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

3:50 PM ET, December 7, 2009

Top Items:

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

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, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, The Hill, Matthew Yglesias, Michelle Malkin, The Washington Independent, The Mahablog, The Corner on National …, Blue Virginia, American Power, AmSpecBlog and Weasel Zippers

Guardian:

'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation' — This editorial calling for action from world leaders on climate change is published today by 56 newspapers around the world in 20 languages — Copenhagen climate change summit - opening day liveblog

Discussion: Washington Post, The Jawa Report, MyDD, Environmental Capital, RaceWire, Switchboard, QandO, Grist, Biased BBC, TigerHawk, The Impolitic, AMERICAblog News, Pundit & Pundette, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Strata-Sphere and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Environmental Capital, QandO, Grist and The New Republic

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

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Politico, EconLog, Coal Tattoo, Climate Progress, Pajamas Media and Dot Earth

Michelle Malkin:
56 Chicken Little newspapers on climate change

Discussion: Vanity Fair and NewsBusters.org

Associated Press:
EPA says greenhouse gases are harmful

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Pajamas Media and RedState

Ezra Klein:

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: Wonk Room, Daily Kos and TalkLeft

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: Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, Weekly Standard, 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: AmSpecBlog, TPMDC, The Huffington Post and The Politico

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

Discussion: Raw Story, AMERICAblog News and The Note

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

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, Hit & Run, The Hill, FrumForum, The Other McCain, Scared Monkeys, Tax Day Tea Party, Raw Story, Mouth of the Potomac, Townhall.com, The Plum Line, The Washington Independent, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TPMDC and The Strata-Sphere

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

Discussion: The Political Carnival

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.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog, Crooks and Liars, Think Progress, Commentary, NewsBusters.org, Townhall.com, Hot Air, Jules Crittenden, Politics Daily, The Jawa Report, Power Line, Sister Toldjah, Villainous Company, Pundit & Pundette, Dependable Renegade, TPM LiveWire, Weasel Zippers and Confederate Yankee

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke — At the Economic Club of Washington D.C., Washington D.C. — Frequently Asked Questions — It is a pleasure to speak once again before the Economic Club of Washington. Having faced the most serious financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression …

Discussion: Free exchange and Real Time Economics

Luca Di Leo / Wall Street Journal:
Bernanke Cautions on Recovery

Discussion: The Page

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

U.S. Forecasts Smaller Loss From Bailout of Banks — WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it has lent to ailing companies since the financial crisis began last year, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit, according to a new Treasury report.

Discussion: The Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Caucus, Daniel W. Drezner, Capital Gains and Games blogs, Gothamist, The Political Carnival and The Page

Victoria McGrane / The Politico:
Strange coalition targets Bernanke

Discussion: Bloomberg, The New Ledger, The Big Picture, Big Government, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Washington Independent and LewRockwell.com Blog

Jackie Calmes / Boston Globe:
US may recover most TARP loans

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Financial Times and Plunderbund

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

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
ACORN review: No illegality

Discussion: The Political Carnival

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

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, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, Open Congress, AmSpecBlog and Shakesville

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

Discussion: Firedoglake

CNN:

Senate health care debate focuses on abortion — Washington (CNN) — Senate debate on a sweeping health care bill proceeds to one of the most controversial issues Monday: an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion. — The amendment by moderate Democratic …

Discussion: Truthdig

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
GOP senators rebuke Reid's slavery remarks

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Michelle Malkin and Townhall.com

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, Politics Daily, National Review Online and Conservatives4Palin.com

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: GOP 12

Chris Hedges / Truthdig:

Liberals Are Useless — Liberals are a useless lot. They talk about peace and do nothing to challenge our permanent war economy. They claim to support the working class, and vote for candidates that glibly defend the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Discussion: Firedoglake

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, Dr. Melissa Clouthier and Betsy's Page

The Independent:

Home > News > World > Europe — The news that a leaked set of emails appeared to show senior climate scientists had manipulated data was shocking enough. Now the story has become more remarkable still. — The computer hack, said a senior member of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change …

Discussion: The Politico, Newsbroke, Guardian, Times of London, Robert Amsterdam, Raw Story, Informed Comment and Little Green Footballs

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Europe's Minaret Moment — They toasted to progress in Europe's capitals last week. On Tuesday, the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect, bringing the nations of the European Union one step closer to the unity the Continent's elite has been working toward for over 50 years.

Discussion: The New Republic, Sadly, No!, Feministe and No Left Turns