Tuesday Must-Reads: The Battle

With Republicans feeling a bit lost in the wilderness, one leader is beginning to emerge: Rush. Steele called him an “entertainer” (the horror!) whose show is “ugly”—and, after the faithful (including Bobby Jindal) rallied behind the conservative talking head, Steele apologized. The Post analyzes the battle and notes that the White House is treating Limbaugh as a party leader.Over in Burris-land, the beleaguered senator already has a re-election website. According to The Hotline, the site has been up all along and was created by lobbyist Fred Lebed. The site’s not stopping potential replacements from lining up: The NRSC is taking state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias seriously enough to post this hatchet job; Rep. Jan Schakowsky says she’d also jump into a special election.Talk about Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s 2010 struggles have been swirling for a while. Now numbers confirm that a majority favors a generic new candidate—with Republicans even less happy than the electorate at large.A new batch of ads comes to the NY-20 campaign, with the DCCC going after Tedisco and an independent expenditure campaign firing back at Murphy.Politico looks at Obama’s “dog-whistle politics,” in which he sends subliminal messages that only blacks are attuned to; Bush apparently sent similar messages to the evangelical community.Finally a bit of housekeeping at the DCCC, as Rep. Joseph Crowley prepares to become the vice chair of finance.