memeorandum: Senate Democrats draft debt-reduction plan (Washington Post)

1:15 AM ET, July 10, 2011

Top Items:

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

John Boehner pulls out of ‘big deal’ on debt ceiling — Speaker John Boehner told President Barack Obama Saturday that he would not move forward with talks on a large-scale deficit reduction plan, pointing to taxes and entitlements as the main sticking points.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Verum Serum, Booman Tribune, The Page and Daily Pundit

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Deficit Talks Scaled Back Over Tax Increases — WASHINGTON — Citing differences over tax revenues, House Speaker John A. Boehner on Saturday night said he would drop his push with President Obama for a far-reaching, $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan tied to a proposal to increase the federal debt limit.

Discussion: Washington Post, Scarecrow's myFDL diary, CNN, Daily Kos, TalkLeft and Truthdig

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

White House says Boehner balked over taxes, not entitlements — Boehner “couldn't do revenues from wealthiest Americans,” a White House official said. — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) all but extinguished hopes for a big deficit reduction deal because he refused to support …

Discussion: FrumForum

James Pethokoukis:

Will Boehner pull a ‘Reagan at Reykjavik’ and walk? — Will House Speaker John Boehner commit Republicans to raising $1 trillion in taxes as part of President Obama's last-minute push for as much as a $4 trillion debt reduction deal? Obama and the GOP meet Sunday evening, but things continue to develop quickly:

Discussion: Power Line, National Review and The Hill

Speaker:

Statement by Speaker Boehner on Debt Limit Discussions — House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today regarding ongoing debt limit discussions with the White House:

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, BizzyBlog and New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal:

Boehner's Obama Gamble — A tax increase now for the promise of tax reform later won't fly. — President Obama wants Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion national debt limit, which means he needs House Republican votes. Yet Mr. Obama and the Washington chorus are insisting that in return …

Discussion: The Hill, James Pethokoukis, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Beast, Connecting.the.Dots, The Politico, National Review and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:

Boehner to Seek Smaller $2 Trillion Deal — WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said the White House and congressional leaders have stopped pursuing the major deficit-reduction deal tackling entitlement programs and an overhaul of the tax code that he and President Barack Obama had been seeking.

Discussion: Doug Ross and The Lonely Conservative

Caren Bohan / Reuters:
U.S. debt talks scaled back over tax rift

Discussion: Poor Richard's News

Jay Newton-Small / Swampland:
Has Nancy Pelosi Been Marginalized in the Debt Debate?

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla, Hot Air and Moe Lane

Mark Halperin / The Page:
The Road (Maybe) Ahead

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Philip Ruckerand Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Progressives and tea party lawmakers pressure leaders on debt deal

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The New Republic

Stephen Clark / Fox News:

Bachmann Stands By Marriage Pledge That Links Slavery to Black Family Values — Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann is standing firm behind a pledge she signed Thursday that promotes marriage and social conservative values, but includes a passage in the opening statement …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers, Daily Pundit and Little Green Footballs

Liz / Gary Johnson 2012:

Gary Johnson Calls Family Leader Pledge “Offensive and Unrepublican” — July 9, 2011, Las Vegas, Nevada - Presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson charged today in a formal statement through his campaign that the Family Leader “pledge” Republican candidates for President …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, A plain blog about politics and The Agitator

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Conservative group backtracks on marriage pledge slavery language — A social conservative Iowa group has retracted language regarding slavery from the opening of a presidential candidates' pledge, amid a growing controversy over the document that Michele Bachmann had signed and Rick Santorum committed to.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

FAMiLY LEADER Statement Suggests Pledge, Signed By Bachmann, Requires Her To Prosecute Essentially All Porn — New audio of statements by the prominent Iowa social-conservative group THE FAMiLY LEADER suggests the group believes essentially all pornography is illegal.

Discussion: Washington Post, Dump Michele Bachmann, Verum Serum and The Reaction

New York Times:

U.S. Is Deferring Millions in Pakistani Military Aid — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is suspending and, in some cases, canceling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military, in a move to chasten Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to fight militants more effectively.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Jawa Report, ThinkProgress and FrumForum

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Panetta Says Defeat of Al Qaeda Is ‘Within Reach’

Discussion: Attackerman, ThinkProgress and Daily Pundit

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

Ann Althouse: Rube … Friday, the Wisconsin law professor asserted that she “made a rational choice” in voting for Obama in 2008, because she does not want to admit the truth: She was wrong, and not merely incidentally wrong, but disastrously, catastrophically wrong.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and American Power

Washington Post:

Senate Democrats draft debt-reduction plan — Senate Democrats have drafted a sweeping debt-reduction plan that would slice $4 trillion from projected borrowing over the next decade without touching the expensive health and retirement programs targeted by President Obama.

Discussion: Daily Pundit, Poor Richard's News, AMERICAblog News, JammieWearingFool and The Politico

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Conrad budget cuts $800B from Defense

Discussion: Say Anything and Balloon Juice

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:

After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation — JUBA, South Sudan — The celebrations erupted at midnight. Thousands of revelers poured into Juba's steamy streets in the predawn hours on Saturday, hoisting enormous flags, singing, dancing and leaping on the back of cars.

Discussion: USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, The Lede, Outside the Beltway and Truthdig

Associated Press: US recognizes new nation of South Sudan

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Sixteen Senators Ask DOJ To Investigate Potentially Illegal State Voter Disenfranchisement Laws — Sixteen senators led by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) submitted a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week asking him to examine whether the Voting Rights Act's prohibitions …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

A real problem vs. an imaginary one — After the release of the June job numbers, there were plenty of worthwhile charts and graphs making the rounds, but this one from Paul Krugman was especially helpful. — In case it's a little hard to see, that red line is the unemployment rate …

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid