memeorandum: Centrist Dems Already Trying To Put The Brakes On Obama's Tax Increases (Susan Crabtree/TPMDC)

6:30 PM ET, September 20, 2011

Top Items:

Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:

FACT CHECK: Are rich taxed less than secretaries? — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama makes it sound as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries. — “Middle-class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires,” Obama said Monday.

David Brooks / New York Times:

Obama Rejects Obamaism — I'm a sap, a specific kind of sap. I'm an Obama Sap. — When the president said the unemployed couldn't wait 14 more months for help and we had to do something right away, I believed him. When administration officials called around saying that the possibility …

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:

Chart of the Day: ‘Buffett Rule’ Wouldn't Bring In Much Revenue — This week, President Obama announced a new way for the government to make more money: put a floor on the tax rates that millionaires face. He coined the idea the “Buffett Rule,” after billionaire investor Warren Buffett …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and National Review

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
AP fact check: Secretaries don't pay more taxes than their bosses

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill: DeMint: 'I'd love to see Buffett's tax returns'

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Yup, moderates and independents support taxing the rich

Discussion: New York Magazine, Salon, About.com US Liberal Politics, Capital Gains and Games blogs, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media, The Hill and TaxProf Blog

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Perry Looks Better Against Romney Than Against Obama — Leads Romney by 10 points in “narrow down” but trails Obama — PRINCETON, NJ — Rick Perry leads Mitt Romney by 31% to 24% in a new USA Today/Gallup poll of Republican presidential nomination preferences.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Politico, Iowa Caucuses, Indecision Forever, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, CNN, Campaign 2012, Outside the Beltway, Hotline On Call, RedState and Hot Air

Washington Examiner:
York: Perry locked, loaded for Thursday's debate

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, msnbc.com, Hot Air and Washington Post

Dan Hirschhorn / The Politico:
Santorum: Perry ‘ignores reality’

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Associated Press, CNN, Guardian and National Review

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Perry in Texas — Rick Perry has an under water approval rating …

Discussion: Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, Greg's Opinion and Daily Kos

Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:

In early Obama White House, female staffers felt frozen out — Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the president's tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gawker, iOwnTheWorld.com, National Review, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Business Insider, The Hill, NO QUARTER, The Crawdad Hole, Mediaite, Michelle Malkin, TalkLeft, Big Government, Shakesville and Reuters

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Alter vs. Suskind: Not longing for Clinton — On MSNBC, Jonathan Alter — the author of a more sympathetic book on Obama's first year than Ron Suskind's — offers a different theory of the White House: — ANCHOR: What about the claim he makes about Peter Orzag and Larry Summers saying they were “home alone” in the White House.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Kevinliptak / CNN: Longtime Obama aide to depart White House

Susan Crabtree / TPMDC:

Centrist Dems Already Trying To Put The Brakes On Obama's Tax Increases — President Obama's deficit-reduction plan—complete with tax increases on the wealthiest Americans—won high marks from his liberal base encouraged to see Obama back in fighting mode, but the plan is set to hit …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Politico, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Suburban Guerrilla and Balloon Juice

Edward Morrissey / The Week Magazine:

Has Obama quit already? — Judging by his plans for job creation and deficit reduction, the president has given up on policy accomplishments in favor of playing politics — The last few weeks of polling data have been so bad for Barack Obama that pundits have begun speculating whether …

Discussion: Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Salon, Power Line and Ben Smith's Blog

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Budget analysts say Obama deficit plan is likely to miss its targets

Discussion: Hit & Run, Hot Air, National Review and American Power

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Rick Santorum contacted Google, says company spreads ‘filth’ — A Google search for Santorum has generated some inappropriate results since gay columnist Dan Savage organized an online campaign to link graphic sexual terms to the socially conservative senator's name.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, Salon, Taegan Goddard's …, Indecision Forever, TBogg and The Raw Story

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Warren takes lead on Brown — Elizabeth Warren has had an incredibly successful launch to her Senate campaign and actually leads Scott Brown now by a 46-44 margin, erasing what was a 15 point deficit the last time we polled the state in early June. — Warren's gone from 38% name recognition …

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny!, Business Insider, Crooks and Liars, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Swampland, New York Magazine, The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Chalk up Tennessee Republican Rep. Phil Roe's Tuesday morning actions to heroism: Roe saved a man's life with CPR after he flatlined in the Charlotte, North Carolina airport. — Roe, an obstetrician before he first ran for public office, was walking through the Charlotte terminal …

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, JammieWearingFool and msnbc.com

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
GOP Rep. Roe restarts a man's heart

Discussion: Indecision Forever

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Bill Clinton scorches GOP field on climate change — Bill Clinton turned up the heat on the leading Republican presidential contenders Tuesday, saying their opposition to acknowledging climate change makes the country “look like a joke.” — “If you're an American, the best thing …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, CNN, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and TPMDC

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:

Perry's Theocratic Foreign Policy: ‘As A Christian I Have A Clear Directive To Support Israel’ — Today, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) held a news conference in New York City where he attacked President Obama's Middle East policies and called upon the United States to be more stridently supportive of the actions of the Israeli government.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Campaign 2012 and Weasel Zippers

Ballot Box:
Israeli lawmaker: Perry will visit Israel

Discussion: The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog

Bill Rankin / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Parole board denies clemency for Troy Davis — The state Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday denied clemency for Troy Anthony Davis after hearing pleas for mercy from Davis' family and calls for his execution by surviving relatives of a murdered Savannah police officer.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Law Blog, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and Facing South

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Jose Padilla and how American justice functions

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Dish and Politics

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:

Katie Pavlich Attorney General in Mexico: 200 Murders Result of Operation Fast and Furious — In a conference call this morning with Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa, reporters were told the Attorney General in Mexico has confirmed at least 200 murders south …

Discussion: Hot Air, Sister Toldjah and CBS News

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Issa to launch probe of Obama actions on Solyndra, LightSquared

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Big Government, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story and iOwnTheWorld.com

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

If top rates return to Reagan era, O'Reilly might quit — Fox News' Bill O'Reilly boasted the other day that he enjoys “more power than anybody other than the president.” — Apparently, though, this rather extraordinary degree of influence over national affairs isn't quite enough for the conservative media personality.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, Gawker, The Huffington Post and Shakesville

Ellen / News Hounds:
Bill O'Reilly Threatens To Quit If Higher Taxes For Millionaires Are Enacted

Discussion: Mediaite and Indecision Forever

Alexandra Berzon / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Alleges Full Tilt Poker Was Ponzi Scheme — The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused poker celebrities Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson among other executives of a major poker website of defrauding poker players out of more than $300 million.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Agitator, Money & Company, Felix Salmon, ABA Journal Daily News and Hit & Run

Diane Cardwell / New York Times:

The Appraisal: A Glimpse at Bloomberg's Lavish Tastes at Home — He has been known to serve tuna on crackers during cocktail hour. He prefers diners to power-breakfast spots like the Regency. His sartorial style remains buttoned down, with a salmon-color crew neck and matching socks about as gaudy as it gets.

Discussion: Salon, Gothamist, The Atlantic Online, Runnin' Scared, Business Insider, Vos Iz Neias, New York Magazine, Gawker and Curbed National

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Eric Holder: We aim to close Gitmo before Election Day — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration is doing everything it can to shut down the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before the 2012 presidential elections. — Speaking Tuesday at the European Parliament …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, Mother Jones and Weasel Zippers

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Holder: Hey, we're still totally going to close Gitmo

Discussion: Associated Press and Hit & Run

Marist Poll:

9/20: 39% Approval Rating for Obama, Lowest of Presidency — President Barack Obama faces a litany of bad news. The president's job approval rating, his favorability, and his rating on the economy have hit all-time lows. To compound matters, three in four Americans still believe the nation …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, CANNONFIRE and Pajamas Media

Michael Graczyk / The Huffington Post:

Cleve Foster Case: U.S. Supreme Court Halts Texas Execution … HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A former Army recruiter who for the third time this year was hours away from his scheduled execution for the rape-slaying of a woman in Fort Worth nearly 10 years ago was granted yet another reprieve by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Reuters:

Solyndra execs will decline to testify at hearing — Solyndra LLC's chief executive and chief financial officer will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions put to them at a Congressional hearing on Friday, according to letters from their attorneys obtained by Reuters.

Discussion: The Hill, The Crawdad Hole, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

OccupyWallSt News:

Day 4: At least five arrested, one may be in critical condition — Early this morning at least five protesters were arrested by NYPD. — The first arrest was a protester who objected to the police removing a tarp that was protecting our media equipment from the rain.

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Magazine and Gothamist

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:

Texas GOP Rep On Cuts To Family Planning: ‘Of Course This Is A War On Birth Control’ — The GOP's concerted campaign against women's health has resulted in about 1,000 anti-abortion bills in state legislatures across the country and numerous federal attempts to eradicate a woman's right to choose.

Discussion: NPR and The Raw Story