Top Items:
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Senate Republicans Threaten Tax Dispute Blockade — WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, DownWithTyranny!, The Caucus, TPMCafe, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, CNN, Booman Tribune and The Other McCain
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EconomistMom.com:
Can We Do the Non-Crazy Thing with the Bush Tax Cuts? — I am no longer going to “let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I am no longer going to try to talk people into seeing that the “right” thing to do with the Bush tax cuts would be to let them all expire.
Discussion:
Yglesias, Economix, Obsidian Wings, Roll Call, Grasping Reality … and The Caucus
Ezra Klein:
Obama's bad poker — On page 116 of “The Promise,” Jonathan Alter describes President Obama's approach to the stimulus as “bad poker.” “Instead of holding his cards close, and then sweetening the pot for Republicans with tax cuts in the final negotiations, [Obama] offered nearly $300 billion …
Discussion:
The Politico, Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly and PostPartisan
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Boehner Blasts Dems' ‘Chickencrap’ Tax Cut Vote Gambit — This afternoon, House Democrats will hold an up or down vote on vote on President Obama's plan to extend tax cuts to income below $250,000, and they've figured out a way to prevent the Republicans from pulling procedural tricks that might sink it …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Boehner rips House Democrats tax vote as ‘chicken crap’
Boehner rips House Democrats tax vote as ‘chicken crap’
Discussion:
The Hill, The Page and American Power
Glen Bolger / Public Opinion Strategies:
GOP Will Retain House Control in 2012 — Guaranteed.
GOP Will Retain House Control in 2012 — Guaranteed.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Ezra Klein:
Why did the Democrats falter on the tax cuts?
Why did the Democrats falter on the tax cuts?
Discussion:
The New Republic, ABCNEWS, The Plum Line and CNN
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Parties dare each other as tax debate heats up
Parties dare each other as tax debate heats up
Discussion:
CNN, The Note, The Politico, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, New York Times, Guardian and RedState
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Tea Party Caucus Takes $1 Billion In Earmarks — Members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus may tout their commitment to cutting government spending now, but they used the 111th Congress to request hundreds of earmarks that, taken cumulatively, added more than $1 billion to the federal budget.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Swampland, TPMDC and Florida Independent
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Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Tea Partiers resist GOP healthcare repeal tactic — Tea Party lawmakers are balking at the House Republican leadership's plan to simultaneously repeal and replace President Obama's healthcare law. — The resistance from conservative lawmakers is a clear indication of the challenge Republican leaders face …
Discussion:
The Politico, Big Government, The Sundries Shack, Washington Monthly and Zandar Versus The Stupid
Wall Street Journal:
Hedge Funds Tapped Rescue Program — Hedge funds and investors whose bearish trades on housing helped them profit amid the credit crisis were among those that benefited from a U.S. government emergency rescue program to kick-start lending, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.
Discussion:
Yglesias and Seeing the Forest
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Tony Pugh / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Fed wants to strip a key protection for homeowners
Fed wants to strip a key protection for homeowners
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
Thomas M. Hoenig / New York Times:
Too Big to Succeed — THE world has experienced a severe …
Too Big to Succeed — THE world has experienced a severe …
Discussion:
Rortybomb, DealBook and Prairie Weather
The Independent:
RTC — Receiving / paying for stolen property IS a crime. Once the official request to not release classified information was issued the release IS a crime. In the US the maximum penalty for that crime is death. — Mark Anthony — Why haven't British police arrested WikiLeaks boss …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, New York Times, Reuters, News: News blog, YID With LID, Raw Story, The Other McCain, Barcepundit, Time, Gawker and HotAirPundit, more at Mediagazer »
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Charlie Savage / New York Times:
U.S. Weighs Prosecution of WikiLeaks Founder, but Legal Scholars Warn …
U.S. Weighs Prosecution of WikiLeaks Founder, but Legal Scholars Warn …
Discussion:
EconoSpeak, Democracy in America, The Daily Dish, The Nation and FP Passport
Fareed Zakaria / Time:
WikiLeaks Shows the Skills of U.S. Diplomats
WikiLeaks Shows the Skills of U.S. Diplomats
Discussion:
New Atlanticist and The Daily Dish
Gizmodo:
NASA Finds New Life (Updated with Pictures) — Hours before their special news conference today, the cat is out of the bag: NASA has discovered a completely new life form that doesn't share the biological building blocks of anything currently living in planet Earth. This changes everything.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Ò", Towleroad News #gay, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Runnin' Scared, Gawker and Raw Story
RELATED:
Gizmodo / Wired Science:
NASA Finds New Life Form
NASA Finds New Life Form
Discussion:
New York Times and Marginal Revolution
Richard E. Cohen / The Politico:
GOP to upend spending process — House Republicans seem intent on blowing up the staid appropriations process when they take power in January — potentially upending the old bulls in both parties who have spent decades building their power over the federal budget.
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Wake up America, Questions and Observations and Pirate's Cove
Lbentzterp / CNN:
Gingrich calls for shake-up at the RNC — Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is calling for a shake-up at the Republican National Committee, another setback for Chairman Michael Steele as he decides whether to seek a second term atop the party organization.
Discussion:
The Politico, GOP 12 and TPMDC
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Joe Lieberman emulates Chinese dictators — (updated below) — The comparison of these two passages is so telling in so many ways: — The Washington Post, today: … The Guardian, yesterday: … Talking Points Memo — in an article headlined: “How Lieberman Got Amazon To Drop Wikileaks” …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, LewRockwell.com Blog, Emptywheel, Washington Post, Firedoglake and The Huffington Post
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Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:
How Lieberman Got Amazon To Drop Wikileaks
How Lieberman Got Amazon To Drop Wikileaks
Discussion:
Mudville Gazette, Hot Air, VentureBeat, The Moderate Voice, ReadWriteWeb, Guardian, Gawker and Talking Points Memo, more at Techmeme »
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A strange way to honor the founding fathers — Republicans gained control of the House last month on a promise to “restore the Constitution.” So it is no small irony that one of their first orders of business is an attempt to rewrite the Constitution. — On Tuesday, Rep. Rob Bishop …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, The Mahablog, Wake up America, Althouse, Instapundit, Wonk Room, Raw Story and Outside the Beltway
Washington Post:
The Republican case for ratifying New START — Republican presidents have long led the crucial fight to protect the United States against nuclear dangers. That is why Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush negotiated the SALT I, START I and START II agreements.
Discussion:
Congress Blog, The Plum Line, New York Times, RedState, Federal Eye and Daily Kos
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George F. Will / Washington Post:
Obama's time-warp focus on the New START treaty
Obama's time-warp focus on the New START treaty
Discussion:
protein wisdom and The Foundry
The Huffington Post:
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Hearings: Live Updates From Washington — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … The Senate Armed Services committee is holding hearings for the military's controversial “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy on Thursday. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who in November urged Congress …
Discussion:
Wonk Room
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Fred Kaplan / Slate:
John McCain has run out of reasons to block the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
John McCain has run out of reasons to block the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Guardian
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Brown in good position — As Scott Brown's first year in the Senate comes to a close he remains an extremely formidable political presence and leads five hypothetical 2012 reelection opponents by margins ranging anywhere from 7 to 19 points. — Vicki Kennedy (48-41) and Deval Patrick …
Discussion:
Yglesias and Taegan Goddard's …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
It took a guy to do this? House Speaker-elect John Boehner orders a change to benefit just 71 members — For some reason it took a male Speaker of the House to accomplish this: — The nearly six dozen female members of the incoming House of Representatives will have a new restroom …
Jeremy P. Jacobs / Hotline On Call:
DeMint Sets Sights On Four Dems — South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (R) is turning his attention to 2012 and using the vote this week on an earmark moratorium to pick his Democratic targets. — DeMint sent an email to the supporters of his Senate Conservatives Fund early Wednesday highlighting four Democrats …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC and Riehl World View
Kevin O'Rourke / Eurointelligence:
LETTER FROM DUBLIN — It is one thing to know that someone you love is terminally ill; their death still comes as a shock. — I certainly don't want to compare the arrival of the EU-IMF team in Dublin last week to a bereavement. But I was surprised at how upsetting I found it, given that it came as no surprise.
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …, The Atlantic Online, Crooked Timber and The Irish Economy
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Fox is quickly becoming the second-chance employer for fiery figures — Don't panic. Fox is hiring. — The leading cable news network and its business news offshoot, Fox Business Network, have made a habit of signing up reporters and media personalities who've found themselves on the wrong side in employee-employer spats.
Reuters:
Sarah Palin has earned the right to run for president — To the dismay of all but hard-core political junkies, the endless campaign is a reality of modern politics. With some midterm races still unresolved, voters' attention is already turned to 2012. And no potential presidential candidate …
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin.com, Taylor Marsh, GOP 12 and Politics Daily