memeorandum: “Fiscally Responsible Punk Rock Music” (John Hinderaker/Power Line)

12:05 PM ET, July 31, 2011

Top Items:

Congressional Sources: Republicans and Democrats Reach Tentative Debt Deal — ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@JonKarl) reports: — Democratic and Republican Congressional sources involved in the negotiations tell ABC News that a tentative agreement has been reached on the framework of a deal …

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:

Outlines of Debt Compromise Emerge — An announcement could come as early as Sunday afternoon. — Here are the outlines of a debt-ceiling deal that congressional leaders and the Obama White House are firming up in preparation for a possible announcement as early as Sunday afternoon.

Discussion: TPMDC, Maggie's Notebook, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Betsy's Page, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Sky Dancing, Viking Pundit, Weekly Standard and The Atlantic Online

The Note:

Caution on Capitol Hill: ‘Nothing Is Agreed to Until Everything Is Agreed to’ — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — There is caution on Capitol Hill about a tentative deal being reached. — As the mantra here goes, “nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.”

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite and Hot Air

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

A deal comes together — Two senior Republican offices have confirmed that while the outlines of a debt-ceiling deal are in place, no “paper” has been exchanged. The agreement would take the country through the 2012 election, but the Boehner bill two-step cutting process would remain.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Riehl World View

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

McConnell: 'We're very close' to a deal — Washington (CNN) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that a deal to raise the debt ceiling is “very close.” — Appearing on CNN's “State of the Union,” the Kentucky senator said Republicans and Democrats “made dramatic progress” …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Dems, GOP Float Eye-Popping Debt Limit Compromise — Very late on Saturday, multiple reports sketched out the framework of a debt limit compromise President Obama has struck with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). — As noted here, the issue under contention was the design of a so-called …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Note, Hullabaloo and The Daily Caller

Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg:
White House, Republicans Said to Reach Tentative Deal on U.S. Debt Ceiling

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, NationalJournal.com and The Agonist

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Amid New Talks, Some Optimism on Debt Crisis

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politics, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Prairie Weather, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog News, Calculated Risk and U.S. Senate Republican …

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
BREAKING: Dems Delay Debt Limit Test Vote

Discussion: Open Congress, Salon, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, New York Times and Booman Tribune

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:
Pelosi: Boehner went to ‘dark side’

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, The Note, Ballot Box, Pirate's Cove, Weasel Zippers, The Hill, The Hill and Outside the Beltway

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Economists: Now is wrong time for Congress to cut spending

Discussion: Liberty Street, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice and Firedoglake

Michelle Malkin:
Saturday night Kabuki bickerfest; Update: Sunday Senate Vote Pushed Back to 1pm; Backroom deal details emerge

Discussion: The Politico, USA Today, PoliPundit.com, The Hill, theblogprof, The Other McCain, Firedoglake and AmSpecBlog

CNN:
Democrats, Republicans disagree on state of debt talks

Discussion: The Politico, Sky Dancing, CANNONFIRE and Pajamas Media

The Note:
Reid Dismisses GOP Letter Against His Bill, Says His Bill Is ‘Only Game In Town’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David Rogers / The Politico:
Senate debt vote delay is sign of hope

Discussion: CNN

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Forty-three GOP senators pledge opposition to Reid debt-ceiling plan

Discussion: The Note, Outside the Beltway and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

NationalJournal.com:
No Compromise in Sight on Debt as Congress Heads into Saturday Session

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Atlantic Online, Hot Air and Washington Post

Stanley B. Greenberg / New York Times:

Why Voters Tune Out Democrats — Stanley B. Greenberg is the chief executive of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, a polling company that works with center-left political parties in the United States and abroad. — BARACK OBAMA can't catch a break from the American public on the economy …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and Suburban Guerrilla

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Tempest in a Tea Party — SO I was chatting with Chris Coons, the new Democratic senator from Delaware who had a rare win over the Tea Party when he beat loony Christine “I've Dabbled in Witchcraft but I Am Not a Witch” O'Donnell in the midterms. — Coons is a smart guy who's alarmed …

Discussion: Reuters, Weasel Zippers and Althouse

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Rep. McCotter calls for a truce between Republicans, Tea Party

Discussion: Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway and sisu

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Compromise In The Works — The rumored deals flying around Washington today all sound pretty bad. And how could they not be? The White House started with a position that: … But (1) and (3) were in significant tension. The White House strategy for getting (3) was to persuade the public that (3) was the correct position.

Discussion: Grasping Reality …

Suzy Khimm / Washington Post:

Why any debt-ceiling deal will squeeze the states — No matter how the debt-ceiling fight is resolved in Congress, it's going to end poorly for the states. — If the country defaults, the states will be plunged into an immediate financial crisis: Investor confidence in government assets across …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Suburban Guerrilla

CNN:

Iran state media: Man spared punishment of blinding by acid — Tehran, Iran (CNN) — A man convicted of blinding a woman in an acid attack was spared an eye-for-an-eye punishment Sunday, minutes before the sentence was to be carried out, Iranian state media reported.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Rightward Tilt Leaves Obama With Party Rift — WASHINGTON — However the debt limit showdown ends, one thing is clear: under pressure from Congressional Republicans, President Obama has moved rightward on budget policy, deepening a rift within his party heading into the next election.

Discussion: The Note, Corrente and The Agonist