There’s a lot to be grateful for this year: We have a president who, whatever his short-comings, at least speaks in full sentences. We avoided another Great Depression. And we’ve always got Michael Steele to entertain us.
But here at TPM, we wanted to give thanks for something we really couldn’t do without: the flood of reader tips — inside information, documents, or even just news stories that have flown under the radar — that help lead to so many of our biggest news breaks.
So here, in chronological order, are our Top Ten Reader Tips for the last year…
1. The SEC’s Madoff Fiasco
Current and former SECers helped us shed crucial light on the agency’s role in the Bernie Madoff disaster — telling us about the SEC’s move in recent years away from enforcement, and about how the Madoff revelations shook the agency to its core.
2. Sestak Jumps In
Thanks to one friendly reader, we learned that Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) was soliciting donations for an intended Senate bid — which soon allowed us to break the news that Sestak was entering the race.
3. Pepper Spray At A Democratic Fundraiser
Sometimes tips come in the form of local stories we might have missed. One reader sent along an item about a raid by the San Diego sheriff’s office on the home of a woman throwing a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby. Responding to what seems to have been a bogus noise complaint, police used pepper spray and combat helicopters to corral the socked attendees, many of whom were in their 50s and 60s.
4. The Atlantic‘s Pay-For-Play Salons
A well-placed reader sent us the flyer used by the Atlantic to pitch its corporate-sponsored “salons” that, for a price, give lobbyists access to top politicians and journalists. Our report, in the wake of the news that Washington Post planned to put on similar events, prompted Atlantic publisher David Bradley to declare: “I would not rank this last week among my favorites in publishing.”
5. The Racist Obama Witch-Doctor Email
A resourceful reader on the Tea Party list serv sent us the email in which Florida neurosurgeon and health care reform opponent David McKalip forwarded a racist picture of President Obama dressed as a witch doctor with the caption, “funny stuff.” After we published the email, McKalip stepped down from a local medical board and took a lower profile in the anti-reform movement.
6. Orly Taitz Makes Friends
A California attorney and TPM reader tipped us to a complaint he had filed against Orly Taitz after the Birther lawyer extraordinaire told TPM that a judge in one of her Birther lawsuits was “a typical puppet of the regime.”
7. Birther-mercial!
A late-night TV viewer in Texas told us about what may be the first and only Birther infomercial. When we tracked it down, it turned out to be a cynical but hilarious effort by California conservative operatives to raise money from red-staters by playing on ignorance about Obama’s birthplace.
8. A Congressman’s Ties To PhRMA
Thanks to a tip from one avid muckraking reader, we confirmed that PhRMA, which has given generously to Rep. Steve Buyer’s shady “foundation,” also hired the Indiana GOP congressman’s son — a director of the foundation — for what appears to be a lobbying job.
9. Rice And Hadley’s New Consulting Shop
A well-connected reader tipped us to the news, which we quickly confirmed, that Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley plan to trade on their questionable strategic acumen by opening a consulting firm to help U.S. companies in “key emerging markets.”
10. The AP’s Victory Lap For Its Palin Book Scoop
A reader at the Associated Press sent us the news wire’s internal memo touting its scoop in getting an early copy of Sarah Palin’s new book. The AP referred to the chase as “a literary treasure hunt,” and detailed the major effort it put into being first on the story.
And don’t forget to keep those tips coming …
