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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Act Three of the Alito hearings included some tension, a curious prop, and some
laughs. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) had a little
spat, but made up later -- after Kennedy gave some insight to their workout
schedules at the congressional fitness club. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) wore a
Princeton cap in the hearing. And Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) told reporters he
accidentally (and repeatedly) kicked a photographer sitting in front of him.
The AP has more on the on-camera and off-camera drama unfolding today:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10802815/.
On Hardball tonight, Chris will talk with two Senate Judiciary Committee
members about today's questions and answers. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Specter's
predecessor as committee chairman, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the number two
Democrat in the Senate, will both be here!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans are lining up --
slowly, but surely -- behind their picks for a new leadership regime in the
House. We heard this afternoon that leadership elections will take place on
February 2, which should make for an interesting audience for President Bush's
State of the Union on January 31. National Journal's "Hotline on Call" has
breaking developments from today: http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/.
Hardball's David Shuster will have the latest on the fight to see who will take
over permanently for Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) as the GOP's floor leader. Will it
be Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt of Missouri? Will it be Ohio's John
Boehner? Will it be neither? And will Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) hold on to
his post?
Bob Shrum, Democratic strategist and Hardblogger All-Star, and Ed Rogers,
Republican lobbyist and strategist, will both be here to offer their thoughts
on Alito, Abramoff, DeLay, and much more. Check out Shrum's thoughts on the
early moments of the Alito hearings on Hardblogger:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10284912/#060110a.
Charlie Cook, NBC News analyst and publisher of the Cook Political Report, and
Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, will join
reporting forces to tell Chris what they know about the impact of the
Abramoff/DeLay fallout for the internal House leadership election and the 2006
midterm congressional elections.
Plus, Peter Bergen, author of "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of
al Qaeda's Leader," will talk with Chris about his book and the ongoing search
for bin Laden. Learn more about Bergen here:
http://www.peterbergen.com/bergen/.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--AP reports the House GOP is considering ending privately funded trips for
members http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10805695
--Chris vlogs about the disconnect between D.C. and the rest of the U.S.A.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10284912/#060111a
--NBC's Martin Savidge reports from New Orleans on today's release of
rebuilding plans http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10802902/
--NBC's First Read http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796/
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
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