STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

The deficit is dropping. Is this good or bad news?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/27/we-have-an-answer-the-nations-budget-wars-have-reduced-the-deficit-by-3-3-trillion/

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2014/02/nothing-to-cheer.html
[T]he 2013 deficit is $139 billion lower than Simpson-Bowles promised to deliver. . . .

This leads to a somewhat surprising proposal

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/27/does-the-declining-deficit-mean-obama-should-embrace-the-gop-tax-plan/
Does the declining deficit mean Obama should embrace the GOP tax plan?

Damn it

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/02/28/new_flap_over_judicial_nominees.html
"When Democrats changed Senate rules last year to limit the filibuster against White House nominees, it raised hopes among some liberals that President Obama would use his new power to reshape the federal judiciary. Now, just over three months later, some Democrats and progressive groups are instead trying to stop two of the president's latest nominees to the federal bench on the grounds that they are too conservative," the New York Times reports.

Why do Republicans hate veterans?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/27/1280922/-With-just-41-votes-Republican-senators-block-veterans-benefits-bill
With just 41 votes, Republican senators block veterans benefits bill

Oopsie

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/house-republicans-predicament-budget
Republicans Trap Themselves On Medicare, Social Security

It's hard to be blue

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/gop-tax-plan-state-local-deduction-liberal-states
GOP's New Plan Hikes Taxes On Americans In Blue States 

Divided, yet winning

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/us/politics/despite-rifts-gop-has-election-edge-poll-finds.htmlG.O.P., Though Deeply Split, Has Election Edge, Poll Shows
G.O.P., Though Deeply Split, Has Election Edge, Poll Shows

The GOP continues its assault against democracy

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/stealing-election-2014-ohio-gop-kills
Ohio GOP Kills Sunday and Weekday Early Voting

The kind of people . . . HE WHAT? 

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/republican_lawmaker_very_sorry_he_said_men_should_be_able_to_rape_women_if_abortion_is_legal/
Republican lawmaker very sorry he said men should be able to rape women if abortion is legal 

Why Ted Cruz is hated by his fellow Repubs

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/26/cruz-angers-gop-colleagues-again/
Several Republican senators said Wednesday they were surprised and angered after a news report revealed that their GOP colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, made a recent fundraising appeal for a tea party group that is trying to defeat GOP incumbents it doesn't believe are conservative enough.  

The senators said Cruz's efforts appeared to violate his own pledge to no longer target sitting Republican senators in favor of tea party-backed candidates in the hard-fought 2014 campaign in which Republicans believe they have a chance to win back control of the Senate.  

In addition, the fundraising appears at odds with Cruz's position as vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the organization that works to elect and re-elect Republicans to the Senate.  

"I am stunned that Senator Cruz is involved in this fundraising effort for a group that has targeted his colleagues in the Republican caucus," Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, told CNN. . . .

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/ted_cruz_reserves_the_right_to_campaign_against_gop_colleagues/
Ted Cruz reserves the right to campaign against GOP colleagues 

More: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/199422-cruz-wont-promise-to-stay-out-of-gop-primaries

Your daily Christie

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/christie-rabbi-joke 
Christie Pals Joked About Causing 'Traffic Problems' At Home Of N.J. Rabbi

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/christie-staff-fantasized-about-more-traffic.html

http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/02/27/unredacted-bridgegate-emails-show-governor-christies-staff-joking-about-traffic-jams/

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/bridge-scandal-christies-press-secretary
Bridge scandal: Christie's press secretary meets with federal prosecutors

Your daily Walker

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/emails-reveal-scott-walker-is-who-we-thought-he-was

Emails Reveal Scott Walker Is Who We Thought He Was

It's how things work

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/no_really_you_didnt_build_that_how_the_rich_became_dependent_on_government_subsidies_partner/
How the rich became dependent on government subsidies 

UK snoops are watching your web cams

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/nsa-help-uks-spy-agency-looking-your-naked
This includes the 3 to 11% of images that show nudity. . . 

More: http://americablog.com/2014/02/uk-spy-agency-tapped-1-8-million-web-cam-chats.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/that-special-relationship-our-good.html

Theocracy watch: the "religious liberty" claim is backfiring

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/inside-the-religious-liberty-debacle

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/using-religious-liberty-as-excuse-to.html

In Fox World, fear of Hillary is generating some hilarious contortions

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/27/1280892/-O-Reilly-There-s-gotta-be-some-downside-to-having-a-woman-president
O'Reilly: 'There's gotta be some downside to having a woman president'

[NB: You all heard him say this when Sarah Palin was running, right?]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/02/27/stephen-colbert-calls-out-conservative-media-for-focusing-on-hillary-clintons-age/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd
Clearly nobody at Fox News did their homework when they ran with a report asking if Hillary Clinton’s age would be a detriment to her candidacy if she decides to run for president in 2016.  

John McCain was 72 when he led the Republican presidential ticket in 2008. And conservative icon Ronald Reagan was just over two weeks away from celebrating his 70th birthday when he moved into the Oval Office. . . .

Bonus item: Paula Deen - the gift that keeps on giving

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/paula-deen-michael-sam
Paula Deen: "I feel like ‘embattled’ or ‘disgraced’ will always follow my name. It’s like that black football player who recently came out.” . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/paula_deens_clueless_comeback_attempt/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

RETREAT

Jan Brewer does the right thing in Arizona 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brewer-vetoes-anti-gay-bill-photo

http://www.emptywheel.net/2014/02/26/jan-brewers-veto-of-sb-1062-timing-and-best-interests-of-arizona/ 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/rights-religious-liberty-campaign-about-backfire 
Is the Right's "Religious Liberty" Campaign About to Backfire?

In Ohio: http://americablog.com/2014/02/arizona-governor-vetoes-controversial-anti-gay-law-caused-national-outrage.html

In Georgia: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/georgia-anti-gay-bill-atlanta-chamber

In Texas: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/texas_gay_marriage_ban_ruled_unconstitutional 

More: http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/welcoming-ugly-divisive-fight 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/02/26/why-6-federal-judges-have-struck-down-state-gay-marriage-bans-in-their-own-words/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/02/26/the-state-of-the-states-on-same-sex-marriage-in-1-map/ 

Still waiting for that Republican alternative to Obamacare? Don't hold your breath

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/26/1280591/-Back-to-the-Obamacare-replacement-drawing-board-for-House-Republicans

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/gop-health-care-plan-is-almost-here-again.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/26/the-gops-obamacare-fix-does-the-exact-opposite-of-what-the-gop-claims-to-want/

The Leader

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/26/boehner-on-tax-reform-blah-blah-blah-blah
Boehner on tax reform: ‘Blah, blah, blah blah’

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/dave-camps-tax-reform-plan-may-be-doa-it-should-be-fun-anyway

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/26/wonkbook-why-republicans-dont-actually-want-tax-reform/
Why Republicans don’t actually want tax reform

Whoomp -- there it is

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/02/26/majority_wants_to_keep_obamacare.html
Majority Wants to Keep Obamacare

Digby: Shoot first and ask questions later

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later.html

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/no_questions_asked_after_shoot049233.php

Your daily Christie

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/the_christie_fade_continues049232.php

Bonus item: Technology and politics

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/02/26/democrats-try-to-build-on-technology-lead/?mod=WSJ_Politics_Blog&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

STOOGES

The Republicans try to do tax reform . . . and they're about as successful with that as they've been with everything else lately

http://tinyurl.com/mc9plqp
[Ed Kilgore] I was reading through Lori Montgomery’s preview for WaPo of the long-awaited House GOP tax reform plan, due to be unveiled tomorrow by Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, and came to this concluding sentence:

The details of how Camp would make the math work, however, probably won’t be clear until Wednesday, when he is scheduled to release the plan.

That’s really all you need to know. Saying anything else about Camp’s plan would be spinning it in advance. “Making the math work” when it comes to Republican tax plans is like hitting a big jackpot in Vegas: it can theoretically happen, but you could go very broke waiting for it.
  
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/new-republican-tax-plan-cuts-rates-rich
Excellent. Yet another tax plan from the Republican Party . . .

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/02/25/breaking-mcconnell-kills-tax-reform/
One day before Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) is due to release his long-awaited tax reform plan, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered some public advice: Don't bother. . . .
 
No way the GOP is going to be able to dismantle it now

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/obamacare-enrollment_n_4855954.html
Obamacare Enrollment Reaches 4 Million

They're still trying, though: http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/gop-leaders-to-huddle-on-obamacare-alternative/?pos=ebn

Still not ready for prime time

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/todd-young-obamacare-bill-cbo-report
Oops: GOP Bill Would Strip 1 Million Workers Of Health Coverage  

More troops doesn't make the Army "stronger"

http://prospect.org/article/size-army-tells-you-almost-nothing-about-our-military-strength
 
More: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/obama-fighting-cuts-military

House Dems plan a new push on the minimum wage . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/02/25/dems-ramp-up-pressure-on-minimum-wage/

. . . . and on immigration reform

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/immigration-reform-democrats-103936.html?hp=l3

Reforming NSA surveillance?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/obamas-four-options-for-nsa-phone-surveillance.html

Wow

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/expanding-the-politics-of-nullification
Since the election of Barack Obama and the concomitant rise of Tea Party Republicanism, there's been more and more reaching back to the discredited ideas of nullification, interposition and even, at the truly fringe extreme, secession. . . .

Who's the worst of the Congressional Republicans? It's a tough race, but this guy has to be in the mix

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/cheering_for_the_wild_man049220.php
U.S. Rep Paul Broun (GA)

Poor Bobby Jindal. Once anointed among the Rising Stars of the GOP, he is now forgotten. Now he's trying to get people's attention again

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/jindal-clumsily-claims-the-spotlight
Jindal clumsily claims the spotlight

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/25/bobby-jindal-gives-up-joins-the-stupid-party.html
More than a year after saying Republicans need to not be the “stupid party,” the governor of Louisiana has given in to the dumb.

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/jindal_acts_out049209.php 

Two days ago we had a horrendous instance of "the kind of people they are," Milton Wolf. Well, today he "apologizes," and comes off sounding even worse

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/milton-wolf-sorry-for-gruesome-x-rays.html
Milton Wolf is a Kansas radiologist and Tea Partier challenging Senator Pat Roberts in the GOP primary, centering his campaign on health-care reform. But he was on the receiving end of that very inquiry recently, after the local news presented him with a pile of horrific patient X-rays, including gunshot wounds and other carnage, that he’d posted to Facebook and his blog, The Wolf Files, before deciding to run for office. Worse for Dr. Wolf, his reactions are all on video in one of the more awkward candidate sit-downs we’ve ever seen.  

“I’m not going to play these kinds of gotcha games,” said Wolf, which isn’t going to cut it. “If you don’t identify a person then you don’t need permission,” he offered when pressed.  

Other excuses included: “I’ll tell you the burden you carry when you’re a doctor…” and “This is the kind of material you see in education medical textbooks all the time,” to which the reporter responded, “This is Facebook.”

Theocracy watch

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/25/conservative-conference-is-an-attack-on-god.html

Yep, we need Rush Limbaugh to lecture us about bullying

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/the_rush_limbaugh_antibullying049218.php 

In Fox World

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fox-embraces-pro-confederate-line
Fox is resurrecting the crudest and most discredited defenses of slavery and the Confederacy, arguing that slavery was on the way out and that the South was willing to let it go. It was just Lincoln who decided to launch a murderous and costly war for no reason. . . . 

Bonus item: Digby

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/todays-neanderthal-qotd.html
Lobbyist Jack Burkman announcing his proposed law to ban homosexuality in the NFL:

”We are losing our decency as a nation. Imagine your son being forced to shower with a gay man. That’s a horrifying prospect for every mom in the country. What in the world has this nation come to?”

[Digby] I hate to tell you Jack but every mother's son has showered with a gay man if he's showered in a group of guys in a locker room. Even your mother's son.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

DO-OVER?

Interesting where the opposition to the anti-gay bill in Arizona is coming from. Now Gov. Jan Brewer faces a tough choice

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/arizona-businesses-veto-sb-1062

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/25/once-supportive-republicans-go-from-anti-gay-to-no-way.html

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/24/gov_jan_brewer_to_decide_if_arizonas_anti_lgbtq_measure_lives_or_dies/

We've been tracking the emerging argument that allowing anti-gay bigotry is an issue of RELIGIOUS rights. How's that going?
 
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/the-religious-liberty-campaign-may-be-backfiring-for-conservatives

In 2012, the conservative “campaign for religious liberty” looked like a smart and possibly winning strategic gambit. Aimed specifically at the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage mandate, nestled in a broader claim of institutional and individual exemptions from complex and sometimes unpopular laws and regulations, the campaign linked the Conference of U.S. Catholic Bishops with conservative evangelicals and both to the Republican politicians (including presidential candidate Mitt Romney) who made it a new front in both their anti-Obamacare and “family values” messaging.  

Some leading Catholic Democrats (e.g., E.J. Dionne) feared it would become a crucial wedge issue. And it gave a nice First Amendment gloss to unseemly culturally reactionary impulses, while providing mainstream respectability to the “constitutional conservative” claim that church-state separation was a threat to faith itself.  

Two years later, the “religious liberty” crusade shows signs of backfiring. . . . 

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/the_religious_right_to_dodge_t049203.php

Technology changes everything, and now it's changing the way we think about the military -- it's not about stacking up millions of men with guns any more

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/pentagon-plans-shrink-us-army-pre-wwii
Pentagon plans to shrink US Army to pre-WWII level

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/the_defense_budget_horses_and049200.php

http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/02/24/pentagon-plans-shift-from-occupation-armies-to-assassinations-and-cyberwarfare/

The homunculus returns: in a return to Aristotelian reproduction theory, GOP loony says women are just a "host" for the fetus

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/an_antichoice_freudian_slip049202.php

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/virginia-senator-women-are-childbearers

Your daily Christie

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/24/1280030/-Chris-Christie-poll-slide-continues
Chris Christie poll slide continues
 
The Heritage Foundation -- used to be a respected conservative think-tank, now look at what Jim DeMint and the Tea Party have done to it

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/founding-trustee-heritage-foundation

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2014/02/24/heritage_shifts_from_policy_to_politics.html

Bonus item: Gun Crazy

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/this-country-is-just-plain-crazy.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/nra-wrong-having-gun-house-does-not-make
 

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

HER

The progressive case for Hillary Clinton

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/23/1279308/-Hillary-Clinton-and-a-left-flank-How-a-Clinton-presidency-could-redefine-progressive-governance

Your daily Walker

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/scott-walker-refuses-comment-email-dump
Scott Walker Refuses To Comment On Email Dump

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/scott-walker-has-problem.html

Sometimes it seems like you could just grab a bunch of random folks from the nearest bar and get economic policy as effective as the "experts" give us

 http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/our-genius-overlords.html

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/24/federal-open-markets-committee-was-clueless-to-financial-crisis.html 

The kind of people they are

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wolf-x-rays-serious-injuries
The Tea Party challenger to Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) in Kansas posted on Facebook graphic x-ray images of deceased patients who suffered serious injuries and poked fun at the images, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported on Saturday. . . .

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/5_clips_you_missed_sunday_show_roundup/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE ODD COUPLE

Chris Christie finds one Republican who's not afraid to stand next to him

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/not-joke-mitt-romney-fundraise-chris 

[NB: Which man has less to lose?]

Your daily Walker

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/scott-walker-emails-show-staffers-work
Emails released this week appear to show Governor Scott Walker's top aides engaging in an illegal scheme to "cage" Wisconsin voters in the weeks ahead of the 2010 gubernatorial election. . . .

The real Benghazi scandal

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/22/1279400/-Wondering-where-the-real-Benghazi-scandal-is-Look-no-further-than-Darrell-Issa

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/02/21/issas-suspicions-that-hillary-clinton-told-panetta-to-stand-down-on-benghazi/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd
"Why there was not one order given to turn on one Department of Defense asset? I have my suspicions . . ."

Sunday reads

http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/21/anatomy-of-the-deep-state/
Anatomy of the Deep State

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/22/consultants-are-cashing-in-on-campaigns-dark-new-economics.html
‘Dark money’ nonprofits are pouring cash into the midterm elections. But it’s become nearly impossible to follow the money . . .

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/22/will_the_republicans_go_the_way_of_the_whigs/
Will the Republicans go the way of the Whigs?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/22/will-this-man-make-gay-marriage-legal-everywhere.html
Justice Anthony Kennedy has more power than any president or justice in history to decree the law of the land. Agree with him or not, there is something wrong with this picture. . . .

Theocracy watch

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/23/conservative-christians-selectively-apply-biblical-teachings-in-the-same-sex-marriage-debate.html
Conservative Christians Selectively Apply Biblical Teachings

In Fox World

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/fox-pundit-asks-if-america-should
America Should Eliminate Minimum Wage Because Switzerland Doesn't Have One

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://crooksandliars.com/2014/02/sunday-morning-bobblehead-thread-2
ABC's "This Week" — Former President George W. Bush and Marine Corps veteran and Team Rubicon co-founder Jacob Wood. Roundtable: Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile, ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, New York Times foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman, and Weekly Standard editor and ABC News contributor William Kristol.  

NBC's "Meet the Press" — National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Political Roundtable: New York Times columnist David Brooks, New York Times White House Correspondent Helene Cooper, Co-Anchor and Managing Editor of the PBS NewsHour Judy Woodruff and Host of MSNBC’s “Hardball” Chris Matthews. Energy policy: Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. Olympian Mark Wells.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Martin O'Malley, D-Md. Margaret Brennan, CBS News’ State Department Correspondent. Panel: Jonathan Martin, national political correspondent for The New York Times, Dan Balz, chief correspondent for The Washington Post, Amy Walter, national editor of The Cook Political Report, and our CBS News political director John Dickerson.  

MSNBC's "UP with Steve Kornacki" -- St. Sen Linda Greenstein (D-NJ); Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto, msnbc contributor; Adrienne Elrod, communications director, Correct the Record; Perry Bacon, Jr., msnbc contributor; Robert George, New York Post; Corey Stoll, actor, “House of Cards” Season 1; Sahil Kapur, Talking Points Memo.  

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" -- Igor Volsky, Managing Editor at ThinkProgress.org; Ilyassa Shabazz, Daughter of Malcolm X / Author of “Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X”; Tsedeye Gebreselassie, Staff Attorney at the National Employment Law Project; Seema Iyer, Criminal Defense Attorney / Former Prosecutor in the Bronx DA’s Office ; Andy Kroll, Mother Jones; Lucia McBath, Mother of Jordan Davis / Spokesperson for Moms Demand Action; Avik Roy, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute ; Marcus Mabry, New York Times Lede Blog Editor; Tamara Draut, Vice President of Policy and Research at DEMOS; Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.  

MSNBC's "Disrupt with Karen Finney" -- Grace Garcia, Annie’s List; Jared Bernstein, MSNBC Contributor; Robert Draper, contributing writer; Viviana Hurtado, Wise Latina Club; Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check; Heather White, Environmental Working Group.  

CNN's "State of the Union" — Govs. Rick Perry, R-Texas, Mike Pence, R-Ind., Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., Jay Nixon D-Mo. Panel: Robert Costa of the Washington Post, Democratic Strategist Penny Lee, and the National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru.  

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" -- Former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.

MOYERS & COMPANY: The Deep State Hiding in Plain Sight. Former GOP congressional analyst Mike Lofgren talks to Bill about America’s “Deep State,” in which elected and unelected figures collude to serve powerful vested interests. Also, an exclusive essay on the Deep State, by Lofgren. 

Bonus item: Surreal

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-battle-for-the-conservative-soul/2014/02/21/506ccf0e-9b0d-11e3-9080-5d1d87a6d793_story.html
Arthur Brooks, head of the American Enterprise Institute, had the unorthodox idea to invite the Dalai Lama to exchange views on capitalism with a panel of scholars at the conservative think tank Thursday. . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

3500

Hard to believe, but I've been posting this blog almost every morning for ten years. I'm grateful to all my loyal readers and those who send me comments, encouragement, and potential links. It appears that this little operation still fills a need out there, and as long as it does I enjoy doing it.

The Republican search for a scandal to attack Obama with turns pathetic

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/issa-starts-scraping-the-bottom-the-barrel

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/21/are_republicans_even_trying_another_obamacare_horror_story_bites_the_dust/

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/story-behind-obamas-latest-assault-our-precious-freedoms

Whee!

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/02/_2016_presidential_race_is_off_to_a_bad_start_scandals_and_partisan_attacks.html
Why the 2016 Presidential Campaign Will Be the Worst Ever

Your daily Christie

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/21/chris_christie_update_a_new_mansion_sized_scandal/
Chris Christie update: A new, mansion-size scandal?

Your daily Walker

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/scott-walker-fallout-investigations
How Scott Walker's Secret Emails Could Doom Him For 2016

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/21/1279305/-Walker-mum-on-secret-email-system
Walker mum

Remember when Marco Rubio was the perfect savior for the GOP? Young, photogenic, Latino, from a major electoral state . . . now what?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/how-the-gop-sabotaged-marco-rubio.html

Tales from the states

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/21/arizona-legislature-passes-anti-gay-bill.html
Arizona Anti-Gay Bill Advances

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/21/1279408/-PPP-confirms-that-Gov-Sam-Brownback-s-radical-agenda-is-too-much-even-for-Kansas
PPP confirms that Gov. Sam Brownback's radical agenda is too much, even for Kansas

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/vouchers-stumble-nc-court-fight
Vouchers stumble in N.C. court fight

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/21/1279430/-Virginia-Republicans-nix-Medicaid-nbsp-expansion
Virginia Republicans nix Medicaid expansion

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/21/1279414/-Arkansas-Medicaid-expansion-fails-in-the-House-for-nbsp-now
Arkansas Medicaid expansion fails in the House, for now

A humorous look: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/meanwhile-back-in-states.html 

Theocracy watch

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/22/reagans_christian_revolt_how_conservatives_hijacked_american_religion/
Reagan’s Christian revolt: How conservatives hijacked American religion 

Bonus item: Sarah! has found her perfect career niche

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/21/former-reality-star-sarah-palin-returns-to-television.html
Sarah Palin released the promo for her new reality television show Thursday. It features electric guitars and a lot of flags. . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***