Top Items:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Senate Dems warn Boehner: Don't bother with healthcare repeal — The 112th Congress doesn't begin until Wednesday, but Senate Democrats are already vowing to block any attempts by the new GOP-led House to repeal the healthcare reform law. — The Senate's top Democrats, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid …
Discussion:
Toledo Blade, USA Today, Liberty Central, Sister Toldjah, The Political Carnival, Doug Ross and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
RELATED:
Aharding / CNN:
House GOP to move this week on health care repeal — Washington (CNN) - CNN has learned that Republicans plan to try to repeal the health care law almost immediately after taking control of the House, setting the stage for an early confrontation with President Obama.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Say Anything and The Political Carnival
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
House GOP to vote on health repeal next week — House Republicans will vote next week to repeal the new health care law, making good on a top-tier GOP campaign promise and setting up a showdown with President Barack Obama over his signature domestic policy achievement.
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, Hot Air, Swampland, AOL News, iOwnTheWorld.com, Fox News and Firedoglake
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House Republicans schedule vote on healthcare repeal for next week
House Republicans schedule vote on healthcare repeal for next week
Discussion:
The Politico
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Austerity is first order for Boehner's installation as House speaker
Austerity is first order for Boehner's installation as House speaker
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
GETTING THE OLD GANG BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.... By the time disgraced …
GETTING THE OLD GANG BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.... By the time disgraced …
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
House sets Jan. 12 vote on repeal of health-care law
House sets Jan. 12 vote on repeal of health-care law
Discussion:
Roll Call
New York Times:
G.O.P. Newcomers Set Out to Undo Obama Victories
G.O.P. Newcomers Set Out to Undo Obama Victories
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Plum Line, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Brilliant at Breakfast, USA Today, The Note, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, Daily Kos, Commentary, Right Pundits, protein wisdom, Cincinnati.com, National Review, The Nation, Arkansas Blog, Online NewsHour, Economist's View, Right Wing News and Time
Bloomberg:
Obama Said to Consider William Daley for Top White House Post — President Barack Obama is considering naming William Daley, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive and former U.S. Commerce secretary, to a high-level White House post, possibly as his chief of staff, people familiar with the matter said.
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Lynn Sweet / Politics Daily:
William Daley at Top of Obama List for White House Chief of Staff … The Obama White House is considering William Daley as the new chief of staff, but no final decisions have been made, and interim chief of staff Peter Rouse still has not finalized whether he wants to stay.
Rachel Slajda / TPM LiveWire:
There's One Huge State Budget Crisis That Everyone Is Refusing To Talk About — You know the story and you know the names: states like Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and California are supposed to be in huge financial trouble thanks to bloated governments, business-unfriendly regulations, and strong public sector unions.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Arkansas Blog
Fox News:
Cops: Former Bush Aide Murdered, Found in Landfill — A man who fought to get the Vietnam Veterans Memorial built and served in two Bush administrations was murdered, Delaware police say. — John P. Wheeler III, 66, was found dead in a Delaware landfill, and his death has been ruled a homicide by Newark, Del., police.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Other McCain
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delawareonline:
(2 of 2) — The Marinis home is under construction at the entrance …
(2 of 2) — The Marinis home is under construction at the entrance …
Discussion:
Right Pundits, The Politico, AOL News, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
John P Wheeler III
Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Darrell Issa reveals list of investigations — Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months of what promises to be a high-profile chairmanship of the top oversight committee in Congress.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, PostPartisan, TPMMuckraker, Firedoglake, Confederate Yankee, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, The Note, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, Comments from Left Field, The Impolitic, Left Coast Rebel, iOwnTheWorld.com, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Ace of Spades HQ, DownWithTyranny!, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Daily Pundit, theblogprof and The Hill
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
Snort: Now the Dems are worried about wasteful “witch hunts”
Snort: Now the Dems are worried about wasteful “witch hunts”
Discussion:
Right Turn, HillBuzz.org, The Politico, Wake up America, The Hill, Patterico's Pontifications and Pundit & Pundette
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Cummings wants agreement between Issa and White House
Cummings wants agreement between Issa and White House
Discussion:
The Politico and CNN
Alex Weprin / mediabistro.com:
John Roberts To Join Fox News Channel — Former CNN “American Morning” anchor John Roberts is expected to join FOX News Channel as a senior national correspondent, based in Atlanta. — He will be reporting on major domestic and international stories for the network. — Update: FNC has made it official.
Discussion:
News Hounds, The Wire, NewsBusters.org blogs and Gawker
Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Allen West Says New Congress Should Prioritize Threat Of ‘Infiltration Of The Sharia Practice’ In U.S. — Rep. Allen West (R-FL), a newly-elected member who has loudly scapegoated Muslims and campaigned on a promise to oppose religious diversity, appeared on Frank Gaffney's radio program last week.
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, Booman Tribune and Weasel Zippers
RELATED:
Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Allen West: Obama Should Put His Life On The Line When He Visits Afghanistan
Allen West: Obama Should Put His Life On The Line When He Visits Afghanistan
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, USA Today and Weasel Zippers
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHAT RNC LEADERS READ.... The five main candidates vying for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee met today for a debate, which by most accounts, was of greater interest to political reporters than RNC members. One of the lighter moments, however, was arguably the most interesting.
RELATED:
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Michael Steele Defends RNC Expenditures on U.S. Territories
The Politico:
Majority of RNC against Michael Steele
Majority of RNC against Michael Steele
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller, RedState, CNN, The Note, The Atlantic Online, The New Republic, The Washington Independent, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Ben Smith's Blog, YID With LID, Politics Daily, Right Turn, Hot Air, The Political Carnival, TPMDC, Hotline On Call, The Page, AmSpecBlog, National Review, Mediaite, Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress and Weekly Standard
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Dems playing rough on health reform? — More signs Dems are going to get aggressive in the battle with the GOP over the repeal of health reform. — In an interview with me just now, Dem Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is one of the best there is at framing liberal arguments in pugnacious terms …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Daily Kos
Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Ahmadinejad Was Slapped by General, Leaked Cable Says — Last January, as Iran's leadership struggled to contain postelection protests, nerves frayed to such an extent that the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was slapped in the face by a military commander at one contentious meeting …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Dafna Linzer / ProPublica:
Administration Prepares to Defy Efforts to Limit Obama's Options for Guantanamo — Update (4:25 p.m.): This story has been updated to reflect our latest reporting with the addition of a third sentence in the second paragraph. — Obama administration officials say they plan …
Discussion:
New York Times, TalkLeft, Emptywheel, Oliver Willis and Attackerman
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
The Unborn Paradox — The American entertainment industry has never been comfortable with the act of abortion. Film or television characters might consider the procedure, but even on the most libertine programs (a “Mad Men,” a “Sex and the City"), they're more likely to have a change of heart than actually go through with it.
Erick Erickson / RedState:
Pence for President — If confession is good for the soul, let me pour out my soul for you. As I stood at the beginning of 2008, I find myself in the same position here as we now begin the very real discussions of who should be the candidate for the GOP in 2012.
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin, Erick's blog, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Salon and GOP 12
Ronald Bailey / Hit & Run:
Women or Wine? Monogamy and Alcohol — The headline is the title of an intriguing new working paper [PDF] by two University of Leuven economists Mara Squicciarini and Jo Swinnen. The two note an interesting correlation between societies that practice monogamy and those that drink alcohol.
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
He Entered Congress Swinging, and Exits That Way — ORLANDO, Fla. — He has zero faith in the incoming speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, whom he calls a “tool of special interest.” — He derides the Tea Party's successes as “bought and paid for by the enormously rich and the selfish.”
Ezra Klein:
Some thoughts — and graphs — on inequality and income — I've been spending some time thinking about income inequality for a piece I'm writing. As part of it, I made this graph comparing trends in inequality — as measured by the share of pre-tax income that goes to the top 1 percent …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online and The Maddow Blog
David Cole / New York Times:
Chewing Gum for Terrorists — DID former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Tom Ridge, a former homeland security secretary, and Frances Townsend, a former national security adviser, all commit a federal crime last month in Paris when they spoke in support …
Discussion:
TPMCafe, Gawker, Salon, Emptywheel, ACS Blog, Wonk Room, Raw Story, Hit & Run and Scrutiny Hooligans
BBC:
Coptic churches in Europe report attack threats — Coptic church leaders across Europe have discussed the level of threat — Coptic Church leaders across Europe have revealed they have been the target of threats in the wake of the New Year's Day bomb attack in Egypt.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit