memeorandum: The issue isn't default but government shutdown (James Pethokoukis)

10:55 AM ET, July 13, 2011

Top Items:

Debt-Limit Harakiri — Mitch McConnell isn't selling out Republicans. — Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday he's concluded that no deal to raise the debt ceiling in return for serious spending restraint is possible with President Obama, and who can blame him?

Discussion: msnbc.com, TalkLeft, Hit & Run, Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page, Erick's blog, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Roll Call and National Review

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

Mitch McConnell Just Proposed the “Pontius Pilate Pass the Buck Act of 2011″ — Editor's note: I decided to make the title less incendiary. — Consider the Associated Press's headline right now: “GOP Leader McConnell proposes giving Obama new power for automatic debt limit increase”

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

U.S. Debt Ceiling Increase Remains Unpopular With Americans — More are concerned about higher level of spending than risk of economic crisis — PRINCETON, NJ — Despite agreement among leaders of both sides of the political aisle in Washington that raising the U.S. debt ceiling is necessary …

Discussion: Politics, Hot Air, The Virginian, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hill, Shakesville, Balkinization, Questions and Observations, Taylor Marsh, Top of the Ticket, RealClearPolitics Video Log, The Huffington Post, Swampland, Poll Watch Daily, AMERICAN FUTURE and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
The McConnell Plan's Pitfalls

Discussion: RedState

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Debt Talk Mired, Leader for G.O.P. Proposes Option

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The Caucus, The Politico, Daily Kos and The Hill

Michelle Malkin:
Another mortifying McConnell head-banging-against-the-wall moment

Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
Republicans Introduce Plan, Go On Offensive

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, Erick's blog, justoneminute.typepad.com and Pundit & Pundette

The Politico:

Obama and DNC raise $86M, more than doubling GOP field - RNC campaign targets four swing states - Mandel brings in $2.3M for Senate bid - Hahn wins in CA-36 - Barbour camp eyes Perry - One month until — (aburns@politico.com) and (jhohmann@politico.com) — 2012 SIREN - OBAMA'S NUMBER …

Discussion: The Note, Hotline On Call, Taylor Marsh, TPMDC and JammieWearingFool

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Obama fails to match Bush fundraising / Update - 2Q v. 3Q

Discussion: Oliver Willis

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama raises $86M haul in second quarter

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and New York Magazine

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Obama Reports Massive Fundraising Total

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Associated Press: Obama Fundraising For 2012 Campaign, DNC Breaks Record

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus: Obama Campaign Reports Big Fund-Raising Quarter

Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:

Obama is winning on debt debate, but there's no room for moral victories — Talking to senior administration officials these days is like talking to a basketball player who's in the zone in the playoffs. — They know they're playing well, but they also know that without a win, it's meaningless.

Discussion: driftglass

Washington Post: McConnell outlines new proposal on debt ceiling

Mark Tapscott / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Washington gets $200 billion a month …

Discussion: CBS News, Betsy's Page, Weekly Standard and Doug Ross

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
In Fiscal Fight, G.O.P. Distrust of Obama Runs Deep

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Insider and The Caucus

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
President Obama smashes record with $86M haul

Discussion: The BLT

BBC:

News Corp withdraws bid for BSkyB — WATCH: Robert Peston says it will have been an ‘incredibly painful’ decision for Murdoch — Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has announced that it is dropping its planned bid to take full ownership of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, more at Mediagazer »

Eliot Spitzer / Slate Magazine:

Prosecute News Corp. — The U.S. government should go after Murdoch's media company for its corrupt practices and revoke its TV licenses if it's found guilty. — Bribery, illegal wiretapping, interference in a murder investigation, political blackmail, and rampant disregard for both the truth and basic decency.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice and Guardian

New York Times:
In Retreat, Murdoch Drops TV Takeover

Discussion: Mediaite and The Agonist

Wall Street Journal:
News Corp. Weighs Next Steps

Discussion: AllThingsD, Reuters, New York Magazine, Guardian, The Nation, Telegraph and The Lede, more at Mediagazer »

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

Raise Taxes or Granny Gets It — The liberal media's idea of a grown-up. — President Obama is pulling out the big guns and pointing them straight at your grandmother. “Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3” …

Discussion: theblogprof, Sister Toldjah, Cold Fury, americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

Stephen Marche / Esquire:

How Can We Not Love Obama? — Because like it or not, he is all of us — Before the fall brings us down, before the election season begins in earnest with all its nastiness and vulgarity, before the next batch of stupid scandals and gaffes, before Sarah Palin tries to convert her movie …

Discussion: The Western Experience, Pajamas Media, iOwnTheWorld.com and Maggie's Farm

David Catanese / The Politico:

California special election: Hahn cruises to solid victory — Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey in a bitterly contested Southern California special election marked by stinging attacks from both sides. — Hahn finished with a healthy 54.56 percent of the vote to Huey's 45.44 percent in Tuesday's vote.

Discussion: CNN, PolitiCal, UNCOVERAGE.net, Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, The Lonely Conservative and American Power

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Democrat Janice Hahn Wins CA-36 Special Election

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Hotline On Call

Jean Merl / Los Angeles Times:
Janice Hahn wins House seat

Discussion: L.A. NOW, AmSpecBlog and Politics

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Business community to Congress: Enough — It wasn't too long ago that 62 leading U.S. business groups, including the American Gas Association, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers, all pleaded with Congress to end the standoff and raise the debt ceiling.

Chris Tomlinson / Associated Press:
US Rep. Ron Paul of Texas to retire from Congress

Discussion: Reuters, Corrente and Truthdig

Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Congress hears outcry from business lobby on debt ceiling and deficit

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Nation, National Review and Daily Kos

Dana Loesch / Big Journalism:

No Justice: Gladney Attackers Found Not Guilty — Hours ago a a St. Louis county jury found Elston McCowan and Perry Molens not guilty in the videotaped beating of Kenneth Gladney. … In the above excerpt, the Post-Dispatch did not bother seeking quotes from Gladney or other witnesses …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Other McCain

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
NOT GUILTY!... SEIU Thugs Cleared in Brutal Gladney Beatdown! ...Update: Gladney Reaction (Video)

Discussion: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Daily RFT, Cold Fury and Daily Pundit

Stan Musial / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Two charged in scuffle at St. Louis County meeting found not guilty

Discussion: TBogg and Washington Post

Eric Roper / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

One by one, bars get tapped out — Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown. — In the days leading up to the shutdown …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Shutdown could leave Minnesota dry

Discussion: KSTP-TV and Marginal Revolution

New York Post:

Missing 9-year-old B'klyn boy found dead: sources — The dismembered body of a missing 9-year-old Hasidic boy was found at two locations in Brooklyn and police this morning arrested a suspect in the slaying — who had the child's severed feet in his freezer, sources told The Post.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Israel Matzav

Associated Press:
Man Is Questioned in Death of Brooklyn Boy

Discussion: Runnin' Scared and New York Magazine

JSOnline:

6 fake Democrats fall, setting stage for GOP recalls — Six fake Democratic candidates put up by the Republican Party to buy time for Republican state senators subject to recalls accomplished that job Tuesday, but none of them did the unexpected and knocked off a real Democrat.

Discussion: Althouse

Los Angeles Times:

Prison doctor gets paid for doing little or nothing — A California surgeon has mostly been locked out of his job: on paid leave, fired or fighting his termination. When he does work, it's reviewing records. He made $777,000 last year, including back pay. — A file photo of San Quentin State Prison.

Discussion: Hit & Run, americanthinker.com and Politics

John O'Connor / Associated Press:

Judge reinstates Ill. foster-care contracts — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois judge on Tuesday put Catholic Charities back in the business of finding foster and adoptive homes for children, reinstating — at least temporarily — contracts that were halted when the not-for-profit agency refused …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

Settled in Albany, Gay Marriage Draws Opposition — Laura L. Fotusky, the town clerk in Barker, N.Y., a small community north of Binghamton, looked at the calendar, looked at her Bible and knew what she had to do. — She drafted a letter to the Town Board and said she would resign on July 21 …

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay and Good As You

Kenric Ward / Sunshine State News:

For Rick Scott, a Tough Road to Reform — Governor prioritizes campaign promises over popularity, poll reveals — Florida Gov. Rick Scott's 58 percent disapproval rating may be scary to Republicans, but it's neither surprising nor necessarily lethal, a new Sunshine State News Poll finds.

Discussion: The Daily Pulp and Taegan Goddard's …