Top Items:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Let's Not Make a Deal — Back in 2001, former President George W. Bush pulled a fast one. He wanted to enact an irresponsible tax cut, largely for the benefit of the wealthiest Americans. But there were Senate rules in place designed to prevent that kind of irresponsibility.
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Ezra Klein:
The Bush tax cuts in one chart — It's time, I think, to repost this chart showing how much taxpayers at different income levels would get from the Democratic plan, which was to simply extend the cuts for income under $250,000, and the Republican plan, which was to extend the cuts for everyone:
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online and Alas, a blog
Ezra Klein:
Can the White House win in 2012 by losing on the Bush tax cuts now? — The compromise the White House is negotiating on the Bush tax cut is looking more and more like the White House's opening gambit in the 2012 campaign. — The White House has stopped negotiating for ideal …
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics, The Monkey Cage, Rortybomb, Swampland, The Note, Crooks and Liars and Yglesias
Ezra Klein:
Who graduates, who votes and who's unemployed — in one graph — It seems a little crazy that tax cuts for the nation's very richest residents are commanding more political energy and consensus than unemployment insurance. Among other things, the tax cuts aren't popular. Unemployment insurance is.
Discussion:
The New Republic
Jon Ward / The Daily Caller:
Obama and GOP reach deal on two-year extension of Bush tax cuts for all incomes
Obama and GOP reach deal on two-year extension of Bush tax cuts for all incomes
Discussion:
The Fix, The Hill, The Hill, Moe Lane and AmSpecBlog
New York Times:
Bush Tax-Cut Deal With Jobless Aid Said to Be Near
Bush Tax-Cut Deal With Jobless Aid Said to Be Near
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, The Note, Crooks and Liars, The Politico, Washington Post, The Plum Line, Democracy in America, Los Angeles Times, South Capitol Street, AmSpecBlog, Rortybomb, Online NewsHour, Michelle Malkin, Free exchange, The Nation, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, New Deal 2.0, Comments from Left Field, Wonkette, Economist's View, Firedoglake, JustOneMinute, Prairie Weather, Mother Jones, Brilliant at Breakfast, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress, Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, The Democratic Daily, Sky Dancing, Indecision Forever, Riehl World View, FrumForum, Bloomberg and AMERICAblog News
The Huffington Post:
Tax Cuts: The Real End Game Is In The House
Tax Cuts: The Real End Game Is In The House
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and Reuters
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Bachmann: GOP could scuttle tax deal tied to extending jobless aid
Bachmann: GOP could scuttle tax deal tied to extending jobless aid
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
David Weigel / Weigel:
Just How Big of a Dive is Obama Taking on Tax Cuts?
Just How Big of a Dive is Obama Taking on Tax Cuts?
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog and Yglesias
David Leonhardt / Economix:
Obama's Tax-Cut Retreat, Through Two Lenses
Obama's Tax-Cut Retreat, Through Two Lenses
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and The Daily Dish
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Retiring Sen. George Voinovich to oppose any extension of Bush-era tax cuts
Retiring Sen. George Voinovich to oppose any extension of Bush-era tax cuts
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, PostPartisan, Hullabaloo and The Gateway Pundit
First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Done deal?
First Thoughts: Done deal?
Discussion:
Associated Press, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Politics Daily
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Tea party group wants Palin for RNC — Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips sent a letter to former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin asking her to run for chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. — “In order for the tea party, conservative movement to be successful …
Discussion:
CNN, Little Green Footballs, Cubachi, The Note, Indecision Forever, The Hill, TPMDC and FrumForum
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The Note:
Sarah Palin Passes On RNC — ABC News' John Berman and Mary Bruce report: — Sarah Palin isn't running...for one job at least. She doesn't appear to be a candidate to Chair the Republican National Committee. — The activist group Tea Party Nation, planned on sending a letter to Palin pleading for her to run.
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Atlantic Online, Ballot Box, Weigel, Hotline On Call, CNN, Weasel Zippers, National Review and GOP 12
Peter J. Boyer / New Yorker:
HOUSE RULE
HOUSE RULE
Discussion:
The Hill, Prairie Weather, Wonkette, USA Today and New York Magazine
Karin Tanabe / The Politico:
ON ‘ALASKA,’ PALIN GOES HUNTING
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Kennedy Still Highest-Rated Modern President, Nixon Lowest — Jimmy Carter's retrospective approval rating and rank drop from 2006 — PRINCETON, NJ — Of the nine U.S. presidents who have served in the past 50 years, John F. Kennedy continues to earn the highest retrospective job approval rating from Americans, now 85%.
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Politics Daily, Weasel Zippers, South Capitol Street, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine and HotAirPundit
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James Hohmann / The Politico:
Bush job approval rating higher than Obama's
Bush job approval rating higher than Obama's
Discussion:
Power Line, Weasel Zippers and FrumForum
WRAL-TV:
Elizabeth Edwards seriously ill — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has spread, and her health has deteriorated, multiple sources told WRAL News Monday. — Edwards, 61, the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, was briefly hospitalized recently …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Politics Daily
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Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Elizabeth Edwards's Cancer Spreads — Elizabeth Edwards's cancer fight has taken a turn for the worse, with the disease spreading to her liver and doctors recommending against additional treatment. — “Elizabeth has been advised by her doctors that further treatment of her cancer would be unproductive.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC and New York Magazine
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Rulings set on Wal-Mart, warming (final UPDATE, 11:58 a.m.) — The Supreme Court stepped into two major controversies on Monday, agreeing to sort out when a class-action lawsuit may be filed when employees are seeking back pay for alleged workplace discrimination, and to clarify whether companies claimed …
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy and Zandar Versus The Stupid
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Wal-Mart Appeal
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Wal-Mart Appeal
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Kay Steiger, National Review, New York Magazine, Don Surber, ACS Blog, ECHIDNE of the snakes and TalkLeft
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Gov. Gary Johnson: I Smoked Marijuana from 2005 to 2008 — The former New Mexico governor and likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate talks to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. — Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and a likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate …
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Indecision Forever, Taegan Goddard's … and Hit & Run
Wall Street Journal:
Julian Assange, Information Anarchist — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hopes to hobble the U.S. government. — Whatever else WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accomplished, he's ended the era of innocent optimism about the Web. As wiki innovator Larry Sanger put it in a message to WikiLeaks …
Discussion:
Salon, Yahoo! News, Cato @ Liberty and LewRockwell.com Blog, more at Mediagazer »
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Sam Jones / Guardian:
Julian Assange's Swiss bank account closed
Julian Assange's Swiss bank account closed
Discussion:
BBC, Press Association, TwitLonger, The Nation, Online NewsHour, News: News blog and Hit & Run, more at Mediagazer »
The Note:
Spending cuts? From these guys? Republicans Poised to Make “Prince of Pork” Appropriations Chair — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — This week House Republicans will choose committee chairman for the incoming Congress, the leaders who, in large measure, will define the new Republican majority.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Politico, Taegan Goddard's … and Maggie's Farm
RELATED:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Spenders Become Savers in Race for Key House Post
Spenders Become Savers in Race for Key House Post
Discussion:
Political Insider
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Kathy Griffin Gets Booed By U.S. Troops After Calling Bristol Palin Fat — Comedian and self-proclaimed “D-lister” Kathy Griffin hosted VH1 Divas Salute the Troops which was taped for an audience of servicemen at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California, and aired last night.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin and The Gateway Pundit
Felix Salmon:
Chart of the day: U.S. taxes — Stephen Culp has another striking chart today: — This chart should be ingrained in the mind of anybody who cares about fiscal policy. The main things to note: — Federal taxes are the lowest in 60 years, which gives you a pretty good idea …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Daily Dish and Hullabaloo
BBC:
List of facilities ‘vital to US security’ leaked — Ningbo port in south-eastern China, one of the facilities on the US list — A long list of key facilities around the world that the US describes as vital to its national security has been released by Wikileaks.
Karoli / Crooks and Liars:
Right wing declares war on the poor: Kate O'Beirne calls parents of school lunch recipients child abusers — I'm speechless. This little rant by Kate O'Beirne at a Republican strategy session is so evil, so incredibly cold-hearted, and so predictably right-wing that it makes me want to shove …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com and DownWithTyranny!
David Rose / Daily Mail:
What happened to the ‘warmest year on record’: The truth is global warming has halted — A year ago tomorrow, just before the opening of the UN Copenhagen world climate summit, the British Meteorological Office issued a confident prediction. The mean world temperature for 2010, it announced …
Discussion:
NPR, theblogprof, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Pirate's Cove, AmSpecBlog, Tim Blair and Telegraph
Newsweek:
What I've Learned — We can't keep politics out of school reform. Why I'm launching a national movement to transform education. — Former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee says she's not done fighting. — After my boss, Washington, D.C., mayor Adrian Fenty, lost his primary in September, I was stunned.
Discussion:
The New Republic, studentsfirst.org, PostPartisan and Washington Wire
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
IF TWO WEEKS ISN'T ENOUGH, MAKE IT THREE.... Based on the current schedule, the Senate Democratic leadership intends to wrap the lame-duck session on Dec. 17 — a week from Friday. Given this extremely tight calendar, and Republican delaying tactics, a whole lot of observers on both sides …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Hill, TPMDC, The Huffington Post, Wonk Room and Eschaton
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Short goodnight expected for the DREAM Act during lame duck — The DREAM Act — a priority of Democrats in both Congress and the White House — faces a difficult future in the lame duck. — Even as Democrats in both chambers prepare to consider the measure this week …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Firedoglake, Questions and Observations, Pirate's Cove, Wake up America, Moonbattery, America's Voice Blog, Wonk Room and The Hill
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Inhofe: ‘Why Do They Always Pick On The Christians?’ — Last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) announced that he would refuse to participate in Tulsa's “Holiday Parade of Lights” because the city had renamed the parade, replacing “Christmas” with “Holiday.” After taking part in the parade every year …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, News Hounds, South Capitol Street and TPMDC
Matt Yglesias / Yglesias:
Morning in America — Just a reminder that though the “morning in America” recovery that led Ronald Reagan to a landslide re-election in 1984 certainly represented a rapid amelioration of conditions, in absolute terms the labor market in '84 was actually still pretty bad:
Discussion:
News Hounds and Eschaton
The Politico:
Mike Huckabee wants some respect — Dial down the deafening Sarah Palin buzz for just a moment: The most consequential decision in the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes could be whether Mike Huckabee decides to run again - and associates say the former Arkansas governor may well take the plunge.
Discussion:
Public Policy Polling, The Note, Hotline On Call, South Capitol Street, Arkansas Blog, Ben Smith's Blog, Right Wing Watch and GOP 12