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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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 …
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:
Crooks and Liars, Weekly Standard, The Politico, New York Times, Michelle Malkin, The New Republic, National Review, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Sweetness & Light, Cato @ Liberty, Washington Post, TPMDC, And So it Goes in Shreveport, AMERICAblog News, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Swampland, The Hill, Booman Tribune, Prairie Weather, Spartanburg Tea Party, Nice Deb, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Say Anything, Politics, The Caucus, The Lonely Conservative, Doug Ross, The Hill, Commentary Magazine, Reuters, Taylor Marsh, FreedomWorks blogs, Heritage Action for America, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Townhall.com, Right Wing News, Washington Monthly, UNCOVERAGE.net, Erick's blog, Outside the Beltway, Riehl World View, The American Independent, Washington Wire, The Mahablog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gawker, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice, Daily Pundit, Weigel, Moe Lane and Fox Nation
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:
The McConnell Plan's Pitfalls — Shortly after Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell unveiled his “contingency” plan for a debt limit increase, the Associated Press bulletin read: “GOP Leader McConnell proposes giving Obama new power for automatic debt limit increase.”
Discussion:
RedState
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
In Fiscal Fight, G.O.P. Distrust of Obama Runs Deep
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Political Insider and The Caucus
Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Congress hears outcry from business lobby on debt ceiling and deficit
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Nation, National Review, Daily Kos and The New Republic
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
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, Taylor Marsh, TPMDC and JammieWearingFool
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
President Obama smashes record with $86M haul — President Barack Obama has shattered first quarter fundraising records for a White House incumbent by raising $86 million for the first quarter - dwarfing the 2012 GOP field's total take and breezing past his own target of $60 million.
Discussion:
The BLT
Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:
Obama is winning on debt debate, but there's no room for moral victories
Discussion:
driftglass
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Alternative Headline: Obama 2012 Fundraising Behind 2008 Pace
Discussion:
Hot Air, CNN, Top of the Ticket, Moe Lane and NewsBusters.org
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Obama fails to match Bush fundraising / Update - 2Q v. 3Q
Discussion:
Hotline On Call, Pajamas Media, The Caucus and Oliver Willis
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama raises $86M haul in second quarter
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, ABCNEWS and The Page
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 »
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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
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
Mark Tapscott / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Washington gets $200 billion a month, Social Security costs $50 billion a month, and Obama is threatening to starve Grandma? — President Obama told CBS News today that he “cannot guarantee that those [Social Security] checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue.
Discussion:
CBS News, Betsy's Page and Weekly Standard
RELATED:
MarketWatch:
The U.S. Treasury will not default
Discussion:
Angry Bear, Pajamas Media, The Virginian, The Lonely Conservative and Doug Ross
Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
Official Treasury Reports: Coffers Full Enough to Cover Entitlement Programs, Veterans …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com, Say Anything, Michelle Malkin and The Other McCain
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
RELATED:
Jean Merl / Los Angeles Times:
Janice Hahn wins House seat
Discussion:
L.A. NOW, AmSpecBlog and Politics
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Democrat Janice Hahn Wins CA-36 Special Election
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and Hotline On Call
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
RELATED:
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
RELATED:
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
RELATED:
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
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
Rajendra Jadhav / Reuters:
Near simultaneous blasts kill at least 3 in India's — (Reuters) - Three almost simultaneous blasts rocked three different locations in India's financial capital of Mumbai during evening rush hour on Wednesday, killing at least three people, police said. — Police did not want to speculate …
Discussion:
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