memeorandum: Bill Clinton: Dems should issue their own governing document (Jordan Fabian/The Hill)

1:00 PM ET, September 23, 2010

Top Items:

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Perhaps the Most Ridiculous Thing to Come Out of Washington Since George McClellan — The House Republicans' “Pledge to America” is out. A thrill will run up the leg of a few Chris Matthews' types on the right. As Dan noted on Twitter, the Contract with America was 869 words and this is 21 pages.

Ezra Klein:

The GOP's bad idea — “America is more than a country,” begins the GOP's ‘Pledge to America.’ America, it turns out, is an “idea,” an “inspiration,” and a “belief.” And the GOP wants to govern it. — Their policy agenda is detailed and specific — a decision they will almost certainly come to regret.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Ballot Box, Economist's View, Grasping Reality …, The Washington Independent, AMERICAblog News and TPMDC

CBS News:

“Pledge to America” Unveiled by Republicans (Full Text) — CBS News has obtained a final draft of House Republicans' legislative agenda for the next Congress, a 21-page “Pledge to America” that they will formally unveil Thursday morning at a Virginia hardware store.

The Huffington Post:

GOP ‘Pledge For America’ Director Lobbied For AIG, Exxon, Pfizer, Chamber — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — The Republican Party's 21-page blueprint, “Pledge to America,” was put together with oversight by a House staffer who, up till April 2010, served as a lobbyist for some of the nation's most powerful oil …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Wonk Room, Think Progress, The Daily Caller, The Gavel, Oliver Willis, Taylor Marsh, AmSpecBlog, Politerati and First Draft

National Review:

We'll Take the Pledge — All year long, conservatives have been pressuring Republicans to release a Contract with America for 2010 — an updated version of the campaign platform that the party unveiled before its 1994 sweep of Congress. Thursday morning, Republican congressmen are responding …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hotline On Call, Power Line, AmSpecBlog, Hit & Run, Riehl World View, The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, Outside the Beltway, Politics Daily, The Note, American Spectator and INSTAPUTZ

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

Why Republicans Don't Need a ‘Pledge’ — Today, something unusual will happen. Democrats will happily call attention to a new set of Republican proposals, and Republicans ... well, they'll sort of shrug them off. The “Pledge to America” is supposed to be this year's version of 1994's …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, A plain blog about politics, The Hill, Weekly Standard, The Washington Independent, Firedoglake and Club for Growth

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Boehner offers no solutions on Medicare, Social Security reform — Addressing a central criticism of the Republicans' new “Pledge to America,” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday said he doesn't have the answer to solving Medicare's spending crisis.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Ezra Klein:
The Democrats need a plan, too

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Bill Clinton: Dems should issue their own governing document

Discussion: FrumForum and Sweetness & Light

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
The Pledge To America: Deja Vu All Over Again

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Newsweek and Lawyers, Guns & Money

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
G.O.P. Cites Tax Cuts and Health Care as Main Focus

Discussion: The Politico, Associated Press, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Law Blog, The Caucus and Outside the Beltway

TPMDC:

Senate Dems Ready To Shelve Tax Cut Vote — A senior Senate Democratic aide told TPM today there won't be a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts in the upper chamber before the November election, a blow to party leaders and President Obama who believed this would have been a winning issue.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Frank Knapp, Jr / Congress Blog:
End tax cuts for the wealthiest

Discussion: CNN

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Pelosi and Hoyer split on holding tax vote before November elections

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Liberty Pundits Blog, TPMDC, FrumForum and FoxNews.com

Harriet Johnson Brackey / Sun-Sentinel:

Man's home sold out from under him in foreclosure mistake — (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel / September 22, 2010) — When Jason Grodensky bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home last December, he paid cash. But seven months later, he was surprised to learn that Bank of America had foreclosed on the house …

Discussion: Fortune, Geekosystem, Calculated Risk and Boing Boing

Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture: Man without Mortgage Loses Home in Foreclosure

Washington Post:

Two of Obama's closest advisers among those likely to leave in White House shuffle — In his nearly two years in office, President Obama has relied on a very small clique of advisers that serves as his most trusted sounding board on politics and policy. — Members of his staff describe Obama …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, AMERICAblog Gay, Pam's House Blend, The Confluence, Politerati, Prairie Weather and The Page

Bill Plante / CBS News:

Axelrod Leaving WH; Emmanuel Likely Next — Sources say President's 2 Closest Advisors Heading for Other Pursuits in Latest News on Pending D.C. Shakeup — (CBS) President Obama's inner circle will likely be losing some key players. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Yourish.com and Sweetness & Light

Quinnipiac University:

Little-Known New York Attorney General Candidates Tied, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gillibrand Up By Only 6 Points — Two little-known candidates for New York State Attorney General, Democratic State Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Republican Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, WGRZ-TV, National Review, Pollster.com All Content, Hot Air, Washington Wire, New York Magazine, Capital Tonight, the albany project, Capitol Confidential and FrumForum

Wcbsmark / CBS New York:

Cuomo Caught Lying About Voting For Bloomberg? — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There has been a dramatic development in the race for New York governor. — A new poll has Republican Carl Paladino within striking distance of Democrat Andrew Cuomo as voters say they want to elect someone who will stop the circus in Albany.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, RedState, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, Liberty Pundits Blog and Babalú Blog

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Cuomo's Image as Unstoppable Suffers a Blow

Discussion: Politics Daily, City Room, Capitol Confidential, TPMDC, Capital Tonight, Politics on the Hudson, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Biden: Tea Party could motivate Dem base — Vice President Biden said Thursday the conservative Tea Party movement might be “the best thing to happen” to Democrats with the midterm elections approaching. — Biden, speaking at a fundraiser in Chevy Chase, Md., for Sen. Barbara Mikulski …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The Tea Party: Tempest in a very small teapot

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and New York Observer

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Dahlia Lithwick: It's “Weird” for a Senator to Consider the Constitutionality of Legislation — Lithwick in Slate: … Short answer: Senators swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. Of course they are obligated to determine whether a bill they are considering is constitutional.

Discussion: The Other McCain

Slate:
Decoding Christine O'Donnell

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Power Line

Keith Bradsher / New York Times:

Amid Tension, China Blocks Vital Exports to Japan — HONG KONG — Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has blocked exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner, The Oil Drum, FP Passport, Telegraph, Angry Bear, Washington Post, naked capitalism and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

David Axelrod / Washington Post:

The election campaigners we can't see — All of Washington is in a frenzy, speculating about the outcome of the fall elections. Yet the development that could most tip the scales is getting far too little public attention. That hidden factor is the audacious stealth campaign being mounted …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Huffington Post and The Page

Kevin Sack / New York Times:

For Many, Health Care Relief Begins Today — Sometimes lost in the partisan clamor about the new health care law is the profound relief it is expected to bring to hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been stricken first by disease and then by a Darwinian insurance system.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Time, Washington Post, Wonk Room, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, National Review and TalkLeft

James C. McKinley Jr / New York Times:

A Claim of Pro-Islam Bias in Textbooks — HOUSTON — Some conservative members of the Texas Board of Education assert that the history books used in this state have a pro-Islamic bias, and they are upset about it. — Never shy about wading into the culture wars, they are planning …

Discussion: Gawker, msnbc.com, Wonkette, Jihad Watch, Open Left and Ò"

Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:

Israel Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address — This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, theblogprof and Weasel Zippers

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

Memo to right-wingers: That ‘bearded Marxist’ line is a JOKE — one that makes fun of idiots like you — OK, this whole “Chris Coons describes himself as a bearded Marxist” thing that's now the everyday talking point at Fox News — embodied once again in Christine O'Donnell's interview …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Sarah Palin: I'll run if nobody else steps up — Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin gave her strongest indication yet that she may run for president Wednesday night, saying she would jump into the race if “nobody else were to step up” with the proposals she wants to see.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway and Wonkette

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com Pro-Life Headlines:

New Jersey Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Closes After Christie Cuts Funds — Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) — After the New Jersey state Senate defeated an attempt to override the decision of Gov. Chris Christie to cut off state taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood abortion businesses …

Discussion: National Review, Pundit & Pundette and The Cloakroom

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Senate Forecast: Republican Takeover Chances Improved, but Democrats Are Building Pacific Firewall — Polls show that the Republican nominee has gained ground in a key Senate race, Wisconsin — and Republicans have put another Senate race, in West Virginia, squarely into play.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Insider, Raw Story, Don Surber, Public Policy Polling and The Hill

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:

Zuckerberg Gives $100 Million Gift to Newark Schools — Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, has agreed to donate $100 million to improve Newark's long-troubled public schools, and Gov. Chris Christie will cede some control of the state-run system to Mayor Cory A. Booker in conjunction …