Top Items:
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Two-Month Payroll Tax Holiday Passed By Senate, Pushed By President, Cannot Be Implemented Properly, Experts Say — Officials from the policy-neutral National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Inc. have expressed concern to members of Congress that the two-month payroll tax holiday passed …
RELATED:
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Tea Party lawmaker: Payroll-tax-cut fight our ‘Braveheart moment’ — A member of the House Tea Party caucus said Republicans are rallying behind Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in the payroll tax cut standoff, calling him “William Wallace” in their “'Braveheart' moment.”
Discussion:
The Politico, Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos
Scott Wong / The Politico:
Brown blasts GOP on payroll tax cut — Fighting for reelection in deep-blue Massachusetts, GOP Sen. Scott Brown ripped into House Republicans on Tuesday after Speaker John Boehner vowed that his caucus would reject the short-term payroll tax cut extension that nearly 90 percent of senators voted for over the weekend.
Josh Lederman / Ballot Box:
DCCC unleashing Carville on House GOP — The House hasn't voted yet on whether to reject a short-term payroll tax cut extension that the Senate passed overwhelmingly on Saturday, but House Democrats are already crying foul. — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
The Politico:
House GOP postpones vote on payroll tax bill — House Republicans postponed a planned Monday night vote on the Senate-passed payroll tax cut bill, bowing to pressure from rank-and-file lawmakers to fight the battle in a fresh media cycle, avoid a dark-of-night vote and, perhaps most important …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Michelle Malkin
Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — Standoff: A Guide To The Ongoing Fight Over The Payroll Tax Cut
TPMDC — Standoff: A Guide To The Ongoing Fight Over The Payroll Tax Cut
Discussion:
Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Hullabaloo and Taylor Marsh
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Reid, for now, won't play Boehner's game
Reid, for now, won't play Boehner's game
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Roll Call, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com and Washington Post
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Gingrich's Lead Over Romney Among Republicans Collapses — Gingrich now in statistical tie with Romney for the lead, 26% vs. 24% — PRINCETON, NJ — After enjoying 14- to 15-percentage-point leads over Mitt Romney in early December, Newt Gingrich is now statistically tied with Romney …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, ABCNEWS, Salon.com, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus and Firedoglake
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Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
CNN Poll: Gingrich lead gone, dead even with Romney — Washington (CNN) - Newt Gingrich's lead in the race for the GOP presidential nomination has evaporated, according to a new national survey. — A CNN/ORC International Poll released Monday indicates that 28% of Republicans and independents …
Nando Di Fino / Mediaite:
BFFs? Fox News Plays Wrong Clip, Making Mitt Romney's ‘Best Friend’ Barack Obama
BFFs? Fox News Plays Wrong Clip, Making Mitt Romney's ‘Best Friend’ Barack Obama
Discussion:
THEROOT.COM and NewsHounds blog
Tom Hamburger / Los Angeles Times:
Evangelical leader makes case for Newt Gingrich
Evangelical leader makes case for Newt Gingrich
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney dominating New Hampshire
Romney dominating New Hampshire
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box, Donklephant and Daily Kos
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Pastor Concerned About ‘Destroying Definition Of Marriage’ Asks Evangelicals To Back Gingrich
Pastor Concerned About ‘Destroying Definition Of Marriage’ Asks Evangelicals To Back Gingrich
Discussion:
Reuters
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: The weeping North Koreans; Update: New leader may be more psycho than dad, says U.S. intel — Don't just sample the clip for 10 seconds. Watch to the end and drink in the full spectacle of grown men, prostrate, screaming in grief at the death of their subjugator.
Discussion:
National Review, Michael Totten, Wall Street Journal, Sense of Events and Patterico's Pontifications
RELATED:
Brad Plumer / Washington Post:
Kim Jong Il's economic legacy, in one chart — One easy way to evaluate the legacies of North Korean dictators Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il is to compare their country's economic performance with South Korea's over the past four decades. The difference is stunning.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Hit & Run and Business Insider
Martin Fackler / New York Times:
Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea
Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea
Discussion:
News Desk, Washington Post, BBC, ThinkProgress, Reuters, World Now, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, FP Passport, The New Republic, Via Meadia and TalkLeft
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Obituary: Kim Jong-il, North Korea's Enigmatic Strongman
Obituary: Kim Jong-il, North Korea's Enigmatic Strongman
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Washington Post, Political Mojo, Firedoglake, Associated Press, American Prospect, Bad Rachel and Wonkette
Robin Bravender / The Politico:
Industry: Light bulb war a dim idea — Big Business usually loves it when the GOP goes to war over federal rules. — But not when it comes to light bulbs. — This year, House Republicans made it a top priority to roll back regulations they say are too costly for business.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Political Mojo, Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, New York Times and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
POTUS Has Coffee with Progressive Media Stars — An all-star list of progressive and liberal media folks came to the White House today to chat with President Obama over coffee in the Roosevelt Room. — The group chatted with the president about economic messaging, his agenda for 2012 …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Big Journalism
Nando Di Fino / Mediaite:
Sarah Palin Tells Fox Business Network That 'It's Not Too Late' To Jump Into The GOP Race — In a pre-taped interview set to air tonight on Fox Business Network's “Follow The Money,” Eric Bolling mentioned to Sarah Palin that people constantly tell him they wish she was running for President.
Discussion:
NewsHounds blog, The Reaction, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and nation.foxnews.com
Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Draft Jeb! — He was the golden child, if there can be said to be a golden child in a brood that included one son who was an S&L swindler who later went on to a career of being surprised when Thai hookers showed up unannounced at his hotel room door, another who was the worst president …
Discussion:
ProfessorBainbridge.com, The Moderate Voice, The Impolitic and Rush Limbaugh
Steven Hayward / Power Line:
Hayek Vindicated Again — Way back on the Federal Page of today's Washington Post is an article that ought to be on the front page above the fold, and its deep placement on the boutique page of the bureaucracy shows how the Post, like most everyone else, doesn't understand what a big story it is.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
Jay Rubenstein / The Huffington Post:
Crusade vs. Jihad: Which Is Worse? — The First Crusade (1096-1099) spawned horrors the likes of which none of the crusaders had ever experienced. And they were horrors of their own making. Of the massacre in Jerusalem, a contemporary observed, “The knights could hardly bare it …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Pro-Adultery Website Endorses Gingrich — A website that promotes adultery has endorsed Newt Gingrich for president, and even erected a giant billboard in Pennsylvania to announce it. Next to a picture of Gingrich making a “shh” gesture, the billboard reads: “Faithful Republican, Unfaithful Husband.”
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Pennsylvania Ave., Little Green Footballs, Mediaite and ABCNEWS
20 Pounds Of Headlines:
Brunner Says He'll Debate Opponents, But Won't Join Early January Debate — Missouri Republican US Senate candidiate John Brunner's campaign says they'll debate their primary opponents. Just not the one coming up in early January. — KTRS radio morning host McGraw Milhaven is arranging a January 10 …
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Politico
Amy Chozick / Media Decoder:
Times Co. Negotiating to Sell Regional Newspapers — Updated The New York Times Company, which last week announced that its chief executive would depart at the end of the year, is close to selling its regional newspapers to the Halifax Media Group, the company announced Monday.
Discussion:
JIMROMENESKO.COM, Poynter, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
The Politico:
New Hampshire voters should draft Hillary — We argued in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed piece that President Barack Obama should stand down and let Secretary of State Hillary Clinton run as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2012. — We are now calling on Democratic voters nationally …