Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
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?
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Erick Erickson / RedState:
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”
Discussion:
The Politico, New York Times, Washington Post, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Sweetness & Light, TPMDC, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Talking Points Memo, AMERICAblog News, Swampland, The Hill, Prairie Weather, National Review, Spartanburg Tea Party, The Caucus, Say Anything, Politics, Commentary Magazine, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, FreedomWorks blogs, The Hill, Townhall.com, Pajamas Media, Washington Wire, The New Republic, Right Wing News, Washington Monthly, UNCOVERAGE.net, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, The American Independent, Gawker, The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice, Daily Pundit, Weigel, Moe Lane and Fox Nation
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.
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 …
Washington Post:
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 …
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
Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
Republicans Introduce Plan, Go On Offensive
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, Erick's blog, justoneminute.typepad.com and Pundit & Pundette
Michelle Malkin:
Another mortifying McConnell head-banging-against-the-wall moment
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Washington Post, National Review, Booman Tribune, Nice Deb, TPMDC, Donklephant, The Camp Of The Saints, Reuters, Taylor Marsh, Doug Ross, Indecision Forever, Pajamas Media, Riehl World View, New York Magazine, The Hill, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Wall Street Journal, Politics and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Congress hears outcry from business lobby on debt ceiling and deficit
Discussion:
The Nation, National Review and Daily Kos
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
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Obama fails to match Bush fundraising
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
Associated Press:
Obama Fundraising For 2012 Campaign, DNC Breaks Record
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama raises $86M haul in second quarter
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and New York Magazine
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” …
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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
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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
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
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Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
GOP Co-Chair of Deficit Commission Decries Inability of Washington to Find Common Ground …
Discussion:
Politics
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
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Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Shutdown could leave Minnesota dry — The famous Minnesota niceness could all go away if residents lose access to beer due to the two-week-old state government shut down. — The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Wednesday that bars, restaurants and stores across the state are unable …
Discussion:
KSTP-TV and Marginal Revolution
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:
Taegan Goddard's … and Althouse
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
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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
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
RELATED:
New York Times:
British Leader, Under Fire, Seeks Distance From Murdoch — LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron offered details for the first time on Wednesday of a broad inquiry into the relationships between the police, politicians and the press in the broadening scandal confronting Rupert Murdoch's media empire in Britain.
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Agonist, more at Mediagazer »
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Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
What's Rick Perry waiting for? — Rick Perry sure looks like a presidential candidate. — The Texas governor and his top advisers are feeling out early-state Republican activists on the phone. He met for lunch in Austin Tuesday with former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
RELATED:
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
GOP indecision on 2012 may give Rick Perry a ‘huge opening’
Discussion:
Reuters, Hot Air, Poll Watch Daily and Wonkette
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.
Jessie / The Official Netflix Blog:
Netflix Introduces New Plans and Announces Price Changes — Jessie Becker, here to share two significant changes at Netflix with you. — First, we are launching new DVD only plans. These plans offer our lowest prices ever for unlimited DVDs - only $7.99 a month for our 1 DVD out at-a-time plan …
Discussion:
PC World, TechCrunch, Outside the Beltway, Felix Salmon, Company Town, msnbc.com, CBS Los Angeles, Gothamist, TalkLeft, Gawker and The Consumerist, more at Techmeme »
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 …
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