Dylan Scott looks at legislation passed in Georgia that bans health insurance for state employees and insurance plans sold through the state-based Obamacare exchange from offering coverage from abortion care. It turns out, this is actually part of the design of Obamacare — states are sort of encouraged to make their own rules about abortion coverage.
Here are the details on that voting rights decision that was just handed down by a federal judge in Kansas. Republican state officials are having a hard time containing their glee, but this quote from Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne stands out:
“I feel there’s been a media cover up of the extent to which voter fraud is a significant problem in Arizona,” he told TPM’s Eric Lach in an interview this afternoon. “[The ruling is] a significant victory for the people of Arizona over the Obama administration to assure that only citizens and not illegals vote in Arizona.”
A federal judge in Kansas today just sided with Republicans and dealt a blow to voting rights advocates. More to come shortly.
It turns out 22 states, most of them with legislatures controlled by Republicans, have used a provision of Obamacare to place restrictions on abortion coverage.
Charlie Rangel really, really doesn’t care for the tea party — in an interview with NY1 he said the tea party dominates in “those red states, they’re the same slave-holding states.”
It’s really too bad ex-Louisianan David Kurtz isn’t here today to write about Edwin Edwards’ bid for Congress. The famed ex-con governor and failed reality TV star did an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd in which he claimed he totally would have voted for Obama in 2012 — if he hadn’t been convicted.
Sahil Kapur has a good look at what has happened after modest filibuster reform in the Senate. Despite all the dire predictions that the Senate would just become a rubber stamp for Obama’s liberal agenda, two failed nominees proves that it hasn’t.
Take a moment to read this excellent essay from Conor P. Williams about baseball, Detroit and the city’s role as a permanent underdog.
Today at TPM Cafe Book Club, What Unions No Longer Do author Jake Rosenfeld talks about how, if we really want to fight the war on poverty, we need to rebuild the labor movement. Ned Resnikoff responds, calling back to some of labor’s earlier disruptive tactics.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has been making a pretty big claim about Obamacare lately. Namely, he says that it discriminates against the disabled. The problem, though, as TPM’s Dylan Scott dissects this morning, is that Jindal’s claim is complete BS. Be sure to read this one.