New Media Blog

Politico, by Manu Raju Posted By: garnet- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:30:05 GMT Sen. Ben Nelson (D'Neb.) announced Monday evening that he will support a Republican'led filibuster over President Barack Obama's nominee to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. The move is likely to infuriate labor groups who have fought hard for Craig Becker's nomination to serve on the five'member NLRB ' and will likely give Republicans enough support to sustain a filibuster Tuesday.

Washington Post, by Michael D. Shear Posted By: nota bene- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:25:45 GMT Leading House Republicans raised the prospect Monday night that they might refuse to participate in President Obama's proposed health care summit if the White House chooses not to scrap the existing reform bills and start over. In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) expressed frustration at reports that Obama intends to put the Democratic bills on the table

Japan Times, by Editorial Posted By: Obelisk- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:25:05 GMT As expected, the $6.4 billion arms deal for Taiwan that Washington announced Jan. 29 has caused the temperature of the already chilly U.S'China relationship to plummet. Defensive in nature, the weapons package includes 114 Patriot air'defense missiles, two Osprey mine'sweeping ships, 60 Black Hawk helicopters, fighter jet communications technology, machine guns and ammunition. Notably, the Obama administration rejected selling Taiwan F'16 fighter jets, calling such a move "too provocative" toward Beijing.

Washington Note, by Steve Clemons Posted By: garnet- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:15:28 GMT Financial Times Washington Bureau Chief Edward Luce has written a granularly informed insider account about those who hold the keys to the inner most sanctum of Obama Land '' Rahm Emanuel, Robert Gibbs, Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod.(Snip) Most are unnamed because the consequences of retribution from this powerful foursome can be severe in an access'dependent town. John Podesta, President of the powerful, adminstration'tilting Center for American Progress, had the temerity and self'confidence

Wall Street Journal, by Editorial Posted By: nota bene- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:11:07 GMT Dick Cheney is not the most popular of politicians, but when he offered a harsh assessment of the Obama Administration's approach to terrorism last May, his criticism stung—so much that the President gave a speech the same day that was widely seen as a direct response. Though neither man would admit it, eight months later political and security realities are forcing Mr. Obama's antiterror policies ever'closer to the former Vice President's.

Guardian.co.uk, by Joe Queenan Posted By: garnet- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:59:42 GMT This weekend, the fledgling Tea Party movement has been holding a convention in Nashville, Tennessee. White, middle'class, contemptuous of Wall Street, Washington and academia, the Tea Party insurgents view themselves as the descendants of the militiamen who whipped the British at Yorktown. (Snip)All this presents a huge problem for Democrats, because they haven't been able to figure out a way to hold spontaneous tea parties of their own.

Detroit News, by Sharon Theimer Posted By: Obelisk- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:59:20 GMT Washington '' Toyota has friends in high places in Washington, including some of the very people now investigating the Japanese automaker. {snip}Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has known Toyota's founding family since the 1960s. He was so closely involved with Toyota's selection of Buffalo, W.Va., for a factory that he slogged through cornfields with Toyota executives scouting locations and still mentions his role in the 1990s deal

Commentary, by Jennifer Rubin Posted By: nota bene- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:51:18 GMT Matthew Continetti, among others, aptly detailed in his book The Persection of Sarah Palin the media’s Sarah Palin hate'fest, which raged throughout the campaign. That campaign — the media’s, not Palin’s — included not a small amount of hyper'sexualized language and imagery. Her reappearance at the Tea Party Convention has set off a new round of such slobbery commentary. Andrew Sullivan, for one

Washington Post, by Chris Cillizza Posted By: nota bene- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:28:32 GMT The death of longtime Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha (D) this afternoon will set off a special election in his very competitive western Pennsylvania 12th district. According to state law, the governor has ten days once the vacancy is officially declared to decide on the date for the special election, which can come no sooner than 60 days following that proclamation.

Time, by Jay Newton'Small Posted By: fishmonger- Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:10:27 GMT Things can get awkward when protesters have to put down their placards and tackle the business of building an organization — networking online and recruiting reliable volunteers, precinct captains and even candidates. The transition is even more uncomfortable when undertaken in the glare of the national media spotlight, as the national tea'party movement attempted to do at its first convention, held in Tennessee over the weekend.