memeorandum: Why the tax deal might fail (Ezra Klein)

5:05 PM ET, December 14, 2010

Top Items:

Michael Moore / Open Mike:

Why I'm Posting Bail Money for Julian Assange — Yesterday, in the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, the lawyers for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange presented to the judge a document from me stating that I have put up $20,000 of my own money to help bail Mr. Assange out of jail.

Ezra Klein:

Why the tax deal might fail — I listed some of the conservative critics of the tax deal in Wonkbook today (Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party Patriots, Charles Krauthammer), but Playbook shows their ranks are growing: Mitt Romney has an op-ed in USA Today saying the tax deal gives “President Obama ... reason to celebrate.

Discussion: Weigel, TalkLeft, The New Republic, The Daily Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, TPMDC, Hot Air and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Matthew Weaver / News: News blog:

Julian Assange granted bail: live updates — • Assange granted bail to cheers from supporters — • He remains in custody as Sweden says it will appeal — • Assange criticises Visa, MasterCard and Paypal from cell — • Police worked case against Madeleine McCann's parents

New York Times:

Release on Bail of WikiLeaks Founder Is Delayed by Appeal — LONDON — After a week in detention facing possible extradition, Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks antisecrecy group, was ordered released on $310,000 bail by a court on Tuesday as he challenges a Swedish prosecutor's demand …

Discussion: Hot Air, Guardian, The Lede, Firedoglake, Wonkette, FrumForum and Salon

Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:

Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords — Longtime U.S. diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke, whose relentless prodding and deft maneuvering yielded the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia - a success he hoped to repeat as President Obama's chief envoy …

Mike In / Michael Moore:

WITNESS STATEMENT OF MICHAEL MOORE — WITNESS STATEMENT — (CJ Act 1967, s.9 MC Act 1980, ss.5A(3)(a) and 5B; — Criminal Procedure Rules 2010, Rule 27) — This statement (consisting of 2 pages each signed by me) is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that …

Discussion: newsfeed.time.com, Vanity Fair, Foreign Policy, PopEater, Weasel Zippers, The American Independent, AOL News, The Gateway Pundit and FrumForum

Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:

Photos: Here's The Manor Where Julian Assange Will Be Staying — So, this is where Julian Assange will be vacationing from prison. It's Ellingham Hall in Suffolk, England, an estate owned by the independently wealthy journalist Vaughan Smith (and his parents, according to the UK title).

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Mike Allen / The Politico:
STEELE STUNS, RUNS: ‘The job is fun’ …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Checkpoint Washington:
Holbrooke's last words on the Afghan war

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, AmSpecBlog, Swampland and The Atlantic Online

Meredith Chaiken / Washington Post:
Poll: Americans say WikiLeaks harmed public interest; most want Assange arrested

Discussion: Firedoglake, Yahoo! News, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather and BlogPost

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Amateur Hour: VA Judge Makes Elementary Error In Health Care Ruling — The Virginia federal district court judge who ruled yesterday that the individual mandate in the health care bill is unconstitutional is catching a lot of flack — and not just for having a financial interest in an anti-health care reform consulting firm.

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Mother Jones, Concurring Opinions, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Law Blog, TPM LiveWire, Right Wing Watch, The Volokh Conspiracy, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Blue Virginia

Washington Post:

Health reform will survive its legal fight — In March, New Hampshire preschool teacher Gail O'Brien, who was unable to obtain health insurance through her employer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma. Her subsequent applications for health insurance were rejected because of her condition.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, National Review, Left Coast Rebel, PostPartisan, The Atlantic Online, Pajamas Media, Right Turn, Weasel Zippers, The Plum Line and Right Wing Watch

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
Hudson And Scalia, Ctd.

Discussion: Balkinization, Right Turn, A plain blog about politics, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly

Kevin Sack / New York Times:
Years of Wrangling Lie Ahead for Health Care Law

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Volokh Conspiracy, Oliver Willis, The Note, Pirate's Cove, citizenvox.org, The New Republic, Online NewsHour, Law Blog, Instapundit, Associated Press, Israel Matzav, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, PostPartisan and Wonk Room

Jonathan H. Adler / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Further Thoughts on the Virginia Health Care Ruling and the Necessary …

Discussion: New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Balkinization, The Incidental Economist, The New Republic and Daily Kos

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Dems unveil $1.1T spending bill — Senate Democrats have filed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through fiscal year 2011, according to Senate GOP sources. — The 1,924-page bill includes funding to implement the sweeping healthcare reform bill …

Discussion: The Politico and Weasel Zippers

The Note:
Thune vs. Romney: First Skirmish of the Campaign for 2012 GOP …

Discussion: CNN and Ben Smith's Blog

Associated Press:
Earmarkers feast on pork one last time before diet

Discussion: The Foundry and National Review

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Reid, Senate Dems plan to move START arms treaty as soon as Wednesday — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to bring the New START nuclear treaty to the floor as soon as Wednesday and is confident he can secure 67 votes to ratify it. — “We could get to the START treaty as soon as tomorrow …

Discussion: The Note and FrumForum

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:
Senate Looks at After-Christmas Votes

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and Pundit & Pundette

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Huge Senate majority votes to advance $858B tax package

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, Washington Post, Firedoglake, New York Times, USA Today, The Reaction, Wake up America, Hot Air, Indecision Forever, The Other McCain, Sky Dancing, Booman Tribune, The Nation, Political Punch, Shakesville and Reuters

The Hill:

Liberals giving up tax fight — A House liberal who has led the effort to stop President Obama's tax compromise with the GOP says efforts to change the package are futile. — Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who just a week ago circulated a letter signed by 54 Democrats urging opposition to the deal, now says the “die is cast.”

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Right Turn, Guardian and National Review

Simmi Aujla / The Politico:
Steny Hoyer: Estate tax a ‘great concern’

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Ezra Klein and The Hill

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Marine Commandant Suggests Presence Of Gays Would Endanger The Lives Of Straight Marines — Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos — who has opposed repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell — suggested that if Congress lifts the ban against open service and allows gays …

Discussion: Wonk Room and Pam's House Blend

67.59.172.92:
Lifting gay ban could endanger US Marines: general

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay

James C. McKinley Jr / New York Times:

Atheist Ads on Buses Rattle Fort Worth — FORT WORTH — Stand on a corner in this city and you might get a case of theological whiplash. — A public bus rolls by with an atheist message on its side: “Millions of people are good without God.” Seconds later, a van follows bearing a riposte: “I still love you.

Discussion: Vox Popoli, Joe. My. God., Balloon Juice and American Power

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:

Scarborough blasts MSNBC's bias: They always will say ‘a George W. Bush-appointee,’ ‘a Reagan appointee’ — “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough doesn't let much slip by him - well not today, at least. — On his December 14 program, Scarborough pointed out the bias at his network, MSNBC, and even offered a particular example.

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, The Right Scoop and Weasel Zippers

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:

Some Tax Context. — As we move toward some kind of resolution of the tax debate, I thought it might be worthwhile to put some things in context, particularly the question of the top marginal tax rate. That's the one conservatives are so desperate to keep low, and part of the reason liberals …

Discussion: Yglesias

Tim Cavanaugh / Hit & Run:

“Erin Brockovich” Town Shows No Cancer Cluster — Hinkley, California, the town made famous in the Oscar-winning Julia Roberts movie Erin Brockovich, does not show any evidence of an increased rate of cancers. — Pacific Gas and Electric, which released a toxic plume of hexavalent chromium 6 …

Discussion: Big Hollywood, Outside the Beltway, Associated Press and Overlawyered

Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:

Memo to the media: They're called “obstructionists” — That sore-loser phrase doesn't seem to get much use these days. Yet watching Senate Republicans in the minority essentially close down the chamber, not allowing any votes to proceed until their demands are met regarding tax cuts for the very wealthy …

Discussion: Yglesias, Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos

The Huffington Post:

Obama's Judges Blocked At Historic Rate — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … As the first congressional session of Obama's presidency draws to a close, what began as a slow process of confirmation has ballooned into a full-blown judicial crisis. The Senate has overseen the slowest pace …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, Hullabaloo, The New Republic and AOL News

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Carter: Biggest failure was '80 loss — Former President Jimmy Carter says his biggest failure during his term in the White House was that he didn't get to spend another four years there. — “I guess my biggest failure was not getting reelected,” he said in an interview with Big Think, referring to the 1980 presidential election.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Tyler Cowen / The American Interest:

The Inequality That Matters — Does growing wealth and income inequality in the United States presage the downfall of the American republic? Will we evolve into a new Gilded Age plutocracy, irrevocably split between the competing interests of rich and poor?

Discussion: Economix, Democracy in America, Ross Douthat, Free exchange, Marginal Revolution, The Glittering Eye and EconLog

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Corker assembling bloc to demand reforms ahead of debt ceiling vote — Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday he's hoping to assemble a bloc of senators who will demand tax and spending reforms before agreeing to vote to raise the U.S. debt ceiling next year.

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Yglesias and FrumForum

Wall Street Journal:

‘Billionaires On the Warpath’? — The GOP needs to address the class-warfare argument in moral terms. — Say what you will about Bernie Sanders. During his Senate “filibuster” on Friday, the gentleman from Vermont asked a good question: When is enough enough?

Discussion: Bookworm Room, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Daily Kos