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Why I don't back Ryan Medicare plan — As part of the 2012 budget discussions, Congress is dealing with Medicare reform. This debate is long overdue, since its increasing cost must be addressed if we are serious about the nation's growing $14 trillion debt and $1.6 trillion annual deficit.
Discussion:
The Hill, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Boston Globe, Washington Times, CNN, The Lonely Conservative, Blue Mass Group, The Caucus, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, Confederate Yankee, The Raw Story, AMERICAblog News, Los Angeles Times, National Review, FrumForum and AmSpecBlog
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Republicans ignored warnings on Paul Ryan plan — It might be a political time bomb — that's what GOP pollsters warned as House Republicans prepared for the April 15 vote on Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed budget, with its plan to dramatically remake Medicare. — No matter how favorably pollsters …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, TPMDC, Taylor Marsh, PERRspectives, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Dish, The Mahablog, msnbc.com, The Raw Story and New York Times
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“The Tea Party itch has not been scratched”: How the Ryan plan went down — “The Tea Party Itch Has Not Been Scratched” — Any political observer with even a modicum of sense could see that the Ryan Plan was going to be a complete disaster. And most of us have been wondering ever since what the hell made them go for it.
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, The New Republic, pandagon.net, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Eschaton
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Cantor nudges Rep. Ryan to jump into 2012 White House race — Count House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as one top Republican who'd like to see Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) jump into the presidential race. — Cantor responded immediately when asked Monday whether Ryan …
Discussion:
The Politico, GOP 12 and The Page
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Things Done Changed
Discussion:
The Politico, Outside the Beltway and Eschaton
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Republicans and Mediscare — Paul Ryan's GOP critics are ObamaCare's best friends.
Discussion:
The New Republic and Betsy's Page
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What GOP leaders were thinking on Medicare
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
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The Next President Isn't Currently Running (Updated) — There's no GOP operative for whom I have higher regard than former RNC chair and senior Bush advisor Ed Gillespie. He deserves to be taken seriously when he says (according to Politico): “For all intents and purposes, the field is set.
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Tim Pawlenty bets on boldness
Discussion:
Moe_Lane's blog and Pajamas Media
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THE PRESIDENCY: A BIT SHORT IS PAWLENTY
Discussion:
Iowa Caucuses, Politics, TPMDC and The Politico
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Pawlenty's in: We've tried Obama's way and ‘his way has failed’
Discussion:
The Note, The Politico and Left Coast Rebel
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The best-protected car in the world... defeated by an Irish ramp: Obama's limo ‘The Beast’ gets stuck at U.S. Embassy — Red faces all round as President and First Lady forced to swap vehicles for trip to ancestral home — It's supposed to protect him from terror attacks but President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
The Other McCain
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We didn't realise you were such a big Jedward fan, Michelle. First Lady looks the part as she arrives in a windswept Ireland — Ireland put on a traditional welcome for the Obamas today - a windy one. — The President of the United States breezed in today on the first stop of his four-country, Six-day European tour.
Discussion:
CBS News, Political Punch, Michelle Malkin, The Lonely Conservative, Big Journalism, Mediaite and The Jawa Report
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Biden tells donors: Keep me in mind for 2016 — Vice President Joe Biden surprised a gathering of donors in Cincinnati last week when he floated the prospect of his succeeding President Barack Obama in the White House. — Biden, who started in the Senate young and would be just 70 in 2012 …
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Gingrich: 'I'm not a Washington figure' — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) said he doesn't view himself as a “Washington figure,” positioning himself as an anti-D.C. candidate in his campaign for president. — Gingrich railed against the Washington, D.C. establishment …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Washington Monthly, The Note, Outside the Beltway, Politics, The Daily Caller and FrumForum
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Newt Gingrich, citing record, says ignore record
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Supreme Court orders California to release tens of thousands of prison inmates — The 5-4 decision represents one of the largest prison release orders in U.S. history. The court majority says overcrowding has caused ‘suffering and death.’ In a sharp dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia warns ‘terrible things are sure to happen.’
Discussion:
Blog of Rights, Orange Punch, The Jawa Report, Gawker, The Daily Caller and CNN
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High court backs cuts in Calif. prison population
Discussion:
Hot Air and Weasel Zippers
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Obama digging up dirt on potential opponent Chris Christie — President Obama's re-election campaign is trying to dig up dirt in the Garden State. — Despite New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's repeated pronouncements that he will not seek the GOP presidential nomination …
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Endorsements, Robo-calls Fly in New York Special Election — Republicans and Democrats campaigned furiously before a Tuesday congressional election in New York state that is proving far closer than expected. — New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, on Monday endorsed Jane Corwin …
Discussion:
Ballot Box and GOP 12
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Hochul continues to lead in NY-26
Discussion:
Ballot Box, The Politico, ThinkProgress, Weigel, Firedoglake, The Nation, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, National Review and Blue Mass Group
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Death Toll Rises to Nearly 100 From Missouri Tornado — JOPLIN, Mo. — Much of this southwestern Missouri city lay in ruins on Monday morning after a massive tornado, the latest storm to ravage the Midwest and South this spring, tore through the area, killing at least 90 people.
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Americans Still Split Along “Pro-Choice,” “Pro-Life” Lines — Majorities believe abortion is morally wrong, legal access to it should be restricted — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are closely divided between those calling themselves “pro-choice” and those who are “pro-life,” now 49% and 45% …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media
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Gallup Poll: Americans Want All or Most Abortions Illegal
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Truth outweighs consistency — Jon Huntsman was asked on Friday about his support for the Recovery Act, and the fact that in 2009, he wanted the stimulus to be bigger, not smaller. — Huntsman said his problem with the Recovery Act had to do with taxes. “[M]y take was, let's stimulate business,” he told George Stephanopoulos.
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Pawlenty Campaign Already Dead? — Tim Pawlenty's hometown newspaper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, ran the story of his presidential campaign announcement on the Obituary page this morning, City Pages reports.
Discussion:
The Blotter, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway and Mediaite
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Is Donald Trump Back in the 2012 Race? — ABC News' Sheila Marikar and Rick Klein report: Perhaps Donald Trump didn't really bow out after all. — The billionaire business mogul phoned into Fox News' “Fox & Friends” this morning to lament the state of the Republican field.
Discussion:
Reuters, Daniel W. Drezner, Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weigel and FrumForum
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Harold Camping ‘flabbergasted’; rapture a no-show — (05-22) 19:18 PDT ALAMEDA — The man who said the world was going to end appeared at his front door in Alameda a day later, very much alive but not so well. — “It has been a really tough weekend,” said Harold Camping …
Discussion:
Simply Left BehindThe …, newsfeed.time.com, Gothamist, Runnin' Scared and Gawker
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If I Take Down Fox, Is All Forgiven? — David Brock has spent the last decade apologizing to liberals for his role in creating the vast right-wing conspiracy. Now he's trying something more ambitious and hoping it gains him the respect he craves from the White House.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Althouse and Ben Smith's Blog, more at Mediagazer »
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When Austerity Fails — I often complain, with reason, about the state of economic discussion in the United States. And the irresponsibility of certain politicians — like those Republicans claiming that defaulting on U.S. debt would be no big deal — is scary.
Discussion:
Politics, Questions and Observations, Paul Krugman, Wall Street Journal and Northern Reflections