memeorandum: Generational Divide Colors Debate Over Medicare's Future (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

7:20 PM ET, April 6, 2011

Top Items:

Kloppenburg declares victory — By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel — Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory Wednesday, based on results reported by the Associated Press. — The Associated Press shows Kloppenburg received 740,090 votes and incumbent David Prosser received 739,886 votes.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, Weigel, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Politics, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Outside the Beltway, The BRAD BLOG, The Political Carnival, AMERICAblog News and Taylor Marsh

JSOnline:

With 100% of vote counted, Kloppenburg clings to narrow lead; recount expected — At left, Justice David Prosser speaks to supporters in Hartland. At right, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg speaks to supporters in Madison. — By Patrick Marley, Jason Stein and Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel

Kevin Brennan / Hotline On Call:
Wisconsin Results Stem The GOP Tide

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Political Carnival, Washington Post and TPMDC

WTMJ:
Elections: Kloppenburg Declares Victory But Race Still Too Close to Call

Discussion: Hotline On Call, Daily Kos, TPMDC and MyDD

Ericcompas / It's academic:
Kloppenberg/Prosser Supreme Court election results

Discussion: The Huffington Post, TPMDC, Ben Smith's Blog, blue cheddar, Swing State Project, Center for Media and Democracy and Firedoglake

Randy Radtke / lakemillsleaderonline.com:
Court Race May Come Down to the Town of Lake Mills (Updated)

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Swing State Project, Daily Kos and WisPolitics Election Blog

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Challenger declares win in Wisconsin judicial race

Discussion: Riehl World View, CNN, HillBuzz.org and The Other McCain

Andy Szal / WisPolitics Election Blog:
Walker: Spring election results show disparity between Madison, rest of state

Discussion: TPMDC, JSOnline and The Blotter

Scott Baker / The Blaze:

Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts Announce New Agreement; Beck to ‘Transition Off’ Daily TV Program — Editor's note: After a great deal of speculation about Glenn Beck's future on television, here is the freshly-inked news release. There will be a couple of key headlines out of this …

Discussion: The Raw Story, StopBeck.com, CNN, The Daily Caller, The Politico, YID With LID, Nice Deb, The Lonely Conservative, MyDD, Blue Gal, Crooks and Liars, Atlas Shrugs, Liberal Values, News Hounds and Suburban Guerrilla

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Glenn Beck to End Daily Fox News Program — Updated | Glenn Beck will end his daily Fox News Channel program later this year. — His departure was jointly announced in a statement on Wednesday by Fox and Mr. Beck's company, Mercury Radio Arts. The statement did not specify an end date for the show …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Runnin' Scared, Ben Smith's Blog, Jack & Jill Politics, Pat Dollard, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Little Green Footballs and Pundit Press, more at Mediagazer »

Media Matters / Media Matters for America:
Glenn Beck's Fox News Show Ending

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mock, Paper, Scissors, pandagon.net, The Washington Note and Philly.com

David Weigel / Weigel:
Glenn Beck Will End Fox News Show

Discussion: Gothamist, Hendrik Hertzberg, Washington Post and ImmigrationProf Blog

New York Times:
Glenn Beck To ‘Transition Off’ Fox News Program

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, more at Mediagazer »

George Zornick / ThinkProgress:
Why Beck Is Out At Fox: Poor Ratings And Paranoid Rants

Discussion: The Wire, Booman Tribune and American Power, more at Mediagazer »

The Daily Beast:
Glenn Beck, Fox Agree to Divorce

Discussion: Hit & Run and Wonkette, more at Mediagazer »

Jay Yarow / The Wire:
GLENN BECK PULLING SHOW OFF FOX NEWS

Discussion: Salon, AlterNet, The Other McCain and Inside TV

Paul Krugman:

Paul Ryan's Multiple Unicorns — Gosh. For a plan that supposedly sets a new standard of seriousness, Paul Ryan's vision (pdf) depends an awful lot on unicorn sightings — belief in the impossible. Let me review the top three unicorns. — First, the plan assumes that tax cuts will set off a literally unprecedented boom.

Discussion: Washington Post, TPMDC, The Hill, The Daily Dish, The Monkey Cage, Talking Points Memo, The Cable, National Review, Heritage Foundation, Feministing, The Confluence, American Prospect, The Atlantic Online, The Big Picture, Connecting.the.Dots, The Mahablog, Washington Monthly and Yglesias

Jacob Weisberg / Slate:

Republican Paul Ryan's budget proposal is brave, radical, and smart. — For the past 30 years, Republicans have been hypocrites about spending. They've raged against big government without ever proposing the kinds of cuts necessary to bring federal expenditures in line with tax revenues.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Reality-Based Community, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ECHIDNE of the snakes, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, neo-neocon, The New Republic, National Review, Hot Air, Big Journalism, The Daily Dish and TPMDC

CEPR:

Representative Ryan Proposes Medicare Plan Under Which Seniors Would Pay Most of Their Income for Health Care — That is what headlines would look like if the United States had an independent press. After all, this is one of the main take aways of the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, Guardian, Hullabaloo and The Raw Story

Isabel Sawhill / Arguments:

The Ryan Budget: Voodoo Economics Redux — On Tuesday morning, Republican Representative Paul Ryan released a budget plan that would slash spending over the next few decades with no increase in taxes and very limited cuts to defense programs. It's like a stool with only one leg. It will not stand.

Discussion: Yglesias, The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, Center for American Progress, ThinkProgress, cbpp.org, The Reality-Based Community and The Nation

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
The Paul Ryan budget plan

Discussion: Opinionator, Washington Post, Wonk Room, The Atlantic Online, The Incidental Economist, A plain blog about politics, Mother Jones and The Glittering Eye

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Generational Divide Colors Debate Over Medicare's Future

Discussion: TPMDC, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, NewsBusters.org, Cato @ Liberty, National Review, Hit & Run, PERRspectives, Firedoglake, Yglesias and The Incidental Economist

Chris Good / The Atlantic Online:
CBO: Ryan Plan Shrinks Debt, Ups Private Share of Health Care Spending

Discussion: NationalJournal.com and The Daily Dish

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Incoming DNC chair Wasserman Schultz: Paul Ryan budget proposal a ‘death trap for seniors’

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Blue Collar Philosophy

Myglesias / Yglesias: Nancy Pelosi Vows To Party Like It's 2005 With Paul Ryan's Draconian Medicare-Ending Budget Proposal

Wall Street Journal:
New Proposal Hits Old Hurdles of Budget Math

Discussion: National Review and Firedoglake

The Note:

John Boehner Cries Amid Government Shutdown Standoff — ABC's Jonathan Karl reports: — He did it again. — John Boehner was driven to tears again today. This time it happened at a closed-door meeting of House Republicans. — According to sources inside the meeting …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, Roll Call, Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice, TPMDC, Michelle Malkin, Hullabaloo and Gawker

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Boehner, Obama budget call lasts three minutes — President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a brief phone call Wednesday as a government shutdown loomed, and Boehner told the president he is “hopeful” a spending deal can be reached, the Speaker's office said.

Discussion: The Note, Don Surber, GayPatriot, CNN and The Gateway Pundit

Russell Berman / The Hill:
White House meeting set; GOP readies $12B in spending cuts

Discussion: The Politico, Ballot Box, The Hill, msnbc.com, Hot Air, The Foundry, Pundit & Pundette, The White House, Shakesville and The Page

The Daily Caller:
Obama chats with Boehner by phone for three minutes before flying to Philly

Discussion: RedState and Blue Collar Philosophy

George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Govt. Shutdown: Lawmakers May Get Paid, Soldiers May Not

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Hot Air, News Desk, The Note and Political Punch

KCCI-TV:

Teen Finds Campaign Worker At Back Door At 3AM — ANKENY, Iowa — A 15-year-old girl found a campaign worker from Alabama banging on her Ankeny family's back door early Wednesday morning. — Chloe Steward told KCCI she heard her dog barking around 3 a.m. and went to investigate.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Atlantic Online, The Blotter, Ben Smith's Blog, The Daily Caller, Indecision Forever, Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain and Wonkette

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Pawlenty staffer arrested in Iowa

Discussion: CNN and The Political Carnival

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:

WSJ/NBC Poll: A Donald Trump Surprise — By Jonathan Weisman and Scott Greenberg — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears to be the early front-runner in the largely unformed race for the Republican nomination for president, but real estate magnate Donald Trump may be a surprise contender …

Discussion: GOP 12, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC/WSJ poll: Trump tied for 2nd in 2012 GOP field — Mark Murray writes:"You're fired" isn't a message Republican primary voters and Tea Party supporters are telling real-estate mogul Donald Trump, at least not yet. — According to the latest national NBC/WSJ poll, former Massachusetts …

Discussion: The Politico, Poll Watch Daily, The Political Carnival and Pajamas Media

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Donald Trump praised Nancy Pelosi as ‘the best’

Discussion: USA Today, The Raw Story and GOP 12

Daily Mail:

'I'd kill myself first!' John Edwards ‘suicidal’ over facing jail, claim pals — Disgraced politician John Edwards is said to be deeply depressed - to the point of being suicidal - over the prospect of a criminal trial that could end with him being jailed if found guilty.

Discussion: The Blaze and Pajamas Media

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Bachmann: Why I'm qualified to be president — Michele Bachmann, after Bill O'Reilly asks her if she has the frame of reference to be the leader of the free world.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, American Power, Patterico's Pontifications and CNN

Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Bachmann lists her presidential creds

Discussion: Cubachi, Liberty Pundits Blog, Taylor Marsh and GOP 12

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:

West Wing briefing: Obama headed out of D.C. as shutdown looms — A fiery President Obama insisted Tuesday that if he and congressional leaders couldn't reach a deal to avert a government shutdown, “I want a meeting again tomorrow here at the White House.” — “I will invite the same folks that we invited today,” he added.

Discussion: Clarion Advisory, The Gateway Pundit, YID With LID, Hot Air, Don Surber, Wizbang, Fox Nation, Pundit & Pundette and The Hill

Paul Krugman:

Memory Hole Alert — Wow. Yesterday afternoon I downloaded the tables from that Heritage report that's the basis for the Ryan plan. The first page looked like this: — You can see the unemployment forecast, with the amazing 2.8 percent prediction, in the fourth set of figures.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and TPMDC