memeorandum: GOP congressman wants clean debt-limit vote to show lack of support (Jordan Fabian/The Hill)

1:20 PM ET, May 17, 2011

Top Items:

Rep. Paul Ryan Staying in House, Won't Run for U.S. Senate — Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is staying in the House, and won't run for the U.S. Senate, two well-placed GOP sources tell National Journal. — Ryan began informing close friends of his decision Tuesday and is expected to announce later in the day.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Note, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Politico, Pajamas Media, JSOnline, The Raw Story, First Draft, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller and FrumForum

Aharding / CNN:

Gov. Nikki Haley hammers Gingrich over Medicare remarks — Dallas (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich might not want to count on a presidential endorsement from South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. — In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Haley sharply admonished Gingrich for his comments …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Hill, Blue Mass Group, Salon, Mediaite, The Blaze, GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC and Pajamas Media

Wall Street Journal:

Gingrich to House GOP: Drop Dead — Newt undermines his former comrades on Medicare. — The Republican Presidential campaign is off to a slow start, but judging by the last week not slow enough. First Mitt Romney defends his ObamaCare prototype in Massachusetts, and now Newt Gingrich …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, FrumForum, The Politico, Mediaite, Power Line, A plain blog about politics, msnbc.com, Betsy's Page, Political Insider, Taegan Goddard's …, Top of the Ticket, Hot Air, Ballot Box, The Caucus, The Daily Dish and TPMDC

The Politico:

Thompson plans to run for Senate — Tommy Thompson, the Republican former Wisconsin governor and George W. Bush's first secretary of Health and Human Services, has told friends he plans to run for the open Senate seat in Wisconsin, according to top Wisconsin sources.

Discussion: JSOnline, Boston Globe, msnbc.com, TPMDC, The New Republic, Hot Air and The Greenroom

W. James Antle III / The Politico:

What Rand Paul could teach Ron Paul — Rep. Ron Paul (R- Texas) found himself in an unusual position at the South Carolina GOP presidential debate. According to most polls, Paul was the frontrunner of the five candidates on stage. Though some big names were missing, it signals how far Paul has come in four years.

Discussion: Presidential Campaign and Barefoot and Progressive

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:
Angry Iowan gets in Newt's face

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Krauthammer on Gingrich's presidential aspirations: 'Now it's over'

Discussion: The Page and Daily Kos

Rich Lowry / National Review:
Newt the Unreliable

Discussion: RushLimbaugh.com, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Fox News Insider, Cold Fury and CNN

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Cantor reserves judgment on whether Gingrich is ‘finished’

Discussion: Des Moines Register, CNN, The Hugh Hewitt Show, O.KayHenderson.com, Talking Points Memo, TPMDC, AMERICAblog News, NPR and Healthwatch

Los Angeles Times:

Schwarzenegger fathered a child with longtime member of household staff — His wife, Maria Shriver, moved out of their Brentwood mansion earlier this year after the former governor acknowledged the child was his. The staff member worked for the family for 20 years, retiring in January.

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Schwarzenegger Fathered Child With Employee

Discussion: Althouse, Mediaite and Gothamist

Patrick Gavin / The Politico:

CINDY CRAWFORD FLIP-FLOPS FOR MITT ROMNEY — During her modeling career, Cindy Crawford was skilled at switching outfits. Now, she's switching presidential candidates, it seems. — Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Mitt Romney, took to Twitter Monday to oh-so-subtly boast that Team Romney …

Discussion: Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Cindy Crawford now backing Romney?

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Mitt Romney's money machine cranks up

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, New York Magazine, GOP 12, Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box and CNN

Budget Committee:

Shared Scarcity versus Renewed Prosperity — Thank you so much, Anne, for the kind introduction. — I want to thank you all for inviting me to speak. It was especially gracious of you to host me, even though I'm a Packers fan and I assume most of you are Bears fans. — But that doesn't mean we can't work together.

Discussion: JSOnline, The Incidental Economist, Macro and Other Market Musings, The Lonely Conservative, National Review, Pundit & Pundette, Wonk Room, American Spectator and The Politico

Paul Krugman:

Do Do That Voodoo — So Paul Ryan gave his big speech defending his plan — and demonstrated, in case you were wondering, that there's no there there (and there never was). — Remember how everyone declared that Ryan was a serious person, truly willing to face up to our deficit problem?

Discussion: EconomicPolicyJournal.com, Firedoglake and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality …

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

GOP congressman wants clean debt-limit vote to show lack of support — A Republican congressman on Tuesday pressured leadership to hold a clean vote on raising the debt ceiling in order to show Democrats it cannot pass the House. — Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), an outspoken second-term lawmaker …

Discussion: The Politico, AmSpecBlog and The Hill

Darren Goode / The Politico:
Democrats want gas price-fixing probe

Discussion: The Note

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Senate to vote on oil tax bill Tuesday

Discussion: Daily Kos and FrumForum

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Nearly 20 percent of new Obamacare waivers are gourmet restaurants, nightclubs, fancy hotels in Nancy Pelosi's district — Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama's administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels …

Discussion: GOP 12, NO QUARTER, National Review, Conservatives4Palin, Hot Air, UrbanGrounds, The Lonely Conservative and AmSpecBlog

Matt Welch / Hit & Run:

BHL: France's National Disgrace — French “philosopher” Bernard Henri-Levy, the non-politician perhaps most responsible for getting NATO into war with Libya, has long been one of the West's most scarequote-worthy intellectuals. There was the quoting of a literary hoax to attack Immanuel Kant …

Discussion: National Review, New York Times, AMERICAN DIGEST, Feministe, Ideas Market, Fox News, The Daily Beast and The Smoking Gun

Bernard-Henri Levy / The Daily Beast:
Bernard-Henri Lévy Defends Accused IMF Director

Discussion: The Lede, Outside the Beltway, Salon, The Awl, Guardian, The Reality-Based Community and DownWithTyranny!

Bruce Bartlett / Economix:

The Real Social Security and Medicare Problem (and a Doable Fix) — Bruce Bartlett has served as an economic adviser in the White House, the Treasury Department and Congress. — On Friday, the trustees of the Social Security and Medicare systems issued their annual reports for 2011.

Discussion: Opinionator, The Daily Dish and The Incidental Economist

Buffalo News:
Corwin TV ad accused of making bogus claims

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Post, Capital Tonight and The Rothenberg Political …

Associated Press:

Sources: Navy SEALs Knew Bin Laden Mission Was One-Shot Deal — WASHINGTON — Those who planned the secret mission to get Usama bin Laden in Pakistan knew it was a one-shot deal, and it nearly went terribly wrong. — The U.S. deliberately hid the operation from Pakistan …

Discussion: FrumForum, Betsy's Page and Pajamas Media

The Huffington Post:

Confidential Federal Audits Accuse Five Biggest Mortgage Firms Of Defrauding Taxpayers [EXCLUSIVE] … WASHINGTON — A set of confidential federal audits accuse the nation's five largest mortgage companies of defrauding taxpayers in their handling of foreclosures on homes purchased …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Credit Slips, naked capitalism, Suburban Guerrilla, DownWithTyranny! and RADAMISTO

Gretchen Morgenson / New York Times:
New York Investigates Banks' Role in Financial Crisis

Discussion: New York Magazine, CBS New York, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Politico, Prairie Weather, Law Blog, naked capitalism and Firedoglake

Peter Svensson / Associated Press:

LED bulbs hit 100 watts as federal ban looms — NEW YORK - Two leading makers of lighting products are showcasing LED bulbs that are bright enough to replace energy-guzzling 100-watt light bulbs set to disappear from stores in January. — Their demonstrations at the LightFair trade show …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Moonbattery, Pirate's Cove, The Lonely Conservative and Balloon Juice

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Fred Malek on the 2012 field — GOP veteran big-wig, Fred Malek , dished on the 2012 field on The Daily Rundown today. — On Newt Gingrich's spat with Paul Ryan: … But Malek added that Newt was still a viable contender. — On Sarah Palin, whom he forged a fairly close, professional friendship with since 2008:

The Atlantic Online:

Black Confederates Revealed — Though they certainly didn't tell anyone: … I've spent much of my adult life studying various theories of race and racism, and the last few years in a rather intensive mode of study. In all of that time one inescapable conclusion has dogged me: Race is such bulls**t.

Discussion: Moe Lane

The Note:

How Serious Was Donald Trump About 2012? ‘More Serious Than...People Realize,’ Political Adviser Says — ABC News' Michael Falcone (@michaelpfalcone) reports: — Had Donald Trump decided to run for president he and his aides were planning an announcement event in an iconic location …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Reaction, Donklephant, Washington Post and Salon