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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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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.

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, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, ABCNEWS, MyFox Philadelphia and Business Insider

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

Paul leads in Iowa
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The Huffington Post, The Politico, Salon.com, Booman Tribune, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Unlikely Voter, The BRAD BLOG, The Caucus, Don Surber, The Daily Dish, Gawker, Catholic Bandita, No More Mister Nice Blog, The New Republic, Iowa Caucuses, The Impolitic, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, USA Today, Donklephant, Firedoglake, Trail Blazers Blog, Mediaite, Hot Air, Prairie Weather, News Desk, Connecting.the.Dots, US Politics, Swampland, Shakesville, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, Washington Examiner, Right Wing News, American Prospect, The PJ Tatler, The Raw Story, Ballot Box, Caffeinated Thoughts, Patterico's Pontifications, Hit & Run, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Campaign 2012, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, americanthinker.com, GOP 12, 2012 Decoded, Talking Points Memo, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taegan Goddard's … and Political Mojo

Paul Moves Into Lead in Iowa Forecast
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Truthdig, Outside the Beltway, Catholic Bandita, Indecision Forever, Daily Kos and The Other McCain


Mitt Romney Super PAC Ad Attacking Gingrich Sticks In The Minds Of Iowa Voters
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Washington Post

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

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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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:
Taylor Marsh, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Hullabaloo

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

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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Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, News Desk, ThinkProgress, BBC, Washington Post, Reuters, World Now, Foreign Policy, Via Meadia, The New Republic and TalkLeft

Obituary: Kim Jong-il, North Korea's Enigmatic Strongman
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Political Mojo, Firedoglake, American Prospect, Associated Press, Wonkette and Bad Rachel


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:
ABCNEWS, RealClearPolitics Video Log, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch, The Right Scoop and The Gateway Pundit
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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 and nation.foxnews.com


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.
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ThinkProgress, Fox News, Washington Monthly, American Prospect, The Impolitic, DealBook, The New Republic, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, The Maddow Blog, Balloon Juice, Gothamist, Campaign 2012, No More Mister Nice Blog and US Politics

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:
The Raw Story, Washington Post, Little Green Footballs and Trail Blazers Blog
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14-Year-Old Challenges Perry's Anti-Gay Views
Discussion:
ABCNEWS and Towleroad News #gay

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:
Little Green Footballs and Mediaite
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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:
Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, The Right Scoop and The Lonely Conservative
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The New York Times Paints Holder As A Victim Of Fast And Furious
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, NewsBusters.org, Big Government, Hot Air, Townhall.com and Bob Owens

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

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

Appeals Court Rejects Christian Student's Bid for Reversal of Her Expulsion — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling against a graduate student who had sought a court order preventing Augusta State University from expelling her from its school-counseling program.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Truth Wins Out and Joe. My. God.


Gingrich Implodes in Iowa — I don't know about Conservatives, but Republicans should be relieved. — So much for the Gingrich juggernaut . . . Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge.
Discussion:
Boing Boing

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, The Atlantic Online and Hullabaloo


Professor claims NYU fired him after he gave James Franco a ‘D’ — James Franco's tired James Dean act got an NYU professor booted from the school last year — after the teacher dared to give the overhyped Hollywood hunk a “D” for blowing off class, a lawsuit charges.
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine, Gawker, Washington Post and Shakesville