Top Items:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Paul closes in on Gingrich — There has been some major movement in the Republican Presidential race in Iowa over the last week, with what was a 9 point lead for Newt Gingrich now all the way down to a single point. Gingrich is at 22% to 21% for Paul with Mitt Romney at 16% …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Mediaite, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box, Swampland, Campaign Stops, Wonkette, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, The PJ Tatler, Patterico's Pontifications, Indecision Forever, Campaign 2012, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, National Review, Booman Tribune, CNN, The Mahablog, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Washington Examiner
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Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
Gingrich's Iowa political director leaves campaign after Mormonism ‘cult’ remark — Craig Bergman (Dave Davidson / Prezography.com) — The new political director for Newt Gingrich's Iowa campaign thinks that some evangelicals believe God would reject Mitt Romney because of his Mormonism.
Discussion:
The Politico and Right Wing News
Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
Newtzilla to the rescue — Many feel that a Gingrich victory might be scarier than a GOP defeat. His chances may depend on how desperate voters feel about the state of the nation. — Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich poses …
Discussion:
News Desk, Daily Pundit, Riehl World View, Don Surber, The Daily Dish and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Washington Post:
Romney blasts Gingrich as ‘extremely unreliable’ conservative leader — BOSTON—Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blasted rival Newt Gingrich Tuesday as an “extremely unreliable leader in the conservative world” who has taken positions in this campaign that should give GOP voters pause …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico, The Last Tradition, The Page and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Kevin Hall / The Iowa Republican:
TIR Focus Group: Evangelicals Will Revolt Against Romney Nomination — A focus group of Iowa conservative activists gathered recently to discuss the upcoming caucuses. The group, organized by TheIowaRepublican.com in conjunction with McClatchy newspapers, included a retiree, a college student …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, TBogg and O.KayHenderson.com
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC/WSJ poll: Romney struggles with primary voters, Gingrich with general electorate — Why the difference between Mitt Romney, left, and Newt Gingrich, right? Look no further than the two men's favorability ratings. — By Mark Murray, Deputy Political Director, NBC News
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Wire, Daily Kos, Ballot Box and The Political Carnival
ABCNEWS:
Christine O'Donnell Endorses Mitt Romney for President — Christine O'Donnell, the former Republican Senate candidate and a tea party favorite during the 2010 election, has officially endorsed Mitt Romney for president. — O'Donnell made her endorsement during an appearance this evening on Fox News' “Hannity.”
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Oh my: Ron Paul within one point of Gingrich in Iowa? — Hey now. I was writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts before writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts was cool. … Simple question: What's Paul's ceiling in Iowa? A friend on Twitter was arguing earlier …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Business Insider, Mediaite and National Review
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Team Likes Prospect of Long Republican Fight
Obama Team Likes Prospect of Long Republican Fight
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Times and Prairie Weather
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
Gingrich Iowa staffer resigns after calling Mormonism a ‘cult’
Gingrich Iowa staffer resigns after calling Mormonism a ‘cult’
Discussion:
CNN
Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:
Gingrich Surges, but Swing Voters Are Wary
Gingrich Surges, but Swing Voters Are Wary
Discussion:
MyFox Philadelphia
Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:
Scarborough: Like Beck, I'd Consider Third-Party Ron Paul Over Gingrich
Scarborough: Like Beck, I'd Consider Third-Party Ron Paul Over Gingrich
Discussion:
Mediaite, GOP 12 and National Review
New York Times:
House Passes Extension of Cut to Payroll Taxes — WASHINGTON — Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House on Tuesday passed a bill extending a cut in Social Security payroll taxes for 160 million Americans for another year. But the Democratic majority in the Senate vowed to reject …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Lonely Conservative, The Other McCain, The Caucus and Connecting.the.Dots
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House passes payroll tax cut extension bill despite veto threat
House passes payroll tax cut extension bill despite veto threat
Discussion:
The Politico and Booman Tribune
Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — Dems To GOP: Deal Fairly On Payroll Tax Or Shut Down The Government
TPMDC — Dems To GOP: Deal Fairly On Payroll Tax Or Shut Down The Government
Discussion:
ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Firedoglake, Daily Kos and New York Times
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay? G.O.P. Is on It
Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay? G.O.P. Is on It
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hill, The Impolitic, Washington Monthly, Wonkette, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Investor's Business Daily
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Trump pulls out of GOP debate — Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will not moderate next month's GOP debate sponsored by Newsmax. — The reality televison show host's decision came after most Republican candidates declined to participate in the debate, with only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum agreeing to appear.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Michelle Malkin, CNN, Little Green Footballs, The Lonely Conservative and Indecision Forever
RELATED:
Bobby Bank / ABCNEWS:
Donald Trump Backs Out of Debate, Floating Independent Bid
Donald Trump Backs Out of Debate, Floating Independent Bid
Discussion:
entertainment.time.com and PopWatch
Catalina Camia / USA Today:
Donald Trump bows out as GOP debate moderator
Donald Trump bows out as GOP debate moderator
Discussion:
Sky Dancing, The Moderate Voice, Gothamist, Daily Kos and Campaign 2012
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Trump bows out of GOP debate
Trump bows out of GOP debate
Discussion:
Hot Air, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway and Ricochet Conversations Feed, more at Mediagazer »
Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
Trump dumps Iowa - again - by backing out of Dec. 27 debate
Trump dumps Iowa - again - by backing out of Dec. 27 debate
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Associated Press:
Stephanopoulos back to replace Amanpour at ABC's ‘This Week,’ will remain host of ‘GMA’ — NEW YORK — Christiane Amanpour is being replaced as ABC's Sunday morning political talk show host by the man she took over from — George Stephanopoulos. — ABC News said Tuesday that Amanpour is out as host of “This Week.”
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Big Journalism, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The PJ Tatler
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Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
Amanpour to Leave ABC's ‘This Week’ and Rejoin CNN — Updated Christiane Amanpour is leaving the anchor chair of ABC's “This Week” and returning to her old network home, CNN, as the anchor of an evening newscast on CNN International. — The changes, confirmed Tuesday evening …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Dem Senators to Obama administration: On Plan B, it's put up or shut up time — It isn't every day that 14 Senators aggressively call out their own party's Health and Human Services Secretary, imply that a major decision made their own party's adminstration was not based on science, and demand proof to the contrary.
Discussion:
New York Times, Political Mojo and Daily Kos
The Jewish Week:
My Tim Tebow Problem — I've got a Tim Tebow problem. — I want to root for the guy, but I'm afraid of what will happen if the hulky Denver Bronco quarterback continues to pull off what is fast becoming the Greatest Gridiron Story Ever Told. Since taking over as starting quarterback earlier this season …
Gene Marks / Quicker Better Tech:
If I Were A Poor Black Kid — President Obama gave an excellent speech last week in Kansas about inequality in America. — “This is the defining issue of our time.” He said. “This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.
Discussion:
Sadly, No!, The Huffington Post, pandagon.net and Balloon Juice
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some apparent slowing in global growth. While indicators point to some improvement in overall labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Firedoglake, msnbc.com, Business Insider, MarketBeat and FT Alphaville
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
The Graph That Proves Economic Forecasters Are Almost Always Wrong — As the saying goes: “It's hard to make predictions. Especially about the future.” Thirty years ago, it was obvious to everybody that oil prices would keep going up forever. Twenty years ago, it was obvious that Japan would own the 21st century.
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Via Meadia
Scott Baker / TheBlaze.com:
GINGRICH FLASHBACK: ‘PROGRESSIVE’ FDR WAS ‘GREATEST PRESIDENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY’ (PLUS - SEIU'S ANDY STERN IS VISIONARY UNION LEADER!) — Scroll down for the video — or read this first: — I've always liked the feisty tone Newt Gingrich brings to debate.
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Holder Signals Tough Review of New State Laws on Voting — AUSTIN, Tex. — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday entered the turbulent political waters of voting rights, signaling that the Justice Department would be aggressive in reviewing new voting laws that civil rights advocates …
Discussion:
ACS Blog, Vox Verax, LBJ Library & Museum, Washington Post and Power Line
Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:
Household electricity bills skyrocket — Electric bills have skyrocketed in the last five years, a sharp reversal from a quarter-century when Americans enjoyed stable power bills even as they used more electricity. — Households paid a record $1,419 on average for electricity in 2010 …
Discussion:
The Enterprise Blog and Power Line
Rep. Dennis Cardoza / The Hill:
Opinion: Obama would rather be university professor than president — After observing President Obama for the last three years, it has become obvious to me that the President might prefer to be a university professor rather than do the job he holds today. While he may not realize that he feels …
Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Kermit Gosnell's Wife Pleads Guilty to Abortion Horrors — The wife of embattled abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell has pleaded guilty to assisting her husband at his Philadelphia abortion center where he killed a woman in a botched abortion and kills hundreds of babies in abortion-infanticides.
Discussion:
Hot Air and The PJ Tatler
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Barack Obama on economic crisis: 'We didn't know how bad it was' — President Barack Obama said Tuesday he wishes he knew the full extent of the economic crisis when he took office, if only so he could have let Americans know just how tough the coming years would be.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
All-American Mess — I'd bet that TLC's All-American Muslim is a pretty dull show that borders on hagiography. But I still don't get why anyone would get so mad about it. As I understand it, the show depicts Muslim families as more moderate, more American than some stereotypes. Is that really so horrible?
Discussion:
On Point with Tom Ashbrook, newsfeed.time.com, The Atlantic Online and entertainment.time.com