memeorandum: Herman Cain dominates Denver straw poll; Rick Perry second (Alexander Burns/The Politico)

6:40 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.

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Dems, GOP Float Eye-Popping Debt Limit Compromise

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, The Note, Hullabaloo, Don Surber, CNN, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, The New Republic and RedState

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
The end of Harry Reid as we know it

Discussion: PoliPundit.com and The Note

The Note:
Caution on Capitol Hill: ‘Nothing Is Agreed to Until Everything Is Agreed to’

Discussion: Mediaite and Hot Air

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

GOP ready to declare victory in debt fight — Republicans on Sunday framed an emerging debt ceiling agreement as largely giving them what they wanted in a debt deal. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also pushed back Sunday against suggestions the prolonged fight over raising …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and CNN

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

Griping begins as debt deal specifics emerge — Members of Congress from both parties fear their leaders may have conceded too much ground in an emerging deal to raise the debt ceiling, a sign of how difficult it'll be for a sweeping plan to be signed into law before the government begins to default on its debt later this week.

Discussion: The Page and Taegan Goddard's …

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Senate Votes Down Reid Bill, Awaits Obama/McConnell Spending-Cut-Only Debt Limit Bill — Shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, the Senate voted down Majority Leader Harry Reid's debt limit bill. — That plan has been outmoded by a new one, hammered out by the White House and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that's still being finalized.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Daily Kos

Washington Wire:
Live Blog: The U.S. Debt Battle

Discussion: Bearing Drift, NewsBusters.org, Calculated Risk and Wall Street Journal

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill: McCarthy: GOP still wants balanced budget amendment

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
McConnell: 'We're very close' to a deal

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, Sky Dancing, The Note and The Hill

The Caucus:
McConnell Sees Deal “Very Close”; Focus Is on Triggers for Cuts

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:

Negotiating All But Done for $2.7 Trillion Deficit Reduction Deal ... Now Comes the Selling — Sources from both parties tell ABC News that the major potential roadblock in deficit negotiations— the triggers — are now essentially agreed upon. The plan is for the House to vote on this tomorrow, assuming all goes according to plan.

Discussion: The Note, Crooks and Liars, Hit & Run, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Hot Air, Hullabaloo and The Daily Dish

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

Democrats will lose now. But they can win later. — Democrats are going to lose this one. The first stage of the emerging deal doesn't include revenue, doesn't include stimulus, and lets Republicans pocket a trillion dollars or more in cuts without offering anything to Democrats in return.

Discussion: emptywheel and DISSENTING JUSTICE

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
W.H. ‘fine’ with no new revenues until 2013

Discussion: CNN

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate conservatives say they don't plan to delay consideration of debt-limit deal — Senate Republican conservatives say they do not plan to delay a bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling, giving Congress a chance to make the Aug. 2 deadline set by President Obama.

Discussion: The Note, Washington Post, TPMDC and Daily Kos

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Sen. Reid signs off on bipartisan debt-ceiling compromise — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has signed off on a bipartisan deal between President Obama and GOP leaders to raise the debt limit. — After meeting with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) …

Discussion: Pajamas Media

The Hill:
Senate Dems discuss emerging deal

Discussion: The Other McCain, Reuters and Daily Kos

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Senate Blocks Reid's Debt Ceiling Plan

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Fox News:
Senate Negotiators Scramble to Finalize Debt Deal After Reid Bill Tanks

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Michelle Malkin and The Other McCain

New York Times:
Reid Backs Debt Deal; Defense Cuts Still in Debate

Discussion: The Caucus, TalkLeft, Wall Street Journal and Daily Kos

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: Balkinization, Don Surber, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and Suburban Guerrilla

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

GOP on verge of huge, unprecedented political victory — By all accounts, it looks like a deal is about to be announced in which the debt ceiling is hiked in exchange for the promise of major spending cuts, including to entitlements, totalling at least $2.4 trillion.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Herman Cain dominates Denver straw poll; Rick Perry second — Herman Cain easily won the Western Conservative Summit presidential straw poll Sunday, drawing 246 ballots out of 508 cast and beating his nearest runner-up by a 179-vote margin. — Second-place contender Rick Perry took 67 votes, or 13 percent, to Cain's 48 percent.

Discussion: The Raw Story

The Note:
Herman Cain wins Western Conservative Summit Straw Poll; Rick Perry Second

Discussion: CNN

Dan / Riehl World View:

Jennifer Rubin Is An A**hole — Sorry, but there's really no other word for it. Talk about someone with a malfunction. You write for the Washington Post now, sweetie. You need to grow up and at least write like an adult, even if you can't manage to think like one.

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
A deal comes together

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Bring Back Poppy — WATCHING today's Republicans being led around by an extremist Tea Party faction, with no adult supervision, I find my mind drifting back to the late 1980s when I was assigned to cover the administration of George H.W. Bush, who I believe is one of our most underrated presidents.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers, The Moderate Voice, NewsBusters.org and Daily Kos

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: Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, Grasping Reality … and TPMDC

ABCNEWS:

‘This Week’ Transcript: David Plouffe and Lindsey Graham — AMANPOUR (voice-over): This week, the endgame. — MCCONNELL: Our country is not going to default for the first time in history. That is not going to happen. — AMANPOUR: Now, at the 11th hour, perhaps some cause for optimism.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars