Top Items:
The Huffington Post:
14th Amendment: Democratic Senators See Debt Ceiling As Unconstitutional … WASHINGTON — Growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a deal that would raise the debt ceiling, Democratic senators are revisiting a solution to the crisis that rests on a simple proposition: The debt ceiling itself is unconstitutional.
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Democrats fault Obama for not using presidential bully pulpit — Senate Democrats are accusing President Obama of failing to use his bully pulpit effectively in the debt-ceiling fight. — They say most people are confused about the issue and don't understand they'd face …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice and msnbc.com
Manu Raju / The Politico:
No holiday recess this week
No holiday recess this week
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics and Washington Monthly
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Top Democrats reject new plan to cut Medicare spending
Top Democrats reject new plan to cut Medicare spending
Discussion:
The Hill, Politics, ThinkProgress, New York Times and AMERICAblog News
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: 6th Circuit Upholds Constitutionality of Affordable Care Act — The majority writes: “We find that the minimum coverage provision is a valid exercise of legislative power by Congress under the Commerce Clause and therefore AFFIRM the decision of the district court.” Key passage:
Discussion:
The Debate Link and Daily Kos
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Sixth Circuit upholds ObamaCare mandate — The decision got overlooked in all of the attention to Barack Obama's press conference, but nonetheless this will make some big news. The Sixth Circuit has denied an appeal by the Thomas More Law Center and a group of individuals whose challenge …
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com and Pajamas Media
Kevin Sack / New York Times:
Appeals Court Upholds Obama's Health Care Law
Appeals Court Upholds Obama's Health Care Law
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Taegan Goddard's …
Jennifer Haberkorn / The Politico:
6th Circuit panel upholds individual mandate
6th Circuit panel upholds individual mandate
Discussion:
CNN and National Review
Elise Young / Bloomberg:
Christie Loses Support for Second Term as Residents Oppose Cuts — More than half of New Jersey residents say they wouldn't back Governor Chris Christie for a second term, disapproving of his choices on a range of policy and personal issues, from killing a commuter tunnel to using …
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Obama: Marriage Should Be Left To States; Process Of NY Passing Same-Sex Marriage Law ‘Was A Good Thing’ — President Obama was asked if he believes that civil marriage is a constitutional right during his press conference this morning. Rather than answering that question …
Discussion:
Good As You and Towleroad News #gay
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Michael B. Keegan / The Huffington Post:
Dear Arnold: New York Victory Made Us Think of You!
Dear Arnold: New York Victory Made Us Think of You!
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Obama's Position on Gay Marriage Faces New Test
Obama's Position on Gay Marriage Faces New Test
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABCNEWS, LGBT | POV and Towleroad News #gay
Toronto Sun:
Lennon was a closet Republican: Assistant — John Lennon was a closet Republican, who felt a little embarrassed by his former radicalism, at the time of his death - according to the tragic Beatles star's last personal assistant. — Fred Seaman worked alongside the music legend from 1979 …
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Obama: Republican Leaders Must Bend on Taxes — President Obama said Wednesday that he believed Republicans would concede to tax increases as part of a deficit reduction package in time to avoid a default on the nation's debt. — “Call me naive,” he told reporters at a mid-day news conference in the East Room of the White House.
Discussion:
The Politico, The Nation, Daily Kos and Connecting.the.Dots
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The Politico:
President Obama meets the press — It's clear Obama is more comfortable in one-on-one interviews rather than large press events.. — The world has whirled in the 15 weeks since President Barack Obama last held a big press conference — and the questions have stacked up to his presidential seal.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, Bloomberg and Hot Air
Andrew Ferguson / New York Times:
What Does Newt Gingrich Know? — Let's consult the literature — all 21 books by the self-proclaimed ideas man of politics. (Gingrich cites 23 books on his Web site. We are not counting the Contract With America or the coffee-table book “Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous With Destiny.") — Multimedia
Discussion:
GOP 12, Hit & Run and Prairie Weather
Marjorie Connelly / The Caucus:
Republican Voters Lack Enthusiasm for Presidential Contenders, Poll Shows — Republican voters are not satisfied with the candidates running for the Republican nomination and wish they had more choices, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. None of the candidates currently hoping …
Discussion:
The Hill, Weasel Zippers, Prairie Weather, Connecting.the.Dots and FrumForum
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Alaska_Politics / Anchorage Daily News:
Poll shows Alaskans would vote for Obama over Palin
Poll shows Alaskans would vote for Obama over Palin
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and Politics
The Daily Beast:
Pawlenty's Huge Iowa Gamble
Pawlenty's Huge Iowa Gamble
Discussion:
Eunomia, Politics, Washington Post, Gallup and The Hill
David Seifman / New York Post:
Rudy breaks vows — The gay car dealer who opened his home to Rudy Giuliani in 2001 during his humiliating divorce battle says the former mayor offered to preside at his wedding if same-sex marriage were ever legalized — but is now ducking his calls to make good on the offer.
Discussion:
Salon, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Runnin' Scared, Wonkette, Gawker, TPMDC, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Jewish Dems losing faith in Obama — David Ainsman really began to get worried about President Barack Obama's standing with his fellow Jewish Democrats when a recent dinner with his wife and two other couples — all Obama voters in 2008 — nearly turned into a screaming match.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hot Air, YID With LID, neo-neocon, Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic, Pajamas Media and National Review
Robby Mook / The Politico:
DCCC raising off Boehner's tears — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a fundraising pitch asking donors to “Make John Boehner Cry.” — “We all know it doesn't take much to make Speaker Boehner get teary-eyed. But let's give him something to really cry about …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Greece Passes Austerity Budget. Did they Make a Mistake? — This morning, Greece passed another austerity budget. This has been, to put it mildly, unpopular. The country has been beset by days of riots in protest of the spending cuts, apparently led by self-proclaimed anarchists who seem …
RELATED:
BBC:
Greece passes key austerity vote
Greece passes key austerity vote
Discussion:
Firedoglake, New York Times, Guardian, PRI's The World and New York Magazine
Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Bachmann: Media wants a ‘mud wrestling fight’ with Palin — Daniel Island, South Carolina (CNN) - Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann claimed Wednesday that the media is rooting for a catfight between her and Sarah Palin. — “They want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight …
Discussion:
The Politico
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Michael Isikoff / msnbc.com:
Presidential candidate has often blasted growing welfare programs
Presidential candidate has often blasted growing welfare programs
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, National Review, CNN, The American Independent, Sky Dancing, Reuters, Right Wing News and NewsBusters.org blogs
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Myspace to Be Sold to Specific Media for $35 Million — Closing another chapter on one of the Internet's most iconic properties, Myspace has been sold to to Specific Media, an advertising network, for $35 million. — Sources close to the situation said the deal is being completed today …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Obama needs to create jobs, not fight for them — (Mark Wilson - Bloomberg) Ron Klain, former chief of staff to both Al Gore and Joe Biden, thinks President Obama needs to make more of a show of fighting for job-creating policies. “The greatest risk to the president will be if the American people believe …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Economist's View, Bloomberg, Angry Bear, Jared Bernstein, Washington Monthly, Eschaton and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Taking Action Matters — Something I like to ask people who are disgruntled with the performance of the political system is what have you, personally, done about it? When was the last time you wrote or called your member of Congress? Can you even name the people who represent …
Discussion:
The Monkey Cage, Balloon Juice and Eschaton
Richard Wolf / USA Today:
Debt-limit delay would jeopardize Social Security payments — WASHINGTON — Social Security payments to millions of retirees and people with disabilities could be threatened if President Obama and Congress can't agree to increase the government's debt limit by Aug. 2, a new analysis shows.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Politics and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Tim Mak / The Politico:
Clinton: Stimulus wasn't big enough — Former President Bill Clinton said he likes the economic stimulus - it just wan't big enough. — “I think the stimulus did as well as it could have done — there just wasn't enough of it,” Clinton told reporters on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Simply Left BehindThe …
Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
TRENDING: Dem group hits back at Rove — (CNN) - The Democratic super PAC Priorities USA launched a television ad Wednesday in states they deem competitive in the next election, directly responding to an ad from the conservative Crossroads GPS, an independent group founded by Karl Rove.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Wire and Hot Air
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Do Incentives Shape Teacher Behavior Or Don't They? — Picking up a thread again from last week, Dana Goldstein says there's a difference between testing and test-based accountability and uses as an example a teacher who constructed a particularly inane-sounding poetry lesson on the theory …
Pamela Constable / Washington Post:
Kabul hotel siege leaves at least 11 civilians dead — KABUL — Kamel Khan, 32, a businessman, was chatting with two friends on the poolside terrace of the hilltop Intercontinental Hotel Tuesday night when he heard a burst of gunfire and looked up. A man carrying a machine gun …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, The Long War Journal and Simply Left BehindThe …
Jack Doyle / Daily Mail:
The joke of ‘secure Britain’: Vile banned militant extremist strolls through Heathrow immigration as 200 Somalian criminals are allowed to stay due to human rights — European Court ruling stems from appeals by two asylum seekers convicted of offences including burglary, making threats to kill and drug dealing
Discussion:
Guardian, Harry's Place, Weasel Zippers, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and Jihad Watch