Must Reads

Steve Benen: A lesson on the value of inflation

The Rude Pundit: The NRA's Wayne LaPierre: Join Our Resistance and Get a Free Tote Bag

Charles Pierce: Your Daily Pope

Brian Dowling: 'Lincoln' Screenwriter Defends Depiction Of Connecticut Slavery Vote, Acknowledges Changing Details

Jim Wright: Preemptive Pessimism Isn’t A Plan

Brian Beutler: Republicans Want Off The Hook For Voting For Defense Sequester

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Bill Maher: God Hates Flags

Ezra Klein: Obama to GOP: I’m done negotiating with myself

Robert Reich: Organizing McDonalds and Walmart, and Why Austerity Economics Hurts Low-Wage Workers the Most

Charles Pierce: Foreign Policy's Bad List of Big Thinkers

The Rude Pundit: Photos That Make the Rude Pundit Want to Smoke Charas While Downing a Six-Pack of Crown

Asawin Suebsaeng: The Latest Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory: Obama's Third Term

Jim Wright: On The Beating Of Dead Horses

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Charles Pierce: The Real Problem with the Demented Republican Party

Chris Cillizza: Who had the worst week in Washington? CIA Director David H. Petraeus.

Mark Ambinder: How the Secret Service Said Goodbye to Mitt Romney

Matt Sedensky: Florida Vote Beyond Recount Range; West Won't Concede

Ta-Nehisi Coates: Hippies Wander Into the Lions' Den, Maul Lions

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John Scalzi: Fan Letter to Certain Conservative Politicians

Greg Palast: Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza

Elcectablog: Reality intrudes on Mitt Romney’s dream world. So does Nate Silver.

Douglas Brinkley: Obama and the Road Ahead: The Rolling Stone Interview

JM Ashby: Microwaves. Air-Conditioning. The Good Life!

Paul Krugman: Pointing Toward Prosperity?

The Rude Pundit: Note to Richard Mourdock: Your God's an Asshole

Nathan Bomey & Brent Snavely: Romney repeats false claim of Jeep outsourcing to China; Chrysler refutes story

Brent Snavely: Romney camp silent on his Jeep-to-China gaffe

Steve Benen: Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XL

Ron Fournier: The Story (on Racial Attitudes) That Obama and Romney Don't Want You to Read

Jim Wright: Guns and Butter. Also, Nazis!

Must Reads

John Weaver and Mark Warren: Why the GOP's Voter-Fraud Scheme Is Complete Bull

Matt Sledge: Linda McMahon Proposed Social Security "Sunset" At Tea Party Forum

Mark Shade, Reuters: Pennsylvania Voter ID Law May Be At Least Partially Blocked, Judge Signals

LOLGOP: Mitt Romney Says The Fundamentals Of His Campaign Are Strong

Jonathan Capehart: 'Romney’s nightmare scenario' was a year in the making — at least

Politcol: Ann Romney – I Don’t Consider Myself Wealthy

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Ezra Klein: What Romney doesn’t understand about personal responsibility

Davis Corn: Romney's Video-Debunking Claim Is…Debunked

Alec MacGillis: How Paul Ryan Convinced Washington of His Genius

John D. McKinnon: Romney's Tax Plan Fails to Gain a Foothold

Zewlina Maxwell: Now a campaign issue: Sonia Sotomayor

Michael Lewis: Obama's Way

Must Reads

James Downie: An excellent speech from Michelle Obama

Tom Junod: The Lonely Power of Michelle and the Idea of Barack

Haim Saban: The Truth About Obama and Israel

Jason Easley: Bill Clinton Puts Little Boy Paul Ryan Back In His Place

E.J. Dionne: Bill Clinton’s tutorial on the need for government

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall: Racism Festers In RNC's And CNN's Silence

Willard Foxton: On Assange and on CNN, Glenn Greenwald is talking out of his hat and is an embarrassment to The Guardian

Milt Shook: Most Important Qualification For President: Empathy - Obama Has It, Romney Doesn't

McKay Coppins: Romney Endorses Ultraconservative Congressman

Must Reads

Dana Milbank: Isaac brushes past an obsolete convention

Eugene Robinson: Republicans steal Medicare from the Democrats

Joan Walsh: Rick Santorum’s dirty hands

Ari Melber: Paul Ryan needs to rebrand himself

Harold Meyerson: In modern GOP, the old South returns

Charles P. Pierce: The Manufacturing of Willard Romney, Human, Is Here

John Nichols: Paul Ryan's Labor Day Promise to American Workers: Candy and a Sports Schedule

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Jim Tankersley: The Truth About Romney's Tax Plan: It's a Pipe Dream

Jason Easley: 63% of Americans Demand That Mitt Romney Release His Tax Returns

Tommy Christopher: Fox’s Liz Trotta: ‘Ladies Of The Press’ Envy Ann Romney For Marrying Rich Guy

Imani Gandy (ABL): Missouri Rep. Todd Akin Wants to Ban the Morning After Pill Because He is Stupid

Josh Rogin: Romney's Japan Remark Raises Eyebrows

Booman: Kevin Drum Is Flailing

Steve Benen: The standards for 'embarrassment'

Michael Kinsley: Obama's Ruthless Politics vs. Romney's Ruthless Management

David Frum: Why Ryan?

Paul Begala: With Ryan, Romney Has the Plutocrat Ticket

Michael Tomasky: Romney’s Stunning, Terrible Choice of Ryan for VP

Cartoon of the Day

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Theresa Riley: How to Spot Income Inequality From Space? Count the Trees

Greg Sargent: Mitt Romney: We don’t need more cops, firefighters or teachers

Pat Garofalo: Governor Christie Cheers Firing Of Public Employees: ‘That’s The Right Direction’

Christopher Brauchli: The Nuns, the Butler and the Pope

Jill W. Klausen: David Axelrod Got It All Wrong: How He, The President, And All Progressives Need To Address Obama's Economic Record

Justin Rosario: Standard Right Wing Propaganda: Evolution Disproves Homosexuality! Not That Evolution Is True…

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Brian Beutler: Why The GOP’s Payroll Tax Cut Cave Is An Even Bigger Deal Than You Think

Chez Pazienza: An Open Letter to CNN Regarding Nancy Grace

E.J. Dionne: Romney’s big problem: A missing aura of electability

Eugene Robinson: Drumming up a phony war on religion

Jason Linkins: Mitt Romney Causes CNN Debate Cancellation, Does Something Great For America

Evan McMorris-Santoro: How The GOP Went Back To The 1950s In Just One Day

Paul Krugman: Moochers Against Welfare

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Chauncey DeVega: The 10 Most Racist Moments of the GOP Primary (So Far)

Andrew Rosenthal: Chris Christie, Revisionist Historian

NY Times: Rabbi’s Followers Cast Doubts on Congressman’s Fund-Raising

James B. Stewart: Paying Far More Than 13.9%: A Taxpayer’s Lament

John Pitney Jr.: Why Gingrich would lose in a debate with Obama

Christopher Brauchli: The Condom's Cousins

Matt Taibbi: Is Obama's 'Economic Populism' for Real?

Jim Wright: The Special Kind of Crazy

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Chez Pazienza: A Debt if Attitude

Joshua Holland: The Utterly Wrong Beltway Myth Driving the Debt Ceiling Insanity

Robert Brockway: 5 Amazing Abandoned Wastelands ... Within Walking Distance

Eric Boehlert: Peggy Noonan Loses It

Deaniac83: John Conyers Owes the President an Apology

Steven D at BooMan Tribune: Juan Williams: Hannity Dishonest on Debt Ceiling

Alec Baldwin: It's Time To Suck It Up And Pay Our Bill

The Rude Pundit: We Lose Because We Don't Just Lie Like The Right Does

ADDED: Paul Begala: How Republicans Screwed the Pooch

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FactCheck.Org: Bachmann’s Waterloo - The GOP lawmaker's presidential campaign starts with a slew of off-base claims.

Deaniac83: Gay Marriage, Wall Street and How the Teabaggers Got Taken for a Ride and The Base

Steve Benen: Dems Hit Romney for Comical Flip-Flop

The Rude Pundit: Dave: A Lonely Glenn Beck Fan Contemplates the Future

Tanya Somanader: Judge Rejects Sarah Palin On Global Warming, Keeps Polar Bears On Threatened List

Paul Krugman: To The Limit

Ryan J. Reilly: Colbert's Super PAC Not Actually Called Colbert Super PAC

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Bob Cesca: Ground Zero for American Politics

Eugene Robinson: Donald Trump as GOP Hopeful: Take Him Seriously

Keli Goff: Gwyneth Paltrow Is Right. We're All Jealous. (Of Her and George W. Bush.)

Ray McGovern: Surprise, Surprise! Iraq War Was About Oil

Wendell Potter: GOP's Medicare Plan Would Be a Windfall for Insurers

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Deaniac83: Paul Krugman's Pre-emptive War on Obama

AP: Obama prevents budget cuts to favorite programs

John Cook: More Pentagon Papers Donald Rumsfeld Doesn't Want You to See

James R. Horney: Ryan Budget Plan Produces Far Less Real Deficit Cutting than Reported

Paul Krugman: Who's Serious Now?

Eugene Robinson: The Selfish Budget? Or the Selfless One?

David Corn: Ryan Budget: GOP Death Wish?

Charles M. Blow: The Pirates of Capitol Hill

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Paul Campos: Throw Clarence Thomas Off the Bench

David Edwards: Exclusive: Limbaugh’s parent company still using actors to fake radio call-ins, exec tells Raw

Dan Froomkin: A Reagan Republican Makes A Case Against The War -- And His Own Party

Marcus Baram: Sarah Palin 'Not Afraid' Of Jon Stewart, Says Aide

Joan Walsh: Newt Gingrich, hypocrite in chief

E.J. Dionne: What Wisconsin Democrats can teach Washington Democrats

Linda Greenhouse: Justice Scalia Objects

Richard Pérez-Peña: Christie’s Talk Is Blunt, but Not Always Straight

Tim Murphy: Birther Bill Author: What's a Long-Form Birth Certificate?

Eugene Robinson: Peter King's Modern-Day Witch Hunt

Dana Milbank: Rep. King's Red Scare

Paul Krugman: Dumbing Deficits Down

E.D. Kain: Michigan Governor Plays Fast and Loose with Democracy, Invokes Radical New Powers

Matthew Rothschild: Scott Walker Believes He’s Following Orders from the Lord

Gail Collins: Eye of the Newt

Dan Taylor: Wisconsin Republicans Have Done Progressives a Huge Favor

Angry Black Lady: Liberals, It’s Time to Stop Bitching and Start Organizing. Just Shut Up and Get to Work

Must Reads

The Rude Pundit: In Brief: Scott Walker Is America's Asshole

Eugene Robinson: Starving Wisconsin's Unions

David Cay Johnston: Really Bad Reporting in Wisconsin: Who 'Contributes' to Public Workers' Pensions?

Keith Olbermann: Wisconsin and “The Union”

Nicole Belle: Why Did Paul Broun Laugh Off Supporter's Town Hall Comment: "Who Is Going To Shoot President Obama?"

JHW22 recommends...

Brad Reed: Greed is Good... Unless You're Teaching My Kids Math!

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Bill Carter & Brian Stelter: Olbermann Split Came After Years of Tension

Matt Osborne: SOTU Response Fiasco

Mark Frauenfelder: Ayn Rand took government assistance while decrying others who did the same

Dick Cavett: The Wrath of Grapes

Michael Winship: The Bush Legacy Strikes Out American Justice