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Obama says he cannot guarantee Social Security checks will go out on August 3 — President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.
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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”


Senate GOP mulls new debt strategy — Trying to get out of the political box which they have helped to create, Senate Republicans are actively discussing a new plan under which the debt ceiling would grow in three increments over the remainder of this Congress unless lawmakers approve a veto proof resolution of disapproval.
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CNN, The Note, Healthwatch, No More Mister Nice Blog, PERRspectives, Hot Air, Jared Bernstein, TalkLeft, msnbc.com, Firedoglake, Politics, Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money


The Big Blink? McConnell Proposes Giving Obama Authority To Raise Debt Limit Alone — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has proposed creating an escape hatch for Congressional Republicans, who have put themselves in a box by threatening not to raise the national debt limit …


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:
The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air and National Review


McConnell outlines new proposal on debt ceiling — McConnell was quickly excoriated online by tea party bloggers, with Erick Erickson of the Web site RedState.com blasting the plan as “the Pontius Pilate Pass the Buck Act of 2011.” — Still, with less than three weeks left until …


Another mortifying McConnell head-banging-against-the-wall moment — Longtime readers are familiar with our time-honored tradition of marking inevitable Senate GOP sellout moments with the head-banging-against-the-wall animated gif. — Well, it is time to resurrect it again …
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Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh, Reuters, New York Magazine, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, TPMDC and Riehl World View

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 …
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Swampland, Top of the Ticket, Balkinization, Poll Watch Daily, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and AMERICAN FUTURE


Republicans Introduce Plan, Go On Offensive — The debt ceiling debate continues. — Senate Republicans mounted a bold offensive today against President Obama's effort to force them to accept a tax hike as part of a bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit.
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AmSpecBlog, JustOneMinute, Erick's blog, National Review and Pundit & Pundette


Judo Flip! Boehner Agrees With McConnell That Dems Should Not Be Allowed To Take Debt Limit Hostage — Huge chutzpah points to House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel, who sends along a statement of support in response to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's byzantine plan to avoid a debt default.
Discussion:
Daily Kos

Norquist: Time to Force Obama's Hand
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Hit & Run, Americans for Tax Reform RSS, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Cold Fury and TPMDC


McConnell outlines new proposal on debt ceiling
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The New Republic, PolitickerNY, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

EXCLUSIVE: McConnell to Obama: Eat your own darn peas
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Fox News, Donklephant, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, Pajamas Media, Indecision Forever and The Maddow Blog

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Why McConnell's debt limit proposal is a bad idea
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Roll Call, Riehl World View, Hot Air and AmSpecBlog

Craven Reign — I just finished explaining that Mitch McConnell …
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Daily Kos

Dem strategist: Obama should invoke 14th Amendment powers to raise debt limit
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Weasel Zippers and The Daley Gator

New McConnell Plan: We Get Everything We Want On Debt Ceiling, Plus 12 Opportunities To Bash Obama
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National Review, The Caucus, Hullabaloo, City Room and Balkinization

Mitch McConnell to Obama: You want debt ceiling raised? Then raise it yourself!
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TPMDC, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

McConnell fallback plan would leave debt-ceiling hikes to Obama
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The Politico, The Hill, The Moderate Voice and Washington Monthly

More Contingency Plan — The initial legislation would authorize …
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The American Independent

Angry John Boehner rallies GOP troops on debt limit
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McConnell's debt disapproval plan
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The Page and A plain blog about politics

Guy Benson — BREAKING: McConnell Proposes Alternative Debt Ceiling Deal
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Hot Air, Heritage Action for America, Pajamas Media, The Politico and Politics

Politics Aside at Betty Ford Funeral: Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush Share Intent Conversation — ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf (@zbyronwolf) reports: — Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama stared quietly ahead before the funeral of Betty Ford in Palm Desert, California.
Discussion:
The Politico
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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 …
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Pajamas Media, iOwnTheWorld.com and Maggie's Farm


Light bulb bill goes dark in House — House lawmakers Tuesday stymied an initial effort by Republicans to put an end to infamous light bulb efficiency standards. — The bill from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to repeal part of a 2007 energy law requiring traditional incandescent light bulbs …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative
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Lightbulb bill likely headed for defeat in House
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Sweetness & Light and Hot Air


APNewsBreak: Romney rejects gay marriage pledge — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign said Tuesday that he will not sign a conservative Iowa Christian group's far-reaching pledge opposing gay marriage, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to reject it.
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Hot Air, ThinkProgress, The Raw Story and Towleroad News #gay
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Sarah Palin Evokes Strong Emotions Among Republicans
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Washington Wire, MyFox Philadelphia, Conservatives4Palin and The Nation


Sebelius: Obamacare's Penalty on Small Businesses a ‘Great Incentive’ for Growth — (CNSNews.com) - Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Monday that a provision in President Barack Obama's health-care law that requires small businesses …
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Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative and Say Anything
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Fresh doubt cast on Obama's health care story
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Weasel Zippers, JustOneMinute, iOwnTheWorld.com, Say Anything, The Camp Of The Saints and Hot Air

Ron Paul won't seek congressional term in 2012 — LAKE JACKSON — After serving almost 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul told The Facts this morning he will not be seeking another term for the District 14 seat. — Paul, 75, will instead focus on his quest for the presidency in 2012.
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Fan Who Caught Jeter's 3,000th Hit May Owe IRS Thousands — The tax man may be on the hunt for the super fan who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit. — Christian Lopez, 23, recovered the prized ball his father fumbled after The Captain hammered it into their section of the stands …
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REPUBLICAN REDEFINED, Say Anything, Pajamas Media, iOwnTheWorld.com, International Liberty and This Just In

The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia — Nestled in a back corner of Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport is a sprawling walled compound run by the Central Intelligence Agency. Set on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the facility looks like a small gated community, with more than a dozen …
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Weasel Zippers, Salon, Lawfare, Information Dissemination, Emptywheel and ThinkProgress

State Supreme Court justices rule not to force recusals — By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - State Supreme Court justices can't kick each other off cases for alleged bias, the court ruled Tuesday in a bitterly divided decision along now-familiar 4-3 lines.
Discussion:
Althouse