Top Items:
The Note:
Senator Kyl Drops Out of the Debt Talks, Leaving Zero Republicans at the Table — ABC News' Sunlen Miller (@sunlenmiller) reports: — Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., will also drop out of the debt talks, a source within his office confirms today. The Arizona Republican's office will issue a formal statement shortly.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, Political Punch, The Daily Dish, YID With LID and HotAirPundit
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Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Why Eric Cantor won't make the budget deal — (Brendan Hoffman - Getty Images) Eric Cantor is pulling out of the debt-ceiling talks. But he's not saying they should end. In fact, he's saying they've been very successful thus far. “We have a blueprint to move forward to trillions …
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Atlantic Online, Sky Dancing, Washington Monthly and Blue Virginia
Wall Street Journal:
Cantor Pulls Out of Biden-Led Budget Talks — WASHINGTON—House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday said he was pulling out of the bipartisan budget talks headed by Vice President Joe Biden for now because the group has reached an impasse over taxes that only President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) could resolve.
David Rogers / The Politico:
Deficit talks in danger as Eric Cantor bails — Republicans launched a concerted campaign Thursday to draw President Barack Obama more directly into deficit-reduction talks with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying that he will no longer participate in White House talks until the president …
Discussion:
CNN, Don Surber, The Hill, Outside the Beltway and The Reid Report
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus:
Cantor Quits Biden's Debt Ceiling Talks
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, TalkLeft and Weigel
BooMan / Booman Tribune:
Republicans Appear Incapable of Compromise
Discussion:
The Hill, Ballot Box and TalkLeft
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Reuters:
Debt talks collapse, Republicans walk out over taxes
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Right Scoop
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Cantor pulls out — Eric Cantor pulled out of the debt ceiling talks …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos
Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:
Drafting Rubio — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement on who the vice presidential pick should be: freshman senator Marco Rubio. — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement …
Discussion:
GOP 12, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Pulp, Ben Smith's Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and AmSpecBlog
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TAPPED:
The Rules of the Game — The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza joins a chorus of voices asking political observers not to underestimate Jon Huntsman's chances for winning the Republican nomination. With his decision to skip the Iowa caucuses, Lizza argues, Mitt Romney has made it easy for Huntsman …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Reaction, News Desk and A plain blog about politics
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads the way in Florida
Discussion:
GOP 12, Orlando Sentinel and Flap's Blog
James Freeman / Wall Street Journal:
Is Rick Running? — A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President, though the official word from Team Perry is still a definite maybe. — A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President …
Discussion:
The Note, The Atlantic Online, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, USA Today, The Daily Caller, GOP 12 and The Page
Wall Street Journal:
Unplugging the Afghan Surge — President Obama declares victory before it's been achieved. — President Obama delivered a remarkable speech last night, essentially unplugging the Afghanistan troop surge he proposed only 18 months ago and doing so before its goals have been achieved.
Discussion:
American Power
RELATED:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
President Obama's Afghanistan speech confirms America's decline
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Jack & Jill Politics and Mediaite
New York Post:
So much for real victory - unless, that is, it's merely a political one
Discussion:
msnbc.com and National Review
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
‘Mission accomplished,’ Obama style
Discussion:
New York Times and Weekly Standard
Shelley Murphy / Boston Globe:
Whitey Bulger arrested — Boston gangster surrenders quietly in Calif. after 16 years on run — Fugitive South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, wanted for 19 murders, was captured last night in Southern California, the result of a tip from FBI television spots that began airing this week.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Whitey Bulger Is Arrested in California — LOS ANGELES — James (Whitey) Bulger, a legendary Boston crime boss indicted in 19 murders and who is on the F.B.I.'s 10 Most Wanted list, was arrested by federal authorities Wednesday night in Santa Monica, ending an international manhunt that had gone …
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
White House threatens to veto Defense bill — The White House on Thursday threatened to veto the 2012 defense appropriations bill. — “The administration strongly opposes a number of provisions in this bill. If a bill is presented to the President that undermines his ability as commander …
Discussion:
The Politico
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Dan Berman / The Politico:
Enviros, celebs plan W.H. protest
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and NewsBusters.org blogs
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:
Answering Andrew Sullivan on Allison Benedikt — Andrew weighs in on the Benedikt controversy with a thoughtful post, which you should read in full. He writes, at the end: … The outrage comes form the fact that many of us — I would dare say most American Jews — believe that you just don't get to walk away.
Discussion:
Water Over Rocks, National Review, The Volokh Conspiracy and JTA
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Jews In America And Israel
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, Water Over Rocks, Mondoweiss and The Atlantic Online
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE — Herman Cain: Jon Stewart Attacked Me 'Because I'm Black' — ThinkProgress filed this report from Iowa Falls, Iowa. — Earlier this month, ThinkProgress reported that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain told an audience in Pella, Iowa that he would not sign a bill longer than three pages.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Wonkette, Fox Nation, The Wire, Outside the Beltway and Gawker
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
Military leaders know Obama's decision is a disaster — The press is reporting that the top military leaders have “endorsed” President Obama's Afghan troop withdrawal decision. With all due respect to the fine reporters, that is not the news. Under our Constitution …
Discussion:
Arizona Republic, ThinkProgress, Guardian, Pajamas Media, National Review and Swampland
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Jack Shafer / Slate Magazine:
Who Is Jose Antonio Vargas? — A prominent journalist comes out as an illegal immigrant, raising additional questions about his real identity. — A prefatory note before I join the Jose Antonio Vargas commentary: I am an immigration dove, to pluck a pungent phrase from today's Twitter-stream.
Discussion:
SFGate, Democracy in America, Gawker and ProPublica, more at Mediagazer »
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Suzy Khimm / Mother Jones:
Will the Feds Deport Jose Antonio Vargas?
Discussion:
The New Republic, Democracy in America, Citizen Orange and ThinkProgress
Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg:
Ryan Medicare Plan Would Make Americans Worse by 57%-34%, Poll Shows — Representative Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who has become a star in the Republican Party with his plan to overhaul Medicare, is emerging as a polarizing figure among Americans.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Post, Comments from Left Field and Healthwatch
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Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Poll: Ryan 3rd-most-disliked GOPer
Discussion:
Hot Air, CNN, The Hill and Dependable Renegade
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Why Obama Is Likely to Lose in 2012 — Even a small drop in the share of black voters would wipe out his winning margin in North Carolina. — President Barack Obama is likely to be defeated in 2012. The reason is that he faces four serious threats. The economy is very weak and unlikely …
Discussion:
The New Republic, americanthinker.com, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, GOP 12 and Wake up America
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Democrats Blue as Senate Acquires a Reddish Tinge — Larry J. Sabato and Kyle Kondik, U.Va. Center for Politics — As we take a fresh look at next year's Senate races, one thing is clear: Barring an unexpected reelection landslide by President Obama, Republicans are at least slightly favored to take the Senate.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Huffington Post
James Bovard / Wall Street Journal:
The Food-Stamp Crime Wave — The number of food-stamp recipients has soared to 44 million from 26 million in 2007. Not surprisingly, fraud and abuse are rampant. — Millionaires are now legally entitled to collect food stamps as long as they have little or no monthly income.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Moonbattery and Gawker
NY Daily News:
Senate Republicans moving closer to saying ‘I do’ to gay marriage in New York State — ALBANY - Senate Republicans on Wednesday were close to signing off on a religious protection provision that could boost the chances that gay marriage will pass in New York.
Dan Berman / Reuters:
W.H. to release 30M barrels of oil — The Obama administration will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to offset oil supply disruptions in the Middle East, the Energy Department announced Thursday morning. — Other International Energy Agency countries …
Discussion:
The Note, Hot Air, Datechguy's Blog, CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and HotAirPundit
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
TRENDING: Palin Sudan trip a no-go — (CNN) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin canceled a July trip to Sudan due to “scheduling problems,” a source with knowledge of the trip confirmed to CNN Thursday. — Palin was scheduled to travel to the southern part of the war-savaged country with Franklin Graham …
Discussion:
The Politico, Little Green Footballs, Ballot Box, The New Civil Rights Movement and Jezebel
Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:
The Haunting of Rick Perry — Should Gov. Rick Perry of Texas enter the 2012 presidential race, he would enjoy a strange and remarkable escort — the irrepressible ghost of Cameron Todd Willingham. — Charged with the horrific crime of intentionally torching his home and leaving …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, The Atlantic Online and Lawyers, Guns & Money
The Note:
Mystery Candidate Leads to Walk Out at Ames Straw Poll Land Auction — ABC News' Russell Goldman (@GoldmanRussell) and Arlette Saenz (@ArletteSaenz) report: — A little bit of intrigue at the Ames straw poll land auction... Representatives of Republican candidates are meeting today in Ames …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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