memeorandum: ‘Tea party’ polls better than GOP (Andy Barr/The Politico)

5:25 PM ET, December 7, 2009

Top Items:

Exclusive: Medicare buy-in attracting interest in the public option negotiations — Sources who have been briefed on the negotiations say that Medicare buy-in is attracting the most interest. Expanding Medicaid is running into more problems, though there's some appeal because …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line, Wonk Room, TalkLeft and Daily Kos

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

In Polls, Much Opposition to Health Care Plan Is From Left — Don't know why I didn't catch this earlier, but it strikes me as fairly important. — Ipsos/McClatchy put out a health care poll two weeks ago. The topline results were nothing special: 34 percent favored …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, The Impolitic and The Political Carnival

IdeaScale / The Huffington Post:

Senate Dems May Open Up Medicare To Pacify Progressives — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Senate Democrats are discussing the idea of expanding Medicare by lowering the age at which the elderly could enter the government-run insurance program, Democratic sources on the Hill tell the Huffington Post.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, The Nation, AmSpecBlog, TPMDC and The Huffington Post

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

GOP senators rebuke Reid's slavery remarks — Three Republican senators on Monday condemned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) comments that Republicans who oppose healthcare reform are akin to the opponents of abolition and women's suffrage. — “Folks tend to crack under pressure …

Discussion: The Note, Townhall.com, Washington Monthly, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Yes We Should — From a personal perspective, this would be a godsend:

Discussion: Eschaton

Ezra Klein:
Five compromises beyond the public option

Discussion: Open Congress, The New Republic, Wonk Room and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Officials: Medicare buy-in on table

Discussion: Raw Story and AMERICAblog News

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Obama administration will formally declare danger of carbon emissions — The Obama administration will formally declare Monday that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a move that lays the groundwork for an economy-wide carbon cap …

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Michelle Malkin, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, Riehl World View, Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, The Hill, The Corner on National …, msnbc.com, The Mahablog, Blue Virginia, American Power, The Washington Independent, AmSpecBlog and Weasel Zippers

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

An Affordable Truth — Maybe I'm naïve, but I'm feeling optimistic about the climate talks starting in Copenhagen on Monday. President Obama now plans to address the conference on its last day, which suggests that the White House expects real progress.

Discussion: The Hill, Los Angeles Times, SEIU, JustOneMinute, Agence France Presse, The Huffington Post, Weekly Standard, The Glittering Eye, Switchboard, Daily Kos, Climate Progress, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Beat the Press

Wall Street Journal:

Business Fumes Over EPA Rule — Carbon-Dioxide Emissions to Face Curbs — Officials gather in Copenhagen this week for an international climate summit, but business leaders are focusing even more on Washington, where the Obama administration is expected as early as Monday to formally declare carbon dioxide a dangerous pollutant.

Discussion: Green Inc., Associated Press, The Foundry, Environmental Capital, QandO, Grist, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The New Republic

Guardian:
'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation'

Discussion: Washington Post, Environmental Capital, RaceWire, MyDD, Grist, Switchboard, The Jawa Report, QandO, Biased BBC, TigerHawk, The Impolitic and AMERICAblog News

New York Times:
In Face of Skeptics, Experts Affirm Climate Peril

Discussion: The Politico, EconLog, Coal Tattoo, JustOneMinute and The Page

Michelle Malkin:
56 Chicken Little newspapers on climate change

Discussion: Vanity Fair and NewsBusters.org

Rasmussen Reports:

Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot — Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican. — In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Hot Air, DownWithTyranny!, The Hill, Hit & Run, FrumForum, The Other McCain, Scared Monkeys, Tax Day Tea Party, Raw Story, Townhall.com, Mouth of the Potomac, The Plum Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, JustOneMinute, TPMDC and The Washington Independent

Andy Barr / The Politico:
‘Tea party’ polls better than GOP

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Little Green Footballs

Ed Hornick / CNN: Born in anger, Tea Party could split in anger

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

NPR reporter pressured over Fox role — Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network's top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network's political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Checkmate: How Joe Lieberman Turned The Public Option Fight On Its Head — After Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) threw down the gauntlet on the public option, political observers and liberal critics had no shortage of theories. Lieberman was rebelling against the liberal base. Lieberman harbors animosity about 2006.

Discussion: Ezra Klein and Democracy in America

David M. Herszenhorn / Prescriptions:
Ad Jabs at Lieberman Over ‘Public Option’

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Paul Krugman:

Unhelpful Hansen — James Hansen is a great climate scientist. He was the first to warn about the climate crisis; I take what he says about coal, in particular, very seriously. — Unfortunately, while I defer to him on all matters climate, today's op-ed article suggests …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Ezra Klein, New York Times, TPMCafe, Switchboard and FrumForum

Chris Frates / The Politico:

Nelson files his abortion amendment — Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch today filed their amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion. The amendment is likely to be debated on the floor tomorrow. Most observers expect it to fail …

Discussion: Feministing, TPMDC, Ben Smith's Blog, Open Congress and AmSpecBlog

Wall Street Journal:
Abortion Emerges as Bill's Top Threat

Discussion: Firedoglake

Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Nelson offers abortion amendment to Senate healthcare reform bill

Discussion: The Hill and Ezra Klein

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

ACORN review: No illegality — An outside review of the beleaguered community group ACORN has found “serious management challenges,” but no pattern of illegal activity. — The review, commissioned by ACORN in the wake of a hidden video expose that showed a few of its employees appearing …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Political Carnival

Tony Romm / The Hill:

ACORN: Employees caught on tape violated no laws — An internal investigation of a series of videos depicting ACORN workers assisting a costumed pimp and prostitute concluded Monday that those employees “did not engage in any illegal activity.” — While the report, prepared …

Discussion: The Swamp

The Note:

Santorum: ‘Absolutely Taking a Look’ at Running in '12; Palin Will ‘Have to Do Some Explaining if She Runs’ — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: — Former Sen. Rick Santorum has some more political travel on tap this week, with a trip scheduled for South Carolina to follow recent visits to Iowa …

Discussion: Think Progress, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and GOP 12

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

The Twilight Zone — I'm very confused this morning — I wake up to find out that J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-Palestine, anti-sanctions organization, is now supporting the sanctions legislation making its way through the House. The White House recently asked that that sanctions bill …

Discussion: The Washington Independent, The Huffington Post, The Daily Dish and Commentary

Amy Spitalnick / Word on the Street:
J Street Calls for Passage of Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 (IRPSA)

Discussion: Weekly Standard, ATTACKERMAN and Ben Smith's Blog

Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:

Secret Service counts 91 breaches — 2003 report has been used as training tool — Long before a pair of gate-crashers penetrated a White House state dinner, the Secret Service had detailed for its internal use a lengthy list of security breaches dating to the Carter administration …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, NewsBusters.org, The Page and Reliable Source

John Harwood / New York Times:
As Obama's Poll Numbers Fall, Criticism of Multitasking Rises

Discussion: The Greenroom, Wall Street Journal, Personal Democracy Forum blogs, CBS News, The Note and Swampland

CNN:

President Obama to propose $200 billion for jobs creation — Washington (CNN) - President Obama will propose using $200 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to support creating jobs, White House officials confirmed Monda — The president, in an economic speech …

Discussion: The Page

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

After Brief Uptick, Obama Approval Slips to 47% — New low follows slight increase after announcement of Afghanistan policy — PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama's presidential job approval rating is 47% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update, a new low for his administration to date.

Discussion: The Swamp, Hot Air, Politics Daily, National Review Online, Conservatives4Palin.com and Real Clear Politics

Washington Times:

Justice thwarts Black Panther subpoenas — The Obama team is covering up voter-intimidation evidence — Could it be that President Obama's legal team is imploding due to a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party? So many new developments regarding the Black Panther case occurred …

Discussion: Main Justice, The Washington Independent and AmSpecBlog

Wall Street Journal:

Girlfriends and Double Standards — Before Max Baucus there was Paul Wolfowitz. Will the ethical uproar be the same? — Printer — Friendly — Here's a poser: Suppose a public official is accused of recommending his girlfriend for a promotion, though he was the one who first flagged …

Discussion: Accuracy in Media, Betsy's Page and Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Thune: Coburn amendment to put POTUS, Congress into healthcare ‘purgatory’ — An amendment requiring nearly all elected officials to enroll in the public option is meant to put them into the same “purgatory” as ordinary people, said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) on Monday.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post and GOP 12