memeorandum: REPUBLICANS CHEER DEATH PENALTY at Reagan Library Debate (Video) (Jim Hoft/The Gateway Pundit)

9:50 AM ET, September 8, 2011

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Romney and Perry Clash, Drawing Lines in G.O.P. Sand — SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The fight for the Republican presidential nomination began narrowing into an intense and ideological battle at a debate here Wednesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Mitt Romney sharply clashing over Social Security …

Discussion: Erick's blog, Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, The Caucus, Questions and Observations, Outside the Beltway, The Politico, DownWithTyranny!, Rod Dreher, Bark Bark Woof Woof, 2012 Election Central and The Page

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Fireworks between Perry and Romney erupt early in debate — Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) began sparring over their respective jobs records less than 10 minutes into Wednesday's Republican presidential debate. — The highly-anticipated fight between Romney …

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

REPUBLICANS CHEER DEATH PENALTY at Reagan Library Debate (Video) — Republicans Cheer Death Penalty- — Republicans cheered the death penalty tonight at the GOP debate at the Reagan Library. They cheered again when Governor Rick Perry defended his state's laws. — Brian Williams: Governor Perry a question about Texas.

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Romney adviser: Perry ‘has lost’ — Mitt Romney's campaign leapt just now on Rick Perry's restatement of his view that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and that promising to maintain it in its current form is a “monstrous lie.” — “PERRY DOES NOT BELIEVE SOCIAL SECURITY SHOULD EXIST,” read the headline of Romney's press release.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Pajamas Media and The Politico

Stanley Kurtz / National Review:

Perry Leads — This was a very successful debate debut for Rick Perry. It confirms his position as the leader of the field. As of now, this race is a Perry-Romney duel, but Perry's the one to beat. Romney and Perry were well matched tonight, but Perry's appeal to the base means he's got …

Discussion: Washington Post, Verum Serum, Erick's blog and Rick Perry for President 2012

New York Times:
Attacking the Democrats, but Not Always Getting It Right

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times and Prairie Weather

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Live-Blogging The Third GOP Debate

Discussion: Althouse, A plain blog about politics, Taegan Goddard's … and Saint Petersblog

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Live Blog: Perry Makes His Debate Debut

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Other McCain, Saint Petersblog and New York Times

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Perry begins to show his hand on Social Security

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air

Reuters:

New jobless claims rise to 414,000 last week — A man and woman enter a job fair at the Phoenix Workforce Connection in Phoenix, Arizona August 30, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, further evidence of a weak labor market …

Discussion: Instapundit and americanthinker.com

Bob Willis / Bloomberg:

Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Rose — Claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week, a sign the labor market is struggling to gain traction more than two years after the recession ended. — Jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 414,000 in the week ended Sept. 3, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Why liberals fear the ‘Lochner’ decision — Liberal certitudes continue to dissolve, the most recent solvent being a robust new defense of a 1905 Supreme Court decision that liberals have long reviled — and misrepresented. To understand why the court correctly decided Lochner v. New York …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy

Tim Mak / Reuters:

Dick Cheney: Hillary Clinton should challenge Barack Obama — Go for it, Hillary! — That was former Vice President Dick Cheney's advice to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - take on Barack Obama in 2012. — “I think it would be good for the country [for Clinton to run for president] …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Michael Falcone / Politics:
Dick Cheney to Hillary Clinton: Run!

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and AMERICAblog News

Jonathan Karl / Politics:
Dick Cheney Tells Republican Presidential Candidates To Watch Their Mouths

Discussion: Opinion L.A., nation.foxnews.com and Business Insider

Brad Friedman / MoJo Articles:

Audio: Chris Christie Lets Loose at Secret Koch Brothers Confab — In our exclusive recordings, David Koch introduces the New Jersey governor as “my kind of guy” and “a true political hero.” — Post Comment … On the morning of June 26, Chris Christie, New Jersey's flamboyant …

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, PoliticusUSA, Raw Replay, Philly.com, EconomicPolicyJournal.com, The Washington Independent, AlterNet and The Reaction

Beth DeFalco / Associated Press:
NJ gov met with oil exec before gas pact pullout

Discussion: Citizens for Legitimate …

Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:

Gallup:Obama approval among Hispanics hits new low — President Obama's approval rating among Hispanics hit a new monthly low at 48 percent in August, according to Gallup, another troubling sign as he heads into next year's election. — In 2008, Obama blew out Sen. John McCain …

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Obama Approval Sinks to New Lows Among Whites, Hispanics

Discussion: Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Naked Politics

CBS New York:

Battle For Weiner's Seat In Congress Turns Into Referendum On Obama Policies — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The gloves are off. — The special election to replace Congressman Anthony Weiner has turned downright nasty. — It's as much a referendum on President Barack Obama's policies …

Discussion: Hotline On Call and The Lonely Conservative

Thomas Kaplan / City Room:
In Race for Weiner's Seat, $75,000 From Foes of Same-Sex Marriage

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Al Gore / Al's Journal:

Confronting Disappointment — On Friday afternoon, as brave and committed activists continued their non-violent civil disobedience outside the White House in protest of the tar sands pipeline that would lead to a massive increase in global warming pollution, President Obama ordered the EPA …

Discussion: In Session, Sky Dancing, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Speakeasy, Instapundit, The Politico, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Pajamas Media, The Hill, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, Politics, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News and TPMDC

New York Times:

The Republican Debate at the Reagan Library — The following is a transcript of the 2012 Republican presidential debate on Sept. 7, 2011, in Simi Valley, Calif., as transcribed by Roll Call. — SPEAKERS: REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE — GOV. RICK PERRY, R-TEXAS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Discussion: Post on Politics and The Lonely Conservative

Sheri Jennings / Associated Press:

‘4:44’ Film Billed as Wake-up Call to Humanity — Abel Ferrara made his new film “4:44 Last Day on Earth” to serve as a wake-up call to humanity over impending ecological disasters. — The movie, by the director of 1992's “Bad Lieutenant,” focuses largely on one couple …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Schumer: Some Republicans ‘want the economy to actually fail’ — Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday morning that he believed Republicans in Congress would rather see President Obama defeated than economic improvement that would benefit the country as a whole. — “I think that is true.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

GIBSON CEO WILL ATTEND OBAMA'S JOB SPEECH: Says Federal Raid Will Cost Company $10 Million (Video) — Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told reporters today that the federal raid on the popular American guitar maker will cost the company $10,000,000. Juszkiewicz also said that he will attend …

Discussion: Politics, Shot in the Dark, nation.foxnews.com and Nice Deb

Michael J. Boskin / Wall Street Journal:

The Obama Presidency by the Numbers — The president constantly reminds us that he was dealt a difficult hand. But the evidence is overwhelming that he played it poorly. — When it comes to the economy, presidents, like quarterbacks, often get more credit or blame than they deserve.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Obama jobs plan could cost $300 billion, include tax cuts, new spending — President Obama is preparing to roll out a jobs program Thursday that could cost as much as $300 billion in infrastructure investments and tax cuts, but which aides said will include ways to pay for the programs …

Discussion: The Hill, Jared Bernstein and JammieWearingFool

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
The White House's two priorities

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, Bloomberg, New York Times and TPMDC

Z. Byron Wolf / Politics:

Rick Perry, Galileo and Global Warming — Texas Gov. Rick Perry clung to his skepticism of climate change science in Wednesday's Republican presidential debate when he was asked if he believes man-made climate change is happening. — “The science is not settled on this.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Huffington Post, Guardian and PoliPundit.com

David Rogers / The Politico:

Hill moving fast on spending bills — Keeping faith with the August debt accord, House Republicans and Senate Democrats moved dramatically closer on 2012 domestic spending Wednesday even as the GOP leadership signaled greater latitude regarding disaster funding without immediate offsets.