ThinkFast: January 3, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Politico reports that RNC Chairman Michael Steele “faces an all-but-impossible path to reelection this month as a majority of the RNC's 168 members indicate that they will not supportâ€

ThinkFast: January 4, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

President Obama, on his way home from Hawaii, offered an assessment of how Republicans will act in the opening months of 2011, saying he expects they will “play to their base for a certain period of time.â€

ThinkFast: January 5, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am
[b]
“Republican leaders are scaling backâ€

ThinkFast: January 6, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

As Senate Democrats propose reforms to the filibuster rule and other Senate procedures, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is introducing a proposal that would require Senators to stay on the floor to sustain a filibuster. Lautenberg has named his bill the Mr. Smith Bill, after the classic movie Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, where the main character collapses on the floor of the Senate, trying to maintain a filibuster.

In a “surprising move,â€

ThinkFast: January 7, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report states that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent in December, a 0.4 percentage point drop. The U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs, slightly less than the 145,000 jobs that some economists predicted. The employment data for October and November was revised upwards to reflect 80,000 more jobs gained.

“A group of Republican lawmakers demanded the repeal of the financial regulatory lawâ€

ThinkFast: January 10, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Speaking on Jared Lee Loughner's attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said, “The ubiquitous nature of the Internet means that not only threats, but hate speech and other inciteful speech is much more readily available to individuals than quite clearly it was eight or 10 or 15 years ago. … That absolutely presents a challenge for us, particularly when it results in what would be lone wolves or lone offenders undertaking attacks.â€

ThinkFast: January 11, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Terrance Gainer, the Senate's sergeant in arms said this morning on ABC's Good Morning America that it's not a good idea for lawmakers to carry their own firearms for personal protection in the wake of Saturday's shootings in Tucson, AZ. “I think we should leave the law enforcement and security to those professionals,â€

ThinkFast: January 12, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

In a scathing Facebook post and web-video tirade, former Alaska Gov. [b]Sarah Palin accused the media of “blood libelâ€

ThinkFast: January 13, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

In a moving speech before an audience of more than 26,000, President Obama offered the nation's condolences last night to the victims of the shooting in Tucson. Calling for a “more civil and honest public discourse,â€

ThinkFast: January 14, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Today, RNC members will decide whether to retain Michael Steele as their chairman. Voting will commence sometime after noon. The Washington Times reports that some supporters of Steele are “privately urging him to consider a graceful exitâ€

ThinkFast: January 18, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

House Republicans are set to vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act this week, arguing in part that it is a “job killingâ€

ThinkFast: January 19, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will announce today that he will retire from the Senate at the conclusion of his current term, ending a career marked by a record of both promoting and abandoning progressive causes. The Connecticut Mirror says that a source told them Lieberman decided to retire after being told by senior staff that “re-election as an independent was nearly impossible.â€

ThinkFast: January 20, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Top staff members for key congressional Republicans met behind closed doors Tuesday with energy lobbyists to “work on strategy to handcuff the Obama administration's climate change agenda.â€

ThinkFast: January 21, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

A new New York Times/CBS News poll finds that Americans are staunchly opposed to cutting entitlement programs. The poll finds that two-thirds of Americans would prefer hiking payroll taxes to cutting Social Security or Medicare, and that the majority of Americans “by a large marginâ€

ThinkFast: January 25, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama is unlikely to support raising the Social Security retirement age or reducing its benefits. “The White House informed Democratic lawmakers and advocates for the elderly that he would not endorseâ€

ThinkFast: January 26, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

[b]President Obama urged Americans to “win the futureâ€

Attempting to “quell criticismâ€

ThinkFast: January 28, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

“Protests have erupted in cities across Egypt following Friday midday prayers, with angry demonstrators demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year presidency,â€

ThinkFast: January 31, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am

Pro-democracy demonstrators are [b]calling for a “march of millionsâ€

ThinkFast: February 1, 2011 » ~ By Think Progress at 9:00 am
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-MA) called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down when the country holds its next presidential election. In an op-ed in the New York Times, Kerry said neither Mubarak nor his son should run for the presidency, writing, “the best way to avoid unrest turning into upheaval is for President Mubarak to take himself and his family out of the equation.â€