Top Items:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Freezing Out Hope — After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Left in the West, Rortybomb, Commentary, Brilliant at Breakfast, Left Coast Rebel, CANNONFIRE, JustOneMinute, The Atlantic Online, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Confluence, The New Republic, Taylor Marsh, AMERICAblog News, Washington Post, Shot in the Dark, Prairie Weather, Balloon Juice, Suburban Guerrilla, Daily Kos, The Impolitic, Connecting.the.Dots, Riehl World View, The Hill and The Huffington Post
RELATED:
The Note:
Dem Senator: Negotiating with Republicans “Almost” like Negotiating with “Terrorists” — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Did Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) just compare Republicans to terrorists? — Well, not really. But he did compare negotiating with Republicans to negotiating with terrorists.
Discussion:
The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and PoliPundit.com
The Huffington Post:
Harkin: If Obama Caves On Taxes, He Better Pray For Palin In 2012 — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — The sense of frustration among Senate Democrats over the White House's handling of the tax cut debate has grown throughout the week, culminating in a series of articles …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, USA Today, PERRspectives, Washington Post, Guardian, Washington Monthly and GOP 12
Washington Post:
Obama, GOP in quiet talks to extend tax cuts — The White House and congressional Republicans have begun working behind the scenes toward a broad deal that would prevent taxes from going up for virtually every U.S. family and authorize billions of dollars in fresh spending to bolster the economy.
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Menendez: Dealing with GOP like negotiating with ‘terrorists’ — Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez on Friday compared talks with the GOP on extending tax cuts to negotiating with terrorists. — During a press conference on Capitol Hill, Menendez (N.J.) took aim at Republicans for opposing …
Discussion:
Cubachi, The Politico, The Hill, Liberty Pundits Blog and Hot Air
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Collins says 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal must wait for tax cuts
Collins says 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal must wait for tax cuts
Discussion:
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, The Daily Dish, Box Turtle Bulletin and The Caucus
Brad Reed / Crooks and Liars:
Dear Democrats, please, please, please don't eff this up
Dear Democrats, please, please, please don't eff this up
Discussion:
Washington Post and Squawk Box
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Frank: White House ‘gravely mistaken’ in tax cut strategy
Frank: White House ‘gravely mistaken’ in tax cut strategy
Discussion:
New York Times, The Note, Balkinization, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake, TPMDC, Balloon Juice and Scarecrow's myFDL diary
Adam Sorensen / The Page:
Donkey Doozy — The Democratic Party spirals unidirectionally.
Donkey Doozy — The Democratic Party spirals unidirectionally.
Discussion:
Don Surber, Hot Air and Commentary
John Stanton / Roll Call:
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Discussion:
National Review
Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:
CBS Poll Finds Only 46 Percent Of Republicans Support GOP's Stand …
CBS Poll Finds Only 46 Percent Of Republicans Support GOP's Stand …
Discussion:
CBS News, Boston Globe and The Gavel
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Scott Brown comes out in favor of DADT repeal — This is potentially important. The statement just out from Senator Scott Brown's office: … A few quick points on this. First, it shows beyond doubt — as I thought would happen — that Robert Gates's handling of this whole affair …
Discussion:
Salon, Firedoglake, The Angle, Omaha World-Herald, Pam's House Blend, New York Magazine and AMERICAblog Gay
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Brown offers key support for 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal — Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said Friday he would support doing away with the military's “Don't ask, don't tell” policy. — Brown broke with most Republicans to say he endorsed the findings of a Department of Defense report …
Discussion:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers and Towleroad News #gay
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Scott Brown backs 'don't ask' repeal measure
Scott Brown backs 'don't ask' repeal measure
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared and Prop 8 Trial Tracker
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Can we please have some nuance? — It's being widely reported right …
Can we please have some nuance? — It's being widely reported right …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Daily Dish
Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Military chiefs advocate keeping 'Don't ask' for now; McCain threatens block
Military chiefs advocate keeping 'Don't ask' for now; McCain threatens block
Discussion:
Daily Kos, FrumForum, Maggie's Farm and New York Times
Chusa / ConservativeHome's Survey blog:
The top ten pundits among Republican activists — 1,152 Republican activists, as identified by YouGov America and polled by ConservativeHome.com, have chosen their favorite pundits. — These pundits, more than any other, will be the talking heads who will influence the choice of the GOP's nominee for 2012.
Discussion:
Salon, The Other McCain, Lean Left, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Dish
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
After Catfood Commission Fails to Meet Mandate, Dem Senators Rally for Austerity — Fourteen Democratic Senators have asked Harry Reid for action on reining in the budget deficit, on the same day that the Catfood Commission failed to reach the threshold to deliver an official report.
RELATED:
Jeanne Sahadi / CNNMoney.com:
Debt plan draws bipartisan support
Debt plan draws bipartisan support
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, RedState, Fortune and AmSpecBlog
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
14 Dems want deficit action despite failed fiscal commission vote
14 Dems want deficit action despite failed fiscal commission vote
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Jeff Dunetz / YID With LID:
Helen Thomas is At it Again-Says Those Rich Jews Control America — Proving once again that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, former White House Correspondent Helen Thomas told an anti-Arab-Bias workshop in Dearborn Michigan that she absolutely stands by her ugly comments about Jews …
Discussion:
theblogprof, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers, Sultan Knish, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org blogs, Right Wing News, Pajamas Media, Solomonia and Elder of Ziyon
RELATED:
Detroit News:
Helen Thomas stands by anti-Israel remarks
Helen Thomas stands by anti-Israel remarks
Discussion:
Power Line, protein wisdom, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway
Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press:
Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The New Republic and FrumForum
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Ron Paul stands up for Julian Assange — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is taking a stand as one of Julian Assange's few defenders in Washington, arguing that the WikiLeaks founder should get the same protections as the media. — Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that the Justice Department …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, Ben Smith's Blog and Lawfare
RELATED:
Motoko Rich / New York Times:
Disappointing Job Growth in U.S. as Jobless Rate Hits 9.8% — In a significant setback to the recovery and market expectations, the United States economy added just 39,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, according to the Department of Labor.
Discussion:
The Other McCain, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Calculated Risk, Economix, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Moderate Voice, protein wisdom, Indecision Forever, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Wake up America, New York Magazine, About.com US Liberal Politics, Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit, Wonkette, Questions and Observations, TalkLeft and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
Ezra Klein:
An ugly jobs report
An ugly jobs report
Discussion:
Free exchange, New Deal 2.0, Rortybomb, Cato @ Liberty, Hot Air, Firedoglake and The Atlantic Online
Mark Joyella / Mediaite:
Karl Rove Slams Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee Over Bush-Bashing Comments — On Laura Ingraham's radio show, Karl Rove defended the Bushes against a series of comments, including Sarah Palin's reference to the Bushes as “blue-bloods” and Mike Huckabee saying the Bushes “weren't for me.”
RELATED:
Marc Lacey / New York Times:
Arizona Cuts Financing for Transplant Patients — PHOENIX — Even physicians with decades of experience telling patients that their lives are nearing an end are having difficulty discussing a potentially fatal condition that has arisen in Arizona: Death by budget cut.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Incidental Economist, The Reality-Based Community and Gawker
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Montana Republican Numbers — On the Montana poll that we released a couple weeks ago we also had some numbers on who Republicans in the state wanted as their candidates for President and Senate in 2012 and we just never got around to releasing them. So here goes:
Discussion:
GOP 12 and Conservatives4Palin.com
Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:
UN Climate Summit Leader Prays to Mayan Moon Goddess — Watch out, Al Gore, your moonbat congregation is starting to direct their prayers elsewhere: … It just makes sense: When you're pushing a myth, there's no more appropriate entity to pray to than a mythical goddess. Why be inconsistent?
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Deficit panel's plan goes down to defeat — In an 11-7 vote, President Obama's fiscal commission on Friday failed to adopt a sweeping plan for reining in the federal budget deficit. — The panel had been working since February on a plan that would cut almost $4 trillion in deficit spending …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Ezra Klein, The Note, Ross Douthat, Swampland, Hot Air, FrumForum and Divided We Stand
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
What's So Hard About Hardball? — Kevin Drum on the Democratic Party's congenital inability to play hardball politics: … The bigger issue, I think, is that Republicans have an astounding level of ideological unity and a keen understanding of the political dynamics at work.
Discussion:
The New Republic
Ryan Singel / Threat Level:
Feds Warrantlessly Tracking Americans' Credit Cards in Real Time — Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
Myglesias / Yglesias:
For the Record... I really wonder what's happening, subjectively, inside the heads of people who oppose repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Do any of them think they're on the right side of history here? That people are going to look back from 2040 and say “if only we'd listened to John McCain thirty years ago?”
Discussion:
The Plum Line
Dan Horn / Cincinnati.com:
Driehaus sues anti-abortion group — U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus sued an anti-abortion group Friday for making statements that he says misled voters about his stance on abortion. — Driehaus said the Susan B. Anthony List lied about him in public statements and then sued him for trying to stop …
Discussion:
Ballot Box
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Hillary Clinton: State is ‘last’ public post — Hillary Clinton says, ‘I think I will serve as secretary of state as my last public position.’ — Secretary of state will be Hillary Clinton's “last public position,” she said Friday, yet again tamping down speculation that she's plotting …