federal records and wrote a piece, published this morning, about the dozens of other mines owned by Massey Energy that pose significant safety risks. Tonight, at 6 pm, he’ll be on The Ed Show on [...]

Introducing Our New Economy Reporter, Annie Lowrey!

I’m thrilled and proud to introduce the newest member of the TWI team, Annie Lowrey. Annie is wrapping up her illustrious stint as an assistant editor at Foreign Policy; previously, she worked in the Washington bureau of The New Yorker. With the health care debate now (more or less) behind us, lawmakers and the public [...]

Coal Company Whose W.Va. Mine Exploded Touts Safety Record

Massey Energy must feel pretty ashamed right now. A coal mine it owns exploded yesterday, killing at least 25 people. One of the coal industry’s staunchest allies in Congress is calling for an investigation and promising accountability. So what’s the company’s Website have to say? Well, here’s the top story: “2009 Was Another Record Setting [...]

West Virginia Congressman: ‘There Will Be Accountability’

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), a steadfast supporter of the coal industry, responds to the tragic mine explosion yesterday that killed at least 25 people: West Virginia is in mourning today. Twenty-five of its hard-working, courageous miners have been lost and we are bound together with their families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers in grief, while we [...]

On Countdown, Weigel Discusses HCR Repeal

For the second time this week, TWI’s David Weigel appeared on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, this time to pick apart the GOP’s problematic pledge to repeal health care reform. Video after the jump: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

LaHood and Jackson Roll Out ‘Historic’ Auto Emissions and Efficiency Guidelines

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson just announced a new set of automobile guidelines on a conference call with reporters — a program that aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by 30 percent and increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent over the coming years. LaHood emphasized that the new [...]

No Typo: Inhofe Praises Obama’s Energy Plan

It is very, very rare to see Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) agree with President Obama on anything, let alone energy policy. The conservative ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has generally been the president’s most vocal critic when it comes to the environment. And yet today, as other Republicans bash Obama’s [...]

In Obama’s Offshore Drilling Announcment, an Apology to Environmentalists

President Obama, speaking at Andrews Air Force Base, just announced his decision to expand the country’s offshore drilling for oil. But his speech sounded mostly like an apology to environmentalists for the move. The president began by touting his administration’s commitment to clean energy, through new investments and higher auto mileage standards. He announced a [...]

Boehner Slams Obama’s Offshore Drilling Expansion

Last night, I predicted that President Obama would take some heat for his decision to expand oil drilling off much of the country’s coastline. But I didn’t think it would be coming from Republicans: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed the president’s plan as not going far enough in opening up U.S. waters for [...]

Obama to Open Atlantic Coast to Offshore Drilling

This is bound to draw some fire from the left: The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling for the first time, officials said Tuesday. The proposal — a compromise that [...]

Weigel Discusses Steele, Strip Clubs and Tea Parties on Countdown

TWI’s David Weigel appeared on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night, discussing the strange story of an RNC-funded outing at a Los Angeles strip club and its implications for Michael Steele’s chairmanship and the relationship between the Republican Party and the Tea Party movement. Video after the jump: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world [...]

Sanders Stands Up to Big Nuke

These days, in their efforts to patch together a bipartisan coalition to pass climate legislation, Democrats have been falling over themselves to kowtow to nuclear energy. From President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu to members of Congress such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Democrats have readily agreed with their Republican colleagues that any climate [...]

Scenes From Obama’s Iowa Health Care Rally

The Iowa Independent has some great photos from President Obama’s health care rally in Iowa City yesterday, depicting the president, other political leaders and both supporters and opponents of health care reform. Check them out here.

Obama’s Campaign for Health Care Reform Comes Full Circle

It was in Iowa City that then-candidate Barack Obama first unveiled his health care reform plans, back in May 2007. Now, having signed a landmark reform bill, he’s back in Iowa City, still trying to persuade the public of the importance of reform. The Iowa Independent reports: “After a year of debate and a century [...]

Graham: After Health Care Fight, Conservative Dems Won’t Support Climate Legislation

Meet Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the only man in Washington who’s actively working to undermine legislation he’s in the process of writing. Graham’s surprising (and politically brave) work on a comprehensive climate bill with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has been punctuated by hedges and backtracks, all while insisting he’s committed to [...]

Swing Senators Urge Climate Action

The Senate is expected to pass the House’s health care reconciliation fix this week — and after the upper chamber’s members return from spring recess, they can finally turn their attention to other major legislation. But environmental advocates have feared that with a jobs bills, financial regulation and possibly immigration reform on the table, comprehensive [...]

KGL Bill Earns Praise From Both Industry and Enviros; Something’s Gotta Give

Yesterday, I noted that industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are saying some not-unflattering things about the climate bill being unveiled by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — something which ought to get environmental advocates a bit concerned about what’s in the bill. But now a funny [...]

So Much for Global Cooling: 2010 Temperatures Flirt With Records

This winter, environmental advocates cringed at every falling snowflake, knowing full well that climate change skeptics would point to them as a refutation of global warming, or even evidence of “global cooling.” (Donald Trump went so far as to call for the Nobel Committee to rescind Al Gore’s Peace Prize amid heavy snow last month.) [...]

Senators Unveil Outline of Climate Bill

In a closed-door meeting with industry groups today, the three senators crafting climate legislation revealed the broad strokes of their bill and met with general approval. E&E News (sub. req’d.) reports: Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) shared an eight-page outline of their draft legislation that would reduce greenhouse gas [...]

Senate Passes Jobs Bill

By a 68-29 margin, the Senate approved a jobs bill today that will provide tax breaks and fund public construction projects. From the AP: The Senate is sending the first of several promised election-year jobs bills to President Obama for his signature. It would provide a temporary payroll tax holiday to companies that hire and [...]

With Friends Like These, Mother Earth Needs No Enemies

Can’t figure out why an increasing number of Americans doubt the threat of climate change? Well, check out where they’re getting their information. From John Horgan in Scientific American: Two sources at the Science Times section of the New York Times have told me that a majority of the section’s editorial staff doubts that human-induced [...]

LaHood: ‘This Is the End of Favoring Motorized Transportation’

Following last week’s National Bike Summit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today a “sea change” in American transportation policy. Proclaiming the “end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized,” LaHood sent the following recommendations to state departments of transportation as well as local governments and groups: Treat walking and bicycling as equals with [...]

Global Warming Concerns Continue to Decline

Americans continue to grow more skeptical of the threat of global warming, with a new Gallup poll showing that nearly half of all Americans believe the threat is exaggerated. According to the poll, 48 percent of the population considers the seriousness of global warming to be “generally exaggerated” — up from 41 percent last year [...]

Report: House Drops Massa Investigation

The Washington Post is reporting that the House Ethics Committee has closed its probe into former Rep. Eric Massa’s (D-N.Y.) alleged harassment of staffers. Update: Looks like Massa’s resignation might have been a shrewd move. From the Post: The committee concluded that Massa’s resignation put him outside the reach of any punishment the committee could [...]

Blanche Lincoln’s Army of Lobbyist Disciples

It’s been obvious for some time that Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) was unlikely to support comprehensive climate legislation. What wasn’t clear was the extent of her influence, which, according to a new report by the Sunlight Foundation, goes well beyond her single vote in the Senate: Six of Lincoln’s former staffers currently lobby for interests [...]

Senate Primacy and the Meaninglessness of Waxman-Markey

Over at Mother Jones, Kate Sheppard asks a good question: Was the Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill, debated ad nauseum and eventually passed by the House last June, just a waste of time? After all, the tripartisan Senate group now crafting similar legislation has decided to drop cap-and-trade — the central provision of the House [...]

Weigel Patrols the Palin Beat on Countdown

TWI’s David Weigel made an appearance on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, chatting with Lawrence O’Donnell about all things Palin: her hand scribblings, her religious pandering and her foray into the Canadian health care system. Check out the video after the jump: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Please Welcome Our New Editor, Mary Kane!

I’m thrilled to announce that after nearly two months of heroic interim leadership by Holly Yeager, The Washington Independent has a new editor: Mary Kane, our beloved longtime economy reporter. Mary knows the ins and outs of TWI as well as anyone. She joined the team before the site even existed, back in late 2007, [...]

Lieberman to Murkowski: ANWR Drilling Ain’t Gonna Happen

As the three senators crafting climate legislation try to rally moderates behind their cause, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) could be a key player, since she’s shown some (but not much) willingness to play ball on climate issues. That’s why environmental advocates were so dismayed when she announced that drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [...]

Introducing TWI’s Senate Public Option Reconciliation Scoreboard

Back in the heat of the public option debate last fall, TWI created a scoreboard to track each senator’s position on a government insurance plan to compete with private insurers. Ultimately, Senate Democrats determined that they just couldn’t muster the necessary 60 votes for a bill with a public option, and so they passed legislation [...]

Climate Trio Woos Senate Moderates

They already have a liberal, a conservative and a wild card on board; now the tripartisan Senate group crafting climate legislation is trying to fill the spaces in between. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are expected to soon release further details of their cap-and-trade-less climate bill, possibly as soon [...]

With All Those Media Appearances, Who’s Got Time to Vote?

Not Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). Her quest for celebrity, it seems, has trumped her duties as the elected representative of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. The Minnesota Independent reports: An analysis by the Minnesota Independent shows that Bachmann has missed more votes than any member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation in the 111th Congress — even after [...]

Microsoft Distances Itself From Chamber of Commerce on Climate

After months of stagnation and speculation that comprehensive climate action was dead for 2010, there’s some real momentum on the climate front. First came word that Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would be presenting a draft climate proposal to the Senate later this week. And today, Microsoft is reminding [...]

The Two Fatal Flaws of a Cap-less Climate Bill

The tripartisan Kerry-Graham-Lieberman Senate climate squad made a splash this weekend with its decision to drop cap-and-trade from its (eventual) legislative proposal, instead imposing carbon controls on various polluting sectors of the economy. As Brad Plumer points out, this isn’t necessarily bad news for environmental advocates; treating the country as a monolithic source of pollution [...]

Senate Passes Jobs Bill

Two days after it overcame its chief procedural hurdle, a scaled-back jobs bill just passed the Senate by a vote of 70-28. The $15 billion bill must now be reconciled with a $154 billion jobs bill passed by the House in December. From The Washington Post: The measure passed 70 to 28, with 13 Republicans [...]

Five Republicans Break Ranks as Jobs Bill Passes Cloture Vote

The Senate just voted 62-30 to allow a $15 billion jobs bill to go to the floor for a final up-or-down vote. Five Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for the bill, while Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) was the only Democrat to vote against it. From The New York Times: Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, [...]

Lautenberg Has Stomach Cancer

Sad news: Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and will begin chemotherapy today. The 86-year-old is the second-oldest sitting U.S. senator — behind the ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) — and was first elected to the Senate in 1982. From The Star-Ledger: The Democrat still plans to finish out his current [...]

Michael Williams Gives Hungry CPAC Crowd a Healthy Portion of Climate Denialism

Texas Railroad Commissioner and U.S. Senate candidate Michael Williams — sporting an incandescent blue bow tie — drew huge cheers from the CPAC crowd this morning with boilerplate rhetoric attacking Democratic efforts to reduce carbon emissions. After being introduced as a man whose job dealt with oil and gas as much as railroads, he told [...]

Another Dem Senator Hopping on the Reconciliation Train?

Eight Democrats in the Senate have signed a letter pushing for a majority-rules reconciliation vote on a health care bill that includes a public insurance option. Now it looks like there might be a ninth one coming on board. The Iowa Independent reports: Several sources, including a a former state lawmaker running against Republican U.S. [...]

Two Reasons Not to Cheer Obama’s Nuclear Ambitions

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic lists five reasons to celebrate President Obama’s renewed commitment to nuclear energy. Let’s take a look at numbers one and four: Known Quantity I’ve complained several times about the government making bets on funding business propositions, like electric cars, that have not yet proven their profitability. If the government is [...]

Olbermann, Weigel Discuss Tea Bags and Captain America

TWI’s David Weigel appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night and demonstrated that his encyclopedic knowledge of the nation’s right wing is exceeded only by his knowledge of comic book history. Weigel and Olbermann discussed a recent Captain America comic that featured crowds of protesters holding signs that looked remarkably similar to those captured [...]

Lunchtime Links

A “Draft Ford” website has … 11 signatures. Lockheed Martin never forgets it’s working for John Murtha. Obama shot himself in the foot over recess appointments. House Republicans think they won their debate with Obama. Her rhetoric aside, Sarah Palin’s staunchest ally has been the media. Does the filibuster render America ungovernable? Billy Tauzin, #5 [...]

Lunchtime Links

Long term aside, passing health reform would bring short-term political benefits to Democrats. Don’t count Tom Perriello out yet. Gail Collins takes a swing at David Paterson. David Broder says “Take Sarah Palin seriously”; America doesn’t listen. A generic 2012 “Republican candidate,” on the other hand, is fairly popular. And Scott Brown beats Huckabee, Gingrich, [...]

Lunchtime Links

Long term aside, passing health reform would bring short-term political benefits to Democrats. Don’t count Tom Perriello out yet. Gail Collins takes a swing at David Paterson. David Broder says “Take Sarah Palin seriously”; America doesn’t listen. A generic 2012 “Republican candidate,” on the other hand, is fairly popular. And Scott Brown beats Huckabee, Gingrich, [...]

Ackerman Talks Terror on Maddow

TWI’s Spencer Ackerman appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show last night, discussing the GOP’s mistaken claims — or, as Spencer puts it, “simply lying” — on the case of would-be Christmas bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Check out the video after the jump: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lunchtime Links

Obama maintains a very narrow edge in voter trust. The left sets up a tug of war over health care. Here are potential paths to primary victory for 2012 Republicans. Gingrich tries, fails to explain why it’s ok to Mirandize Reid but not Abdulmutallab. Bingaman says the snowstorm makes cap-and-trade less likely. It could also [...]

Lunchtime Links

Palin starts putting together a campaign — and if the primaries were this year, she’d have a shot. Obama taps a key architect of Bush’s military commissions. A comprehensive analysis shows Obama’s stances to be considerably more popular than the GOP’s. The so-called Dem health care bill already contains six very Republican provisions. GOP eyes [...]

Weigel Talks Football, Politics With Olopade on Bloggingheads

On Sunday, TWI’s David Weigel chatted with The Root’s Dayo Olopade on Bloggingheads.tv, discussing the Super Bowl, snow, New Orleans politics, Tea Parties and more. Check out the video after the jump:

Introducing Our New Guest Blogger, Megan Carpentier

I’m pleased to announce that Megan Carpentier is joining the TWI team today — and for the weeks to come — as a guest blogger, covering the economy beat. Megan served as the news and politics editor of Air America until it (sadly) went under last month. Prior to that, she worked as an editor [...]

Lunchtime Links

Cantor embraces bipartisanship on the GOP’s terms. Dems take advantage of their snow day. Sarah Palin needs help. Wall Street, speaking with its collective wallet, tells Dems “no thanks” on financial regulations. Will Senate obstructionism be the country’s downfall? House Dems are worried that repealing the Bush tax cuts on the rich will be politically [...]