Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
New Speaker Vows to Share Power—a Tricky Proposition — When John Boehner takes over one of the most powerful jobs in Washington this week, he says his first order of business is to make himself less powerful. — On Wednesday the new speaker of the House of Representatives plans to offer …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Hot Air, Publius Forum, A plain blog about politics, protein wisdom and Althouse
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Boehner fires back at Dem senators with vow to push forward with repeal — Incoming House Speaker John Boehner's office (R-Ohio) pointedly vowed on Tuesday to push ahead with legislation repealing healthcare reform. — Boehner's office responded to a letter sent by the Senate's top five Democrats …
Discussion:
The Note, Hot Air, Left Coast Rebel, Doug Ross and Liberty Pundits Blog
Michael Steel / gopleader.gov:
Boehner Press Office Responds to Senate Democrats re: Repealing …
Boehner Press Office Responds to Senate Democrats re: Repealing …
Discussion:
Cubachi, RedState and Weasel Zippers
Lbentzterp / CNN:
Boehner to livestream opening day of new Congress on Facebook
Boehner to livestream opening day of new Congress on Facebook
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, ReadWriteWeb, Gawker, sisu, Mediaite and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Obama weighs major reshuffling of staff — As President Obama returns from Hawaii, he is weighing a major reshuffling of his staff that could see as many as eight people playing new key roles in the weeks ahead, Democrats familiar with the process said. — Obama has been mulling for months …
Discussion:
The Fix, National Review, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Impolitic and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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The Politico:
White House shakeup could mean Gibbs' exit — Administration officials — who long denied that President Barack Obama was planning a major housecleaning in the wake of the disastrous 2010 midterms — aren't pushing back anymore. — Senior adviser David Axelrod has already announced his departure …
Discussion:
CNN and Weasel Zippers
Ed O'Keefe / Federal Eye:
Watchdog fired by Obama loses appeals case — A three-judge panel rejected appeals Tuesday by Gerald Walpin, a former federal watchdog fired by President Obama in 2009, likely ending his attempts to get back his old job. — Walpin was appointed inspector general for the agency overseeing …
Discussion:
Politics Daily and The Other McCain
Kevin Connor / Eyes on the Ties:
Obama Considering Chamber of Commerce Insider for Top White House Post
Obama Considering Chamber of Commerce Insider for Top White House Post
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, Big Government, Swampland, Ezra Klein, The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars and Salon
Marc Schultz / Publishers Weekly:
Upcoming NewSouth ‘Huck Finn’ Eliminates the ‘N’ Word — Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic by most any measure—T.S. Eliot called it a masterpiece, and Ernest Hemingway pronounced it the source of “all modern American literature.” Yet, for decades …
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Alex Roarty / NationalJournal.com:
Santorum Takes Aim at Romney, Palin — Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., at a Capitol Hill coffee shop, trying to give a jolt to his presidential ambitions. — Rick Santorum the senator didn't shy from controversy. Apparently, neither will Rick Santorum the presidential candidate.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Daily Caller and GOP 12
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Huckabee's the best bet for now — My main thought on the Republican Presidential field as 2011 begins is that the party needs someone outside the current top 4 of Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich to come out of the pack and win the nomination.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TPMDC and GOP 12
Nathan Frandino / CBS New York:
Poll: Christie Ahead Of Obama Among GOP Hopefuls
Poll: Christie Ahead Of Obama Among GOP Hopefuls
Discussion:
Paul Mulshine and Weigel
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
G.O.P. Aims Smaller for Cuts to Budget — WASHINGTON — Many people knowledgeable about the federal budget said House Republicans could not keep their campaign promise to cut $100 billion from domestic spending in a single year. Now it appears that Republicans agree.
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway
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Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
G.O.P. Sets Up Huge Target for Budget Ax — WASHINGTON — The incoming Republican majority in the House is moving to make good on its promise to cut $100 billion from domestic spending this year, a goal eagerly backed by conservatives but one carrying substantial political and economic risks.
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
GOP Plans To Implement The ‘Demon Pass’ They Once Decried
GOP Plans To Implement The ‘Demon Pass’ They Once Decried
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and Arkansas Blog
Fox Nation:
Speaker Pelosi Leaves With a Whopper — At her final press conference as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “Deficit reduction has been a high priority for us. It is our mantra, pay-as-you-go.” — The numbers tell a different story. — When the Pelosi Democrats took control …
Discussion:
Doug Ross and Weasel Zippers
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Mitch McConnell / Washington Post:
A power grab that the GOP avoided — When the 112th Congress convenes Wednesday, some of us will be thinking back to a vote that occurred 15 years earlier to the day. Just two months after securing a congressional majority for the first time in 40 years, Republicans strode into the Senate chamber …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Plum Line, TPMDC, Blogcritics, Wonk Room, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Hill
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David Weigel / Weigel:
Eric Cantor: Health Care Repeal Will Happen Because “It Was Litigated …
Eric Cantor: Health Care Repeal Will Happen Because “It Was Litigated …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and ThinkProgress
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Palin re-tweet raises questions — (CNN) - Normally, it's what Sarah Palin tweets that makes news. This time it's what she has re-tweeted. — The former Alaska governor Monday relayed a comment from gay conservative pundit Tammy Bruce, who was expressing her criticism …
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Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Theater Audience Boos Tea Party Billionaire David Koch — David Koch masks his role as one of the top financiers of the Tea Party movement and pro-polluter front groups by loudly tacking his name to more laudable charities, like the New York city ballet. Koch, who has professed his devotion to …
New York Times:
With New Heart Pump, Cheney Resumes Old Life — By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL D. SHEAR — WASHINGTON — A few days before Christmas, former Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from several months of a self-imposed political sabbatical to headline a fund-raiser for Maria Cino …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Political Carnival, Runnin' Scared, Oliver Willis and New York Magazine
Robert Cruickshank / Calitics:
Prop 8: 9th Circuit Appears Ready to Grant Proponents Standing to Appeal — The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a “ruling” of sorts on the appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional*. The “ruling” was actually a certification of a question …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh and Pam's House Blend
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
9th Circuit Sends Prop. …
9th Circuit Sends Prop. …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and Althouse
Lbentzterp / CNN:
Freshman Rep. pledges to forgo federal health insurance — Washington (CNN) - As House Republicans prepare to introduce a repeal of the health care reform bill, one new GOP congressman said he is standing by his pledge to forgo federal health insurance despite a potentially expensive personal impact.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite and Ben Smith's Blog
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Schumer: Health care foes should forgo coverage
Schumer: Health care foes should forgo coverage
Discussion:
The Politico, NationalJournal.com, Don Surber, YID With LID, Scared Monkeys, TPMDC, PERRspectives, National Review, ThinkProgress and The Hill
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Judge rules that Rahm Emanuel is eligible for Chicago mayoral ballot — Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel meets Chicago's residency requirement and can stay on the mayoral ballot, a judge ruled Tuesday afternoon. — The ruling, by Cook County Circuit Associate Judge Mark Ballard …
Discussion:
CNN and HotAirPundit
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David Corn / Politics Daily:
The House GOP Weaponizes the Constitution … On Thursday, Capitol Hill Republicans, a day after taking control of the House, intend to read the U.S. Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives. This is, of course, a stunt designed to position the GOPers as the party that really …
Discussion:
Don Surber, AOL News and sisu
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Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
National security isn't on the agenda of the new Republican Congress.
National security isn't on the agenda of the new Republican Congress.
Discussion:
Eunomia and AmSpecBlog
Hollie McKay / Fox News:
Is Kathy Griffin Going Too Far Targeting 16-Year Old Willow Palin? — Kathy Griffin was booed by U.S. troops when she made “fat jokes” about Bristol Palin at a Dec. 4, 2010 VH1 event. (Reuters) — Kathy Griffin announced her New Year's resolution to continue a verbal assault on the Palin family.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, NewsBusters.org blogs and JammieWearingFool
Michael Calderone / Yahoo! News:
Judith Miller responds to criticism over Assange slight — Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller riled up some bloggers and Iraq War critics over the weekend by calling WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange a “bad journalist” who “didn't care at all about attempting to verify …
Discussion:
Gawker, Mediaite, TPMMuckraker and DownWithTyranny!, more at Mediagazer »
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Carl Court / Newsweek:
Why Journalists Aren't Standing Up for WikiLeaks
Why Journalists Aren't Standing Up for WikiLeaks
Discussion:
Salon, The Nation, American Power, The Confluence, TalkLeft and NewsBusters.org blogs
The Huffington Post:
Holly Petraeus To Be Elizabeth Warren's Pick For Top Post In New Consumer Protection Agency (EXCLUSIVE) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration appointee now establishing a consumer financial protection agency, plans to name the wife of General David Petraeus …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Politico, DealBook, Jay Bookman, Politics Daily, Wonk Room and The Nation
David Hinckley / NY Daily News:
Glenn Beck dropped by New York's WOR radio station over poor ratings, replaced by Mike Gallagher — Glenn Beck may be one of the hottest talk show hosts in the country, but he apparently left New York's WOR cold. — WOR (710 AM), one of the city's two biggest talk radio stations …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and AOL News
Palestinian Media Watch:
Arab kids sing “May our blood be shed” in school in East Jerusalem — Arab kids in Sur Baher, Jerusalem — taught to sing: — “May our blood be shed” — by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik — A Hamas terrorist arrested last month for planning to shoot a missile at a sports stadium …
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, NewsReal Blog, Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers
James Meikle / Guardian:
Gerry Rafferty dies aged 63 — Singer-songwriter behind Stuck in the Middle with You and Baker Street endured battles with music industry and alcohol — The singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, whose songs such as Stuck in the Middle with You, Baker Street and Get it Right Next Time soundtracked the 1970s …
Discussion:
People.com, Proof Positive, EW.com and AOL News
JTA:
Bibi sends Obama letter requesting Pollard release — WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neyanyahu wrote President Obama urging clemency for Jonathan Pollard. — “At the time of his arrest, Jonathan Pollard was acting as an agent of the Israeli government,” Netanyahu wrote in his letter, sent Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Washington Note and Ben Smith's Blog