Top Items:
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.
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The Politico:
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.
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:
Michelle Malkin, nation.foxnews.com, The Note, The New Republic, TPMDC, Oliver Willis, The Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and iOwnTheWorld.com
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, Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, The Hill, CNN, Politics, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Dish, Pajamas Media, Taylor Marsh, Crooks and Liars and Hullabaloo
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, The Hill, Little Green Footballs, Taegan Goddard's …, Politics and The Hill
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 …
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 …
Washington Post:
House Republicans delay vote on Boehner debt plan — Responding to Obama's appeal in a speech Monday night for Americans to contact their members of Congress to urge them to adopt his “balanced approach” to deficit reduction, callers flooded Capitol telephone circuits Tuesday morning …
Discussion:
The Hill, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Salon, Big Government, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Wonkette, Gawker, ThinkProgress, Taegan Goddard's …, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, Dependable Renegade and White House.gov Blog
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.
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Boehner: ‘A Lot’ Of Republicans Want To Force Default, Create ‘Enough Chaos’ To Pass Balanced Budget Amendment
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
House Republicans Psyche Themselves Up By Watching Ben Affleck Prepare To Beat Some Guys Up
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Garlic
The Atlantic Online:
Conservative Caucus Apologizes for Emails Attacking Boehner Plan
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
John Stanton / Roll Call:
Republicans Dress Down Jim Jordan, RSC Aide
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and TPMDC
New York Times:
Boehner Issues Blunt Warning to Dissenters to Back Plan
Discussion:
The Caucus and The Mahablog
Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
After Aiding Republicans, Business Groups Press Them on Debt Ceiling
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog News and The BLT
TPMDC:
CIVIL WAR: GOP Coalition Splinters Into Open Conflict Over Debt Ceiling
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, FreedomWorks blogs, The Hill, FrumForum and Swampland
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Cat To Emerge from Bag?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, Whiskey Fire, The Mahablog, The New Republic, TPMDC, Discourse.net and Balloon Juice
Al Kamen / Washington Post:
Religious groups: Debt ceiling is a moral issue
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Bearing Drift
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:
The Daily Hurricane and Big Government
RELATED:
The Politico:
Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default — It's not the default that strikes the most fear in the White House and Congress these days. It's the downgrade. — Even Republican leaders say the country can't go into default, and they'll do everything possible to raise the debt limit by Aug. 2.
RELATED:
Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
U.S. May Have Way to Cover Bills After Deadline, for Week
Discussion:
The Politico, JustOneMinute, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, YID With LID, www.thetakeaway.org, Political Punch and Politics
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:
Washington Monthly, Salon, Red Dog Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, Pajamas Media and nation.foxnews.com
RELATED:
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
New Tone: NY Times Columnist Says Tea Party Is Hezbollah Faction of GOP
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and Pirate's Cove
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:
Salon, The Jawa Report, Via Meadia, Top of the Ticket and Reuters
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.
Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:
ATF Manager says he shared Fast and Furious Info with White House — At a lengthy hearing on ATF's controversial gunwalking operation today, a key ATF manager told Congress he discussed the case with a White House National Security staffer as early as September 2010.
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Nice Deb and Wizbang
RELATED:
Richard A. Serrano / Los Angeles Times:
FBI report at odds with ATF claim on weapons
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
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
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:
Big Journalism, The Awl and Althouse
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