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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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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

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.

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

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

TPMDC — Standoff: A Guide To The Ongoing Fight Over The Payroll Tax Cut
Discussion:
Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Hullabaloo and Taylor Marsh

Reid, for now, won't play Boehner's game
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, The Hill and Washington Post

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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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

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


BFFs? Fox News Plays Wrong Clip, Making Mitt Romney's ‘Best Friend’ Barack Obama
Discussion:
THEROOT.COM and NewsHounds blog

Evangelical leader makes case for Newt Gingrich
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Romney dominating New Hampshire
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box, Donklephant and Daily Kos

Pastor Concerned About ‘Destroying Definition Of Marriage’ Asks Evangelicals To Back Gingrich
Discussion:
Reuters

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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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

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


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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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.


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

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

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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14-Year-Old Challenges Perry's Anti-Gay Views
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Towleroad News #gay


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


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

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

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

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


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


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 …


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