Top Items:
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Gingrich Tragedy — Of all the major Republicans, the one who comes closest to my worldview is Newt Gingrich. Despite his erratically shifting views and odd phases, he continually returns to this core political refrain: He talks about using government in energetic but limited ways to increase growth, dynamism and social mobility.
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Wall Street Journal:
Gingrich Is Inspiring—and Disturbing — The first potential president about whom there is too much information. — I had a friend once who amused herself thinking up bumper stickers for states. The one she made up for California was brilliant. “California: It's All True.”
Discussion:
The Caucus, The Spectacle Blog, Vodkapundit, GOP 12, Betsy's Page, National Review, JustOneMinute, Slate, 2012 Decoded and Indecision Forever
Sen. Rand Paul / Des Moines Register:
Rand Paul: Republicans would take a giant step backward by choosing Gingrich — As a U.S. senator elected from and by the tea party, I am often asked about the tea party, the conservative movement and the presidential race. — While conservatives and limited-government activists did …
Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:
As you probably heard, some Mitt Romney surrogates hosted a conference call today to attack Newt Gingrich. Because Romney is attempting to win a Republican primary — and cast Newt Gingrich as unacceptable to conservatives — you probably assume that center-right journalists or conservative bloggers got to ask some questions, right?
Discussion:
Jamie Dupree Washington …, Datechguy's Blog, Big Journalism, Hot Air, Catholic Bandita, Sister Toldjah and Reuters
Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:
Ron Paul on steady upward trajectory, third-party talk will escalate
Ron Paul on steady upward trajectory, third-party talk will escalate
Discussion:
ABCNEWS
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Mitt Romney Goes After Gingrich: 'We're Going To Have To Make Changes Like The Ones Paul Ryan Proposed'
Mitt Romney Goes After Gingrich: 'We're Going To Have To Make Changes Like The Ones Paul Ryan Proposed'
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and The New Republic
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Next Two Debates Likely to Be Nasty
Next Two Debates Likely to Be Nasty
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, A plain blog about politics, New York Times and Connecting.the.Dots
Jonathan Lemire / NY Daily News:
Donald Trump looks into canceling GOP debate he's set to host — The Donald says he may still run for the White House as an independent — Donald Trump smiles at left as Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talks to media after their meeting in New York, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011.
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Gothamist, GOP 12, The Political Carnival, Campaign 2012, Jammie Wearing Fools and The Politico
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Associated Press:
Trump might scrub his GOP presidential debate — WASHINGTON - Business mogul Donald Trump said Friday he might scrub a presidential debate that so far has drawn only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. — Trump, the reality television star who has not ruled out an independent White House bid …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, Wonkette, The Right Scoop and Little Green Footballs
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Trump ‘very disappointed in’ Bachmann
Trump ‘very disappointed in’ Bachmann
Discussion:
CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and GOP 12
Felix Salmon:
Europe's disastrous summit — I thought disasters were all meant to happen over the weekend? Somehow, in Brussels, EU leaders have contrived to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory on Thursday night, leaving Friday for finger-pointing and recriminations and wondering whether anybody …
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Nicholas Watt / Guardian:
Cameron: ‘Britain better off outside treaty’
Cameron: ‘Britain better off outside treaty’
Discussion:
Firedoglake, News Desk and National Review
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Oops: Perry Forgets Justice Sotomayor's Name — Echoing his devastating “oops” moment in an earlier GOP debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) forgot the name of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in an interview today with the Des Moines Register editorial board. He had to be assisted by a reporter who offered the jurist's name.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Shakesville
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Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Repeal of sodomy, bestiality ban sparks fight on Defense bill — One surprising issue is riling both social conservatives and animal rights activists: the repeal of a ban on sodomy and bestiality. — As the final Defense authorization bill gets hammered out in conference committee …
Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Labor Board Drops Case Against Boeing — A top official with the National Labor Relations Board announced on Friday that the agency was dropping its politically charged case against Boeing, in which the agency had accused the company of violating federal labor law by opening a new aircraft production plant in South Carolina.
Discussion:
Hot Air, RedState, Campaign 2012, Weasel Zippers, The ChamberPost, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, The Right Scoop and The PJ Tatler
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Real G.O.P. Dark Horse: None of the Above — Two of my favorite analysts, Rhodes Cook and Josh Putnam, have a good debate going about just how plausible it is that a Republican who is not currently running for president could enter the race later and potentially win it (probably necessitating a brokered convention).
Russell Berman / The Hill:
House GOP releases payroll tax package under Obama veto threat — House Republicans on Friday released their legislation to extend the payroll tax cut, reform and extend unemployment insurance, and fix the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors. — The move sets up a vote on the year-end package as early as Tuesday.
Discussion:
CNN, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and AFL-CIO NOW BLOG
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Vicki Needham / The Hill:
GOP seeks to cut unemployment benefits
GOP seeks to cut unemployment benefits
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gingrich: Palestinians ‘invented,’ promises Netanyahu-style foreign policy — Former Speaker Newt Gingrich dismissed the Palestinian bid for statehood as the effort of an “invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community.”
Discussion:
TJC Newsdesk, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, The Atlantic Online and National Review
Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Saint Paul: Inside Ron Paul's effort to convince Christian conservatives that he's their man — DES MOINES, Iowa—Ron Paul, standing backstage before a Republican presidential debate in Spartanburg, South Carolina not long ago, was talking to Doug Wead, one of his senior advisers, about his Christian faith.
Discussion:
Right Wing Watch, ABCNEWS, ThinkProgress, Ben Smith's Blog and Iowa Caucuses
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Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Ron Paul: 9/11 prompted “glee” in Bush administration
Ron Paul: 9/11 prompted “glee” in Bush administration
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and The Raw Story
Tamara Keith / NPR:
GOP Objects To ‘Millionaires Surtax’; Millionaires We Found? Not So Much — For the second week in a row, the Senate on Thursday voted down proposals to extend the payroll tax holiday through next year. In the case of the Democrats' proposal, Republicans objected to the “millionaires surtax” that would be used to pay for it.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Felix Salmon, The Impolitic, Little Green Footballs, Prairie Weather and Political Mojo
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Record High Anti-Incumbent Sentiment Toward Congress — But voters are more inclined to say their own representative deserves re-election — PRINCETON, NJ — About three-quarters of registered voters (76%) say most members of Congress do not deserve re-election, the highest such percentage Gallup …
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, Hotline On Call, The Politico, CNN, Washington Post, ThinkProgress and americanthinker.com
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Sanders proposes amendment to the Constitution that would limit free speech — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday proposed an amendment to the Constitution to exclude corporations from First Amendment rights to spend money on political campaigns. — The bill is a reaction …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Political Carnival
Ross Douthat:
The Huntsman 2016 Fallacy — Jon Chait points out, correctly, that Newt Gingrich should be hoping against hope that a Jon Huntsman surge in New Hampshire cuts into Mitt Romney's support. But then he veers off into implausible speculations about Huntsman's 2016 ambitions:
Discussion:
American Prospect, New York Magazine and Patterico's Pontifications
Wall Street Journal:
The Millionaire Subsidy Elimination Act — Cutting benefits to those who don't need them is a better way to trim deficits than hurting the economy with higher tax rates. — On Tuesday, President Obama once again blamed the lack of progress on the budget deficit on Republicans' refusal …
Discussion:
FrumForum and Betsy's Page
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans Set “Rich” Threshold at $150,000 in Annual Income — Half believe $1 million in net worth would make them rich — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans say they would need to earn a median of $150,000 a year to consider themselves rich. However, 30% say less than $100,000 would be enough …
Discussion:
Economix, Money & Company, ABCNEWS and Reuters