Top Items:
ABCNEWS:
Michele Bachmann Becomes Fifth GOP Candidate To Reject Donald Trump Debate — ABC News' Michael Falcone reports: — DES MOINES — Another one bites the dust. — Michele Bachmann has officially said “no” to the Donald Trump-moderated Newsmax debate scheduled for later this month.
RELATED:
Richard A. Oppel Jr / The Caucus:
Perry and Bachmann Also Pass on Trump Debate — 6:51 p.m. | Updated MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Representative Michele Bachmann have joined other candidates, including Mitt Romney, in passing on Donald Trump's Dec. 27 debate in Iowa. Mr. Perry's campaign issued this statement on Thursday:
Discussion:
New York Times, The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story and GOP 12
A.Killough / CNN:
Santorum on Trump debate no-shows: They're hypocrites
Santorum on Trump debate no-shows: They're hypocrites
Discussion:
The Politico, Hot Air and HotAirPundit
Mj Lee / The Politico:
Priebus: ‘Malpractice’ for me to back Trump debate
Priebus: ‘Malpractice’ for me to back Trump debate
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, CNN, Hot Air, Don Surber, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, National Review and INSTAPUTZ
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Bachmann opts out of Trump debate
Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Perry Goes After Gingrich, Romney; Declines Trump
Perry Goes After Gingrich, Romney; Declines Trump
Discussion:
Ballot Box
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Rick Perry's Anti-Gay Iowa Ad Divides His Top Staff … 2012 Election , Log Cabin Republicans , Elections 2012 , Rick Perry , Video , Iowa Caucuses , Fabrizio Perry , Iowa Caucus 2012 , Perry Ad , Perry Dadt , Rick Perry 2012 , Rick Perry Ad Campaign , Rick Perry Don't Ask Don't Tell …
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Matt Ortega / 2012 US Elections:
Perry's jacket in anti-gay ad? Heath Ledger wore it in “Brokeback Mountain” — Rick Perry launched an anti-gay ad called, “Strong.” In the ad, he attacks gays openly serving in the armed forces. — As it turns out, the gays get their revenge... the jacket Rick Perry wore in the ad?
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Political Theater, Taylor Marsh and Towleroad News #gay
Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
BIG BARNSTORM: Rick Perry to hit 44 Iowa cities on two-week bus tour
BIG BARNSTORM: Rick Perry to hit 44 Iowa cities on two-week bus tour
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and GOP 12
Mason City / ABCNEWS:
Rick Perry to Roll Through 42 Cities in Iowa on December Bus Tour
Rick Perry to Roll Through 42 Cities in Iowa on December Bus Tour
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, The Politico and The American Prospect
Josiah Ryan / The Hill:
Dems' payroll tax cut extension goes down again in Senate — Senate Republicans blocked the latest installment of President Obama's jobs plan — a bill to extend the payroll tax cut — for the second week in a row on Thursday. — The bill, titled the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, was shot down 50-48.
Discussion:
The Politico, Hot Air, Firedoglake and The Page
RELATED:
Joel Gehrke / Campaign 2012:
Obama: More jobs in jobless benefits than Keystone
Obama: More jobs in jobless benefits than Keystone
Discussion:
The Hill, Scared Monkeys, National Review, The Lonely Conservative, The PJ Tatler and Michelle Malkin
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Dems warn: McConnell will regret these filibusters
Dems warn: McConnell will regret these filibusters
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The American Prospect, The Atlantic Online and ACS Blog
BBC:
Iran shows film of captured US drone — The BBC's James Reynolds says the video appears to support Iran's claims — Iranian TV has shown the first video footage of an advanced US drone aircraft that Tehran says it downed near the Afghan border. — Images show Iranian military officials inspecting …
Discussion:
New York Times, Belmont Club, Conservative Daily News, Truthdig and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
RELATED:
Jennifer Griffin / Fox News:
Officials Confirm Authenticity of Iranian TV Images Showing Lost U.S. Drone
Officials Confirm Authenticity of Iranian TV Images Showing Lost U.S. Drone
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs and Vodkapundit
Rick Gladstone / New York Times:
Iran Shows Video It Says Is of U.S. Drone
Iran Shows Video It Says Is of U.S. Drone
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers, Danger Room, Mediaite and Washington Post
NW Daily Marker:
Tweets from Congressional Staffers Describe On-Job Drinking in Office of Congressman Larsen — For young men and women with ambitions toward a career in politics, working in a Congressional office can be a heady, almost dreamlike experience. Left unsupervised, the combination of youth indiscretion …
Discussion:
The Hill, CBS News, FishbowlDC, Wonkette, Gawker, Hotline On Call and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:
Rhodes Cook / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
2012 Republican Race: The Field May Not Be Closed — Conventional wisdom is that the Republican presidential field is set, and that it is much too late for a new candidate to enter the race. — In years past, that would be absolutely correct. Over the last few decades …
Discussion:
Wizbang, Indecision Forever, Washington Monthly and Frontloading HQ
Eric Segall / Slate:
A Liberal's Lament on Kagan and Health Care — Should Elena Kagan recuse herself in the ACA case? — Elena Kagan was appointed by Obama from within his administration shortly after health care reform passed. Should she hear the case before the Supreme Court?
David Frum / FrumForum:
The Coming GOP Gingrich Freakout — Today's question is: will the Gingrich balloon deflate like all the previous Not Mitt balloons? — The answer is: yes of course-but given that these balloons take typically 6-8 weeks to shrivel, the impending Gingrich bust may not arrive soon enough to save Romney.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and ABCNEWS
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Sensenbrenner floats impeachment of Obama admin. officials as ‘Fast and Furious’ response — Wisconsin Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee where Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Thursday, suggested that impeachment …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Other McCain
RELATED:
Fox News:
Holder Suggests ‘Fast and Furious’ Guns Will Be Used in Crimes for ‘Years to Come’
Holder Suggests ‘Fast and Furious’ Guns Will Be Used in Crimes for ‘Years to Come’
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative and The Spectacle Blog
Jordy Yager / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker: AG Holder could be impeached over gun-tracking program
GOP lawmaker: AG Holder could be impeached over gun-tracking program
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Hill, Michelle Malkin, Guardian, Sister Toldjah and Jammie Wearing Fools
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Next step in our Randian dystopia: stimgatize the unemployed — So now they're going to “reform” unemployment. The first thing they say they'll do do is stop the millionaires from collecting it. I don't know how many millionaires are collecting it now or how this will be administered, but fine.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Suburban Guerrilla
RELATED:
Arthur Delaney / The Huffington Post:
Jack Kingston: Drug Test The Jobless
Jack Kingston: Drug Test The Jobless
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Daniel deVise / Washington Post:
Virginia Tech Police officer, one other, killed on campus — A Virginia Tech police officer was fatally shot Thursday during a routine traffic stop on the Blacksburg campus and a second person was found slain in a nearby parking lot after the gunman fled, the university reports.
RELATED:
Lerone Graham / WDBJ-TV:
Police officer shot on Virginia Tech campus
Police officer shot on Virginia Tech campus
Discussion:
msnbc.com, CNN, The PJ Tatler, Verum Serum, Gothamist, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, Scared Monkeys, New York Times, Mediaite and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »
Josh Glasstetter / Right Wing Watch:
VIDEO: Bill O'Reilly Hits Community Organizer with Umbrella, Tries to Get Him Arrested — Anyone who has watched the footage of Bill O'Reilly's infamous meltdown on the set of Inside Edition knows that the Fox News personality has a hot temper. But you would expect the Fox News personality …
Discussion:
Mediaite, FishbowlDC, Gawker, US Politics, The Political Carnival and Towleroad News #gay
ThinkProgress:
Meet Josh Block: Lobbyist For Foreign Human Rights Abuser — A Politico article yesterday on CAP's Middle East posture cited Josh Block, who described CAP's bloggers as writing “borderline anti-Semitic stuff.” In a leaked email to a right-wing listserv, Block, now senior fellow …
Discussion:
Salon, TBogg, Religion Dispatches and Brad DeLong
Jon Brooks / KQED News Fix:
Judges Hear Arguments on Prop 8 Trial Video, Judge Vaughn Walker's Same-Sex Relationship — Today a 9th Circuit Court panel heard oral arguments on two ancillary issues in the long-running legal battle to decide the fate of Proposition 8, California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage …
Discussion:
Prop 8 Trial Tracker, Capitol Alert, Firedoglake and Joe. My. God.
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Lines Redrawn, Longtime Allies Fight for a Seat — LOS ANGELES — Democrat-on-Democrat warfare has returned to the San Fernando Valley. — After a tiff over the redrawing of their adjacent Congressional districts a decade ago, Representative Brad Sherman and his fellow California Democrat …