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In anticipation of major GOP gains in next week’s elections, House Republican leaders have put together a list of experienced Washington hands to help fill top staff positions for the surge of newly elected outsiders. Leading the effort are Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and the National Republican Congressional Committee. The leaders have put together a list of about 75 to 80 potential chiefs of staff, including current and former Capitol Hill staffers and lobbyists who have been recommended or have inquired about working for an incoming Member, according to several Republicans familiar with the...

Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell doesn't need Facebook to dredge up her controversial past statements. As a sometime conservative pundit a decade ago on Bill Maher's former show, "Politically Incorrect", O'Donnell said (in an appearance that wasn't aired) that she dabbled in witchcraft. In the clip shown last night on Maher's current show, "Real Time," O'Donnell said: "I dabbled into witchcraft -- I never joined a coven. But I did, I did. ... I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do....

Taking it all back? Would you support repeal of the health care law? () Yes. Let's get rid of this law ASAP. () No. Health care reform was a victory for the U.S. () I'm not sure.

No, this is not coming from Rasmussen or an internal GOP poll, but from the normally Democrat-sympathetic Public Policy Polling... With his approval numbers hitting new lows it’s no surprise that Barack Obama’s numbers in our monthly look ahead to the 2012 Presidential race are their worst ever this month. He trails Mitt Romney 46-43, Mike Huckabee 47-45, Newt Gingrich 46-45, and is even tied with Sarah Palin at 46. The only person tested he leads is Jan Brewer, who doesn’t have particularly high name recognition on the national level at this point. It’s not that any of the Republican...

A Stuned Bieber.

Yid With Lid: He was giving the key note speech at a Washington Institute For Near East Policy and started it out with a "joke" that borders on anti-Semitic, teaching the crowd that Jews are just greedy merchants in the same vein as Shakespeare's Shylock... Editor's note: For Yid With Lid's full post on "The Joke" see the related link below. "• Yid With Lid: Jews are greedy merchants YouTube video 

BREAKING HARD....

Multiple sources on the Hill have told The Foundry that as early as next week, the Senate could be debating Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Reid has stated an intention to take the HELP Committee product and merge it with the Senate Finance Committee markup that is expected to be over by this Thursday or Friday. Their plan is to proceed to a House passed non-health care bill to provide a shell of legislation to give Obamacare a ride to the House and then straight to the President’s desk.

Marxist Fascist Communist Socialist

Minority Leader John Boehner spent much of last week trying to persuade a stubborn Rep. Joe Wilson to apologize to the House — telling associates he needed to “get to” Wilson before the weekend to elicit an apology. But as the days dragged on, Boehner had to back off: Wilson’s spine was stiffened by $1.5 million in campaign contributions, the Democrats’ anti-Wilson rhetoric had become increasingly extreme, and the South Carolina Republican was rapidly accumulating support from the conference’s dominant right wing. “At some point, he realized he had no choice but to get behind Wilson because that’s where his...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 28% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends). Sixty percent (60%) now believe the President is at least as ethical as most politicians. Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove.

Rep. Mike Pence, the no. 3 Republican in the House, is calling on Obama green jobs czar Van Jones to resign. This sort of thing would usually be laughed off by Democrats -- a conservative Republican telling a Democratic appointee to quit. But the Obama team isn't exactly jumping to back Jones today in wake of revelations that in the past he signed on to one of the "truther" groups that claimed 9/11 was an inside job. Oh, and he called Republicans a**holes in a video earlier this year before he was appointed. Asked about Jones' affiliations with the 9/11...

Right blasts Obama speech to students President Barack Obama's plans for a televised back-to-school address to students next week are drawing fire from some conservatives, who say he's just trying to indoctrinate them to his political beliefs. In the Sept. 8 speech, Obama will challenge students to work hard, set goals for their education and take responsibility for their learning, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a letter to principals. The Education Department is encouraging teachers to create lesson plans around the speech, using materials provided on the department website, that urge students to learn about Obama and other presidents....

Parents are advised to keep their children safe at home on September 8, 2009.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 32% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –5. The number who strongly disapprove inched up another point to the highest level measured to date and the overall Approval Index is at the lowest level yet for Obama  

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Rejecting the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, Honduras' interim leaders dug in for a fight on Thursday after governments across the region demanded the deposed leftist be restored to power. In the worst crisis in Central America in a decade, Zelaya was toppled by troops and whisked out of the country on the weekend in a widely condemned coup after he angered opponents with plans to amend the constitution to lift term limits. The Organization of American States on Wednesday issued a weekend deadline for the interim government to reinstate Zelaya, in a standoff that is...

BEWARE THE OBAMA 'EVIL EYE' Tue Jun 30 2009 07:43:56 ET As the summer begins, White House watchers have spotted a new look by President Obama: The Evil Eye! Staffers have joked about the menacing glance, which comes when the president meets with world leaders who are not aligned with his progressive view. White House photographers have captured the "evil eye" in recent weeks, during sessions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Colombia's Alvaro Uribev. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi got hit with the commander's malocchio last week in the Oval office. And at least one White House reporter...

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich today flatly declared that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be replaced in the wake of her allegation that the CIA lied to her about harsh interrogation techniques. “She really disqualified herself to be speaker,” Gingrich, R-Ga., told Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Good Morning America. “I think the Democrats should get a new speaker.” Pelosi’s allegation “basically smears” the U.S. intelligence community, Gingrich said, leaving her “disqualified” to be behind only the vice president in the presidential succession order. Leaving her in place, he said, is “very dangerous” for the country....

<p>Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA.</p>

A local lawmaker and a healthcare executive see signs of hope in Monday’s announcement that the nation’s health care leaders stepped up and pledged significant cost savings — $2 trillion over 10 years — to help President Barack Obama reform health care. Roger Longenderfer, Pinnacle Health’s chief executive officer, said he was “encouraged” by the commitment put forth by the health care industry. “In the past, the industry has resisted change,” he said. “I think if the various parts of the industry can agree to assist each other, that will go a long way to providing care to more people,...