memeorandum: Reports point to a deal, but the clock's still ticking (Carrie Dann/msnbc.com)

11:50 PM ET, April 8, 2011

Top Items:

Congressional Sources: White House Reviewing Terms of Spending Deal — The likelihood of a war-time federal government shutdown—the first in American history—diminished dramatically on Friday night as all parties began reviewing, with the goal of approving, a broad array of cuts …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Pajamas Media, The Note, National Review, AMERICAblog News, msnbc.com, The Democratic Daily and Marginal Revolution

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Conservatives Urge Boehner to Cut a Budget Deal and Move On — Michele Bachmann speaking to Tea Party demonstrators outside the US Capitol Thursday afternoon. — Are Republicans ready to declare victory in the shutdown showdown and move on? — For days, the assumption has been that Speaker John …

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Lynn Sweet, ThinkProgress, Booman Tribune and The Daily Dish

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

Report: Tentative Deal on Budget Being Reviewed by White House (UPDATE: Deal Reached) — Editor's Note: A short term deal has been reached according to both Rep. Boehner and President Obama. — Marc Ambinder at National Journal breaks the news of a deal framework on the 2011 budget …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Suburban Guerrilla

David Rogers / The Politico:

Breakthrough on budget deal — After a long day of trading offers, the White House and House Republicans reached agreement Friday night on a budget framework that would cap 2011 appropriations near or below $1.050 trillion while cutting domestic and foreign aid by more than $40 billion …

Discussion: DCist and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Rep. Michele Bachmann / Rep_Michele_Bachmann's blog:

Not a Big Enough Fight — Since Republicans took the House majority in January I have been calling for our leadership to fight. We must answer the bell that was rung last November when the American people called us to fight for deep cuts in spending, for the full repeal of ObamaCare …

Discussion: The Note, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, ABCNEWS, American Power and Firedoglake

Washington Post:

Congressional leaders close to agreement on budget deal, aides say — Gallery: Government shutdown 2011: Democrats and Republicans have so far failed to reach an agreement on the 2011 federal budget, increasing the likelihood of the first government shutdown in more than 15 years.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Lonely Conservative, ABCNEWS, Online NewsHour, Wonk Room, The Atlantic Online, NationalJournal.com, The Huffington Post, TPMDC and White House.gov Blog

Darren Goode / The Politico:

EPA riders axed, lawmakers say — An evolving deal to avoid a government shutdown would include a study of the economic effect of environmental regulations rather than Republican riders to block EPA rules on climate change and mountaintop mining, senior Senate Democrats and a key House Republican say.

Discussion: TPMDC, Firedoglake and Daily Kos

The Politico:

Breakthrough? GOP reviews offer — The threat of a government shutdown diminished late Friday night after White House and congressional negotiators reached agreement on controversial policy riders in the stalled government funding measure, and closed in on a final compromise on cuts around $40 billion.

Discussion: Opinion L.A., The Raw Story, Guardian, msnbc.com, Hot Air, Swampland, Pat Dollard and The Caucus

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Biden gets fed up during spending talks — Vice President Joe Biden got visibly upset during late night White House talks on avoiding a government shutdown. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Friday morning that Biden doesn't get upset very often …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:

Muted Abortion Response Speaks Volumes — The GOP reaction, or lack thereof, instead suggested a shrugging acceptance of one more round of talking points before the final brokering. — For Speaker John Boehner, seen here at a January mock swearing-in of the 112th Congress, the budget battle's bottom line is spending cuts.

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, New York Magazine and Taylor Marsh

Roll Call:
Deal Close to Avert Shutdown

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
What Planned Parenthood actually does

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
GRAPHIC: Democrats Have Met Republicans More Than Halfway On Spending Cuts

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonk Room and Washington Monthly

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Budget Deal Reached to Avert Shutdown; Vote Set Next Week After 6-Day ‘Bridge’

Discussion: The Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Boston Globe, About.com US Liberal Politics, TPMDC, Guardian, Datechguy's Blog, The Democratic Daily, Daily Kos, Truthdig, Wonkette and New York Times

Laura Litvan / Bloomberg:
Coburn Says Republicans ‘Probably Should’ Make Budget Deal With Democrats

Discussion: Ballot Box, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, National Review and Wall Street Journal

Carrie Dann / msnbc.com:
Reports point to a deal, but the clock's still ticking

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Moderate Voice and The Democratic Daily

NationalJournal.com:
Countdown to Shutdown: NJ Liveblogs the Remaining Hours of Negotiations

Discussion: msnbc.com, Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, The Blaze, National Review, newsfeed.time.com, The Page and Online NewsHour

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog: Optimism in the House — A House staffer emails: — Post Comment

Stan Collender / Capital Gains and Games blogs:
The Shutdown Problem This September is Going to be Even Worse

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Calculated Risk

CNN:
Hill leaders blame each other as shutdown nears

Discussion: Politics, Daily Kos, Global Public Square and WMUR

Jay Newton-Small / Swampland:
Is This Really All About Abortion?

Discussion: TPMDC, The Hill, National Review, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh and The Atlantic Online

Alexander Mooney / CNN:
LIVE BLOG: The latest shutdown developments

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Gothamist and The Hill

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
On Budget Dispute, Obama Casts Himself as Mediator in Chief

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Hill, New York Times, Firedoglake, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:
D.C. Residents Target Boehner With Trash-Bag Protest

Discussion: The Raw Story

Eli Lehrer / FrumForum:
Lobbyists Drive the Shutdown

Discussion: The New Republic and New York Magazine

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

The Brave and Serious Mr. Ryan — I mentioned earlier that if asked to choose an adjective to describe the budget plan presented by Rep. Paul Ryan, I would suggest “partisan” or “gimmicky,” as opposed to “serious” or “brave.” Most budget proposals are both partisan and gimmicky, so this is no particular knock against Rep. Ryan.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Daily Dish, AMERICAblog News, Balloon Juice, Firedoglake, New York Times, MyDD and Hullabaloo

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
The Democrats have a plan for controlling health-care costs. Paul Ryan doesn't.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Incidental Economist, Time, The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly and The New Republic

David Brooks / New York Times:
The Ryan Journey — For decades, academics and think tankers …

Discussion: National Review, The Incidental Economist, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, NationalJournal.com, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, The New Republic, Free exchange, News Desk and Marginal Revolution

Dan Joseph / CNSNews:

Rep. Louise Slaughter: GOP Freshmen Came to Washington ‘To Kill Women’ — (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said today that the new Republicans elected to the House of Representatives last November came to Congress “to kill women.” She also likened Republican efforts …

Discussion: The Cloakroom, msnbc.com, LifeNews.com, Moonbattery, The Last Tradition, The Raw Story, Sister Toldjah, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media, The Gateway Pundit, The Politico, Balloon Juice, The Lonely Conservative, Raw Replay, Verum Serum and Pirate's Cove

Eric Scheiner / CNSNews:
Schumer: Senate Will ‘Never, Never, Never’ Defund Planned Parenthood

Discussion: CNN, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, The Politico, Pajamas Media and Maggie's Farm

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Defending Riders, Sen. Kyl Falsely Claims 90 Percent Of Planned Parenthood's Services Are For Abortion

Discussion: CBS News, Guardian, Daily Kos, The Raw Story, Washington Monthly, The Nation, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, ECHIDNE of the snakes and Wonk Room

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Vote-Counting Error In Wisconsin Points to Incompetence, Not Conspiracy — When Kathy Nickolaus, the county clerk in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, spoke to the press on Thursday after revealing that she had failed to count more than 14,000 ballots in the hotly contested state supreme court election …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, JSOnline, The BRAD BLOG, American Spectator, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Shakesville, Moe Lane and No More Mister Nice Blog

John Nichols / The Nation:
The Strange Politics of Fitzwalkerstan: GOP Clerk “Finds” Votes to Reverse Defeat of Conservative Wisconsin Justice

Discussion: blue cheddar, No More Mister Nice Blog, Firedoglake, The Mahablog and JSOnline

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Video: Moran gets irritable at veteran's interruption in town-hall meeting — The absent majority. — That headline is a little more fair than the suggestions that came to me this morning on a clip from a town-hall meeting held by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) last night, in which the Congressman loses …

Discussion: Nice Deb, Patterico's Pontifications, The Last Tradition and The Other McCain

Mrc Tv / Big Government:
Rep. Jim Moran Gets Testy With Veteran at Town Hall: Sit Down or Leave

Discussion: Pajamas Media

iowahawk:

War Is No Excuse For Forgetting One's Manners — War Etiquette Tips — From Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — As a lad in Charleston, I at first chafed whenever Mama would squire me to my weekly instructions at Miss Buelah Fontaine's Palmetto Street Finishing Academy for Young Gentlemen.

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Schumer likens conservatives to a flea — Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) compared House conservatives to a flea Friday as rhetoric in the spending fight intensified. — Schumer, who has been criticizing Republicans all day, said in a floor speech Friday that conservatives were the flea controlling the dog …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, GayPatriot, Weasel Zippers and Swampland

Patricia Sellers / Fortune:

Cathie Black vows to come back: “I'm a warrior” — Few career falls are as swift and spectacular as Cathie Black's. — It took just 95 days for the former boss of Hearst Magazines — and alum of the Fortune Most Powerful Women list — to get ousted as chancellor of New York City public schools.

Discussion: Mediaite, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, Ben Smith's Blog and New York Magazine

Joe Kovacs / WorldNetDaily:

Rush Limbaugh slammed for ‘avoiding’ eligibility — ‘Not 1 high Republican or you has ever really tried to nail’ Obama — Radio giant Rush Limbaugh came under fire today from a caller to his top-rated program accusing the host of avoiding the issue of Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.

Discussion: Vox Popoli