Top Items:
David Brooks / New York Times:
Moment of Truth — It was a season of fiscal perestroika. Last fall, the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission released a bold report on how to avoid an economic catastrophe. For a few weeks, the think tanks and government offices were alive with proposals to reduce debt and reform entitlements …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Hill, The Foundry, Ross Douthat, Hullabaloo, Cubachi, Firedoglake, Wonk Room, TPMDC, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Economix, The Hill, Reuters, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Connecting.the.Dots, The Daily Dish, Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly, The Minority Report, The Caucus, Speaker, Atlas Shrugs, sisu, The Daily Caller, The Reality-Based Community and NewsBusters.org blogs
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New York Times:
Budget Stances Harden as Deadline Nears for Shutdown — WASHINGTON — In dueling news conferences just moments apart, President Obama and the speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, dug in their heels on Tuesday over terms of a budget deal to stave off a partial shutdown of the federal government as early as Saturday.
Free exchange:
Best budget ever — PAUL RYAN has officially revealed the House Republicans' budget proposal, and we will have a detailed analysis of it up in short order. Reactions to the plan will vary (sharply, it's safe to say). But whatever your take on the policy proposals, it's worth approaching …
David Rogers / The Politico:
New compromise target: $40B in cuts — Speaker John Boehner used a White House meeting Tuesday to signal his hope that a deal could be reached on spending if the administration and Democrats were willing to move closer to $40 billion in spending cuts or $7 billion above the target now being used in negotiations.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos
Paul Krugman:
The Threat Within — Josh Marshall, rightly, goes ballistic over the lameness of a supposed Democratic advocate in challenging Ryan's plan. — This could, indeed, be the problem. — In many ways, this fight resembles the 2005 fight over Social Security.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, Liberal Values, NewsBusters.org blogs, That Mr. G Guy's Blog and Talking Points Memo
M.S. / Democracy in America:
You put the load right on me — PAUL RYAN'S plan to replace Medicare with a system of vouchers for seniors to buy health care on the private market has only been vaguely described, as of this writing. But there is one thing about it that's fairly clear, regardless of what's in the details …
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Paul Ryan Slams Medicaid's Middle Class Beneficiaries As The New Welfare Queens
Paul Ryan Slams Medicaid's Middle Class Beneficiaries As The New Welfare Queens
Discussion:
Washington Post, WyBlog, Firedoglake, RedState, The New Republic, Swampland, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Paul Ryan's Plan Counts On Reducing Unemployment To Below “Full Employment” Level — By Magic!
Paul Ryan's Plan Counts On Reducing Unemployment To Below “Full Employment” Level — By Magic!
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, TPMDC, Daily Kos and The Incidental Economist
Sara Jerome / The Hill:
Ex-NPR chief: House Republicans have thrust NPR into ‘turmoil’
Ex-NPR chief: House Republicans have thrust NPR into ‘turmoil’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media
Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire:
Obama to GOP: 'We Don't Have Time for Games'
Obama to GOP: 'We Don't Have Time for Games'
Discussion:
The White House, White House.gov Blog and The Sundries Shack
Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
Yes, Entitlement Spending Must Be Cut
Yes, Entitlement Spending Must Be Cut
Discussion:
Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, PERRspectives, Crooks and Liars, The Powers That Be, Babalú Blog and Say Anything
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan …
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan …
Discussion:
Salon and HotAirPundit
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
GOP Leadership: White House Has Rejected Emergency One-Week Funding Measure
GOP Leadership: White House Has Rejected Emergency One-Week Funding Measure
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Wasserman Schultz to lead DNC — President Barack Obama has settled on Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) as the new chair of the Democratic National Committee, top Democratic sources said Tuesday. — Wasserman Schultz, 44, was chosen for her strength as a fund-raiser and as a television messenger …
Discussion:
Fox News, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, MyDD, The Raw Story, Shakesville, The Political Carnival and Naked Politics
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Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Wasserman Schultz Picked as D.N.C. Chairwoman
Wasserman Schultz Picked as D.N.C. Chairwoman
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and Hot Air
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Cowardly, Stupid, and Tragically Wrong — The Obama administration's appalling decision to give Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a military trial. — Today, by ordering a military trial at Guantanamo for 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-defendants, Attorney General Eric Holder finally put …
Discussion:
Salon, The Atlantic Online, Hit & Run, Ben Smith's Blog and The Daily Dish
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The Center for Public Integrity:
Agents treated reporter like informant, raising question: Who else? — A once-classified FBI memo reveals that the bureau treated a senior ABC News journalist as a potential confidential informant in the 1990s, pumping the reporter to ascertain the source of a sensational but uncorroborated tip …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Wire, Mediaite and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
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John Cook / Gawker:
CBS News Washington Bureau Chief Was an FBI Snitch — The Center for Public Integrity is reporting that an unnamed former ABC News journalist was an FBI informant during and after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, passing along tips and revealing a source. We know who it is. More »
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Conservative Opposition To Human Happiness — Adam Serwer reports from Charles Murray's “State of White America” address. Long story short, though, folks have gotten kind of soft: … This put me in mind of Monica Potts' review of Kay Hymowitz: … Hymowitz's argument, essentially …
Discussion:
American Prospect and pandagon.net
RELATED:
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
The Seriousness Of Cutting Taxes On The Rich
The Seriousness Of Cutting Taxes On The Rich
Discussion:
The Hill and Hullabaloo
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Parody gets more views than real Obama launch — The National Republican Senatorial Committee's parody of Obama's 2012 campaign, released Friday, now has 665,000 views on YouTube. — Obama's real launch video, released yesterday: Just 168,000. — YouTube's metrics tend to lag a bit …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Right Sphere, JustOneMinute, techPresident, Pajamas Media, Saint Petersblog and The Daily Caller
Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Bristol Palin's Nonprofit Paid Her Seven Times What It Spent On Actual Teen Pregnancy Prevention — In 2009, Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol joined a teen pregnancy prevention nonprofit called the Candie's Foundation. Today, the Associated Press reported that the Candie's Foundation released …
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
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Rachel D'Oro / The Huffington Post:
Bristol Palin's Teen Pregnancy Work Earned Her $262K
Bristol Palin's Teen Pregnancy Work Earned Her $262K
Discussion:
GOP 12
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads in NH, Trump makes things interesting — Mitt Romney's still the clear early front runner to take the Republican primary in New Hampshire next year but for the first time in our polling of the race PPP finds someone within single digits of him...Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Salon, Gothamist, Hot Air, Wonkette, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, GOP 12, Ballot Box and Taegan Goddard's …
Charlie Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Warning Signs Among the GOP — It's not inconceivable that Republicans might start seeing things go against them in the court of public opinion, starting with the current spending debate. — Until recently, Republicans were taking solace in a number of things as they looked forward to 2012.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, msnbc.com, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and USA Today
Paul Kengor / American Thinker:
Obama, The God That Failed — As someone who has studied, taught, and written about the Middle East for years, I'm the first to concede that President Obama has a tough task. What would I do about Libya if I were president? How about Egypt? — I'm not exactly sure.
Meredith Shiner / The Politico:
GOPers support Libya resolution — Ten Republican senators voted in favor of GOP freshman Rand Paul's non-binding resolution opposing President Barack Obama's use of force in Libya on Tuesday — the first Congressional action of disapproval since Obama launched the attack last month.
Discussion:
Cubachi, Hot Air and Liberty Pundits Blog
Abby Johnson / Politics:
Exposing the Planned Parenthood business model — Myths about Planned Parenthood are spreading like grassfire. Thanks to a perfect storm of events, the abortion provider is scrambling to cauterize the biggest PR hit it has ever sustained. November's election of an overwhelmingly pro-life Congress …
Discussion:
The Minority Report and Hot Air
Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
House Dem: Change title of EPA bill to ‘Koch Brothers Appreciation Act’ — Rep. Gerry Connollly (D-Va.) wants to change the title of a bill that would permanently block Environmental Protection Agency climate regulations to the “Koch Brothers Appreciation Act,” a reference to the billionaire brothers …
Discussion:
Detroit News, ThinkProgress, The Politico, Climate Progress and The Raw Story
Craig Wilson / USA Today:
Tina Fey puts on her big-girl ‘Bossypants’ — It's not every day you read something that makes you laugh out loud every other page. Then again, Tina Fey doesn't write a book every day. Maybe she should. — If you're a fan of the Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock star …
Discussion:
Mediaite, CNN, The Wire, Speakeasy and New York Times
JSOnline:
National union spokesman sent talking points to Senate Democrats — By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel — Madison — The same day Senate Democrats left the state to boycott a vote on Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill, a union official from Washington, D.C., provided the Democrats' leader with talking points.
Discussion:
Nice Deb and Weasel Zippers