Saturday punditry.
Business insider:
Bill Carter just told Anderson Cooper that part of whatever deal they struck will likely keep Olbermann off TV "maybe not for two years" but for an extended period of time.
So again: Why now?
It likely has everything to do with this:
Comcast officially takes over on Monday.
TMZ:
Sources connected with the network tell us ... Comcast honchos did not like Keith's defiance and the way he played in the sandbox.
Our sources say Keith has around two years left on his contract, and he'll be paid his salary -- around $7 million a year.
We don't know if Comcast will let Keith make a deal with another network as part of an exit agreement, but it's a good bet he'll be benched for a minimum of 6 months, and probably longer.
Brian Koonz on Chris Murphy's running for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat in CT:
Murphy’s announcement good for health care reform
Last year, Murphy was one of those rare Democrats who staunchly defended President Obama’s health care reform package. Unlike so many of his colleagues who distanced themselves from this historic legislation, Murphy stood his ground because it was the right thing to do.
He didn’t stick his index finger in the air to see which way the political winds were blowing. Instead, Murphy stuck out his chin and took Sam Caligiuri’s best shot.
Murphy’s reward: A resounding victory and a third term in Congress.
Murphy and the rest of the CT delegation are from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
National Journal on Paul Ryan:
But if Republicans intend to make the seven-term lawmaker the poster boy for their philosophy on spending cuts and deficit reduction, Democrats have an opportunity to make him the symbol of a lack of openness and transparency in the new House GOP.
Hours before the president arrives in the House chamber to deliver his address, Ryan will be the focal point of a floor fight over how House Republicans intend to handle the budget.
The GOP intends to offer a resolution giving the budget chairman sole responsibility for developing a plan to cut nondefense spending at least to 2008 levels for the rest of fiscal 2011.
Democrats argue that would give one lawmaker--Ryan--nearly unilateral authority over the country’s immediate spending decisions.
Couple that with this (WaPo):
The new Republican leaders in the House have received millions of dollars in contributions from banks, health insurers and other major business interests, which are pressing for broad reversals of Democratic policies that affect corporations, according to disclosure records and interviews.
The Republican Party is the ultimate astroturf organization.
National Journal:
The latest in the war of words sparked by the Tucson tragedy: Local tea party groups are actively working to recall Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for "politicizing a tragedy" after he pointed a finger at Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives after the January 8 shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and 18 others.
Gail Collins:
When they weren’t being polite to one another, the Democrats spent much of the debate time holding up pictures of seriously ill constituents who would lose their health coverage if the law went away, while Republicans made their victims out of small business.
"I want to tell you about the owner of the Pizza Hut in Headland, Ala., who will be forced to close his doors due to the costs associated with this law," warned Martha Roby, one of the freshmen who defeated an incumbent Democrat and, therefore, got special first-day positioning.
The new law’s opponents don’t generally say in so many words that they’re fighting for employers’ God-given right to refuse to provide health insurance for their workers. But that seems to be the bottom line.