Top Items:
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Republicans Lower Goal 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 Note, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, Politics Daily, Outside the Beltway and TPMDC
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Report: House GOP backing away from promise to cut $100 billion in spending this year? — Their excuse will be that the fiscal year, which began on October 1, will already be almost half over by the time the budgetary resolution that was passed during the lame duck runs out in March.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Flopping Aces, Fausta's Blog, National Review and Patterico's Pontifications
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
In House, new Republican majority plans to act fast to undo Obama's agenda — Almost as soon as they take control of the House at noon Wednesday, Republicans will embark on a 20-day plan aimed at undoing major aspects of President Obama's agenda as they seek to take advantage of the weeks …
Discussion:
New York Times, The BLT and The Other McCain
The Hill:
Tight calendar for 112th limits GOP's options on spending cuts
Tight calendar for 112th limits GOP's options on spending cuts
Discussion:
New York Times, The Politico, Prairie Weather and TPMDC
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Congress to Return With G.O.P. Vowing to Alter Rules
Congress to Return With G.O.P. Vowing to Alter Rules
Discussion:
The Politico
John R. Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: President Michele Bachmann? — Sources: Tea Party Favorite Is Mulling a Presidential Bid in 2012 — Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
As Boehner Ascends, His Power Comes With Caveats — WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio is set to complete a remarkable political revival Wednesday when he becomes the 61st speaker of the House, placing him squarely at the crossroads between the desires of conservative activists …
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, American Power, Hotline On Call, The Reid Report, The Caucus and New York Magazine
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Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
‘Tea party’ freshmen embrace status quo — After campaigning against D.C.'s ways, new Republican lawmakers quickly turn to lobbyists and fundraisers. — Reporting from Washington — The new class of Republican lawmakers who charged into office promising to shun the ways …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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 …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
The Politico:
White House shakeup could mean Robert 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:
Guardian, Outside the Beltway, CNN and Weasel Zippers
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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 …
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Republicans Set to Wield New Power in Washington — The Capitol building, January 4, 2011. — Republicans will lay claim to a broad — if partial — governing mandate at exactly noon on Wednesday, ushering into Washington scores of new conservative lawmakers who promise …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Washington Post and Pirate's Cove
Brobinson / 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:
Michelle Malkin, TigerHawk, Weasel Zippers and Doug Ross
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Susan Crabtree / The Hill:
Rep. King blasts critics, defends hearing on homegrown terror — The incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee lambasted The New York Times on Tuesday while defending his planned hearings on the radicalization of Muslims living in the U.S. — Two days after the Times questioned …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb and JammieWearingFool
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Susan Crabtree / The Hill:
Rep. Peter King has ‘nothing but contempt’ for New York Times
Rep. Peter King has ‘nothing but contempt’ for New York Times
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, HotAirPundit and New York Magazine
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 …
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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, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Washington Monthly
Russell Berman / The Hill:
‘Cut and grow’ is new mantra of incoming House GOP majority
‘Cut and grow’ is new mantra of incoming House GOP majority
Discussion:
The Politico
David Leonhardt / Economix:
Q.&A. With Gov. Mitch Daniels — Following are excerpts of my recent interview with Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor of Indiana: — Q. ... what is it that government essentially does too much of now? What's the common theme here of things that you can get government to stop doing without adversely affecting people's lives?
Discussion:
New York Times
Josh Margolin / New York Post:
Feds, DA offices open probe into botched blizzard cleanup: sources — The feds have opened a criminal investigation into allegations that city employees conspired to paralyze the city during last week's blizzard by failing to remove the snow, authorities confirmed today.
Discussion:
CBS New York, JammieWearingFool and Gawker
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Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
WikiLeaks: ‘Voluptuous’ nurse cable costs diplomat his job — WASHINGTON — In what appears to be the first diplomatic casualty from the latest WikiLeaks revelations, the U.S. ambassador to Libya has returned to Washington and is likely to leave his post, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Politico and Guardian
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:
San Francisco Chronicle, Ric's Rulez, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications and Althouse
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, Runnin' Scared, Prairie Weather, Oliver Willis and New York Magazine
Chrystia Freeland / The Atlantic Online:
The Rise of the New Global Elite — F. SCOTT FITZGERALD WAS RIGHT WHEN HE DECLARED THE RICH DIFFERENT FROM YOU AND ME. BUT TODAY'S SUPER-RICH ARE ALSO DIFFERENT FROM YESTERDAY'S: MORE HARDWORKING AND MERITOCRATIC, BUT LESS CONNECTED TO THE NATIONS THAT GRANTED THEM OPPORTUNITY—AND THE COUNTRYMEN THEY ARE LEAVING EVER FURTHER BEHIND.
Discussion:
Felix Salmon and Balloon Juice
API Newsroom:
API: Study shows path to job growth and more government revenue — Increased access to domestic oil and natural gas—rather than increased taxes on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry—is the best strategy for increasing government revenue, jobs and energy production, a new study by Wood Mackenzie concludes.
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, CNSNews and Washington Wire
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 …
Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
G.O.P. Asks Businesses Which Rules to Rewrite — WASHINGTON — Companies spend millions of dollars each year complaining to Congress about burdensome laws and regulations, pressing their concerns in public campaigns and in private meetings. They rarely wait for invitations.
Discussion:
The Big Picture, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Reid Report, PERRspectives and AOL News
Hindustan Times:
Taliban cut off man's hand for theft — The Taliban chopped off a man's hand after he was found guilty of theft by a ‘Shariah’ or Islamic court set up by them in the restive Orakzai tribal region of northwest Pakistan, a day after beheading a fellow militant who was accused of spying for the government.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Michael Theodoulou / Daily Mail:
Vulture tagged by Israeli scientists flies into Saudi Arabia ... and is arrested for being a spy — A vulture tagged by scientists at Tel Aviv University has strayed into Saudi Arabian territory, where it was promptly arrested on suspicion of being a Mossad spy, Israeli and Saudi media reported Tuesday.
Discussion:
Don Surber, The Jawa Report, Cubachi, Raw Story, TPMMuckraker and Arutz Sheva
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
111th Congress Averaged 25% Approval, Among Recent Lowest — Pelosi has presided over least popular Congresses of past two decades — PRINCETON, NJ — The 111th Congress received an average 25% approval rating from Americans over the course of 2009 and 2010.
Discussion:
National Review