Top Items:
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
It Begins: Top Republicans Push Away From Gang Of Six Plan — As time goes on, and conservative interest groups and members of Congress rip into it, support among Republicans for the Gang of Six plan to reduce deficits will begin to wane. In fact, that's already happening.
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James C. Capretta / National Review:
The Gang of Six Disaster: The Worst Plan So Far — Confusion among congressional Republicans about their objectives in the debt-limit endgame has increased the possibility that they will stumble into a policy and political disaster over the next two weeks. — Only ten days ago …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Kaiser Health News, Cold Fury and AmSpecBlog
The Politico:
House Republicans discussing short-term debt ceiling hike — House Republican leaders have begun discussing a short-term debt ceiling hike that would be coupled with immediate spending cuts of a greater magnitude, according to several aides. — The White House also signaled Wednesday …
Discussion:
nation.foxnews.com, Sky Dancing, Slate, National Review and Firedoglake
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
House GOP Suicide Squad gets bigger — By late yesterday, the political world seemed to be feeling optimistic about the debt ceiling again. The Gang of Six had made a lot of senators happy; President Obama seemed upbeat causing a sudden spike on Wall Street; and the House was wrapping …
Discussion:
National Review, The Hill and Washington Post
Bernie Becker / The Hill:
Business Roundtable praises Gang of Six plan, AFL-CIO rips it
Business Roundtable praises Gang of Six plan, AFL-CIO rips it
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Reuters, Firedoglake, CNN and news.firedoglake.com
Roll Call:
Allen West Says He Apologized to Wasserman Schultz — Freshman Rep. Allen West said Wednesday that he has apologized to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz for calling her “vile, unprofessional and despicable” in an email. — “I just apologized,” West (R-Fla.) told a Huffington Post reporter.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, Naked Politics, ThinkProgress and TBogg
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The Politico:
Democrats want West apology — Several House Democratic women on Wednesday called on Rep. Allen West to apologize to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz for his e-mail that called her “vile,” “despicable” and “not a Lady.” — The lawmakers said they were sending a letter to House GOP leadership …
Discussion:
alicublog, Weasel Zippers, Ben Smith's Blog and Althouse
CNN:
President calls debt crisis ‘self-created’ — Washington (CNN) - As President Barack Obama sat down with television stations from three key political states, he said he is still hopeful the White House and congressional leadership will come to an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling but said politics is interfering.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
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Sheldon Alberts / Financial Post:
Obama reconsiders short-term deal — WASHINGTON — Only 10 days ago, President Barack Obama appeared in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House and drew an uncompromising line in the sand on negotiations to raise the United States' borrowing limit.
Discussion:
Poor Richard's News, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Pirate's Cove
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Franken Destoys Focus On The Family Witness, Exposes Misuse Of HHS Study — During this morning's Senate DOMA hearings, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) destroyed Focus on the Family's Tom Minnery's argument that children are better off with opposite-sex parents by demonstrating how Minnery misrepresented an HHS study.
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Ryan J. Reilly / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:
Al Franken Pokes Fun At Focus On The Family Mischaracterizing Study At DOMA Hearing (VIDEO)
Al Franken Pokes Fun At Focus On The Family Mischaracterizing Study At DOMA Hearing (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and TPMDC
The Note:
Bachmann Releases Doctor's Note on Migraines as Pawlenty Says Candidates Must Be Able ‘To Do All of the Job, All of the Time’ — ABC News' Matthew Jaffe (@matthewbjaffe) reports from Indianola, Iowa: — When Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty descended on Iowa today …
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, CNN, Michelle Malkin, TPMDC and Sister Toldjah
RELATED:
ABCNEWS:
Former Insider: Michele Bachmann Headaches Frequent, Left Her ‘Unable to Function’
Former Insider: Michele Bachmann Headaches Frequent, Left Her ‘Unable to Function’
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Pawlenty says WH hopefuls must be able do the job
Pawlenty says WH hopefuls must be able do the job
Discussion:
Washington Wire, TPMDC, National Review, Daily Kos, Washington Post, GOP 12, ThinkProgress and Shakesville
Fortune:
Larry Summers calls Winklevoss twins ‘A**holes’ — NEW YORK (Fortune) — What did Larry Summers really think of the Winklevoss twins? — “Rarely, have I encountered such swagger, and I tried to respond in kind,” the former president of Harvard said in an interview at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference.
Brad Watson / KHOU-TV:
Anita Perry encourages husband to run for president — AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry will need money, organization, staff and stamina if he runs for president. — But he appears to already have the support that's most important for the race — his wife's.
Discussion:
Reuters, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media and Don Surber
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Rumsfeld had role in Perry meeting
Rumsfeld had role in Perry meeting
Discussion:
National Review, Sky Dancing, USA Today, The Note, CNN and The Washington Independent
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama in perilous shape — For the first time since last July Barack Obama does not lead Mitt Romney in PPP's monthly national poll on the 2012 Presidential race. Romney has now pulled into a tie with the President at 45%. — Obama's approval rating this month is 46% with 48% of voters disapproving of him.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and No More Mister Nice Blog
Maureen O'Connor / Gawker:
Sarah Palin is going to be a grandmother again. Eldest child Track Palin married high school sweetheart Britta Hanson two months ago, and now we hear that Britta is pregnant. The picture above of “Britta Pie,” which was posted on a Wasilla friend's Facebook wall, confirms the news she's expecting.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Top of the Ticket, The Daily Caller, Dependable Renegade and CBS Minnesota
Politics:
Former Senator Judd Gregg Says Shutdown Needed Before House Will Agree To Debt Limit Deal — Former Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) says Social Security checks will need to be halted before House Republicans will agree to a deal to raise the debt limit. — A deficit hawk and former Chairman …
Discussion:
Clusterstock, The Reality-Based Community, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and Outside the Beltway
Benjamin Spillman / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Las Vegas resort sues tea party group over hotel bill — Some Tennessee tea partiers are in hot water with a Las Vegas gambling resort that's accusing them of skipping out on a big hotel bill. — On Monday Venetian Casino Resort, LLC., filed suit against Tea Party Nation Corporation of Franklin …
Discussion:
The Informer, Firedoglake, Wonkette, Mediaite, Gawker, The Daily Caller and The Raw Story
David Brody / The Brody File:
Never Before Seen: The ‘Inside Scoop’ on Some 2012 Presidential Contenders — On this week's edition of The Brody File show, some never before seen footage from my interviews with Sarah Palin, Speaker John Boehner, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann as we get the 'scoop" on some of their “personal preferences.
Discussion:
GOP 12, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Glittarazzi
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Michelle Lancaster / Big Government:
My Country 'Tis Of Thee, Sweet Land of...Removing the Pledge of Allegiance?! — Hard to believe, right? Well, it's true ... and it happened in Bowie County, Texas. — Just when I thought nothing could be as outrageous as my recent post “God Bless Our Military ... just not at the Houston National Cemetery …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Atlas Shrugs
Brian Winter / Reuters:
Role reversal: Latin America taunts US on debt woes — * Worries about contagion; Brazil now a U.S. creditor — After three decades spent battling their own debt crises and getting constantly lectured about them by Uncle Sam, many Latin Americans are watching the countdown to a possible default …
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
msnbc.com:
Heat ‘dome’ covers 1 million square miles across US — ‘Draining, physically draining,’ says Weather Service spokesman as heat slowly moves East — Below: — msnbc.com staff and news service reports — updated 2011-07-20T19:45:42 — Some 141 million Americans over nearly 1 million square miles …
Reuters:
Exclusive: Fed planning for potential default — (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is actively preparing for the possibility that the United States could default as a deadline for raising the government's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit looms, a top Fed policymaker said on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Western Experience, Fortune, Taylor Marsh and Clusterstock
John Nolte / Big Hollywood:
Numbers Don't Lie: “The Undefeated” Had a Remarkable Box Office Debut — Box Office Mojo is a universally accepted and respected source for box-office numbers, mainly because they've always done a very professional job of sticking to numbers and avoiding the business and political nonsense that tarnishes so many others.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs and Conservatives4Palin
Louise Storyand Julie Creswell / New York Times:
Wall St. Makes Fallback Plans for Debt Crisis — Lawmakers in Washington are racing to reach a deal to save the country from defaulting on its debt, but on Wall Street, financial players are devising doomsday plans in case the clock runs out. — These companies are taking steps to reduce …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Abby Phillip / The Politico:
Obama to nominate fourth openly gay judicial candidate — President Barack Obama intends on Wednesday to nominate the fourth openly gay judicial candidate of his administration to U.S. district court, according to a White House official. — The White House plans to announce the nomination …
Discussion:
Poliglot and Towleroad News #gay
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The new party of Reagan — After he switched to the Republican Party in 1962, Ronald Reagan famously quipped: “I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” — Now, the Republican Party is doing the same thing to him — and Democrats are happy to take Reagan back.
Discussion:
Salon, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, The Heritage Foundation, Daily Kos, CNN, Firedoglake and The Huffington Post