memeorandum: Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics (Pew Social & Demographic Trends)

10:25 PM ET, July 26, 2011

Top Items:

David Rogers / The Politico:

CBO: John Boehner's debt bill comes up short — On the eve of a House vote, new cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office could pose a problem for Speaker John Boehner as he tries to rally conservative support for his two-step plan to raise the federal debt ceiling and avert default next week.

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway and The Note

The Hill:

Cantor tells GOP to ‘stop whining’ about Boehner debt-ceiling plan — Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday bluntly told House Republicans to stop “grumbling and whining” about Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) new proposal for a limited debt-limit increase.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Politico, CNN, Crooks and Liars, Club for Growth, James Pethokoukis, Hullabaloo, Erick's blog, The Note, The Page, Wall Street Journal, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, JustOneMinute and cbpp.org

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Dems plot the endgame in debt limit fight — So now what? Now that Dems and Republicans have unveiled competing plans for the way forward — and now that both sides have dug in — what happens next? — Here's the game plan, as seen by Senate Dem aides: The next move is to sit tight …

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Daily Kos, The Hill, Roll Call, The Caucus, National Review and Hot Air

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Boehner to rework his debt-ceiling bill — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will rework his two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found the bill would not cut as much spending as promised. — “We're here to change Washington - no more smoke-and-mirrors …

Discussion: RedState, nation.foxnews.com and ThinkProgress

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

New polls confirm Obama's Democratic base crumbles — With all of the spotlights on the high-stakes debt maneuverings by President Obama and Speaker John Boehner the last few days, few people noticed what Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders said: — “I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

Daniel Stone / Yahoo! News:

Analysis: U.S. credit downgrade ‘inevitable’ — The deadlock over raising the U.S. debt ceiling continued to weigh on stocks ...more — Only seven days stand between the U.S. and the effects of a credit default. But a downgrade of the nation's stellar AAA credit rating seems a lot more likely, and a lot sooner.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, YID With LID and Hot Air

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Cat To Emerge from Bag? — There's an interesting possibility, even a likelihood, we may see unfold over the coming days. And if it happens, we might find out quickly whether there's a limit past which consensus opinion, the Wall Street/business interests who hold such a sway over national politics …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Washington Times:
House GOP revolts against Boehner plan

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Red Dog Report and Associated Press

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Boehner's truth allergy

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, The New Republic, ThinkProgress, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, CBS News and Daily Kos

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Oof: CBO says Boehner's bill would save less than $1T over 10 years …

Discussion: National Review and Weasel Zippers

CBO's Latest 10 Documents:
ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT ON THE DEFICIT OF THE BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011 AS PROPOSED IN THE HOUSE

Discussion: Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

Alicia M.Cohn / The Hill:
Boehner says his plan's deficit committee will not raise taxes

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, The Democratic Daily, The Note, Jared Bernstein, Little Green Footballs and CNN

Charles Babington / Associated Press:
House GOP to rework budget plan after new estimate

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus and Daily Kos

The Note:
Michele Bachmann Opposes Boehner Debt Plan: ‘The Premise Is Wrong’

Discussion: Pajamas Media, TPMDC, Political Punch, HotAirPundit and The Hill

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid vows to defeat Boehner plan

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Cantor to GOP: Quit whining and vote

Nancy Scola / The Atlantic Online:
With Call to Action, Obama Brings Down the House

Discussion: The Daily Pulp, The Huffington Post and Prairie Weather

New York Times:
Vote on Boehner Plan Delayed Amid Opposition

Discussion: Hullabaloo and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Cantor: ‘The debt limit vote sucks’

Discussion: The Politico, The Note and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

New York Post:
Bam's Desperation — President Obama likes to present himself …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and National Review

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
NOPE! Top House Conservatives Says Boehner Lacks Sufficient GOP Support To Raise Debt Limit

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The New Republic and The Politico

Fred Thompson / National Review:

An Open Letter to the GOP — As someone who understands the pressures and difficulties you have been going through, I want to say, “Congratulations.” You won, and so did the country. — Absent some major miscalculations, within the next few days there will be official acknowledgement of what has already happened.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Shakesville

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Not Leveling with Viewers — It's been said many times. But it's never enough: the conventions of journalistic ‘objectivity’, as currently defined, frequently make journalists violate their biggest duty, which is honesty with readers. The top headline running now on CNN reads …

Discussion: Foreign Policy

Christina Marcos / The Hill:

Rep. Gutierrez arrested outside White House for second time — Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was arrested outside the White House on Tuesday during a protest against immigrant deportation, a spokesman confirmed. — Gutierrez spokesman Douglas Rivlin said the congressman was arrested …

Discussion: NBC Chicago and CNN

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard: White House's Carney on President's Debt Ceiling Plan: ‘You Need it Written Down?’

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:
Guy Benson White House: Asking for Obama's Specific Debt Plan is a “Republican Talking Point”

Discussion: Pirate's Cove and The Daily Caller

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
WH press corps hammers Carney: How come Obama hasn't produced his own debt-ceiling plan?

Discussion: Townhall.com and The Other McCain

Bryan Preston / Pajamas Media:
Unbelievable: Obama White House Stubbornly Refusing to Release Any Written Debt Plan (Update: Video Added)

Discussion: Sense of Events and Big Journalism

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

SwiftVets revenge — The Navy Times (no link) reported last week that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus stripped the Silver Star from a Vietnam swift boat veteran, Capt. Wade Sanders: — “Had the subsequently determined facts and evidence surrounding both the incident for which the award …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Thomas Lifson / americanthinker.com:

Kerry spokesman stripped of Silver Star — John F. Kerry almost became president running on the basis of his alleged heroism in Vietnam. Thanks to the efforts of a group of truth-tellers, the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, the serious holes in the fantasy narrative propounded …

Discussion: The Other McCain

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Public Wants a Debt Ceiling Compromise, Expects a Deal Before Deadline — GOP Widely Viewed as ‘More Extreme in Its Positions’ — OVERVIEW — The public overwhelmingly favors a compromise in the debt ceiling standoff. And even as negotiations aimed at resolving the issue show little progress …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Taegan Goddard's …, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Booman Tribune, Politics and Balloon Juice

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Debt ceiling poll: Voters with Obama

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

Pat Buchanan: Norwegian Right-Wing Terrorist ‘Breivik May Be Right’ — Today, in a World Net Daily op-ed, failed presidential candidate and conservative pundit Pat Buchanan offers an example of the ethnic bigotry and racial insensitivity that has come to define him.

Discussion: WorldNetDaily, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Newshoggers.com, Sky Dancing, Mediaite, Pharyngula, New Atlanticist and New York Times

Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. / The Jawa Report:
On Islamophobia and Right Wing Extremism

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Jihad Watch

Paul Krugman:

The Cult That Is Destroying America — Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it's increasingly obvious that what we're looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Andy Kroll / Mother Jones:

Michele Bachmann's $4,700 Hair and Makeup Bill — Considering Rep. Michele Bachmann's crusade against government spending and her demand that America live within its means, you wouldn't figure her for a conspicuous spender. But after launching her bid for the White House …

Discussion: The Blotter, Taylor Marsh, Big Journalism, National Review, The Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Shakesville

WQAD-TV:
Bachmann walks away from WQAD

Discussion: Truth Wins Out, ThinkProgress, The Note, Towleroad News #gay and The Washington Independent

Associated Press:

Congressman Resigns in Sex Scandal — WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. David Wu of Oregon announced Tuesday that he will resign amid political fallout from an 18-year-old woman's allegations she had an unwanted sexual encounter with him. — Within days of the allegation …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Wonkette and Taylor Marsh

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Wu to Resign From Congress

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Indecision Forever and American Power

David Jackson / USA Today:

Michelle Obama praises McDonald's — First lady Michelle Obama, who has made the fight against childhood obesity a major part of her platform, praised McDonald's today for plans to add apples to Happy Meals and other new nutritional projects. — Obama's statement: … The Associated Press reports:

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative and The Raw Story

Emily York / Los Angeles Times:
McDonald's to make Happy Meals more healthful

Discussion: ThinkProgress

JTA:

Envoy contrasts terror in Israel, Norway — JERUSALEM (JTA) — Norway's ambassador to Israel drew distinctions between the Oslo and Utoya massacres and Palestinian terrorism. — Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Atlas Shrugs, Israel Matzav and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

David Dayen / news.firedoglake.com:

British Economy, After Austerity, at Zero Growth in the Past Nine Months — What's amazing about this debt limit debate, and the headlong rush to austerity, is that we have empirical evidence of what can result, in this kind of economy, when you massively roll back spending.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Eschaton