memeorandum: Bachmann Defends Using Federal Loans She Denounced: 'It's Almost Impossible To Buy A Home' Without Them (Marie Diamond/ThinkProgress)

9:50 PM ET, July 28, 2011

Top Items:

Payback may be coming for congressman's ‘disloyalty’ — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's open defiance of Speaker John Boehner's efforts to solve the debt-ceiling crisis could cost the Urbana Republican his safe seat in next year's election. — Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring …

Discussion: The Politico, Ballot Box, Hotline On Call, Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, RedState, The Hill, ThinkProgress, The Right Scoop, Booman Tribune and AmSpecBlog

The Politico:

Boehner strongarms GOP in vote delay — House Republican leaders delayed a vote on Speaker John Boehner's debt limit bill Thursday evening, sparking a series of emergency meetings and arm twisting as the fate of a trillion dollar deficit package hung in limbo.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Bearing Drift, Ben Smith's Blog, The Hill, The Note, PolitickerNY, Hotline On Call, CNN, The Gavel, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Page, The Camp Of The Saints, Booman Tribune, New York Times and The Other McCain

ThinkProgress:

ThinkProgress Vote Count: 23 House Republicans Publicly Oppose Boehner Plan — Tonight at around 6 p.m., the House of Representatives will vote on the Boehner plan, which would create another debt ceiling crisis in less than six months and likely lead to a downgrade in U.S. credit.

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Post, AMERICAblog News, Washington Monthly, The Caucus and Daily Kos

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Dems suggest compromise on debt — Democrats are aiming for a debt-limit compromise similar to the House Republican plan, with at least one major difference: The second vote on raising the debt ceiling would not depend on Congress passing a broader deficit-reduction package.

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, The Right Scoop, PERRspectives, The Hill and Booman Tribune

Chris Edwards / Cato @ Liberty:

Boehner's New Plan Doesn't Cut Spending — House Speaker John Boehner has revised his budget plan in response to an unfavorable analysis by the CBO. The CBO has examined Boehner's new plan and finds that it would cut spending by $917 billion over 10 years. Of the total, only $761 billion would be cuts to programs.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, americanthinker.com, The Daily Dish, FreedomWorks blogs and Hot Air

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

Bachmann: Debt impasse is not an emergency — Washington (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann again brushed off warnings from leaders in both parties that the country would face disastrous economic consequences if the government fails to raise the debt ceiling by next Tuesday.

Discussion: The Politico, The Note, USA Today, GOP 12, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway and The New Republic

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Conservatives angry over Pell Grant funding in Boehner debt bill — House conservatives who have stalled legislation to raise the national debt limit are angry that it includes $17 billion in supplemental spending for Pell Grants, which some compare to welfare.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Five Reasons the House GOP Is to Blame

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation and Blogcritics

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:
Nancy Pelosi: Kiss your Medicare goodbye

Discussion: Gretawire, Weekly Standard, USA Today, Weasel Zippers, Babalú Blog, The Lonely Conservative, The Reid Report and The Daily Hurricane

Joe Klein / Swampland:
Republicans' Debt Ceiling Charade Is Downright Dangerous

Discussion: Mother Jones

Thomas Sowell / Real Clear Politics:
Ideals vs. Realities

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
New White House talking point: House GOP plan will ruin your Christmas

Discussion: RealClearPolitics Video Log, Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
What the final deal is likely to look like

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, A plain blog about politics and TalkLeft

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Cantor to Reid: Pass House bill or default is your responsibility

Discussion: TPMDC and Washington Monthly

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
House Republicans Unprepared For Senate Rejection Of Boehner Debt Limit Plan

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic Wire, CNN, Daily Kos, Hot Air and AMERICAblog News, more at Mediagazer »

James Taylor / Yahoo! News:

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism — NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Climate Science, Weasel Zippers, Power Line, Wizbang, Questions and Observations, Michelle Malkin, YID With LID, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, Red Dog Report, Vox Popoli, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Moonbattery and Pajamas Media

Becky Bohrer / Yahoo! News:
APNewsBreak: Arctic scientist under investigation

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Whiskey Fire, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Lonely Conservative, JammieWearingFool and Pajamas Media

Jimijams / Media Matters for America: Fox News Watch's Scott: “Maybe it's time for the granola-crunching press to change its doom …

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Congressional Freshmen - For Such A Time As This — Out here in proverbial politico flyover country, we little folk are watching the debt ceiling debate with great interest and concern. Today I re-read the open letter I wrote to Republican Freshman Members of Congress in November 2010 …

Discussion: Politics, The Other McCain, National Review, The Camp Of The Saints, Taylor Marsh and The Note

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Palin's Well-Timed Reminder to Freshmen — Sarah Palin has impeccable timing. — The former Republican vice presidential nominee took to her Facebook page Thursday afternoon to warn freshman Republicans in the House that they just might face primary opposition if they cave in to demands by their party to raise the debt ceiling.

Discussion: The Daily Dish and National Review

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Boehner, Short of Support in House, Delays Debt Plan Vote

Discussion: The Caucus, msnbc.com, The Washington Independent and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

FRC Blog:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me...” — Last week in Aspen, Colorado, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas addressed New York's new same-sex marriage law by saying “That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me...”

Discussion: The Note, NOM Blog, ThinkProgress, Politics, No More Mister Nice Blog, Equality Matters, GOP 12, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay

Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:
Rick Perry Flip Flops On Gay Marriage, Backs Federal Ban

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Crooks and Liars, Truth Wins Out, NOM Blog, Dependable Renegade, GOP 12 and The Atlantic Online

CNN:
Texas Gov. Perry: ‘Gay marriage is not fine with me’

Discussion: The Note, Outside the Beltway, Indecision Forever and Shakesville

Jack M. Balkin / CNN:

3 ways Obama could bypass Congress — Editor's note: Jack M. Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale Law School. His latest book is “Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World” (Harvard University Press 2011). — New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) — Very soon, Congress will raise the debt ceiling.

Discussion: The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, The New Republic and Taylor Marsh

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
The Platinum Coin Option

Discussion: rubber hose

Donald Marron:

Why Do Half of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax? — You may have heard the claim that about half of Americans pay no federal income tax. That's a true fact. My Tax Policy Center colleagues estimate, for example, that 46% of households either will pay no federal income tax in 2011 …

Discussion: The Incidental Economist, Hullabaloo, Democracy in America, Mother Jones, The Daily Dish and TaxVox

The Politico:

Rand Paul: 'I'd rather be a hobbit than a troll' — The “Lord of the Rings” metaphors crept into the debt-limit fight on Thursday, as tea-party heroes fired back at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who mocked members of the conservative grassroots movement as “tea-party hobbits.”

Discussion: Washington Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Wonkette, Ben Smith's Blog, Weasel Zippers, Raw Replay and The Caucus

Judson Phillips / Washington Post:
Why the Tea Party is unyielding on the debt ceiling

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Agonist, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Wake up America, The Politico, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Reid Report

Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Tea Party favorite blasts McCain for ‘hobbit’ rebuke

Discussion: National Review

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

NRSC blasts ‘lewd, violent, anti-Christian’ Dan Savage — With the Massachusetts Democratic Party attacking Senator Scott Brown for refusing to film a video for the “It Gets Better Project,” which offers moral support to gay teens, the National Republican Senatorial Committee came …

Discussion: Box Turtle Bulletin, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog Gay, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:
LGBT Leaders Slam Sen. Brown For Refusing To Participate In ‘It Gets Better’ Video

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Towleroad News #gay

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:

Rep. Joe Walsh Defends Not Paying $117,000 In Child Support: ‘This Is Where Real America Is’ — Last night the Chicago Sun-Times broke the story that Tea Party freshman Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), who has spent months lecturing President Obama and Democrats on fiscal responsibility …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, Salon, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Lynn Sweet, Wonkette, Crooks and Liars, USA Today, The Impolitic, The Daily Hurricane, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Taylor Marsh

Marie Diamond / ThinkProgress:

Bachmann Defends Using Federal Loans She Denounced: 'It's Almost Impossible To Buy A Home' Without Them — GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann (R) has been in hot water in recent weeks for personally taking advantage of hundreds of thousands of dollars in government aid while denouncing the very programs she benefited from.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story, AMERICAblog News and TPMDC

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Obama Loses Ground in 2012 Reelection Bid — In GOP, Romney Leads, Attentive Like Perry, Bachmann Most Visible — OVERVIEW — The sizeable lead Barack Obama held over a generic Republican opponent in polls conducted earlier this year has vanished as his support among independent voters has fallen off.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, CNN, Hotline On Call, Pajamas Media, HotAirPundit and Gallup

Fox News:

EXCLUSIVE: AWOL Soldier Arrested Over Concerns of Possible Second Attack On Fort Hood — At least one U.S. military serviceman has been arrested after raising concerns over another possible attack on Fort Hood, Fox News has learned exclusively. — Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo …

J. David Goodman / The Lede:
Soldier's Arrest Revives Fear at Fort Hood

Discussion: Associated Press, Pajamas Media, AmSpecBlog and The Atlantic Online

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Surveying the Electoral Damage of the Debt Debate — Republicans may not have scored a knockout blow on the policy elements of the debt ceiling debate. But since the remaining proposals consist of entirely of spending cuts while still reducing the debt significantly, the judges ought …

Discussion: Guardian and Daily Kos

New York Times:

New Hacking Case Outrages Britain — LONDON — Britain was awash in a new surge of outrage over the phone hacking scandal on Thursday, as news emerged that Scotland Yard had added to the list of probable victims a woman whose 8-year-old daughter was murdered by a repeat sex offender in 2000.