Gautham Nagesh

The head of the largest union representing federal workers has added his voice to those questioning the the White House's soon-to-be-unveiled High Road contracting policy. The president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, recently questioned the wisdom of using the procurement process as a tool of social policy, a blow for the proposal's supporters in the organized labor movement. (more)

Former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik was exposed Saturday night by junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez, losing his title by unanimous decision in Atlantic City. (more)

Marco Rubio's campaign has a response to recent reports that Governor Charlie Crist is considering mounting a third-party campaign for Senate: Bring it on. (more)

Michigan Democrats filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday following a Daily Caller report last week that the state's Republican party allegedly conspired with Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele to circumvent federal campaign finance limits. (more)

While it may be years before most Americans feel the impact of President Obama's health-care bill, a few patients in Scottsdale, Ariz., got a small taste of life under Obamacare last week when they arrived at their Dermatologist's office only to see a sign with the following taped to the front door: (more)

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement today, setting off a wave of speculation about who will take his place as resident liberal activist on the nation’s highest court. Expect Obama to seize upon this opportunity to pander to a minority group whose policy interests he has otherwise ignored by appointing someone capable of ticking multiple boxes on the standard Census oppression matrix. (more)

One thing that should be banned: citing someone's law school as evidence they are qualified for the Supreme Court. The implicit argument being that candidates from Harvard or Yale are somehow better suited to making the big decisions than folks from more humble beginnings. Personally I don't get why a person's undergraduate GPA and ability to take standardized tests should be weighed along with the entirety of their careers and the choices they've made as adults. But then again I'm not a lawyer. (more)

Senator Tom Coburn confused at least some of his supporters over the weekend when he seemed to take a shot at Fox News’ coverage of the health-care debate, while at the same time defending Nancy Pelosi. "I'm 180 degrees in opposition to the Speaker,” Coburn told the audience at a hall meeting in Oklahoma. And yet, he said, “she’s a nice lady." When that comment drew jeers, Coburn dug in: "Come on now, she is nice. How many of you all have met her?” (more)

From Gautham Nagesh: (more)

Reid Wilson at the Hotline has the scoop on Sean Mahoney, whose resignation from the RNC seems to be less about his objection to Michael Steele than his likely run for Congress against Democrat Carol Shea-Porter:

NH RNC member Sean Mahoney resigned his post today, taking aim at chairman Michael Steele in a strongly-worded protest letter over the committee's profligate spending. (more)

Individuals who don't purchase health insurance may lose their tax refunds according to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. After acknowledging the recently passed health-care bill limits the agency's options for enforcing the individual mandate, Shulman told reporters that the most likely way to penalize individuals that don't comply is by reducing or confiscating their tax refunds. (more)

Democratic lawmakers seemingly confirmed this week that the White House is planning to roll out its "High Road" contracting policy in the near future. The proposal would seek to leverage federal contracting to change labor and wage standards for private sector companies bidding on federal contracts. (more)

The hits keep coming: (more)

The Republican National Committee has canceled a number of Young Eagles events aimed at attracting younger donors in the wake of reports the party paid for a group excursion to a bondage-themed Los Angeles nightclub. (more)

Ben Smith at Politico reports the RNC is canceling all Young Eagles events pending a review of the program: (more)

Ask and ye shall receive: my colleague Alex Pappas comes through with a Young Eagles flyer laying out exactly what it takes to join your fellow young conservatives for a night of debauchery. Unsurprisingly, the only requirement is giving a boatload of money to the RNC. (more)

Apparently not everyone in the Golden State is gung-ho about getting high. None of the candidates for governor supports the ballot measure aimed at legalizing weed for recreational purposes and most denied ever having toked up. From the Mercury News:  (more)

Who says Republicans aren't hip? Apparently the RNC's trip to Voyeur West Hollywood was part of an attempt to cultivate the next generation of big donors. Because nothing convinces someone to finance the future of the conservative movement like watching a couple would-be starlets simulate oral sex in a giant glass cube. (more)

Saw this earlier, but Reid blogged it first so a hat tip to him. MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough thinks Michael Steele should get the boot over recent reports of rampant spending at the RNC.  (more)

Reid Wilson at the Hotline says today's headlines should be traced to the RNC's finance department, not chairman Michael Steele: (more)