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 …
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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, Michelle Malkin and New York Magazine
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
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:
Gawker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and The Politico
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, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, The Hill and Washington Post
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 …
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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:
The Moderate Voice, Fox News, Salon.com, Hot Air, ABCNEWS, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus, MyFox Philadelphia, Business Insider and Firedoglake
A.Killough / CNN:
Romney blasts Gingrich over judiciary ideas — (CNN) - Mitt Romney on Monday tore into fellow Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich, describing his opponent's recent proposals to dismantle federal courts and expel judges as unconstitutional. — “There are a lot of decisions …
Discussion:
The Politico
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
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:
Hit & Run and Business Insider
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: The weeping North Koreans; Update: New leader may be more psycho than dad, says U.S. intel
Video: The weeping North Koreans; Update: New leader may be more psycho than dad, says U.S. intel
Discussion:
National Review, Michael Totten, Patterico's Pontifications and Verum Serum
Martin Fackler / New York Times:
Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea
Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea
Discussion:
News Desk, BBC, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Reuters, Political Mojo, World Now, Firedoglake, The New Republic, Via Meadia and TalkLeft
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:
The Buzz Florida Politics Feed and GOP 12
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Jeb Bush / Wall Street Journal:
Capitalism and the Right to Rise — In freedom lies the risk of failure. But in statism lies the certainty of stagnation. — Congressman Paul Ryan recently coined a smart phrase to describe the core concept of economic freedom: “The right to rise.” — Think about it.
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:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Reaction and nation.foxnews.com
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
Rebecca Kaplan / NationalJournal.com:
Perry's Day Ends in Confrontation Over Fracking, Gays in the Military — At Decorah town hall, Perry faces some criticis of his policies. — DECORAH, Iowa—What had been a calm day for Rick Perry filled with church services and friendly audiences ended on a sour note as the governor found himself …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Raw Story, Trail Blazers Blog and Little Green Footballs
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Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
14-Year-Old Challenges Perry's Anti-Gay Views
14-Year-Old Challenges Perry's Anti-Gay Views
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Towleroad News #gay
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:
Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Hit & Run, Political Mojo, ThinkProgress, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and New York Times
Leslie H. Gelb / The Daily Beast:
Joe Biden On Iraq, Iran, China and the Taliban — The United States won't spend a dime to bail out Europe. The Taliban is not our enemy. And nobody's easing up on Iran's nukes. The vice president lets fly. — On Thursday, Dec. 15, Vice President Joe Biden sat down in his sunlit White …
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics Video Log, ABCNEWS, Reuters, Weekly Standard, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Michelle Malkin and Jihad Watch
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
Katha Pollitt / thenation.com/blogs/164:
Regarding Christopher — Christopher Hitchens, my colleague for twenty years, was clever, hilarious, generous to his friends, combative, prodigiously energetic and fantastically productive. He could write with equal ease about Philip Larkin, capital punishment, Henry Kissinger and having his balls waxed.
Discussion:
ECHIDNE of the snakes, Unqualified Offerings, The Atlantic Online and Hullabaloo
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
New York Times:
Retirement Deal Keeps Bain Money Flowing to Romney — Almost 13 years ago, Mitt Romney left Bain Capital, the successful private equity firm he had helped start, and moved to Utah to rescue the Salt Lake City Olympic Games and begin a second career in public life.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Enterprise Blog, ThinkProgress, The Impolitic, DealBook, American Prospect, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, The New Republic, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, Gothamist, Crooks and Liars, Campaign 2012, US Politics and No More Mister Nice Blog
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 …
Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Justice Dept silent as Holder charges critics with racism — Attorney General Eric Holder accused his growing chorus of critics of racist motivations in a Sunday interview published in the New York Times. When reached by The Daily Caller Monday morning, the Department of Justice provided …
Discussion:
Power Line, Big Journalism, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, The Right Scoop and The Lonely Conservative