Top Items:
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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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 and Outside the Beltway
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Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Reid says he's waiting on Boehner to tell him ‘path forward’ on raising debt ceiling
Reid says he's waiting on Boehner to tell him ‘path forward’ on raising debt ceiling
Discussion:
Hot Air
Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:
Tom Harkin: House Republicans Have Morphed Into ‘A Cult’
Tom Harkin: House Republicans Have Morphed Into ‘A Cult’
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Daily Caller
Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House says Obama could agree to short-term debt ceiling hike
White House says Obama could agree to short-term debt ceiling hike
Discussion:
The Hill and Big Government
Courtney Comstock / Clusterstock:
Goldman Just Held A Call On The Debt Ceiling — Here's Judd Gregg's Bearish Prediction
Goldman Just Held A Call On The Debt Ceiling — Here's Judd Gregg's Bearish Prediction
Discussion:
James Pethokoukis
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Cantor's wealthy backers: raise our taxes — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has scuttled any possible debt-reduction compromise, insisting House Republicans can't agree to so much as a penny in new revenue. Every tax cut billionaires enjoy is sacred; every corporate-jet owner mustn't …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
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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:
TPMDC, Crooks and Liars and Washington Post
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House Dem opposition rises against McConnell fallback debt-ceiling plan
House Dem opposition rises against McConnell fallback debt-ceiling plan
Discussion:
The Politico, Slate, Washington Post, Hot Air and New York Times
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.
Discussion:
This Just In, Felix Salmon, The Reaction, Gawker, Shakesville and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
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:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, Raw Replay and Glittarazzi
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Christian Heinze / GOP 12:
Palin: Journalists can learn from me
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Pawlenty says WH hopefuls must be able do the job — Tim Pawlenty moved closer Wednesday to raising doubts about Michele Bachmann's fitness for office. — While repeating his previous comments that he'd defer to doctors on Bachmann's particular health situation, Pawlenty said broadly …
Discussion:
National Review, ThinkProgress, GOP 12, TPMDC and Shakesville, more at Mediagazer »
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Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Wasserman Schultz brushes off West email — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is dismissing Tuesday's personal attack by Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) as political bluster, not a hatchet job on the congresswoman, her office said Tuesday. — “I don't think that Congressman West is upset …
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Fox News:
Rep. West Stands by Email Calling Wasserman Schultz ‘Vile, Despicable and Cowardly’ — WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Allen West of Florida is standing by an incendiary email he sent to a Democratic colleague after she criticized him in a speech on the House floor.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative
JSOnline:
Democratic senator Hansen retains seat in recall attempt — Tea party activist, attorney are winners in Republican primaries — By Tom Tolan, Lee Bergquist and Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel — Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay was the first of nine state senators …
Discussion:
CNN, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
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First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Disconnect — Disconnect between Obama …
First Thoughts: Disconnect — Disconnect between Obama …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly and New York Magazine
Tina Korbe / Hot Air:
Report: Private sector job creation ground to a halt almost instantly after Obamacare passed — A new report out yesterday from The Heritage Foundation shows private sector job creation dropped dramatically almost immediately after President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) into law.
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James Sherk / Heritage Foundation:
Recovery Stalled After Obamacare Passed
Recovery Stalled After Obamacare Passed
Discussion:
National Review, The Heritage Foundation, The Gateway Pundit and Pajamas Media
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 Taegan Goddard's …
Ron Nixon / New York Times:
Cost-Cutters, Except When the Spending Is Back Home — WASHINGTON — Freshman House Republicans who rode a wave of voter discontent into office last year vowed to stop out-of-control spending, but that has not stopped several of them from quietly trying to funnel millions of federal dollars into projects back home.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice and Politics
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Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Getting Specific on Spending
Getting Specific on Spending
Discussion:
A plain blog about politics and Mother Jones
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Christie on the decline — Chris Christie's popularity has declined significantly over the first half of 2011 and he would have a very difficult time winning reelection if voters in New Jersey went to the polls today. — Only 43% of voters in the state approve of the job Christie is doing to 53% who disapprove.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller and GOP 12
Robert Greenstein / Off the Charts Blog:
Clarifying Some Misunderstandings about the “Gang of Six” Plan — Some of the early reporting on the deficit reduction plan that the Senate's “Gang of Six” released today appears to have incorrectly or incompletely described two principal elements of the plan: its reductions in health care programs and its revenue increases.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Hill, The New Republic and Daily Kos
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ThinkProgress:
NOM Rabbi Blames Gay Marriage For 8 Year Old's Murder — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) recently invited Rabbi Yehuda Levin to join them at a rally protesting New York's same sex marriage bill, despite Levin's long history of offensive comments.
Discussion:
Good As You, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.
Jonnie Marbles / Guardian:
Why I foam-pied Rupert Murdoch | Jonnie Marbles — Some people might think my action played into Murdoch's hands, but I did it for all the people who couldn't — First things first: I don't hate octogenarians. I don't have a vendetta against anyone over 80 who likes to begrudgingly give evidence to parliamentary committees.
Discussion:
David Allen Green, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Marbury, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Rumsfeld had role in Perry meeting — Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld helped organize Rick Perry's foreign policy and national security briefing in Austin last Wednesday, Rumsfeld's staff confirmed today. — Perry's aides have been tight-lipped about the gathering …
Discussion:
The Note, Pajamas Media, GOP 12 and National Review
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Is Grassley Hinting That Maggie Gallagher Was Too Scared To Testify Against DOMA? — During his opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on repealing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) vehemently defended the discriminatory law and reiterated …
Discussion:
Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
State Dept. contract officer steers $52 million to secret husband, daughter — A special investigation by The Daily Caller has discovered that a State Department contract specialist participated in awarding more than $52 million in taxpayer-funded contracts to a company owned and operated by her husband and daughter.
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review and International Liberty
Jennifer Gould Keil / New York Post:
Mike's fore! score — Mayor Bloomberg is quietly purchasing a Hamptons estate that's fit for a king! — Hizzoner discreetly signed a contract for a staggering $20 million Georgian mansion on a 35-acre spread that neighbors an exclusive golf course, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Politics, PolitickerNY, Runnin' Scared and New York Magazine
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
The tide of public opinion keeps turning — For the better part of the year, congressional Republicans were able to argue, accurately, that Americans opposed raising the debt ceiling. It was arguably the only honest claim the GOP made in this debate: poll after poll showed public opposition to doing the right thing.
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:
Conservatives4Palin
Center for American Progress:
Interactive Map: No Debt Limit Increase Means Big Cuts to State Services — On August 2, if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, the United States will have its credit rating downgraded, interest rates will likely rise dramatically, and the federal government will be forced …
Discussion:
TPMDC and ThinkProgress