Be in the know: Today's political bullet points

Editor's note: Occasionally we will ask influential politicos to send us their top three bullet points that are driving the day's conversation in and outside Washington.

The Dewey Square Group Principal Maria T. Cardona:

– GOP leader Mike Pence concedes over the weekend that his party lacks credibility on the economy, the deficit, and spending discipline. Thank you Mike Pence!

– Dems will fight this week yet again for working families, as the passage of a funding bill (fully paid for) for teachers and Medicaid for the states is looming. And what are Republicans fighting for? To retain the Bush tax cuts for the rich, WITHOUT paying for them.

– GOP Runoff between Handel and Deal is proxy war between Palin/Romney and Huckabee/Gingrich. And THE primary to watch in two weeks, AZ Dem candidate (and lone Latino running for Senate) Randy Parraz in a dead heat against formerly presumed front-runner Rodney Glassman. Parraz has the message, momentum, support from Latinos, GLBT community and many independents. Stay tuned!

RedState.Com Editor Erick-Woods Erickson:

– South Carolina received a letter from the Department of Justice that separating HIV infected patients from others may be discrimination. Um . . . they are prisoners.

– Harry Reid has apparently finally read the Democrats' health care legislation. Guess what! He is now "very concerned" about parts of it.

– From the U.K.'s Independent back in 1994: "Mr. Clinton used his weekly radio address to exhort Americans not to listen to the "easy promises" of Republicans, which would bring back the "failed policies" the country had sampled under Ronald Reagan and George Bush." Sounds just like Obama now and was not an effective strategy in 1994.