Expected this to be an incredibly slow news day, but we’re actually ahead of schedule on posting. Here are some mid-day treats:
* Club for Growth makes vote for Sandy funding a “key vote”–e.g., bait for primary opponents.
* Speaking of primaries: NRSC will return to pre-2010 practice of regular intervention to avoid toxic nominees.
* Number of states with approved health care exchanges under Obamacare up to 20.
* New York Times editorial argues Al Jazeera should be given a chance to show independence from its Qatar government owners before cable and satellite operators ban Current, which AJ just bought.
* Dave Weigel reviews the slapdash and botched right-wing effort to purge Boehner.
And in non-political news:
* 30-second network ad during Super Bowl will cost $4 million this year, up a half-mil from 2012.
Back after some chores.