memeorandum: Standard and Poor's Should Not Be Able to Play Kingmaker in the 2012 Election (Jane Hamsher/Firedoglake)

4:50 PM ET, July 27, 2011

Top Items:

GOP in chaos — Scrambling for votes on his troubled deficit package, Speaker John Boehner bluntly told wavering GOP lawmakers Wednesday morning to “get your ass in line” behind his debt ceiling bill. — Boehner predicted Senate Democrats will fold and pass the Boehner debt bill if it can get through the House.

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Hotline On Call, Politics, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, The Caucus, National Review, HotAirPundit, Jack & Jill Politics, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Crooks and Liars

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

A Time for Choosing — To govern is to choose. To vote is to choose. To vote against John Boehner on the House floor this week in the biggest showdown of the current Congress is to choose to vote with Nancy Pelosi. To vote against Boehner is to choose to support Barack Obama.

Discussion: National Review, FreedomWorks blogs, Firedoglake, Pundit & Pundette, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Lonely Conservative, TPMDC, The Sundries Shack, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Lean Left, The Right Scoop, Erick's blog, FrumForum, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dish, The Daily Caller and Club for Growth

The Politico:

GOPers chant ‘fire him’ at Paul Teller — House Republicans on Wednesday morning were calling for the firing of the Republican Study Committee top staffer after he was caught sending e-mails to conservative groups urging them to pressure GOP lawmakers to vote against a debt proposal from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Discussion: The Note, New York Times, CNN, Michelle Malkin, nation.foxnews.com, TPMDC, The Daily Caller, The Raw Story, The New Republic, Oliver Willis and iOwnTheWorld.com

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

McCain vs. the Tea Party — Is the old John McCain back? — The fiery, independent version of the Republican senator from Arizona took to the floor of the Senate Wednesday morning. Demanding “straight talk,” Mr. McCain accused conservative opponents of the House Republican leader's plan of abandoning reason in the debt fight.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Connecting.the.Dots, Nice Deb and Balloon Juice

The Note:

McCain Blasts Tea Party for ‘Foolish’ Demands in Debt Debate — ABC News' Sunlen Miller (@sunlenmiller) reports: — As Speaker of the House John Boehner is looking for votes on his House debt bill, one Senate Republican sent a strong message to the Tea Party block in the House and Senate …

Discussion: The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs, The Hill, Politics and Taegan Goddard's …

David Rogers / The Politico:

Reid plan's savings trump Boehner's — In the battle of budget scores, the Senate Democrats' deficit reduction bill is the clear leader thus far over an alternative by Speaker John Boehner, which had to be pulled back from the floor Tuesday night for retooling.

Discussion: The Note, Hot Air, The Hill, Politics, Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, The Daily Dish, Pajamas Media, CNN, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog and Hullabaloo

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Boehner: ‘A Lot’ Of Republicans Want To Force Default, Create ‘Enough Chaos’ To Pass Balanced Budget Amendment — House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said today that some members of his own caucus who are refusing to agree to a compromise debt ceiling deal are hoping to unleash “chaos” …

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Sky Dancing

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Dem lawmaker: ‘Nobody I know’ has seen Reid plan — A House Democrat indicated Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) might not have Democrat votes locked down for his deficit proposal. — “I'm not going to commit to something that nobody I know has seen and had a chance to analyze …

Discussion: The Politico

Wall Street Journal:

The GOP's Reality Test — Republicans who oppose Boehner's debt deal are playing into Obama's hands. — The debt-limit debate is heading toward a culmination, with President Obama reduced to pleading for the public to support a tax increase and Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority …

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Quote of the Day — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is obviously scrambling to secure as much Republican support for his budget plan as possible, and took his sales pitch to Laura Ingraham's radio show this morning. One line in particular stood out:

Discussion: The Hill, The Hill, A plain blog about politics and Daily Kos

Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
The Clearest Sign Yet That Boehner's Bill Will Pass the House

Discussion: Prairie Weather and msnbc.com

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Hope For Boehner? Some House Conservatives Closing Ranks On Debt Limit Bill

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Erick's blog, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, The Politico, Harry's Place and Talking Points Memo

Mgroombridge / Decide America:
Conservatives Should Support Boehner Plan

Discussion: CBS News, Pajamas Media and GOP 12

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
No House Dems will vote for Boehner plan, aide says

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Donklephant, Daily Kos, Associated Press, The Politico, Weasel Zippers and The Hill

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: WSJ: Tea Party “hobbits” need to go back to Middle Earth, or something

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
After Aiding Republicans, Business Groups Press Them on Debt Ceiling

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News and The BLT

Marin Cogan / The Politico:
Freshmen coalesce around Boehner plan

Discussion: Hot Air and The New Republic

John Stanton / Roll Call:
Republicans Dress Down Jim Jordan, RSC Aide

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

The Atlantic Online:
Conservative Caucus Apologizes for Emails Attacking Boehner Plan

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Ben Affleck Reacts To House GOP Using Clip From ‘The Town’ In Debt Debate … WASHINGTON — Heads turned a bit on Tuesday night when the Washington Post reported that House Republicans were using a scene from the movie “The Town” as a motivational vignette to encourage members to back Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) debt ceiling plan.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite, USA Today, Big Hollywood, TPMDC and Washington Post

Washington Post:
House Republicans delay vote on Boehner debt plan

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
House Republicans Psyche Themselves Up By Watching Ben Affleck Prepare To Beat Some Guys Up

Discussion: The Reaction

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Dem leaders: GOP using ‘vitriol’ in debt debate by showing Affleck clip

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

House Democrats urge Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment in debt fight — House Democratic leaders are calling on President Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment and raise the debt ceiling without congressional input. — Addressing the House Democratic Caucus on Wednesday morning …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Big Government and The Daily Hurricane

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Clyburn: Invoke the 14th Amendment

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
House Democratic Leaders To Obama: Use The 14th Amendment [UPDATED]

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and FreedomWorks blogs

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
House Dems: If GOP Is Intent On ‘Destroying Government,’ Obama Should Use 14th Amendment To Raise Debt Ceiling

Discussion: Reuters and Indecision Forever

Kris Kitto / The Hill:

50 Most Beautiful People for 2011 — It's no accident that Amy Cheng exhibits model-like poise in front of a camera. Growing up, her family would spend time outside their Chinese restaurant taking photos of one another in a park, and later on, Cheng would pose for her younger sister …

Discussion: Wonkette, FishbowlDC, Gawker and The Daily Caller

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda on brink of collapse — U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed al-Qaeda to the brink of collapse. — The assessment reflects a widespread view …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Salon, Outside the Beltway, Via Meadia, The Jawa Report and Reuters

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

What Does Wall Street Want? — I've been having some disturbing conversations with both finance people and Washington people over the last few days, that have only confirmed the disconnect I wrote about a few weeks ago. Each side is sending signals that the other side is not reading correctly.

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Romney Leads Field of Announced GOP Candidates — Perry would be more competitive with Romney than Palin, Giuliani — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney is the leader for the GOP nomination among the current field of official candidates, supported by 27% of Republicans, compared with 18% for Michele Bachmann.

Discussion: The Hill, USA Today, Politics, The Washington Independent, National Review, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Red Dog Report, Naked Politics, nation.foxnews.com, CNN, Hot Air, msnbc.com, Indecision Forever, GOP 12 and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Douglas Martin / New York Times:

G.D. Spradlin, Prolific Character Actor, Dies at 90 — G. D. Spradlin, whose experience as a corporate lawyer, independent oilman and rancher influenced his nuanced portrayals of authority figures in more than 70 films and television shows, including “The Godfather: Part II” and “Apocalypse Now …

Discussion: Althouse

Zev Chafets / New York Times:

Stinger: James O'Keefe's Greatest Hits — The temperature was hovering near 90 degrees on the afternoon of Memorial Day when James O'Keefe III emerged from the woods and ambled over to my car. He was tall and thin, with pale skin and matted reddish hair. When his mug shot ran in the papers …

Discussion: Mediaite, Big Journalism, Althouse and The Awl

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Standard and Poor's Should Not Be Able to Play Kingmaker in the 2012 Election — Update: S&P is now denying that they endorse the Reid plan. They evidently understand the implications of this kind of “selective disclosure” to big investors.... Standard and Poors is evidently meeting …

Discussion: Dow Jones Newswires and naked capitalism

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Can't We Do This Right? — There is only one thing worse than Republicans and Democrats failing to agree to lift the debt ceiling, and that is lifting the debt ceiling without a well-thought-out plan and with hasty cuts totaling trillions of dollars over a decade.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, Washington Monthly, Salon, Red Dog Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, nation.foxnews.com, Pajamas Media, The Jawa Report and Pirate's Cove

Paul Krugman:

The Guilty Parties — There's actually a simple way to resolve the debt ceiling crisis: non-crazy Republican leaders could support something like the Reid plan — which is, let's be clear, a huge victory for the right and defeat for progressives — and pass it with limited GOP support and overwhelming Democratic support.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and TalkLeft

Peter Jackson / BBC:

Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court — Mr Ainsworth recalls: “I made a prototype and Lucas said 'great, I'll have 50'.” — A prop designer who made the original Stormtrooper helmets for Star Wars has won his copyright battle with director George Lucas over his right to sell replicas.

Discussion: Guardian