Top Items:
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, Outside the Beltway and Booman Tribune
RELATED:
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 and The Hill
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, Washington Post and Crooks and Liars
Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
White House may be open to short-term debt deal — The White House signaled Wednesday that President Obama could accept a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling, but only if it appeared lawmakers were close to an agreement on a significant deficit reduction plan.
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
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
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, The Western Experience and Big Government
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, Washington Post, Slate, Hot Air and New York Times
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.
RELATED:
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Is Grassley Hinting That Maggie Gallagher Was Too Scared To Testify Against DOMA?
Is Grassley Hinting That Maggie Gallagher Was Too Scared To Testify Against DOMA?
Discussion:
Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay
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
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 »
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:
Washington Wire, National Review, TPMDC, Minnesota Independent, ThinkProgress, GOP 12 and Shakesville, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
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:
Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media and Don Surber
RELATED:
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:
CNN, The Note, USA Today, National Review, Sky Dancing, The Washington Independent and GOP 12
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
RELATED:
Christian Heinze / GOP 12:
Palin: Journalists can learn from me
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
Juana Summers / The Politico:
Candidates face off on Twitter — The first-ever Twitter presidential debate on Wednesday afternoon was a chance for the six participating Republican candidates to showcase their differing levels of social media savvy. — Newt Gingrich, who has the biggest Twitter following in the field …
Discussion:
CNN
RELATED:
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:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Joe. My. God.
RELATED:
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
RELATED:
Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:
Getting Specific on Spending
Getting Specific on Spending
Discussion:
Mother Jones, A plain blog about politics and The Daily Dish
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:
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:
Conservatives4Palin
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
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, Tim Blair, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine
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:
msnbc.com, CNN, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
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.
Discussion:
National Review, Heritage Foundation, Pajamas Media and The Gateway Pundit
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